Experience Suddenly Matters So Much

There are four men seeking national office in this year’s election. At the height of the current coronavirus pandemic, two of those men have demonstrated that they are capable of leading us through these challenges and two of them have proven that they are not.

In his speech to the nation last week and in the March 15 Democratic primary debate, former Vice President Joe Biden reminded voters that he knows how government works. During normal times (a few weeks ago, for example), a candidate’s competence would not be a particularly inspiring message. During a time of national and global emergency, however, that type of reassurance is a much more desirable commodity. Biden has made it clear that his experience is what’s necessary to steer us through such an unsettling time. That clarity has reinforced his advantage as he moves closer to his party’s nomination.

Biden has been far from flawless. His online town hall meeting, in which he wandered out of camera range at the very moment he was proclaiming his leadership skills, was a disaster. His debate performance was unnecessarily combative at a time when voters were seeking a more unifying message, and was marred by his usual verbal missteps and meanderings. But in both of his most high-profile opportunities, he has reminded Americans of the benefits of a chief executive who understands how to take control of a difficult situation. He sounds forceful — and presidential.

Biden’s successor, current Vice President Mike Pence, has also provided a steady and calming presence, albeit with a significantly lower public profile. Pence has not escaped the shadow of President Donald Trump by any means, and he continues to be necessarily but uncomfortably obsequious in the face of Trump’s frequent stumbles. But he has led the daily White House media briefings with a focus and attention to detail that his blustering boss has lacked.

During normal times, a candidate’s competence

would not be a particularly inspiring message.

The president’s loyal supporters will not back down from their conviction that their man deserves another term in office. But only the most delusional could not have been shaken by watching Trump’s halting and uneven address to the nation on March 11. Tens of millions of voters will continue to praise his policy initiatives and his combative and confrontational attitude toward the political establishment. But almost all of them will cast their ballots for Trump in spite of — rather than because of — his conduct as the threat of the virus has grown.

Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders has also been unsurprisingly underwhelming. A crowded debate stage has served Sanders well throughout the primary season, as it allowed him to rage against the political and corporate elite during his windows of opportunity but to step back when the discussion veered away from his policy priorities. But in his two-man debate with Biden, Sanders’ limitations were more obvious, as he repeatedly sidestepped questions about the coronavirus in order to shift back to his favorite topics. Even those voters who share his anger about income inequality and unaffordable health care would have benefited from him making more of an effort to prove his knowledge and understanding of the importance of disaster response.

The debate’s television audience was composed of the president’s most committed opponents, but they also are frightened Americans who are looking for a president who can demonstrate steadfastness and resolve. Because the always-combative Sanders used the opening question about the coronavirus to talk about the need to “shut the president up” and refer to Trump’s “blathering,” he missed an important opportunity to showcase that more uplifting side of his persona. Perhaps because it does not exist.

Of course, every reader of this publication is entitled to decide for themselves which candidate or political party is best suited to take our country forward. But during an international emergency, the difference between leaders with experience — and sloganeers with bumper stickers — has become especially clear.

Dan Schnur is a professor at the USC Annenberg School.