Democratic Debate Column #10: Biden's Last Stand? - CommPRO

Democratic Debate Column #10:
Biden’s Last Stand?

(And   the   Democratic   Debacles
Continue, Along with Some Important
PR Lessons)
Arthur Solomon, Public Relations Consultant

For the better part of a year, maybe longer, former veep Joe
Biden has been boasting of his ability to attract African-
American voters, and has said that the Democratic primary on
February 29 in South Carolina will validate his claim. He
better be right. Because recent polls show his support of
brown and black voters in the state has declined, as has his
support among all voters in national polls.Democratic Party
leaders will again also be waiting for the results to see if
Sen. Sanders and Mayor Pete can attract minority voters. Their
opponents have been saying they can’t, but Sanders showed he
can, at least, in the Nevada caucuses.

                         But prior to the voting, Democratic
                         Party leaders were seeking the answer
                         to, maybe, an even more important
                         question: “Was former NYC Mayor
                         Bloomberg able to improve as a
                         debater?” The answer to that question
                         has been answered. Not only did he
                         improve but he was exceedingly good.

Those topics were on the agenda February 25, in Charleston,
when the Democratic Debate # 10 took place.

Before we opine on what happened since the February 19 Nevada

debate, and during the lead-up to the one in Carolina, a brief
review of how the hopefuls, in my opinion, did when they were
making their case in the city of Lost Wages.

Here’s my take-away from the debate in
the gambling capital of the U.S., where
the word “never” is prohibited. (Remember
when the National Football League said
that it would never” permit a team to
move to Las Vegas? Maybe that’s not a
good example because the NFL always
lies).
As expected, all the candidates attacked Bloomberg, probably
envious of his success as a businessman. The former NYC mayor
responded that he’s the only person on the stage that has
started a business and is giving away the profits from it.

     The most vicious attacks on Bloomberg were by Sen.
     Warren, who also seemed the most desperate, probably
     because her hope of winning the nomination is fading
     away.
     Former veep Biden, as usual, presented a cafeteria style
     of reasons that he said made him the best qualified
     candidate.
     Sen. Klobuchar was her usual confident self; nothing
     outlandish, nothing new.
     Mayor Pete, as usual, came across as Mr. Perfect, as if
     only he has the leadership qualities to lead the
     country. In fact. Sen. Klobuchar chided Mayor Pete by
     saying no one is as perfect as you are. (It would be
     unfair to say that mayor Pete has the biggest ego of the
     candidates. Anyone who thinks they have the ability to
     run the country has to have an over-sized ego. But
     because of his demeanor when speaking about other

candidates Mayor Pete’s ego is always on display.)
     Surprisingly, early in the debate, Sen. Klobuchar, Biden
     and Mayor Pete ganged up on Sen. Sanders, regarding his
     health plan.
     Mayor Bloomberg uttered the most intelligent remark of
     the debate, when he said the entire discussion was
     ridiculous. All it does is help re-elect Trump. Whether
     you agree or not about Bloomberg’s other answers, an
     unbiased person would have to admit that they were well
     thought out, unlike the usual attack gibberish that has
     become the norm of the other candidates, with the
     exception of Sen. Klobuchar, who is always well-spoken.
     As usual, Sen. Sanders had the most consistent message,
     as he has had since the first debate.

But the big question everyone wanted
answered was, “How would Bloomberg handle
the incoming flak?”
He handled it fine, in my unbiased opinion. When criticized,
he didn’t immediately start waving his hands or interrupting
others, like Sen. Warren, to defend his position. He waited
until it was his turn to speak before correcting
mischaracterizations about him. He, and Sen. Klobuchar, acted
like the adults in the room. But unlike Sen. Klobucher,
Bloomberg’s comments were based on facts, instead of
generalizations.

If I had to choose the debate winner, it would be Bloomberg
because the others were even worse. (Okay, maybe I am the only
person in the universe who didn’t think the former NYC mayor
was worse than horrible. It wasn’t surprising that the self-
anointed cable TV political experts couldn’t drop the story
line about Bloomberg’s bad performance; if they don’t have
anyone to criticize they don’t have a program. But to say that
any candidate is severely damaged because of one or two
debates in 2020 is as ridiculous as the cablests’ 2016

comments about Hillary being a sure winner, or their more
recent “you can bet the farm” analysis that Joe Biden was sure
to easily win the nomination.)

I awarded the Nevada debate to the Democrats and said they now
had a debate advantage of 5-4 over President Trump.

(Re the above: All of the candidates were terrible, with many
of them barely hanging on until they reached what they
consider the promised land, the South Carolina. primary on
February 29. Some seemed desperate to prevent the inevitable –
that they are not going to achieve their egotistical goal –the
presidency of the United States.)

The attack by Democrats on Democrats only helps one person –
President Trump. I might award individual debates to the
Democrats, but in the aggregate the damage they have done to
each other might be

difficult to overcome. Only Trump’s consistently revengeful,
totalitarian- behavior keeps the Democrats close. While I give
the Democrats a 5-4 debate lead, it’s only because of Trump’s
behavior. If Trump didn’t act like the egotistical, depraved
person he is, I would have him leading 9-0.

Biden, in particular, should not attack others for their
views, given his sorry performance as Chairman of the Senate
Judiciary Committee during the 1991Clarence Thomas Supreme
Court nomination hearings and his subsequent vote to authorize
the Iraq War.

It’s true that I’ve written that it’s what candidates stand
for today, not in year’s past that should be the deciding
factor. But if Biden will not accept Bloomberg’s apology for
past actions, whey should anyone accept Biden’s?

Did       anything          happen            after      the

Nevada debate and before the South
Carolina one on February 25? Yes, some
were the same old, same old. However,
there   were  also   significant   new
occurrences.
The Old: The day after the debate, Sens. Warren and Sanders,
continued attacking Bloomberg. (They would attack a rock, if
they thought it blocked their way to the presidency. Attacking
a front runner means to many people that they are afraid of
the person and Bloomberg wasn’t the front-runner on February
19. But still they were afraid of him.

The New: The day after the debate, three Democratic House
members came out in support of Bloomberg.

The Buck Stops With Me: Bloomberg said he is responsible for
the problems he had in the Nevada debate, and the advice he
received should not be blamed.

Offering To Disclose The Non-Disclosures: Bloomberg said that
he was releasing three women from the non-disclosure
agreements regarding the sexual harassment or discrimination
suits filed against him over the last three decades. He also
said, “I’ve decided that for as long as I’m running Bloomberg
LP, we won’t offer confidentiality agreements to resolve
claims of sexual harassment or misconduct going forward. This
goes the same for our campaign.”

The Unexpected: All the Democratic candidates received a
surprise gift, from of all people President Trump on February
20, when it was revealed that he tried to keep an intelligence
report saying that the Russians were interfering in the 2020
election from Congress and the public (which certainly will
keep the Mueller Report in play during the campaign).

The Questionable: As his support with African-American voters

has diminished, Biden has been telling the story of how he was
arrested on a trip to South Africa in the 1970s, when he
attempted to visit Nelson Mandela in prison, according to a
New York Times story on February 22. Problem, according to the
Times’ article, is that Biden, a U.S. Senator at the time,
didn’t mention the episode in a 2007 memoir, has not spoken
prominently about it until his support with black voters has
dropped, and a check on news accounts by the Times of Biden’s
visit to South Africa did not mention any arrests. The Times
story quoted Andrew Young, the former congressman, Atlanta
mayor and ambassador to the United Nations, who traveled to
South Africa with Biden as sying, “No, I was never arrested
and I don’t think he was, either.” (Young is supporting
Bloomberg for president.) Former Senator Gary Hart said, “I
know nothing about that,” and former Senator Bob Kerrey (a
Biden supporter), told the Times that he never heard the story
before.

What To Do?: With Sen. Sanders convincing victory in the
Nevada caucuses, it’s time for the liberal moderates (Sen.
Klobuchar, Joe Biden and Pete Buttigieg) to face the
inevitable and throw their support to one liberal moderate if
they want to prevent the nomination from going to Sanders, the
far- left Democratic candidate, (but not a Socialist in the
true meaning of the word; you can look it up). And they better
do so before March 3, Super Tuesday.

Another One For The Books? “Read my lips: no new taxes” was
spoken by then- presidential candidate George H. W. Bush at
the 1988 Republican Convention. But in 1990 he supported
raising taxes and doing so contributed to his losing
reelection in 1992. Will Sen. Sanders praising Fidel Castro’s
literacy program also be detrimental to the candidate? Too
early to tell, but it definitely can’t help.

What   Happened              During          The    South
Carolina Debate?
(The debaters were the usual suspects: Joe Biden, Pete
Buttigieg, Sens. Amy Klobuchar, Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth
Warren, plus novice debater Michael Bloomberg and Tom Steyer,
who missed the Nevada one.)

Here are what I considered the highlights:

     The Democratic candidates’ attacks on each other
     continued. It’s as if they’ve taken a “how to Master’s
     Class” in insults, belittling each other, half-truths,
     whole lies, exaggerating accomplishments and demagoguery
     from President Trump.
     As expected, because of his leading the pack, Sen.
     Sanders played the role of the piñata this time. He was
     as usual attacked by all the candidates because of hi
     health plan. This time his positive remarks about Fidel
     Castro’s literacy program also drew incoming fire.
     Former Mayor Bloomberg was, perhaps, the best on the
     stage. He answered all questions with details instead of
     generalities. He also was the first to attack President
     Trump, doing so the first time he spoke.
     Sen. Warren again thought she has a winning strategy by
     attacking Bloomberg because of the non-disclosure
     agreements issues, even though the three women who
     signed them are free to talk about them because
     Bloomberg has released them from the agreements.
     Biden refused to say if he would drop out of the race if
     he failed to win the South Carolina primary.
     Mayor Pete emphasized that this election was more than
     just about the presidency. That a candidate who could
     help the Democrats take control of the Senate and keep
     control of the House must be considered.

This was the last debate before Super
Tuesday. But there are still three
factors that can affect the vote:
     The analysis of how the debaters did by the TV pundits,
     which, unfortunately, can sway the decision of people
     who can’t think for themselves.
     The efficacy of the candidates’ campaigning until the
     vote.
     And the most important: How people actually vote.

My Take:
If Sen. Sanders is elected president, he’ll not be the first
chief executive who espouses a semi-Socialist agenda. Many
voters are too young to remember, or are too ignorant of our
history, to know that we’ve already had such a person. His
name was Franklin Delano Roosevelt. He was elected four times
and is always considered by historians as one the best
presidents (and denounced by Republicans for his programs as a
Socialist or worse). Even as I write this, they are still
attempting to do away with many of his accomplishments.

There will be a slew of Democratic primaries in March,
beginning with Super Tuesday, March 3, and ending on March 29
with the Puerto Rico primary. Unless some candidates can
control their egos and drop out in early March, or before, in
political history books the Ides of March will refer to the
2020 Democratic primary field, with candidates including Sens.
Amy Klobuchar and Elizabeth Warren and Mayor Pete, all playing
the role of Brutus. The title of this column is Democratic
Debate #10. A more accurate title would be Democratic Debacle
# 10. What this debate, as did all the previous ones, show is
that all the candidates have some Trumpish aspects. Instead of
doing what’s best to defeat Trump, the candidates are doing
what’s best to defeat their opponents. As Trump does what’s
best for him, the Democratic candidates are doing what’s best

for themselves. Many, but not Sen. Warren and Joe Biden, both
of whom I originally supported, although I backed Biden
because I thought he had the best chance of defeating Trump,
not because of his senatorial record, should have called it
quits before they started. It’s obvious that doing what’s best
for themselves tops anything else. There are only two
candidates that deserve my admiration – Sen. Sanders and
Bloomberg: Sanders because he is the only candidate who has
not altered is beliefs, despite continuous attacks from his
opponents, (although having a president without flexibility is
not the greatest of ideas) and Bloomberg, who said from the
outset he’s spending his money for one purpose, defeating
President Trump, and will continue to do so even if he is not
the nominee. As long as he’s in the race, count me in the
Bloomberg camp, although I reserve the right to change my mind
if new candidates emerge.

Sen. Warren, my original choice for the presidency, lost me
because of her vicious attacks on Bloomberg, who has done more
to defeat President Trump than all the other candidates
combined. Biden lost me because if he has expressed any new
ideas in the last 30 years, I must have missed them.
Specifically, I’m tired of him saying that “President Obama
trusted me and all the diplomats around the world know me.” So
what?

Another reason for my abandoning the Warren campaign: Her
continuing attacks on Bloomberg re his employees who signed
non-disclosure agreements (NDAs). With so many more important
problems facing the country, Warren has exposed herself to be
like most other politicians – switching campaign approaches as
needed, even if the new approaches are minor compared to the
problems most Americans face daily.

Remember what Michelle Obama kept saying in the 2016
presidential campaign about Donald Trump? ‘When they go low,
we go high.” Trump is certain to go low again in this
campaign, because that is what low life’s do. Who ever the

Democratic candidate is must be able to take Trump’s insults
and throw them back at him. Thus far, only Sen. Warren,
Michael Bloomberg, Nancy Pelosi and Adam Schiff have
demonstrated the ability to match Trump blow by blow. As
former baseball manager Leo Durocher said, “Nice guys finish
last” The Democratic candidate must remember that, instead of
turning the other cheek.

Why people should not rely on cable TV for their political
knowledge: Since the beginning of the primary season, and for
months prior, the cableists have been reporting on the
national polls. But recent history shows they do not mean
much. Just ask Hillary Clinton and Al Gore, both of whom
received more votes nationally than their opponents.

The winner depends on the outcome in 50 individual state
elections, but a viewer not knowledgeable about politics would
not have known that from watching cable TV.

Thomas Perez, Chair of the Democratic National Committee,
should resign and if he doesn’t should be fired for arranging
so many debates. If he didn’t expect the candidates to attack
each other viciously when he agreed to the cable TV shows,
that’s another reason for his dismissal.

Re: After the Democratic debate comments from the TV
cableists: They will denigrate the performance of any
candidate if it fits into their narrative. Without
controversy, they would not have audiences. A good example:
They all thought that Bloomberg was terrible during the Nevada
debate. Obviously, not everyone agreed. After the debate
Bloomberg picked up three new endorsement s from
Reps. Josh Gottheimer (N.J.), Nita Lowey (N.Y.) and Pete
Aguilar (Calif.) At that time, the former New York City Mayor
only trailed Biden in Congressional support. But the three
Reps. don’t have an always open mike, and don’t have to issue
statements to attract TV viewers in order to keep their jobs.
Disregard the TV talking head comments. Think for yourself.

The Nevada debate was the most-watched Democratic presidential
debate in history. About 33 million TV and online streaming
viewers, tuned in. That might be good news for NBC and MSNBC,
but it was bad news for the Democrats. All the viewers
witnessed were a bunch of egotistical candidates attacking
each other, some viciously, led by Sen. Warren, and claiming,
“I’m better than you.” Lacking, except for Bloomberg, was any
coherent vision of defeating Trump in November.

Remember the following when watching the cable TV political
shows: Their main goal is to create excitement and gain
viewers. Take whatever their pundits and hosts say with a
grain of, “what’s the rest of the story.”

My Case For Bloomberg: Actually, if the nomination was given
on merit, Bloomberg would be the clear winner. He accomplished
what the other candidates only talk about, providing thousand
of jobs, when he accomplished what was said to be impossible
in our today journalism age – creating an international news
service. Unlike the other candidates who berated the former
NYC mayor, Bloomberg deserves much credit for helping the
Democrats regain control of the House in 2018 by giving
generously to the Democratic party and to candidates’’
campaigns. Add to that the millions of dollars he has given to
liberal political and social causes and charitable
organizations that help people and no one comes close. Despite
what the other candidates say, since when is being a
successful honest, wealthy business person a crime in America.
Importantly, unlike Biden and Sen. Sanders, Bloomberg is the
only candidate to publicly say he was wrong about past
happenings. Sen. Warren has a plan to correct everything a
person can think of. But Mr. Bloomberg has a long record of
providing substantial funding for programs that help people.

In my opinion, with millions of people not being able to
afford suitable shelter, have a livable salary, find a job
commensurate with their ability, get optimum medical care, buy
healthy food, and feeling unsafe when they walk the streets,

if Ms. Warren thinks her non-disclosure issue is a reason for
viciously attacking an individual who has for years used so
much of his fortune to help people, that shows me that Ms.
Warren is out-of-step with the country she wants to lead. Note
to Sen. Warren. I don’t like people who attack other people
viciously for their own benefit. Perhaps you’ve been learning
from Bernie Sanders supporters, or watching Fox News, or
tuning in Trump rallies, or studying his tweets. I’m
suspicious of the motives of politicians who abandon their
previous talking points and resort to attacking others in
order to attain power, because I believe as Lord Acton, the
English politician wrote, “Power tends to corrupt and absolute
power corrupts absolutely.” (My first job in public relations
was with a political firm, where I worked on local, state and
presidential campaigns. The owner of the firm once told me,
“When any politician suddenly changes approaches and wants to
win at all costs, that’s a politician you shouldn’t trust or
support.”)

While I think Mike Bloomberg would be the strongest Democratic
candidate, I’m not one of those people who say that Sen.
Sanders can’t beat Donald Trump. Sanders is very popular with
many Democrats and his message of doing what’s best for all
Americans, instead of only the very wealthy, and wanting
economic and social justice for the forgotten Americans
(similar in ways to what Trump said in 2016) can attract
independents and disgruntled voters who feel Trump’s policies
veer to the wealthy.

Important PR Lesson # 1: All the PR crises expertise that
money can buy can’t stop negative press coverage. Just ask
Bloomberg after his debate debut in Nevada.

Important PR Lesson # 2: “The best-laid plans of mice and men
often go awry,” as Robert Burns wrote in his poem, “To a
Mouse.” Just ask Biden. So be careful of what you promise a
client.

Important PR Lesson #3: Biden’s and Sen. Warren’s dismal
showings in the early voting and caucusing states, show why
the savvy account supervisor should always have a back-up plan
that can be instituted immediately if the original one fails.
(Changing account handlers is not a back-up plan.)

As they have since the first debate, the Democratic candidates
engaged in parricide. But because of President’s Trump’s
actions I’m again saying that the Democrats won.

The debate score is now Democrats’ 6, Trump 4, not because of
the Democrats’ actions, but because of Trump’s demented
behavior.

But unless the Democrats clean up their act fast, they will
have no chance to defeat the Republican’s Trump-Putin ticket
in the general election.

                           About the Author: Arthur Solomon, a
                           former journalist, was a senior
                           VP/senior counselor at Burson-
                           Marsteller, and was responsible for
                           restructuring, managing and playing
                           key roles in   some of the    most
                           significant      national      and
                         international sports and non-sports
programs. He also traveled internationally as a media adviser
to high-ranking government officials. He now is a frequent
contributor to public relations publications, consults on
public relations projects and is on the Seoul Peace Prize
nominating committee. He can be reached at arthursolomon4pr
(at) juno.com or artsolomon4pr@optimum.net.