Wednesday’s debate was refreshingly feisty yet civil, as the party began the long process of finding a candidate to take on Trump

Perhaps the republic, and the planet, are not doomed after all.

This might be the age of Donald Trump but, just for once, the master of outrage, trapped in the steel tube of Air Force One thousands of miles away, had to cede the limelight to his Democratic opposition.

And for the politics of 2019, the 10 people on stage in Miami for the first Democratic primary debate seemed shockingly normal and refreshingly diverse, including three women, an African American and a Latino.

Democratic 2020 candidates clash on healthcare, immigration and economy in first debate Read more

Like the Republicans in 2016, the Democrats have a massive field, but there was no hurling of insults or boasting about the size of genitalia. Julián Castro telling Beto O’Rourke off for not calling for fully decriminalising crossing the US-Mexico border was about as punchy as it got. There was little attempt to take down Elizabeth Warren, who was centre stage in every sense, and no mention of Joe Biden, the frontrunner who appears at the second debate on Thursday.

But what remained less clear was who can outdo Trump’s attention-grabbing, oxygen-sucking celebrity. These were 10, well, politicians, and he is something else.

“BORING!” he tweeted from Air Force One, around halfway through. Democrats are still searching for Barack – or Michelle – Obama star quality.

The man who once seemed destined for that role was O’Rourke, who previously earned comparisons with Robert Kennedy and has declared he was “born to be” in the race for the presidency.

He began the debate with a mighty leap, suddenly switching to Spanish halfway through his first answer – and plummeted to earth. Senators Cory Booker and Elizabeth Warren’s looks of derision, as if suppressing mocking grins, were a meme in the making.

A little later, O’Rourke said he would not kill off private health insurance, prompting the first interruption of the night from the New York mayor, Bill de Blasio. The audience expected O’Rourke to counter-punch, but former congressman John Delaney swooped in instead. “I think we should be the party that keeps what’s working and fixes what’s broken,” he said. “I mean, doesn’t that make sense?”

He went on: “We should give everyone in this country healthcare as a basic human right for free. Full stop. But we should also give them the option to buy private insurance. Why do we have to stand for taking away something from people?”

Delaney has reportedly been studying past presidential debates to hone his techniques. It was also notable that De Blasio and O’Rourke seemed to be the losers of that exchange, whereas Warren emerged unscathed.

Yet it was she who championed Medicare for All, insisting: “Healthcare is a basic human right and I will fight for basic human rights.” Though she became less prominent as the night went on, she will be happy that she suffered no setbacks.

It was also a good night for Cory Booker, the New Jersey senator, who, speaking for nearly 11 minutes, more than any other candidate, according to a Washington Post tracker, enjoyed a spike in Google search traffic and did not compare himself to Spartacus.

Booker was composed and forceful on issues such as gun control, describing the violence that left seven people in his own urban neighborhood shot last week, and immigration: “When people come to this country, they do not leave their human rights at the border.”

The former Obama administration housing secretary Julián Castro also performed strongly. Citing the photos of drowned Salvadoran father and his toddler daughter at the Rio Grande, he said bluntly: “Watching that image of Oscar and his daughter Valeria was heartbreaking. It should also piss us all off.”

Candidates’ rhetorical tics were also on full display. O’Rourke constantly reminded us about people he had met on the campaign trial. Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard of Hawaii constantly made reference to her military service. Many found new ways of saying “I’m the only candidate on this stage who …”

But that backfired for Jay Inslee, the governor of Washington, as a case of mansplaining. Inslee proclaimed he was the “only candidate” onstage who has signed a law protecting women’s rights to abortion.

The glare from Senator Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota was for the ages. She retorted: “I just want to say there’s three women up here that have fought pretty hard for a woman’s right to choose, I’ll start with that.” It was delicious.

CNN (@CNN) “I just want to say there are three women up here who have fought pretty hard for a woman’s right to choose.” - Sen. Amy Klobuchar, after Gov. Jay Inslee claimed he was the only candidate who has passed a law protecting a woman's right to choose https://t.co/8ZdpqdSArN #DemDebate pic.twitter.com/gl02EoP7MM

Klobuchar also aimed a well-timed jab at the occupant of the White House: “I don’t think we should conduct foreign policy in our bathrobe at five in the morning.” Inslee had one too: “Donald Trump is simply wrong. He says wind turbines cause cancer. We know they cause jobs.”

And when the candidates were asked what poses the biggest national security threat to America, there were predictable answers of China, Russia and climate change, but it was Inslee who gave the simple answer: Trump.

Even so, the president, while a constant presence, did not overwhelm the occasion. It felt reassuringly normal.

There were multiple auditions happening on stage at the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts. Delaney made his pitch for health secretary, depending on who is president. Inslee has a good shot at EPA administrator.

Others, like the squabbling Gabbard and Tim Ryan, might be hoping to land a job as a TV pundit.

But it was a night of few zingers or breakout moments. And the biggest gaffe came from the least expected quarter: broadcaster NBC, whose microphones failed halfway through. Naturally, that caught the attention of reality TV star Trump, who wrote on Twitter: “Truly unprofessional and only worthy of a FAKE NEWS Organization, which they are!”

Climate crisis or TV ratings? Only one matters to Trump. But in Miami, there seemed a possibility that politics might one day be normal again.