For Democrats, Health Care Is Easy, but Immigration Is Hard

Among the many things we’ve learned so far in the presidential campaign is this: The Democratic candidates are talking more honestly about health care than about immigration. To develop a coherent approach to immigration in an era of rising asylum claims, Democrats need to explain—among other things—whom they would and wouldn’t let in. But Donald Trump has made that discussion extraordinarily difficult. In the shadow of his brutal policies and bigoted appeals, Democrats are wary of spelling out whom they would deport. That has led to a debate that’s evasive and vague.

On health care, by contrast, the Democratic presidential candidates are, the moderator Lester Holt asked the candidates who “would abolish their private health insurance in favor of a government-run plan” to raise their hands. Elizabeth Warren and Bill de Blasio put theirs up, and that sparked a discussion that exposed the contrasting ways in which the Democratic contenders see private insurance.