Mastio & Lawrence grade the 2020 Democratic debates: Kamala Harris at the head of the class

NIGHT TWO (THURSDAY)

Michael Bennet

David's grade: W. Who? Other than making the public option for health care seem the moderate choice, there’s no apparent reason for the Colorado senator to be here.

Jill's grade: C. He was the only candidate onstage who did not favor decriminalizing border crossings. But he barely stood out aside from that, and I’m including when he dismissed a deal Joe Biden made with Mitch McConnell as a cave to the Tea Party. It was actually one of the milder challenges to Biden.  And that’s the problem. Not competence or smarts, which he's got. It's the mildness.

Joe Biden

David's grade: D-minus. At the beginning of the night, the former vice president was a commanding presence with detailed answers explaining moderate progressive positions clearly. He took down Medicare for All by explaining that the “quickest way to get to universal coverage is to build on Obamacare — urgency matters.” But as the night wore on, the polish came off and confusion set in. Why he wants to put insurance company executives in jail for the opioid crisis isn’t clear. Donald Trump is far from the first president to embrace dictators. His apparent agreement that there should be a mandatory buyback of assault weapons took him off his centrist track and made him seem less of a leader and more of a follower.

Jill's grade: C-plus. This was not the triumphal performance of a frontrunner. Biden took incoming on his record on race, Iraq and deals he made, and for saying years ago it was time to pass the torch to a new generation. He offered a spirited defense of his gun control record, but “I did not praise segregationists” is never a good place to be, and who wants to explain past positions on busing to a candidate who was bused? And then there was the unfortunate “My time is up, I’m sorry.” What candidate volunteers to stop talking? One who wants to exit a tough spot.

Pete Buttigieg

David's grade: B. Again the only veteran on stage stood out as a sharp speaker and thinker, but he didn’t separate himself from the crowd. Like all the others, the mayor of South Bend, Indiana, thinks illegal immigrants should be covered by universal health care benefits. He just explained why with a little more verve. Young, but potentially good vice-presidential material.

Jill's grade: B-plus. The young mayor was his usual smooth self on national issues and created a potentially viral moment with a callout of GOP hypocrisy: “For a party that associates itself with Christianity, to say that it is OK to suggest that God would smile on the division of families at the hands of federal agents, that God would condone putting children in cages, has lost all claim to ever use religious language again.” But Buttigieg faced questions from fellow candidates as well as moderators about problems in his city police force, where a black man was killed recently by a white officer, and admitted it was "a mess." Points for blunt honesty, but Democrats may want more.

Kirsten Gillibrand

David's grade: A. That's for abortion, abortion, abortion, not her performance rating. The New York senator's play for the night was to make herself stand out as a pro-choice champion, but in a field where all the candidates are taking the Planned Parenthood-approved position, that’s not enough to separate her from the field.

Jill's grade: C-minus. Gillibrand clearly feels she isn’t getting the respect she’s due, and her solution was to bury the old tired stereotype of women who don’t interrupt men (as they did not in 90% of Wednesday’s debate). But every time she broke in and talked over others it was to boast that she had the best or most or first comprehensive plan, even the experts say so. Why so insecure? She said in closing that she had stood up to Trump more than any other senator. I would have liked a fact check on that. 

Kamala Harris

David's grade: A. The California senator showed she could stand toe to toe with Biden. That alone makes the night a win for her. She showed fire on guns, climate change and immigration, which will broaden her appeal even as she turned her prosecutorial experience into a plus on a debate stage where it could have been her downfall.

Jill's grade: A. She showed she’s fearless — taking on Biden on his “hurtful” race comments, former President Barack Obama on his deportation policy and, less directly, Buttigieg on his policing problems (as California attorney general, “I was very proud to put in place a requirement that all my special agents would wear body cameras and keep those cameras on.”). She also signaled she’d run against the Trump economy  because he is measuring its greatness by the stock market and jobless numbers, which leaves out people who don’t own stocks and are working two and three jobs. Harris, the daughter of Indian and Jamaican immigrants, offered some relatable glimpses of her life but it was her embrace of confrontation that will stick.

John Hickenlooper

David's grade: C. The former governor of Colorado was a brave and valuable voice to directly take on the Democratic Party’s socialist temptation, but beyond that he struggled to be relevant. I can't see him making the cut.

Jill's grade: B-minus. He mentioned his business background and said that “if we turn toward socialism, we run the risk of reelecting worst president in American history.” He says he has done “big progressive things” on climate, contraception and other issues. Theoretically he should be a strong candidate for Democrats. But he failed to live up to his resume.

Bernie Sanders

David's grade: C. Well, we know that in Bernie Sanders' view, Bernie Sanders is the only one with the “guts” to take on all the big industries that need taking on. The shouty senator from Vermont missed a big opportunity of the night by completely dodging the question of how he would implement Medicare for All. And what was he talking about in saying he could rotate judges off the Supreme Court?

Jill's grade: B-plus. He's had a lot of practice making the case for his big lefty ideas and it served him well as he described his Medicare for All plan and how he'd tax Wall Street to pay for free public college. As for a socialist reelecting Trump, he said he was 10 points ahead of Trump in the last poll he saw. “Expose him for the fraud he is,” he said. And on Day One of his presidency, “we take out our executive order pen and we rescind every damn thing … that Trump has done” on immigration. Bernie was Bernie. And he still has a lot of fans.

Eric Swalwell

David's grade: F. Beyond guns and the shallow generational appeal of the California congressman's “Pass the torch” slogan, there wasn’t much there there. And, like Tim Ryan the night before, too much talk about dirty diapers.

Jill's grade: C-plus. He got himself a viral moment at the outset with his “pass the torch, pass the torch, pass the torch” challenge to Biden on automation, climate, student debt and gun violence. He also drew attention for his plan to outlaw assault weapons and buy them back. That’s a better than expected showing for a candidate given to lines like “When I’m not changing diapers I’m changing Washington.” Yeesh. 

Marianne Williamson

David's grade: W. What? Much of what the author and activist said made little sense. Her comments about calling the prime minister of  New Zealand were weird. She might make an entertaining cocktail party guest, but she didn’t belong on that stage any more than Donald Trump did in 2016. Maybe that means she’s a contender.

Jill's grade: D. Who is this person and how did she end up on this stage? Oh yes, she’s an author who plans to “harness love for political purposes.” Instead of fear, like Trump. Williamson’s main point seemed to be that Democrats need a good slogan, not good plans. Because, you know, Trump “didn’t win by saying he had a plan. He won by simply saying make America great again.” Also, reparations, and asking New Zealand how to make America a good place for children. Next?

Andrew Yang

David's grade: D. Beyond pitching his plan to give every adult American a $1,000 a month allowance from Uncle Sam, the tieless tech entrepreneur didn’t seem to have much to add.

Jill's grade: C-plus. Yang scored two notable firsts, at least in my memory: He didn’t wear a tie, and he said the word “asses” — as in, the Russians “have been hacking our democracy successfully and they've been laughing their asses off about it.” He would have benefited from talking more but he didn’t butt in. Asses notwithstanding, maybe he’s too polite to be in politics.

NIGHT ONE (WEDNESDAY)

Cory Booker

David's grade: A. The New Jersey senator spoke more than anyone else Wednesday night and managed to seem plausibly presidential with every answer. His one big flub was on guns, when he promised “bold action” and a “bold agenda” but then failed to deliver anything vaguely resembling a bold idea.

Jill's grade: B. He gets points for turning a corporate consolidation question into a chance to say he lives in a low-income brown and black community. He was equally personal on guns (“I hope I'm the only one on this panel here who had seven people shot in their neighborhood just last week”) and worked in a plug for his national gun licensing plan. But why him for president? He hasn't stood out from the pack. Yet. 

Julián Castro

David's grade: ???. I don’t know what his grade is, but I am pretty sure he got a 1325 on his SATs or whatever that was he kept rambling about. He was going for a breakout moment on immigration but failed to make his point when he got lost showing off his knowledge of federal law.

Jill's grade: B. The former San Antonio mayor and secretary of Housing and Urban Development wisely began by noting his mother was a single parent, and he is familiar with struggle. Also probably wisely, he leaned heavily on equal pay and abortion rights for women. He was, as he noted, the first candidate with a comprehensive immigration plan. But will Americans go for decriminalizing border crossing? Did they even understand what he was talking about? 

Bill de Blasio

David's grade: D. On a night when many of the less popular candidates talked over each other to get some attention, the New York mayor took it a step further and tried to talk over a commercial break looking more like the crazy uncle in the attic than a president.

Jill's grade: D. He’s very tall and very aggressive and he likes to interrupt other people, talk over them and make definitive statements about what Democrats are supposed to be for (free college) or against (private insurance). He is like a Trumpy New York version of Bernie Sanders or Elizabeth Warren. Which leads to the question, not of who is he, but of what is he doing here?

John Delaney

David's grade: S, for sloganeering. Sure, he was disciplined and made sure that we all know his catch phrase (“Real solutions, not impossible promises”), but there’s no way that is going to catch on with primary voters looking for a leader in the center lane.

Jill's grade: C. The former Maryland congressman started off cleverly noting how different he is because he created two businesses and thousands of jobs. He continued with a well stated critique of killing off all private health insurance —“Why do we have to stand for taking away something from people?” — and then it all went haywire with shouting and interruptions and refusing to stop talking.

Tulsi Gabbard

David's grade: B. The one woman on stage who served in uniform turned herself into a plausible candidate. During her fierce comments on getting U.S. troops out of Afghanistan, the Hawaii House member emerged as a potential commander-in-chief.

Jill's grade: B-plus. The  Iraq military veteran offered up a pleasant surprise for any voters who think we need to stop fighting endless wars. They must have enjoyed hearing her say she would redirect their “hard-earned taxpayer dollars” to serve their needs, and her reference to Donald Trump’s “chicken hawk Cabinet” that has created a situation so tense that one spark could set off a war with Iran. I don’t know where she goes from here, but she made an impression.

Jay Inslee

David's grade: C. The Washington governor didn’t seem like a man used to being in charge, but rather one begging to be taken seriously. When he wasn’t reminding the audience that he was the first person on stage to do whatever, he didn’t have much to say beyond this is our “last chance to do something about climate change.” Is that enough?

Jill's grade: B. He said he was the only candidate who had advanced the ball on health care and abortion coverage, and the only candidate who will make climate change the top priority and “the organizing principle” to mobilize the country. And he’s a governor. He should have been able to capitalize on that executive experience, but it didn't happen. And it was probably his last best chance.

Amy Klobuchar

David's grade: D. With her voice shaking all night and a closing statement that could have been made by a city council candidate (“I listen to people, that’s how I get things done”), the Minnesota senator didn’t do her middle-of-the-road candidacy any favors. Asked to explain how she’d appeal to minorities, all she could come up with is a series of economic platitudes starting with child care. No breakout there.

Jill's grade: A-minus. She showed herself accomplished at using pithy populist language that Democrats love to hear, in the service of relatively modest programs some Republicans might be able to live with (free community college and a public insurance option). She successfully portrayed herself as the non-scary Midwesterner who works with all kinds of people and judges gun laws by whether they affect her uncle's hunting. Hey, it could work. 

Beto O'Rourke

David's grade: F. Beto needed to give voters a reason to take him seriously as a leader who could take his candidacy beyond a failed Texas senate campaign. He tried, but doesn’t seem to have the depth. He did deliver the most Trumpian moment of the night, promising to have his Justice Department prosecute the current president if Democrats fail to impeach him and get him removed from office. Lock him up!

Jill's grade: A-minus. No one is more surprised than me at this grade, but my expectations were low. The former Texas congressman managed to avoid saying if he supports a 75% marginal rate on top earners, to attack the Trump tax cut and to lay out a lightning democracy agenda of “no PACs, no gerrymandering, automatic and same-day voter registration ... and a new Voting Rights Act” — all in his first answer. In his last, he tied his candidacy to “the urgency of the next generation.” O’Rourke needed to show he was more than a Vanity Fair cover, a failed Senate candidacy and a video of himself at the dentist. He made a good start.

Tim Ryan

David's grade: D. The Ohio congressman spent the whole night looking scared of the moderators and envious of Booker’s slick speaking style. He did go on a roll about immigration, but his comments about 3-week-old diapers and kids covered in snot were more gross than presidential.

Jill's grade: D. Ryan seemed out of his depth, especially when Gabbard challenged him on his support for engagement overseas, and unfortunately the most memorable thing he said was about the snot and dirty diapers. He has some presidential-scale goals but he didn't lay them out clearly in the best showcase he had.

Elizabeth Warren

David's grade: B. Tonight was Warren’s debate to lose. She came in with the most support of those on stage and she left the same way, but she didn’t gain much. If she was trying to deliver the message that she is a fighter, she definitely got that across (“I will fight for you as hard as I fight for my own family”), but she also overdid it. When asked what her plan to fight Mitch McConnell was, the Massachusetts senator managed to say a lot of words, but all she really said was that she’d fight. A missed opportunity to show some political savvy.

Jill's grade: C-plus.  Warren made a big mistake by waiting until the closing moments of the two-hour endurance test to say anything personal about herself. Up until then she was a curious mix of trademark intensity on economic issues and, despite her “nevertheless she persisted” image, passivity for long stretches. The men horned in at will, but she sat out discussions of immigration and Iran. I respect her honesty in raising her hand in favor of eliminating private health insurance, but only she and de Blasio did so — which seemed to brand them as outliers. I did love her purple blazer. 

David Mastio, a libertarian conservative, is the deputy editor of USA TODAY's editorial page. Jill Lawrence, a center-left liberal, is the commentary editor of USA TODAY. Follow them on Twitter: @DavidMastio and @JillDLawrence