Who won Wednesday’s debate?

As he greeted Kamala Harris for their long-awaited debate rematch, Joe Biden told her: “Go easy on me, kid.”

Harris did not oblige. But neither did anyone else on the Democratic primary debate stage, as personal and policy clashes broke out among all 10 candidates.

Harris and Biden sparred over health care; Cory Booker took his first in-person shots at Biden on criminal justice; Tulsi Gabbard dug up the opposition research file on Harris’ record as state attorney general; and Michael Bennet pushed back on Julián Castro’s proposal to decriminalize unauthorized border crossings.

There aren’t clear winners in a 10-car pileup. But we did spot some superlatives from the second Democratic debate, Part II.


Hottest Target: Joe Biden

It shouldn’t come as any surprise that the top-polling candidate took the most incoming. Biden parried attacks on his criminal justice record, his health care vote, his positions on trade policy.

One, with particular sting, came from Booker, who told Biden that he couldn’t invoke President Barack Obama’s legacy “when it’s convenient and dodge it when it’s not.” Another hit landed from Castro, who told Biden to "have some guts" on immigration.

But Biden supporters, worried after a sleepy performance in the first debate in Miami, hoped for a more combative and aggressive candidate Wednesday night, and they got one. He drove home his positions on health care and foreign policy, while also pushing back on candidates who criticized him for not being liberal enough.


Best Zinger: Cory Booker

The New Jersey senator, itching for a fight with Biden over criminal justice reform, got one — landing a brutal one-two punch against Biden. It was badly needed for Booker as he works to chip away at Biden’s strong support among African Americans.

In the exchange, Biden attacked Booker’s handling of Newark’s police department during his tenure as mayor. But Booker shot back, “If you want to compare records — and, frankly, I’m shocked that you do,” a line interrupted by laughter in the audience.

Biden drilled deeper on Booker, saying the Newark police department was “corrupt,” and “there was nothing done for the entire eight years he was mayor." But, again, Booker pushed back with another zinger: “Mr. Vice President, there's a saying in my community: 'You're dipping into the Kool-Aid, and you don't even know the flavor.' You need to come to the city of Newark and see the reforms that we put in place.”


Most "It's 2019" Moment: Kool-Aid

The award for corporate synergy goes to the soft-drink company, which posted a widely-shared tweet about the moment before the debate was over.


Honorable Mention for Best Zinger: Kirsten Gillibrand

The New York senator promised that the “first thing that I’m going to do when I’m president is I’m going to Clorox the Oval Office.” Take that for what you will.


Most Likely to Obey His Teacher: Joe Biden

Call it a nervous tic – “anyway.”

More than any other candidate, Biden would often, abruptly, quit speaking the moment a moderator interrupted him for time. Usually, a politician doesn’t let a little polite, “Thank you, Mr. Vice President,” stop them from finishing their point. But Biden was more than pleased to comply.


Least Likely to Keep a Secret: Kirsten Gillibrand

Last week, Gillibrand told an Iowa audience that there were, “no joke,” Democratic candidates running for president “right now who do not believe necessarily that it’s a good idea that women work outside the home.” At the time, she declined to elaborate on who she meant.

But Team Biden got the message, and the candidate came prepared. Biden pushed back on Gillibrand, who read excerpts from a 1981 op-ed that Biden penned that included a line about how women working outside the home would "create the deterioration of family.” In response, Biden ticked through legislative accomplishments that he worked on to elevate women, including efforts alongside Gillibrand, who at one point during their collaboration called him "wonderful."

“I don’t know what’s happened, except that you’re now running for president,” Biden said.


Most Likely to Have a Burn Book (Devoted to Kamala Harris): Tulsi Gabbard

The Hawaii congresswoman dug up a thick opposition file on Harris and dumped it on the debate stage. For several minutes, Gabbard detailed some unsavory accusations against Harris during her tenure as California state attorney general. Harris pushed back, but the unexpected assault left some bruises that other candidates are likely to pick at in future debates.

“She blocked evidence that would have freed an innocent man from death row until the courts forced her to do so,” Gabbard said. “She kept people in prison beyond their sentences to use them as cheap labor for the state of California.”

Harris jabbed back by saying the she made “a decision to not just give fancy speeches or be in a legislative body and give speeches on the floor, but actually doing the work of being in the position to use the power that I had to reform a system that is badly in need of reform.”

And in an interview on CNN after the debate, Harris was even more dismissive, suggesting that Gabbard was attacking her out of desperation to qualify for the next debate.


Most Likely to Tell You That You Have Spinach in Your Teeth: Andrew Yang

Politicians like to tell voters that they tell the truth. But Yang, an entrepreneur running chiefly on implementing a universal basic income, used his closing remarks to say the emperor isn’t wearing any clothes — or, at least not a tie. Yang criticized the pundit class for only talking about how he didn’t wear a tie during the last debate, not his position in the polls. (For the record, he didn’t wear a tie again Wednesday night.)

“Instead of talking about automation and our future, including the fact that we automated away 4 million manufacturing jobs, hundreds of thousands right here in Michigan, we're up here with makeup on our faces and our rehearsed attack lines, playing roles in this reality TV show,” Yang said. “It's one reason why we elected a reality TV star as our president.”


Most Likely to Grow Up to Be a Debate Moderator: Bill de Blasio

The New York City mayor didn’t want to just answer questions. He had some questions of his own — for Biden.

De Blasio, among the loudest progressives on stage, repeatedly demanded that Biden address the deportations of undocumented immigrants during the Obama administration.

“I didn’t hear whether you tried to stop them or not, using your power, your influence in the White House,” de Blasio said. “Do you think it was a good idea, or do you think it was something that needed to be stopped?”

At another moment, de Blasio objected to CNN’s anchors moving on from a discussion of foreign policy without addressing Iran – shouting as the camera cut away, “We didn’t talk about Iran,” repeating it three times.

Instead, CNN’s Don Lemon told the mayor, “Please follow the rules.”