Dem debate: 8 key moments from Night 2 as rivals went after Biden

The theme of Tuesday's debate was the highest-polling candidates - Sens. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass. - were getting ahead of their party's leftward shift. The theme Wednesday was former Vice President Joe Biden - that night's highest-polling candidate - was too far behind that shift, still sticking to Obama-era or even pre-Obama ideas that Democrats had abandoned.

On stage were Sen. Michael Bennet of Colorado, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand of New York, former housing secretary Julián Castro, Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey, Biden, Sen. Kamala Harris of California, businessman Andrew Yang, Rep. Tulsi Gabbard of Hawaii, Washington Gov. Jay Inslee and New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio.

Booker vs. Biden on criminal justice:

Biden's rivals attacked throughout the night, sometimes in personal terms. In one sharp exchange, Booker and Biden traded jabs over criminal justice, with Booker seeking to remind voters in cutting terms that Biden had spearheaded a crime bill that Booker said contributed to the mass incarceration of black Americans.

"This is one of those instances where the house was set on fire, and you claimed responsibility for those laws," Booker said.

Biden tried to flip the attack, saying it was Booker who had a problematic history on criminal justice given the poor record of the Newark police department when he was mayor, including a controversial stop-and-frisk policy.

Booker shot back that Biden didn't know the context. "If you want to compare records - and frankly I'm shocked that you do - I am happy to do that," Booker said. He added: "There's a saying in my community, you're dipping into Kool-Aid and you don't even know the flavor." -Annie Linskey

Biden and women's issues:

Gillibrand went after Biden in what appeared to be a prepared attack, reading from an article that Biden once penned saying that women working outside the home would lead to the "deterioration of family."

Gillibrand asked Biden if he believes that. After trying to explain the article, Biden pivoted to talking about his own history as a single parent after his wife and daughter were killed. He noted that he "raised three children for five years by myself," adding that both of his wives have worked outside the home.

And he went on the offense against Gillibrand, saying she had praised him on gender issues in the past. "I don't know what's happened, except that you're now running for president," Biden said. - Annie Linskey

Health-care fight:

When a back-and-forth erupted over health care, Biden was ready with a criticism of Harris, who'd aggressively challenged him in the first debate. He criticized her for what he said was her shifting stances on health care, and for her new plan that Biden said sought to hide its true costs.

"To be very blunt, and to be very straightforward, you can't beat President Trump with double-talk on this plan," Biden said. Harris responded in general terms, saying health care is a right and that "the cost of doing nothing is far too expensive."

She also challenged Biden for touting the Affordable Care Act, often called Obamacare, noting that Kathleen Sebelius, Obama's secretary for health and human services, was supporting her plan.

But dropping that name prompted an attack from another candidate, Gabbard, who said Sebelius now holds a job where she benefits from the health insurance industry. - David A. Fahrenthold and Annie Linskey

Castro brings up Eric Garner:

In another emotional moment, Castro invoked the case of Eric Garner, the New York man whose 2014 death due to a chokehold became a national rallying cry against police brutality. Castro said he's the only candidate to offer a police reform plan.

Noting that the Trump administration recently declined to pursue federal charges against the officer involved in the Garner case, Castro argued for an end to "qualified immunity" for police officers to hold them more accountable.

De Blasio, asked by New York City hasn't fired the officer, suggested his hands were tied as the city waited to see what the Justice Department would do. "There's finally going to be justice, I have confidence in that, in the next 30 days in New York," de Blasio said. "There will never be another Eric Garner, because we're changing fundamentally how we police."

De Blasio then tried to point a finger at Biden, arguing that some of the delays occurred during the Obama administration.

"Everybody's talking about how terrible I am on these issues," Biden replied, but "Barack Obama knew exactly who I was. He had 10 lawyers do a background check on everything about me. He chose me, and said it was the best decision he ever made." - Holly Bailey

Gillibrand on whiteness:

Gillibrand spoke about a topic that isn't often explicitly discussed on a debate stage: whiteness. Calling herself a "white woman of privilege," the New York senator said she has an extra responsibility to educate other white people on the structural racism in American society.

"I can talk to those white women in the suburbs that voted for Trump and explain to them what white privilege actually is," said Gillibrand, who was onstage with two black senators, a former Cabinet secretary who is Hispanic, an Asian American and a Samoan American. "It is also my responsibility to lift up those voices that aren't being listened to." - Annie Linskey

Biden and Obama:

Biden's opponents sought to turn one of his chief strengths - his connection with Obama - against him, asking whether he supported Obama's wide-scale deportations of undocumented immigrants.

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

Instead of answering, Biden praised Obama for his advocacy of broad immigration reform, so de Blasio came at him a second time. "I don't hear an answer from the vice president," he said. "Mr. vice president, you want to be president of the United States, you need to be able to answer the tough questions. I guarantee you, if you're debating Donald Trump, he's not gonna let you off the hook. So did you say those deportations were a good idea?"

Biden responded in effect that the answer was a secret. "I was vice president. I was not the president. I keep my recommendation in private," he said.

That brought another attack from Booker, who told Biden, "You invoke President Obama more than anyone in this campaign. You can't do it [only] when it's convenient." - David A. Fahrenthold

Immigration:

Yet another exchange erupted between Biden and Castro, who both served in the Obama administration, over immigration.

Castro defended his controversial plan to decriminalize unauthorized border crossings, putting him at odd with Biden, who remarked, "I never heard him talk about any of this" when he served as Obama's housing secretary.

When Castro said, "What we need are some politicians who have some guts on this issue," Biden retorted, "I have guts enough to say his plan doesn't make sense."

Biden argued for having some criminal penalties for unauthorized border crossings. "The fact of the matter is, when people cross the border illegally it is illegal to do it, unless they are seeking asylum," he said.

Castro hit back: "It looks like one of us has learned the lesson of the past and one of us hasn't." - -Sean Sullivan

Climate change:

Inslee, who has built his campaign around the urgency of fighting climate change, charged that Biden's plan to reduce greenhouse gases was "just too late" and too halfhearted to match the threat. If Biden believes his plan is "realistic," Inslee said, that is a sign he isn't thinking big enough to succeed: "I believe that survival is realistic."

Biden protested that he'd never described his plan as "realistic" and said it was in fact quite bold. Asked by the moderators if he would aim to get the United States off fossil fuels, Biden said he would, but added, "We can work it out."

"We cannot work this out. The time is up. Our house is on fire," Inslee responded. "Get off coal and save this country and this planet."

Yang jumped in with an even more dire message - that climate change has already moved beyond a tipping point and that some of its worst effects are already impossible to stop. He said his plan for distributing $1,000 a month to Americans would allow them to move to higher ground, away from rising oceans. -David A. Fahrenthold