Debates didn't dislodge Biden as Democrat's best hope

By Froma Harrop

Syndicated columnist

During the Thursday debate, Kamala Harris went straight for Joe Biden’s jugular over his alleged failures on race matters. The day after, however, Keisha Lance Bottoms, the black mayor of arguably America’s blackest city, Atlanta, endorsed Biden for the Democratic nomination. And according to The Daily Beast, a Democracy Corps poll had Biden’s favorability with African Americans up by net 18 percent after the debate.

What gives? Didn’t the Twitter left just declare that Harris had eviscerated Biden? As usual, it interpreted events according to its own assumptions; and reporters, as usual, ran with the story being told in the loudest voices.

In endorsing Biden, Bottoms cited his experience and ability to beat Donald Trump. And she dismissed the attacks on Biden for having worked with avowed racists in the Senate.

“The larger context was that you have to work across the aisle with people you don’t like, people you don’t agree with,” Bottoms said. “I do it each and every day as mayor of Atlanta in a red state.

She went on: “My position is, if his explanation was good enough for John Lewis, then it’s good enough for me.” Lewis is a civil rights icon who has also defended Biden.

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