Yesterday, as Americans finally began to internalize the severe implications of the coronavirus outbreak, Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders each gave a national address on the topic. Their speeches were a contrast in leadership: Biden’s mostly a restatement of the problems posed by the pandemic, Sanders’s a clarion call for specific measures and an appeal to solidarity in the face of danger.

The vast difference between the two Democratic presidential candidates’ responses puts the question to us all: is Biden really the safe pick and Sanders a risk, as the prevailing story goes, or is it the other way around?

Biden’s speech Thursday afternoon was cast as his big chance to demonstrate steady, stable leadership amid the Trump administration’s incompetent handling of the country’s health and looming economic crisis. Instead, viewers who tuned in at the scheduled 1 PM time were treated to half an hour of wide-eyed staffers trying to fix technical difficulties so Biden could come to the podium.