Sunday, during CNN’s post-Democratic presidential primary debate coverage, network political commentator and former Obama adviser David Axelrod gave former Vice President Joe Biden a victory in the debate, particularly on the coronavirus outbreak.

Axelrod said, “I thought the opening of the debate which obviously focused on the crisis was the strongest segment that we’ve seen from Joe Biden in 11 races. He looked like a guy who was in command, who knew what needed to be done, who spoke to the problem with clarity and self-assurance. And it was a very, very strong hour, really, for him.”

He continued, “I think it was sort of a tale of two debates. Bernie Sanders clearly came understanding the numbers in this race. This really wasn’t about the primary race in many ways. It was about Bernie Sanders saying these are the issues my people care about, how are you going to address them and bring them into the fold. And I think that Biden was still fighting the last war in the second hour, and didn’t pick up on those cues on climate change and a few other issues. So in that sense, it was a missed opportunity because he could have paved the way for unifying the party moving forward after Tuesday when presumably he will amass delegates enough to persuade Sanders. But he may not. It may be harder to do because he didn’t take advantage of those moments.”

Follow Pam Key on Twitter @pamkeyNEN