Democrats need women, African Americans, and young people to turn out in droves. Droves. Which ticket can best do that?
119
As a Trumpster I hope that the Democrats do indeed follow the advice of this columnist and select a woke, non-white, anti-male, socialist; rather than Biden.
97
Whoever can beat Trump.
165
Biden could bring the also-ran Dems into his cabinet...That would excite Liberals
37
Joe Biden’s time has passed. We don’t need another old white man in the White House. He is taking votes and money away from other better candidates.
99
Most people are desperate to beat Trump. And Biden would be a good president. Unfortunately, he has pretty much all the same vulnerabilities that Hillary Clinton had, and probably more.
79
I don't care for Biden. Except for an occasional gaff, he has been remarkably quiet. Tell me one thing that anyone can remember that he has done or said during the Obama years. One cause that he has championed. And during the Trump disaster, he is totally mute. How can a person so long in the seat of power remain mute while our democracy is trashed.
Nonetheless if he is nominated, I will vote for him.
80
Jill, I think “tightly associated with racism and sexism“ is a cheap shot on Joe Biden. I am a Dem, and I love AOC, Kamala Harris, and Elizabeth Warren. But I also want to win in 2020, and if he wants to run, I think Joe Biden has earned the right to do so, and to try to win on his merits. It is ageism to rule him out as being “too old” which is a sub text of this article. The Dems have great female candidates, and womenare a great part of the electorate, but 53% of white women voted for Trump. So I think Joe Biden could be a great bridge candidate to the future of the Democratic Party. A fair amount of the Party is moderate, and we have to keep that in mind as we head into 2020. Getting rid of Trump is the main goal. (But taking the Senate is just as important, something I wish more candidates would keep in mind – I’m talking to you,Beto and Stacey.)
220
Does anyone want to eat plain bread after food poisoning?
79
Seeing basically no critiques of Joe Biden’s bad policy choices going back decades.
Seeing though a lot of tokenism being pushed. How well did it work in 2016 when establishment Democrats pushed the tokenism of having female nominee--who’d made largely the same bad policy choices that Joe Biden has?
Explicitly:
Gillibrand, long time republican, very tied to Wall Street.
Booker, Wall Street and Big Pharma
Warren, Reagan supporting Republican, who refuses to publicly express remorse for her support of Reaganomics.
Buttigieg, McKinsey employee. He had all sorts of other career opportunities with a degrees from Oxford and Harvard.
Submitted May 18th 10:45 PM Eastern
31
Sorry, I'm a white, 50 something year old male, living in the South, who is a life long independent and typically votes Democratic. I'd vote for Joe but I keep an open mind. But never mind me as I live in a deep red state.
More to the point - this is an unsupported position peddled by opinion writers who lean left. I can't tell if it's confirmation bias or just lazy analysis. Until opinion writers and reporters can show us some _hard_ numbers to support this narrative, it's a nice, hopeful story but just possibly fiction. The numbers provided herein were cherrypicked, not placed in the proper context and incomplete. I'm still not convinced that your narrative is well supported with respect to who would win a national election, including outcomes from the Electoral College. But I keep an open mind.
123
Perhaps we need to step back and give some thought to why and how the structural framework of our Democracy has been sliced and diced away to create a “one party rules” system of governing. We have a structural/ideological challenge. Democrats could be running a campaign of unison, using Republican idealogical failures as the topic. The strategy of divide and conquer carried out in social, cultural, economic, ecological, judicial and political policies, procedures and processes is where this problem lives and that is where it needs to be addressed. This election is bigger than one person, divide and conquer is not the answer........Republicans own that and look at what we have.
34
Perhaps it’s precisely because of that cacophony of movements, “Joe Biden” is the only recognizable sound people can hear that doesn’t try to smash their eardrums.
47
It’s only about electability. The Republican Party is no longer willing to look at the fundamental principles of democracy, rule of law or compromise as valuable. As it continuously offers yesterday’s solutions for tomorrow’s problems the administration garners applause all the way to the bank. We’re headed in the direction of a 2 bit autocracy & probably worse. If you need convincing recall countries where loyalty to the leader
is paramount & the machinery of the state is used against political opponents. This is a crisis. We must get back into the White House today. At the same time we must set the stage for an America that truly reflects American values tomorrow.
Gotta win.
Biden- Harris 2020
99
No. He is not “tightly associated” with “sexual harassment and racism.”
And if people -yes, including white men- who voted for Obama and then Trump aren’t potential likely swing voters, I don’t know who are. They are also in the right states, ma’am. More voters in California aren’t going to help.
136
Sorry Ms. Filipovic but I think much of he electorate has had about enough of “bolder, louder and hungrier” women like AOC, Ilhan Omar and Rashid Tlaib. Their ignorance, prejudice and guttoral language are offensive. Feel free to annoint them as the standard bearers of the Democrat party but my guess is the disgust they have engendered together with Pelosi’s inability to control them or facilitate passage of meaningful legislation will likely flip the House back to Republican control
61
Yes many many people want this than the mental Far left.
29
Can Biden be flexible enough to deal with the new world order? Will he be able to avoid the mis-statements he makes sometimes? Will he let go of his white hubris enough to see things in a new way? Can he his lose his arrogant male privelige attitude?
If nominated he will lose the white house for the Democrats.
21
So, from this column, only college-educated women, persons of color, persons with non-heterosexual orientation, and persons who only live in coastal citties with technology-based and finance-based economies, are welcome in her DNC.
Presidential elections are different than off-cycle congressional ones. We tried Filipovic’s approach in 2016. Besides, Hillary did not even bother to campaign in Michigan, not once — her loss was due, not to voter apathy, but to candidate arrogance.
Look at what this columnist wrote—ugh:
“Rust Belt cities fetishized by so many pundits”
“imaginary working-class white voter”
“the bland median”
“white working-class tea leaves (or beer hops?)”
“working-class white men are declining as a share of the Democratic base”
“white women, not working-class white men, who are the most promising swing voters “
“Since Donald Trump’s election in 2016, no force has been greater, bolder, louder and hungrier than women.”
“Hillary Clinton’s loss can only be explained by a long list of factors, but surely one of them was apathy: The certainty that she had the election in the bag probably depressed voter turnout.”
“Joe Biden, an older white man tightly associated with sexual harassment and racism”
“Tightly Associated”? What does that mean?
As if all older white men are so.
Filipovic has a sharp pen, but she should sharpen her pencil, and do her arithmetic on how electoral votes add up.
97
As for voting a democrat into the Oval Office, I'm not for voting for a democrat per se. But it is only logical that if every republican is too COWARDLY and too STUPID to do anything but stand behind the pathological inept president we presently have, what other sensible choice do Americans have than to vote for a democrat in November 2020?
60
Enough with the identity politics!!! I didn't vote for Obama twice because we looked alike. Yes, I want Biden for POTUS.
121
Biden has a history, read it and weep:
1991 Attacked Anita Hill. (So we got Clarence Thomas.)
1994 Wrote the disastrous Crime Bill. (Hello prison industrial complex.)
1995 Wrote the Omnibus Counter-terrorism Act (became Patriot Act).
1996 Voted Against Gay Marriage. (Real leadership there.)
1999 Repealed Glass Steagall. (World financial crisis.)
2001 Voted for the Patriot Act. (Big Brother is watching you.)
2002 Voted for Iraq War. (Yeah but it's ok, cuz his son served.)
2005 Voted to end bankruptcy protection for students. (Endless debt builds character.)
2018 Presents G.W. Bush with Liberty Medal. (Finally gets the big stuff right.)
67
I have no doubts that any cohesive and coherent adult will beat Trump, if he is not condescending culturally and intellectually to the middle America, like most coastal elite mandarins are. Question tho; do we want another Octogenarian at the helm? Have we not had enough!? The time or Liz, Joe, and Bernie has passed. Let Pete, Beto or Wassym hold the torch!
6
If we can beat the republicans gaming of the system, we'll win; if we can't....there goes America forever
44
I look at the Democratic field of 20 plus candidates, and I don’t find any of them exciting. And I don’t see most of them as electable. As a woman, seeing what is happening to women under Trump and the GOP, I want someone who will pull the country together and bring independents and moderate Republicans into the fold. And the only person I see doing that is Biden.
73
There is one thing that Joe Biden represents which causes him to be very electable. He won't break the place. Trump is tearing our nation apart. He is demolishing our institutions of government. He has demolished the truth. He has convinced many that the press cannot be trusted. He has severely damaged the rule of law.
Good old Joe won't do that. He won't wage a war against women. He won't try to start any wars. He won't kowtow to brutal dictators. I think the vast majority of female voters would welcome the stability that Biden will bring. Do not discount the college educated professional class, many of whom are Republicans, who would support Biden in a second.
Many of us want more, a lot more. But reality has a way of denying instant gratification. Because of the tremendous damage inflicted upon our society by Trump, Joe might be just what the doctor ordered to get us out of the ICU and into the rehab clinic.
I'd like to see him pick a woman for VP. Personally, I'd like for him to pick Amy Klobuchar for the position, but I suspect that most who agree with this editorial don't want her either and would rather have Kamala Harris or Elizabeth Warden. We shall see how this all turns out in the coming months, but my hunch is the the old guy runs away with it for the reasons stated above.
1063
Amy Klobuchar is the best choice for VP. She's the smartest one in the pack
63
@Bruce Rozenblit 'He has convinced many that the press cannot be trusted. '
Trump hasn't done that. The 2016 election and primary coverage did that. All Hillary all the time and all positive. Dismissive of Sanders- no neutral coverage of his proposals but always negative.
For example, his universal health plan was 'not costed.' How would he pay for it?
Do you know how much the Federal government spends on healthcare already? It covers Medicare and active or retired federal employees including the military. It spends more, as a % of GDP, than the UK does on the NHS.
If medicare for all were introduced the employer deduction for health insurance would disappear, so corporate tax revenues would rise. It would be taxable to the employee, so personal tax revenues would rise,
so however you slice it the federal deficit would fall, not rise.
There is no need to 'pay' for it. It pays for itself.
That's what made me distrust the press. Continuing Trump Derangement Syndrome, rather than sensible policy analysis, doesn't help either.
I was not and am not a Trump voter, but such unbalanced news and editorial content seems rather like propaganda.
109
@Ted Ford
Smartest? By what measure?
I would say Warren has that credential locked up.
234
A bit of reality is always good. Biden will be 77 in Nov of next year and has had a history of vascular disease. Listen carefully to his current speech and compare to 4 years ago. It is clearly less fluent and with frequent issues of both word finding and enunciation. Now, find the other 77 year old's in your life ( few will be at work ) and see if you would want them to be President. I am sure there is exception but , for most part, his risk of decline as he moves near or into 80 is high. Do we really want to deal with the 25th Amendment this time?
Frankly, his facelift and other cosmetic changes are problematic as well. He knew how it would look if he looked as he really is or would have been. No criticism intended but image is important and projection is key to retail politics. He is an old man , close to being a very old man . Do we really want a man that could be the relative we just put into assisted living?
48
Why bother to even read this article? The answer to the titular question is obviously "yes." Some people do want Joe Biden to be President, especially when the alternative is the incumbent.
57
The electability pundits invariably believed that Hillary was far more electable than Trump. Obviously, they had it wrong. They are just as wrong about Biden. To win, a candidate must be able to excite or even inspire people to vote for her/him. The candidate also must be seen as someone who actually stands for something. Biden has none of those qualities. Trump’s base strongly (and blindly) believes Trump does, however misguided that belief may be. The Democrats are not going to dump Trump, unless they nominate a candidate who actually excites and inspires enough of the electorate in enough of the right places to get a majority of electoral votes. I do not know yet which one of the multitude of Democratic candidates can get us there. I am certain that Joe Biden cannot.
29
Does Anyone Actually Want Joe Biden to Be President?
The Answer for most would be thundering NO!
Joe is the ghost of politics past, too old and too out of touch. Democrats didn't support Joe in his two previous presidential runs for all the right reasons, none of those reason have changed. A supporter of the Iraq war among other seriously flawed policy positions, be gone Joe.
38
The answer is yes. I do not want my party promoting another unelectable candidate. I will take Joe and his baggage over any other contender whom Trump can easily stamp with the Socialist label. We simply cannot endure another four years of the Trump monarchy.
49
It seems many pundits think the only reason people favor Biden is because he can beat Trump. Here’s a left of center Democratic from the Left Coast that’s all in for Biden. He’s my number one and I’m certain that there will be stiff competition likely to improve his odds to beat Trump and leave him with some choices for a great running mate, like Harris.
Biden’s decent and smart, was part of a great administration, and has sensible policy ideas. He also gets that our country’s politics are centrist and pandering to more leftist politics to be in vogue for the primaries won’t help to win in the general election.
Biden also gets that voters of all stripes really do want a president that tries to be a leader for everyone not the just leader of their tribe.
46
Biden was elected while I was in high school. I've been retired for 3 years now and he wants to run for president again. Joe stay retired!
31
In response to your question about 'electability', you contradicted yourself in the first sentence when you suggested that having a woman president was just as important as having a president with good policies. It is not. So until you can figure out what's more important to you, identity or character, stop lecturing people about how 'electability' should be considered a dirty word.
36
If Democrats want to win in 2020 , they need to campaign as ruthlessly as the Republicans ' without accepting help from Vlad and company'. No more when they go low we go high, No when Republicans go low, Democrats should stomp on them and shut them down. Joe Biden has proven he is the man to do this based on his record as an astute politician and on how he has responded to Trumps tweets to date . I don't like to see camapign's run like this but it appears that an awful lot of Americans do. So Dem's give them what they want.
17
Choosing candidates based on electability over skill and yes, even age is a slippery slope. While Biden wouldn't be the worst choice in the world, there are better. If beating Trump is the main goal, it's honestly going to be a crapshoot. Bill Weld would be a great choice, but as long as we continue to make this about popularity and who can gin the Electoral College system we have over the right person for the job, this is what we'll get.
2
"[Biden] stands the best chance of getting independents and perhaps even some moderate Republicans to cross over and vote Democratic; unenthusiastic lefties will nevertheless vote for him because this is an emergency and Donald Trump is so much worse."
Now America has to wake up and vote for the candidate that will beat Trump out of office and his second term without any restraints!
Don't tear our best quarterback down. That's not good Politics 101.
Voters need to vote for the strongest Democratic candidate that emerges to not only beat Trump but ensure the life health peaceful policies they need to survive!
Right now it is Joe Biden!
28
Yes.
I want a stable honest candidate. It is ludicrous to propose grandiose future social issue plans when you are battling America’s first tyrant. I don’t understand why there are 23 candidates, many with delightful but unrealistic progressive ideas, when we simply need to defeat Trump. Defeat Trump.
If Paddington the Bear can defeat Trump elect Paddington.
The last thing we need is a non Democrat like Sanders or a kid like Beto or Buttegich.
Grow up. Unite. Win something. Defeat Trump.
45
Electability is very important to me. It is indeed an emergency. One error in this article is important to note. Al Gore, white male, won the popular vote in 2000! The Supreme Court elected Bush. I agree the press overemphasizes the need to appeal to the white male voters in the Midwest, but candidate experience counts too.
We must find someone who can excite voters but has some substance. Not sure who that is yet. Maybe Biden/Booker or Biden/Harris?
12
Let the best be candidate, no matter what is color, gender, religion, sexual orientation or past is. Unless you think four more years of Donald Trump would wreck the American politician system so bad, bringing it to the verge of collapse that a radical change would follow.
Its an incredible risk that could make America fall appart, allow European Union to regain world leadership with Chinese and Russian support. Yes, Russians who are starting to see Donald Trump cant deliver anything and Moscow will be left behind Beijing and Bruxelles.
BTW, we will never tell you, but we Canadians would be fine with a multipolar world leadership and would gladly support it. That way we would have more options and more influence than the current situation; being an American protectorate. After being considered a "threat" to your national security on steal and aluminium, you wont be surprised...
2
I really don't want Mr. Biden to be president, but if he will rid us of Trump I will vote for him.
38
Yes, Biden has always been a competent politician. And linking his hugging people, both men and women I might ad, to sexual harassment is the kind smear that turns people off because they recognize the obvious difference. Voters know the difference. Trump will try to throw every unfair attack at any candidate but it will be harder for them to stick with Biden. And if voters don't turn out to remove Trump with Biden they are very unlikely to with Warren, Sanders, etc by the time Trump gets through beating them up. Progressives seem to forget beating Trump is huge progress alone.
26
I will vote for Joe Biden because I trust him not to go rogue on the right or the left. I will vote for him because I think he has empathy for the working class and the disenfranchised. I will vote for Biden because he has the savviness and backbone to go head to head with Trump.
37
I'm sick of people trying to foreclose the discussion. Yes, I would be excited about Biden. I am also sick of people trying to foreclose the discussion about Warren, Harris, or Pete B. I'm ready to be excited by all of them, and arguments like this one (and they all seem to be chasing Biden) just infuriate me.
22
This is Pelosi’s plan to push the old center-left agenda against an economic juggernaut. She has thrown the resistance and the Me-too movement under the bus. The swing voter will make the call if they want more of Biden’s economic malaise to console their identity-political guilt-laden “souls.”
9
I will vote for whomever wins the primary. I truly want the Supreme court back and a stable human running the country. Out of this field of 23(?) people, I see not one that is as horrible and incompetent as Mister Trump.
34
Although I have always been a "policy over personality voter", I will certainly vote for Joe over my first choice. We cannot survive four more years of Trump. The two party system in the U.S. is broken. Unless we replace it with a modified parliamentary system with multiple parties we can never progress to a functional government. This is not going to happen anytime soon. Hopefully Joe will choose a running mate like Mayor Pete or Beto who represent youth and structural change for the future. Sixteen years of Joe followed by Mayor Pete or Beto would correct a lot of damage by done by Trump and his incompetent, corrupt administration.
14
Granted, this is just an opinion piece, and the author's opinion on electability is as good as anyone else's, and no better, regardless of whether written a book about a completely unrelated topic.sd
The author says that Biden is "an older white man tightly associated with sexual harassment and racism". Written as present tense. The author claims that, today, Biden is a racist and a sexual predator. Yes, we can look at what any candidate has done in the past, and reasonably ask how does that color their views today. So, does anybody today think that Biden is a racist? For that matter, can we look at his past and conclude that he WAS a racist as anything other than a matter of opinion? "Sexual Harassment"?? Does anybody really think that Biden is a sexual predator, or are we just hearing the view of few who are just looking at ways to knock one of the candidates out of the race for the nomination?
I will vote for Biden if he is the candidate because he supports most closely my views on freedom, equality, healthcare, etc etc etc. relative to the other candidates. I will vote for whomever the Democratic candidate is because that candidate, whoever it is, will more fully support my views on the above than another 4 years of Trump.
29
To say that Joe Biden does not "look like" his party or this country is to summon a liberal piety that is exhausted and useless. Will Asian Americans vote for Cory Booker because he "looks" more like them? Or Hispanics for Elizabeth Warren? And what voter, for that matter, " looks like" Donald Trump (Heaven help him)? To defeat the embarrassment-in-chief the progressive party will have to get over its fractured identity and vote as Americans committed to helping our flawed democracy endure. A vote for skin tone or gender will only deliver us more Trump.
42
So here's a way to make sure a candidate is un-electable: say he's "tightly associated with sexual harassment and racism." I'm not a big fan of Joe, but this kind of wildly overblown criticism of an essentially decent, progressive guy (or at least more decent and progressive than a good chunk of the American population) is the road to Democratic defeat.
45
Russians/Trump want Joe Biden to run for president. They want him to be the Democratic candidate so Trump can win 4 more years. As much as I support Democratic principles the Party is the WORST at marketing.
8
The important statistic here: 28 percent of minorities voted, 38 percent of young people voted. All those who stayed home? Democrats need to give them a reason to vote. (Hint: Biden ain’t it.)
12
Rather than show what the “rightful custodians of power look like”, the poll numbers for Biden show what sort of character, temperament and experience many voters wish to support.
12
Someone had to say it. Biden is the dreariest of choices. We need a new, different, and exciting candidate that doesn't smell of past mistakes.
16
this article is silly for a couple reasons. one, the suggestion that the past tells us nothing about the future is bunk. Second, polling shows Biden in the lead, and the writer's attempt to discount that is based on nothing more then alleged psychic power to read what (she says) people really mean. As a previous article said Biden is oppose by the twitterverse this writer belongs to, but in the real world Biden is broadly supported as a winner. For now.
21
If the party wants nothing more than to alienate younger and left-leaning voters, nominate the guy with the racist, Republican record. Joe is awful in every single way to measure. If you really want this candidate, don’t say you weren’t warned.
9
The answer is yes, A majority of Democratic voters want Joe Biden to be President and a majority of likely voters as well.
The racist, ageist, and genderist arguments from the left that people should be voting for someone who looks like them doesn’t seem to be holding water.
23
If the “box of rocks” — as one respondent wrote — is what the Democrats nominate then I am voting for that box. At least democracy will be safe. Frankly, I don’t care if the nominee is Pete, Warren, Joe, Amy, Kamala, the guy from Montana or any of the others — as long as the Democratic candidate receives enough electoral votes to dispose of Putin’s puppet.
19
The obvious answer is not so much. Equally obvious is why the party roused him from his rocking chair to run and that is to fulfill its most outstanding goal in 2020, viz., to keep a socialist out of the White House.
13
I will not vote for another old white man. I'm a 60 years young gay progressive that is sick of living under a regime of straight white males too out of touch with life in the real world outside of the Washington bubble of power, money and lobbyists. We need to ensure that our elected officials reflect the current diverse makeup of the country in ethnicity, sex, and income. All elections should be publicly funded and private contributions from special interests banned, Term limits should be put in place to ensure that serving in office is a service and not a lifelong career.
The future of this country lies with a diverse coalition of non-white, non-Christian progressives who have been shut out of the conversation on what America stands for. Too much power and wealth is consolidated in the hands of a tiny minority that is too out of touch with life down here in the trenches.
5
At this point, I will accept any Democrat that can get themselves elected. Unfortunately, with polarization, we cannot have the candidate we want, we have to have the candidate we need. If this makes me compromise my ideology, so be it. I am tired of all of this---I just want some basic, important issues addressed, and the rest can come in time. If Joe is the most electable, then it's Joe and I will go with Joe. Heck, I'll even vote for him in the primary. I voted for Bernie last time, (then voted for Hillary) but I have been since pounded into a malleable paste of status goo. I'm not a boxing fan, but seeing Biden in the ring with trump would be satisfying, as I think that Biden can take the blows and use them to his advantage. I'm not asking him to be a rope-a-dope, just to rope the dope!
17
Joe Biden wasn't the answer in 1988. Joe Biden wasn't the answer in 2008. Joe Biden won't be the answer in 2020. Democrats shouldn't settle for the lowest common denominator.
19
Could the author be any more transparent in transferring her personal preference for a candidate to the voters are large? I have news for you. The vast majority of us don’t vote based on the color of skin or gender of the candidate. Men don’t “need” a male candidate any more than women “need” a female candidate. Frankly, this kind of identity politics is offensive and insulting to the electorate. I’m confident that Joe Biden understands our common concerns and can actually win a general election.
26
The only way Biden will win is with a woman on the ticket. There are plenty of strong ones now. A problem, a scenario not envisioned by anyone yet, would be the clash between the Russians trying to disrupt the voting in favor of Trump and the Chinese trying to do the same in favor of Biden (end the Tariff war). That's a wild card. Which of those two states has the most capable hackers?
In addition, this vote CANNOT even be close or we will have an intransigent Trump claiming it was all a fraud, or the Chinese stole it or there must be a recount. He will not go into that night lightly. These two elements are going to cause untold chaos and will drag out all our misery for months.
3
Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders both have compelling, progressive priorities for the U.S.
In 2016, mainstream democrats thought that Sanders could not win. He was too far afield to appeal to voters. Instead, the country elected Trump, who was and is equally far afield.
The difference? Sanders has integrity. Trump does not. We have been paying that price since.
12
Joe's age will make his choice of running mate more important, and that's good. The more attention the TWO of them get, the better. I hope he chooses wisely. (Eric Swalwell.)
A vice-president who can assuage the feelings of all the friends and allies insulted and driven away by Trump.
Someone who is young, strong, energetic, intelligent, knowledgable, able to travel to the countries of those friends and allies, to take the message to them, to revive the partnerships, to restore the goodwill, etc.
7
Biden's early lead in polls is both a symptom and the disease of modern celebrity politics. A wide majority of Americans (3 million in 2016, more in 2018) want anyone but Trump. But the media's (and public's) thirst for constant news-news-news/entertainment makes name recognition the most salient feature right now. Let's face it, most of the states are already decided. Genghis Khan could carry California and New York running against Trump. And nothing will separate Alabama and Mississippi from Trump. So, let the various candidate offer policy ideas (or even the absence of new ideas) for now. When it comes to next year, the ONLY issue needs to be to remove the vile stain of a vile, narcissist before he can destroy all vestiges of the democratic ideal.
9
We seem to be back to the time when people said they would vote for Bush because he was someone you would want to have a beer with. Biden may be a likable, regular guy, but he lacks the qualifications necessary for being president. He is also too old.
I hope Elizabeth Warren is elected. She is smart and highly qualified. Of all the candidates she impresses me as having a deeper understanding of what ails this country.
11
Biden is not electable, period. In fact, he would be the worse possible candidate against Trump for he is simply uninspiring with a sorry records of being a male chauvinist, of supporting legislation harming the very group of vulnerable and working class Americans that he is now profess to champion, and of aligning himself times after times with the ruling elites and status quo.
His pronouncement of progressive policies of late has the foul air of me too, trying to be in touch with the voters of the Dem Party while in fact he has been so out of touch so as to recycle the ideas and policies of those of Warren, Harris and others.
The country is now at the juncture that demands visionary and inspiring leaders who will stop the country from descending into an unequal and undemocratic society. Biden unfortunately and simply is not the one.
13
No.
6
In other and simple words, "America be damned" lets elect a Democrat so it ( a pejorative pronoun, a robot would do fine) can establish Leftist policies ruining our prosperity.
In fact, we need somebody, i.e. Donald Trump, who will continue M.A.G.A.
3
Amen.
Ans: Yes.
5
Oh, my word! Say it ain't Joe!
Biden's electability is greatly exaggerated. Nominate him and a whole bunch of progressives and millennials will be discouraged, millions won't contribute, won't do the legwork needed for a national campaign, and many won't vote or will vote 3rd party. It happened in 2016; it'll happen again.
He's washed up, old news, and backward looking. He's a neoliberal, corporate centrist. We don't need a Clinton-Obama-Clinton retread. We need someone younger, progressive, smarter, and who keeps their hands to themselves! And, doesn't joke about it in crude, unfunny ways.
Biden's track record is dismal. He's a lackey of the credit card industry. He was big on the lock 'em up, anti-black crime legislation under Clinton.
He screwed up Anita Hill's hearing and, as a result, we ended up with a rightwinger on the Supreme Court.
He was a key player in an administration that spread war, killed civilians with drone strikes, continued Bush's domestic spying programs, undermined public education, and was far too compromising, naively so, with Republicans! They also failed to prosecute a single corporate executive for the financial meltdown.
He has a juvenile temper streak that's similar to Trump's. Not what we need.
In a couple of weeks, he'll unveil a supposedly Green anti-global-warming program — don't fall for it. His key energy people are all associated with the fracking industry.
Send him packing.
19
I want Mayor Pete, Joe Biden or Amy Klobuchar. I want steadiness and control, a person who can sit at the table and negotiate with empathy and strength.
This sounds deceptively simple but isn't.
7
Re: Title of article. No.
6
A Biden/Harris ticket will crush Trump/Pence in all demographics except White-racist.
14
In answer to the title of this article, yes.
10
If the choice is Biden or Trump...Yes, I want him to be president!!!!!!!!
12
The only way for the Times to publish a picture of Biden without his hands on a woman is to publish him standing alone.
5
Another article - throw in a lot of data to support your thesis which is nothing but a preconceived opinion!
Yes, I will tell you all why I support Joe Biden. It is not because I do not respect Elizabeth Warren or Bernie Sanders - all people that I can support. 8 years under Obama were wasted except to say that we had a democratic president for 8 years. The man had neither the conviction nor passion to leave a legacy - just see what happened to Judge Merrick, if Obama was made of different stuff he would have travelled all over the country raising hell for what McConnell was doing - even it might have been a losing cause.
The democrats have become the masses who have all lost a sense of direction. We need a Moses to walk them through this river of uncertainly. First, we win 2020. Then perhaps a new energetic, idealistic, may be female too, can take over.
7
There have been times in Joe Biden’s very long career, that I had wished I was able to vote for him for President. I no longer wish that. I feel it’s time for fresher faces and younger blood to revitalize the party, even though I’m 72.
I much prefer a candidate that is eschewing big fat cat donors, and PAC money, not doing it the ways of yore, as Biden is.
I’m also put off by his excessive cleaving to Obama as a name check. Biden once said brilliantly, in ‘08 when referring to Rudy Giuliani, when he was running to be the Republican nominee, “that his every sentence was a noun and a verb and 9/11.” One now could say the same about him, only exchanging “9/11” for “me and Barak”! Knowing that Obama is not going to endorse anyone in the primaries, he runs Obama’s speech when he gave Biden the Presidential Medal of Freedom in an ad as if it was an endorsement. Worse yet, he has said, “I told President Obama not to endorse me”, implying Obama would have, if he hadn’t stopped him! Biden certainly has heard that Obama told Axelrod on his podcast that Beto reminds him of himself, as he bases his statements and his positions on what he believes, and not poll tested responses, and that he is an impressive young man. This week on MSNBC, an editor at The Root said that several of Obama’s staff have told him that, “Obama is hot for Beto!” If I know this, so does he! Biden trying to make it seem, that Obama secretly endorses him, is just “old time politics” of yesterday.
3
Choosing a candidate is not at absolute, but rather a relative choice. The fact that Biden is competitive speaks to the low quality of his opponents. In the last election, Neither was the better choice. Let us hope 2020 offers reasonable options.
1
Just run and Biden/Harris ticket and let's kick out the con man so he can be indicted and this country can start not standing each other in the PG 13 way again
5
The Dems embrace of illegal immigration, sanctuary cities and states means I’ll be voting for Trump 2020.
3
"A white male Democrat has not won the White House in more than 20 years."
So what? The only Democrat to win was Obama so does that mean only an African-American male can win as a Democrat.
Total nonsense.
20
I do. No question
7
Oh Bernie, oh Joe, your arrogance today about 2016 election only makes you more vulnerable than ever. Fantasizing about “if i hadn’t been cheated” or “if i had ran”, “i would be president today” is only speculation. This speculation only demonstrates your lack of vision.
The democratic vote is complex, diverse and challenging in 2019. So my recommendation to both of you (assuming that is possible you hear the message from here to there, your bubble) is to come down from the pedestal and work really hard to get the trust of your own democratic base, the 2018 blue wave. Primaries matter and you are no exception.
2
I guess you just needed to fill some columns in your paper. This article is such a waste because it doesn't mention anything about Biden's policies which are very liberal and appealing. And the most important thing is winning back the White House and Senate so even more creative things can happen.
14
I’ve got a great idea... let’s just spend the next year gazing at our navels, crying ‘oh my dear, whatever shall we do’? By the time we look up from our collective navels, the election will be over and the most incompetent, reprehensible and malicious president ever to occupy the Oval Office will be inaugurated for a second term. We could use another ‘American Carnage’ address.
Sure thing, that’s the ticket! N-O-T.
2
If Joe Biden is the nominee, it will be very important who he picks for VP. I wish him good health, but when you’re 80 years old, incapacitating health problems can happen. This video of a campaign speech is not encouraging.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=8AH4feMIi8k&feature=youtu.be
3
I'm so sick and tired of political analysis based on race, gender, age, etc. I don't need a candidate "who looks like me", I want a candidate "who thinks like me", or better yet, just someone who thinks and is articulate enough and visionary enough to demonstrate he/she understands the challenges we face in the near and long term and who can inspire and lead us, and maybe even convince the petrified stumps in the GOP side of the Congress to join in.
I've read a lot about the candidates and in their own words, too, and for my money, Pete Buttigieg and Elizabeth Warren top the list. Kamala Harris is close behind.
Of course I'll vote for any Democrat in 2020, even De Blasio (Bill, I can confidently say you don't have a chance in hell of getting the nomination -- why not do everyone a favor and quit while you still have a shred of dignity).
But Joe Biden, to me, is Hillary Clinton redux. And if Joe winds up being the one taking the battle to Trump, I'll be going into election eve with that same nauseating feeling that I had in 2016.
To my fellow Democrats. Whoever comes out on the top in the primaries, VOTE in November 2020.
15
I watched this newspaper elevate trump day after day for months before his election. Nary a mention of Hillary. Now I watch it write articles day after day criticizing any hopes we have of getting rid of trump. The Fairness Doctrine was abolished by Reagan, another Goldman Sachs sycophant and I suggest you make use of that mistake and start promoting Democrats before the COUP by GOP is finally cemented. Thank you.
16
Bernie/Biden, Beto/Biden, Buttigieg/Biden--anybody but Biden at the top of the ticket.
4
Filpovic argues that the "Democratic Party of 2019 does not look much like Joe Biden," and thus, by implication, he is not and should not be electable. Beyond that, the essay devolves into historically-simplistic and typically-fraught progressive reasoning about identity-based politics, why the Democrats lost in 2016, and why white, working-class Americans left the party. Put another way, this is an appallingly sexist and racist rant against white men. And that's all. Really. Read it again. Filipovic's analysis is remarkably superficial and context-free. The reasoning is actually ugly. Try this exercise: reverse any register in this piece, so that, say, it instead deigns to explain why women or persons of color are not "electable." The reasoning holds just as problematically for any other identity except "black man in 2008 and 2012." Reverse any detail, and readers would be crazy angry. More to the point, the NYT would not publish it. Filipovic has nothing, and the editorial decision-making process was wanting in this instance.
18
Maybe you should ask "does anyone actually want Donald Trump anywere besides prison in 2020?"
19
Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan. Biden + any woman = Trump in jail in 2021.
12
I do.
7
You say that no white male democrat has won the White House in 20 years but many believe Al Gore won in 2000.
17
Ms Filipovic was obviously given the job of disparaging Biden this week. But what does not kill him makes him stronger.
13
How about a Warren - Biden ticket?
4
Kamala Harris for Presidenti!
4
You published an article in March 29th:
"When Joe Biden Voted to Let States Overturn Roe v. Wade"
Joe Biden is a useless Democrat - like most Democrats
6
I do!
9
I DO.
5
What a snarky headline and yes, we'd vote for Biden in a skinny minute.
16
the swing voters I wish we'd reach out to are the one's who sat out 2016....swing your butts to the polls!
5
Yes, because Trump can't call him non-white, socialist, or gay.
7
Tulsi 2020!
Oh yes. You have figured it out! Since you do not want Joe Biden, that means no one else does!
Another voice for narcissism politics...
15
Crooked Hillary would be better than Creepy Joe, but with the same results.
1
Yes I want Joe Biden to win. This country is too divided, and he has the ability to reach something resembling a single nation.
10
NOOOO! Not Biden. Elizabeth Warren has my vote. She's smart, passionate, principled and outspoken. Her response after the Mueller report came out shows strong leadership. So impressive.
10
In 2020, we need someone smart, experienced and able to clobber the current occupant of the WH. In my mind the only one in the pack that can do that right now is Biden. He is not perfect (and none of the candiates are, btw) but he has my vote.
There's a saying along the lines of "great is the enemy of good" and at this juncture, and as much as I would love to have a woman and/or minority in the WH, I think we need to set aside the pie in the sky agendas and go with a middle of the road, known entity to unseat the GOP and help the country recover from the trauma we've been subject to since 2016. Joe Biden is a good person and a good man.
I believe centrist, sensible, kitchen table issues will win the day and gain the most votes for the Dems. We need a total rout in 2020. The GOP has got to go - lock, stock and barrel.
12
Finally, someone is wondering what will happen if Joe Biden wins the center but loses the left. It's not a given that the left will grudgingly vote for him if he ends up being the nominee. Many may say that they've survived this far with Donald Trump, stay home, and gird themselves to wait until 2024. It's not enough to win either your base or the great middle; to capture the White House, you've got to win both.
2
Biden can manage the budget; legislate for everyday Americans and most critically, lead America as a respected world power standing firm on human rights. His sons served in the military. He knows what's at stake. So yes. I'm all in for Biden as he kicks off his campaign today a few blocks from me.
13
I remember the VEEP debate of Biden/Ryan during Obam’s second compaign. Biden mopped the floor with Ryan and in my opinion gave Obama the winning event so needed after Obama’s very disappointing performances during his debates. Biden has my support...so far. But he needs a running mate who will inspire our younger voters. At any rate....whomever is nominated will get my vote.
16
@Hugh Hopson
Come on, who couldn’t mop the floor with Paul Ryan? The guy who works out to Rage Against the Machine, but “doesn’t really listen to the lyrics”...
2
Joe Biden has the best chance of beating Trump. We simply can not accept four more years of Trump.
17
@Donald Luke
Would really like to know why not. Do you not like lower taxes, a strong economy, being energy independent, record low unemployment, efforts to secure our border? Can you please give reasons , not emotions? I fear the Left focuses on Personality rather the Productivity!
3
We have about 30 candidates who are better than Biden. They haven't proven as ethically challenged or as poorly mannered. Now, like HRC (for whom I voted in our 2008 & 2016 primaries), Biden seems to be the inside favorite, who will also turn into Trump's dream opponent.
Fighting fire with fire (or stupidity & poor behavior with stupidity with poor manners) doesn't work. Biden offers nothing new, nothing refreshing, nothing exciting, nothing thoughtful. His nomination will guarantee another four years of Trump--and my consideration of voting Green after voting for every Democratic nominee since Mondale.
3
Great, another Democratic expert who doesn't know how to count votes. Yes Hillary Clinton won three million more votes than Donald Trump but how did that work out? In 20 or 25 years when the US population will be majority non-white, two-thirds of the population will be represented by only 30 Senators. If the Democratic Party continues to rely on the groups Ms. Filipovic recommends, it will become a permanent minority party (sometimes winning the House, never the Senate and rarely the Presidency, meaning never the Judiciary). Barack Obama proved you don't need to be a white male to win white male votes, but you do need to reach out to white male voters and everyone else.
15
This is just a political rant. It does not address his qualifications to do the job at all.
16
To answer the question posed by this opinion writer, there are plenty of people who do not want Donald Trump to be President, but who also do not want a radical wingnut "progressive" or dreamy-eyed "socialist" to be President.
Joe Biden is perceived as an acceptable alternative to these extremes.
8
Presidential elections tend to go to the most interesting (or least boring) candidate. At least since campaigns have been televised. A crackpot theory, I know… but think about it. Kennedy was more interesting than Nixon, Johnson slightly more interesting than Goldwater, Nixon less boring than Humphrey and McGovern, Carter less boring than Ford, Reagan more interesting than Carter or Mondale, Bush less boring than Dukakis, Clinton more interesting than Bush or Dole, W less boring than Gore or Kerry, Obama more interesting than McCain or Romney, and Trump more interesting than Clinton. (Yes that’s subjective and superficial but I think it holds up.)
Fortunately, I believe, after two and a half years of total overexposure, Trump is becoming boring. His outrageousness is as predictable as an old sitcom or a Vegas lounge act. His outrages blurring into self-parody, ever more mannerist yet redundantly familiar. Fat Elvis. America has been forced to bingewatch this rerun and wants to change the channel, please.
Democrats just need to nominate someone more interesting. Politics really is theater, so we should, as Ian Maxwell Mackinnon says, “Elect Better Actors”!,
6
I was fine with Biden until he stated that he doesn't believe most Republicans are really on board with Trumpism. He says this even after having witnessed first hand their seditious partisan extremism (birtherism, McConnell's zero cooperation with Obama, Stealing the Garland SCOTUS seat and so on) of the Obama years.
I've had it with Democrats who, even two years into a Trump nightmare presidency, still insist that the Republicans are still rational, reasonable and country first political party. They need to get out of the way for fighting Democrats who, because they realize the ugly character of todays GOP, can stand up to and defeat the Republican extremist agenda.
5
I suppose that Jill Biden might be ok with Joe becoming President. Otherwise, the answer is "No -- no one wants Joe to do anything but go awkwardly away." And my guess is that is just what will happen in the next year or so.
2
It is just that most people want to rid this country of the stain of Donald Trump. Joe Biden seems to be the safest path to that end.
8
Wow. The hits just keep on comin' about former Vice President - of the United States of America - Joe Biden!
The age-ism, sexism, and lack of respect and appreciation for the wisdom, experience, maturity, willingness to learn and grow, and commitment to serving this country that continues to unfold in the media regarding Biden is astounding. (The "dissing" of Biden is starting to sound like what the young kids call "hating.")
Biden is the best choice to go head-to-head with Trump, no question. And no question that defeating Trump is imperative.
However, Joe Biden also brings with him all of the credentials and attributes outlined above and more than 40 years of service to this country...not to mention genuine character and a sincere, if not perfect, love for his fellow citizens, his family, and this nation.
This is the reality of Joe Biden; flaws and all he is qualified and prepared for the job.
22
Exactly. Ageism. Ironic given Bernie and Trump. A denigration of experience and wisdom. When did politics become ‘new and improved’ instead of ‘tried and true?’
6
@Kelly
It’s hard to remember that Biden was once disqualified for the presidency by what the kids call “plagiarism”.
1
no Biden. He personifies what has been wrong with the party- that has led to the trumpster. We need a dem who recognizes climate change and corporate malfeasance are the issues defining us- not a panderer
5
Identity politics at its finest here. Joe Biden is a white guy in the Democratic primary. Democrats haven't voted for a white guy in 20 years. Why should we assume Joe Biden is the white guy? Although I object to the "analytical approach," I will respond as if there is some legitimacy. Joe Biden's been in the room when tough decisions are made. Elizabeth Warren, Kirsten Gillibrand, Kamela Harris and the others have not. Joe Biden understands capitalism in America and knows there is no way we will have a single-payer system for health care (and free college for everyone). Most, if not all, of his competitors do not recognize this - and do not understand American excellence. Joe Biden has a breadth of experience that the others don't have. I think Biden will get a fair amount of criticism once things get close - he plagiarized, poorly handled the Thomas hearings and etc. -- but right now, most of his competitors are talking Bernie-speak. Most of us primary voters believe Bernie has no idea how best to run the country.
14
Pretty much everyone who'd rather win than lose gloriously.
7
This a just babel. In a party of so many interests the candidate who can get the most support wins. Hilary's loss might just be that she did not appeal to cross section of real voters she appealed to primary voters; likewise Bernie. The NYT is giving way too much cred is writers pushing special interests, rather than understanding general election "electability." I have no idea of this commentators relevance.
5
So many pundits describe what they WISH to be true rather than what they observe to be true.
There is NO evidence that Biden is less progressive than the Congress he has to deal with, even if we secure Dem majorities in both Houses.
There is NO evidence that Biden's support will wane. In fact, his support has increased each week since he declared. At this point, only 2 candidates will pass the 15% threshold for delegates from Iowa -- and both are white men in their 70s.
Rather than "white male privilege," I suggest there is a different "privilege" at play. I call it "aggrieved privilege." It holds that because there has never been a president who is a woman/gay/Italian/Jewish socialist (pick any demographic) that it is "time for" such a candidate.
Such thinking is backward. Let the candidates garner enough support to be elected, and there WILL be such a president. Barack Obama showed us that.
10
If any single "progressive" demographic factor (or the collection of a few of them) is the key to winning the next election....why did that dynamic not carry the day in the last election? This article seems to be a circular attempt to justify a preconception, and, as such, is not much of a help. Been there, got here, gotta go now.
1
Of course my biggest passionate wish is for a woman president but if democratic voters only want someone they feel passionate about this country is toast. I have voted once for someone i felt passionate about ,Obama, the rest were votes to keep the supreme court. Young voters and it seems a lot of women didn't "like" Hillary. Well guess what? Roe v Wade is on its way to be overturned not to mention the trashing of the Constitution, the rich getting richer and climate change policies dismantled.
But hey, when you get sick and have no insurance at least you'll have your passion!
12
No interest in Joe Biden here. I seriously doubt he has the ability to pull in large numbers of voters. Early polls are meaningless.
2
I hope Bernie wins, but I'll take Joe Biden in an instant.
3
This is a great piece, well documented with evidence to support the writer's views, much like a legal pleading, which is not surprising given her background. In the 2016 election, no one listened to insights like this, particularly the NYTimes and other members of the press. Such opinions were ignored much like the warnings of Cassandra and Laocoön at Troy. I'm concerned this will happen again. At present, the Biden camp comes across as "mansplaining" why he is the only electable candidate. Please keep allowing these contrary opinions so we don't have to endure the Toddler in Chief for four more years.
2
I pretty much love all the Democratic contenders. Give me Joe, Kamala, Pete or Elizabeth. Black, white, male, female, gay or straight, we are all stuck in the same boat currently being piloted by a total incompetent. This coming election should focus on competence vs the weak pile of ineptitude that is the current commander in chief. When a toddler is behind the wheel of the bus, lets not bicker about which adult should take over.
8
‘Electability’ in 2020 is, for many Americans, about beating Trump and putting an end to this low point in our history.
7
It doesn't matter. Did anyone actually want Donald Trump?
Too bad, you got him.
Keep your eye on the goal. Democrat in the White House. Then worry about getting policy done.
That's the way it is now.
6
I believe Biden is too old in his thinking and is part of the swamp that is Washington. However, Joe has something the others don't. Gravitas which comes with the knowing when your life is turned upside down. The untimely death of his daughter and wife. The sad death of his son from Cancer. This makes him most like the rest of us. The current occupant has no business in the White House and he knows it. He has exactly zero empathy. Zero ability to put himself in the shoes of others. I keep hoping for something to reach this mans heart. You see the world differently when viewed with heart. Much of this wisdom usually comes with age. He has none. This is what makes him so hard to take. HE revels in that however. Two of his wives are first generation immigrants to America. One stayed illegally over their visa. She also got her own parents to be citizens with "chain migration" His own son went through a Divorce. It had to be pretty bad for her to leave him while her father in law was President. He has 5 children with her. God knows what he did to make his wife divorce him and now he has taken up with an older woman. WHAT will this man relate to? What this country is becoming, spiritually, religiously, educationally and internationally are a direct result of his pushing forward utterly alone. No input, no care, no concern. Only for money. I know the Scottish are cheap but he beats the pants off anyone.
3
"If they're (these high-turnout groups are) motivated to turn out to vote, a Democrat will wind up in the White House." No doubt true, Jill. Watch out, though, for Republican gerrymandering and ballot-box games.
2
Democracy, the rule of law, and the will of the majority have been systematically disassembled for the last nearly 40 years, and Joe did nothing major during his tenure as VP to prevent that. And that disassembly has greatly accelerated during the Trumpkin era. What makes anyone believe that Joe can somehow reverse the regressive spiral? If he’s the only hope the Dems have, they’re still sleeping, just like he is! They have an FDR/LBJ, his name is Bernie. Wake up, Dems!
4
In a time of unprecedented social division and climate crisis, does electability even matter? Or do policies matter? This election, the media needs to do better. A presidential election is not about entertainment -- it's about policies. Coverage of a presidential election shouldn't read like a reality TV show. Enough with the pundits. The grass is green where you water it -- if reporters start to appeal to the intelligent side of American reader's minds, rather than the animalistic side that likes to be amused, we will end up with a good president. Readers benefit less from knowing about a candidate's likeableness and "electability" than they do from learning about their policies and plans for the country. Please cover this election thoughtfully, New York Times.
4
A.B.T. That's all that matters. The prospect of watching Trump vacate the White House in 2020 is like an ice-cold lemonade on 100º day.
3
I work in the hospitals around NYC. In many of them, the OR staff is black. When the subject of politics and Biden comes up, the most common reactions are "nah", not feelin it", and "creepy". They all loved Obama. I was quite shocked when I first heard their reactions to Trump. not any more since I hear it all the time. The most common is - "Hes gonna build the wall". At first I had to ask - thats important to you? Then I get the explanation. Blacks dont like illegal immigrants. In the hospitals, they crowd out the clinics, creating waits of 3 hours or more to see docs that were meant for the folks in the neighborhood. Also, the city run hospitals are always strapped for money, with staff losing jobs all the time. When they hear that an illegal immigrant is getting a surgery, it makes their blood boil. Here they are worrying everyday about their jobs, and an illegal immigrant is about to cost the hospital 20k. Fact is even moderate Democrats dontr support open borders, so when the Party supports and enables sanctuary cities, fights attempts to finish barriers along the border, and even offers illegal immigrants free healthcare, they are irritating many American citizens - Republicans, Democrats, and Independents alike. The far left of the party would never admit that, and want to drag everyone else with them kicking and screaming, but thats why they will continue to lose elections. Trump wasnt on the ballot in 2018. He is now.
5
The Times, as exemplified by its hate-speech-tweeting editorial board member Sarah Jeong, simply does not want to say anything good about an “old white guy.”
Unlike the Times, I think we must not disqualify candidates by race, gender or age. It is both immoral and foolish.
Joe isn’t my first choice. Klobuchar is.
But if Joe, or Warren, or Pete, or Kamala etc, etc is the nominee, they will get my vote.
The Times seems to want us to stay home or vote third party if Joe is the nominee. Then they could even further vilify “old white guys.”
8
No. Nobody wants him to, that’s why he’s winning in the polls. Why is a headline like this ran in the times? I appreciate the diversity of opinions, but the conservative pieces don’t seem to have such ridiculous titles (coming from a liberal). Right up there with pretend climate change is aliens and abolish billionaires. Fodder for the right to mock. The people we want to reach tend to read headlines only, it would be nice if the more extreme claims were in the context of the article, rather than a header looking for clicks.
6
This is an opinion piece, which isn't the same thing as objective reporting. Yes, more power to female candidates and female voters - an emerging force in the Democratic party. But this article is a blatantly feminist view of the issues, and a hit job on Biden. Trying to label Biden as racist seems ridiculous. As one of the poll participants said, in effect, (following the "racist" link provided in the article) "are you seriously trying to convince us Biden is segregationist?"
Any politician with a record as long as Biden's is bound to have multiple issues that can be dredged up and spun negatively. But given Biden's most recent experience of 8 years as a valued vice president under President Obama, vs. the disaster currently occupying the white house is all anyone needs to know.
6
Your mistake, Ms Contributing Editor, is saying Dems need to win Indies and moderates and then calling that group "the bland median."
YOU repackage mods and Indies who care just if not more about getting rid of Trump and are significant VOTERS, as not as essential as Progressive Dems
It is NOT a binary choice -- we need ALL. We can count on Dems of all stripes this time -- but we need a candidate who can draw moderates and that is Joe, not Bernie or Elizabeth or Kamala .
4
"Joe Biden, an older white man tightly associated with sexual harassment and racism" --- this is a gross mischaracterization of our former vice president. I think an apology is necessary. No one has accused him of sexual harassment and I'd dare say Barack Obama can opine on Joe Biden and racism. You lost me with this incendiary comment. If any of the various constituents you aptly identify as the core to the Democratic base stay home instead of voting for Joe Biden in the general election because of your opinion letter, we will have you to blame for four more years of that godawful Trump! Keep the rhetoric down Ms. Filipovic.
11
I was a Dem for 50 years and I'd even rather Trump than that corporatist, warmongering, credit card company owned, corrupt fraud. At least with Trump we know what we're getting. Biden will fool the stupid then give them the shaft.
4
Joe Biden associated with sexual harassment and racism? You're making a republican argument because he is the most electable candidate. He, and a good female running mate, will remove Trump from the White House. That's what matters.
9
If the current field, Joe Biden included, is all the Democrats can come up with, Trump will be re-elected.
2
Running a status quo candidate is suicide. They tried it with Hillary. It doesn't work.
7
For Joe Biden to be at the top of the pile of Dem candidates I surmise that the others are just not attractive. Biden has no accomplishments and possesses only name recognition. This Ship of Fools is loaded with passengers carrying empty suitcases.
4
You may say Biden is bland,,,but bland looks really, really good now after what we've endured for the last 2 1/2 years. I would love to wake up to bland again,,,instead of the daily ____ storm.
8
I tire of the speculation that these pieces and talking heads on TV spin at us. Speculation as to what women and minority voters want compared to what older white guys like me want is just babble. Obama-to-Trump swing voters are not important at all. In fact if they are so stupid to go from Obama to Trump they should just stay home. They obviously don’t pay attention or understand how things work in the real world of Government and politics. The bottom line is all this endless speculation, polling, and talking head mumbo-jumbo doesn’t mean anything at this point. There have been no debates, no votes, and it’s a long time before the field gets narrowed.
Joe Biden is a known commodity and would make a fine president (as would have HRC). That can be said for Elizabeth Warren, Kamala Harris, Amy Klobuchar, Pete Buttigieg, and many of the rest. It reminds me of the Kentucky Derby. Some people look at the horses track record, some just pick by their name, some on how the horse looks, but who will win?
Maybe we should just cover them as they run, hear what they have to say about everything, vote in primary’s, the winner should be our most electable candidate in the end. Of course, we saw in the last election that many voters who didn’t get their candidate through to the general election defected from the Democrats and voted for Trump, Stein, Johnson, or none of the above. I hope this time they suck it up and vote for the Democratic Party’s nominee. That would be refreshing.
7
Though there are several among the Dem Party who would be good in the White House, I don't think Joe has enough charisma to win the electoral college. Please DNC remember HC!
2
OMG, another "feminist" throwing white males under the bus. "White voters, male voters and especially white male voters generally support Republicans." The implication is clear, they're not one of us.
Well, I'm a white male voter. And, I'm sick of being told how I vote. This is the same kind of liberal elitist think that lost it for Hillary. Did you learn nothing?
I'll vote for who ever wins the democratic primary. If it's Joe Biden, I'm with him 1,000%. Does Joe Biden look like the Democratic Party? You bet he does. It's a big tent.
Wake up!
9
I am for anyone of these 23 Democratic candidates who can beat Donald Trump!!
6
Yes. I do.
4
Um, not me. Warren!
3
Another NY Times Biden hit-job with a purposefully unflattering photo. Either choosing or attempting to destroy a candidate without hearing any debates or seeing the results of primaries in the swing States is defined as prejudice. Perhaps we need to see how the candidates are doing before making up our minds?
9
Here’s my answer to the editor’s question: I do. The more progressive candidates have zero chance to win. The narrative that says Biden is racist or sexist is a lie. Progressives need to stop saying so now. The lefties will have Biden’s ear, and Biden can win - Warren or Sanders or other such intellectual left candidates cannot. Plain and simple.
8
18 months before a general election is way too early for predictions. Just see the early front runners from when presidential election season started immediately after the midterms and count how many won the presidency. Maybe even the day before the election is too early - heck, just look at the NYT Upshot on November 7, 2016.
Does anyone want Trumpf to be president? Aside from the Russians, that is.
6
Judging by his rather large lead in the polls, I’d say yes.
Also, I believe that Biden can overcome his purported “woman” problem quite easily.
Kamala Harris: Veep AND Attorney General.
Elizabeth Warren: Treasury Secretary.
AOC: HHS Secretary.
Stacey Abrams: Secretary of State.
Martha McSally: Defense Secretary.
Name the cabinet at the convention...stand behind them...watch him win 450 electoral votes.
Joe Biden is exactly what we need. A centrist not inflicted with cable-news-born tribal blood lust. THAT is what’s destroying this nation.
Also in the rush to call him a sexist old man, people forget the massive tragedies he’s endured. Losing his wife & daughter in a horrible car wreck. Losing his oldest son to cancer. It takes a lot of fortitude not to become embittered after tragedies of that magnitude.
So please spare me the “he’s out of touch with the NYT reader.” That crowd is smaller than Trump’s shrinking base. Talk to voters in PA, MI, WI, TX, GA, FL, AZ. I bet you’ll find a pretty formidable candidate.
10
“Joe Biden, an older white man tightly associated with sexual harassment and racism”. Really? This is the sort of lying that we have come to expect from Trump and his enablers on the other side. Why would a Democratic voter take instruction from this writer?
10
I Hope to GD Biden Does NOT get the Nomination, HE is a Republican in all but party affiliation. Corporations and Big money all the way. We are better than this People! Any one but Biden or Beto and I will be happy!
2
A truly bizarre op-ed. If the Democratic party doesn't look like Joe Biden, perhaps everyone who does should vote Republican. Are you saying, Ms. Filipovic, that black voters didn't turn out for Hillary because she didn't look like them? She even promised (vaguely) to provide a third-term Obama presidency. And many women didn't vote for her either.
A typically shallow opinion piece form a member of the NYT Editorial Board. Should ideas and policies count? Not one word about domestic or foreign policies in the article, just more identity politics, adding selected pieces of the American public as though they were not comprised of individuals.
"Women" are not a bloc, nor are "whites," Latinos, Browns, Yellows, etc. Nowhere does Filipovic indicate that individuals have agency, but are driven by surface characteristics - gender, race, sexual orientation, religion - and that these superficial characteristics, accidents of birth, perhaps, constitute the driving force in election decisions.
Don't people who are conveniently placed in these categories, have ideas and policy priorities that are not homogenized by Filipovic's shallow categorization?
My personal choices are Bernie, Liz and Tulsi, but I certainly would prefer Joe in the White House and not The Donald. Should I stay at home if neither of my favourites get the nod? Does Filipovic really want to write another four years of whiny editorials about T-Rump's second term?
Win! Don't Whine!
7
China and Ukraine want Biden to be president
4
Biden is far too old. He will be older at the time of his inauguration in 2021 than Reagan when he left office. And what about a second term? He will be ridiculously old when that possibility comes around. He has aged considerably and has 18 months of campaigning to do, which is wearing on the youngest of candidates. I'm a Republican and will vote for Trump, but if he doesn't win, I would like to see a Democrat with no chance of succumbing to senility while in office.
Hillary Clinton's health became an issue at the end of the 2016 and she was only 69. Yes, Trump will soon be 73, but he looks and acts younger. I have similar concerns about him running for re-election.
Why Democrats are suddenly favoring aged white male candidates from the Northeast like Biden and Sanders is a mystery to me.
2
No, I don't think Biden would make a good president. He is too old and seems to have a hard time making the right decisions at the right time. I don't like his views on climate change. We need a younger more forceful person in the White House.
2
I think this argument does not sufficiently recognize two things: one, normal distribution, that is, the bell-shaped curve. The most votes are always in or toward the center of the bell. There may a skew to the left or right, but the center does hold. Two, the winning strategy is not to pick a candidate or spend a dime to get the votes you already have. The main effort is to get the votes you can't count on but may get.
4
In 1972, the country was in turmoil over the Vietnam War and the president many called Tricky Dicky was running for re-election on a strong economy and his handling of the war.
His opponent, Senator George McGovern of South Dakota, ran on a promise of an immediate end to the war and a guaranteed minimum income. There were also questions about agents of the president's re-election committee's breaking into the Democratic National Committee's headquarters.
I was young and idealistic, and voted for McGovern in the primary and general election, because Nixon was despicable and the country needed a major change.
The results: Nixon won every state except Massachusetts -- and the District of Columbia.
The lesson: When the country is in turmoil, it doesn't need major change. It needs a return to normalcy and reliability.
Yes, I actually want Biden to be president.
5
Elizabeth Warren is the most impressive in terms of real, governing policy, and I would really like someone with real qualifications guys. Can we discuss who would make the best president, too?
4
I will vote for the democratic nominee. But I really hope it isn’t Biden. We need someone younger, more progressive and preferably a woman. Biden is so old school he does not represent the majority of Americans. We need someone my kids and all of their peers can get excited about.
5
The Iowa caucuses don't take place until February 3rd, 2020. No doubt the other 30 or 40 candidates have done their oppo research on Biden and are ready to get after him on his long center/right history in public life. We'll get to see if and how his thinking has evolved, and how it fits with the Democratic Party of 2020. All of the announced Democratic candidates would be an improvement over the Kleptocrat in the White House. Biden wouldn't be my first, or even 5th choice. But if he's nominated, I'll vote for him and encourage others to do so as well. We must unite behind whoever is the eventual nominee, because Trump and the Republican Party are a clear, existential threat to our democracy.
2
We have a "transgressive" president, for the sake of national sanity and the integrity of national institutions we DO NOT need another at this point in our history on the Democratic side (nor could they get elected-although for the "Bernie bros" that seems to be irrelevant).
Obama was a transformational president, not a transgressive one, yet the upheaval his rather quiet and traditional presidency caused ("the worst president ever"- really? by what metric) would be a mere introduction to the polarization resulting from Sanders or Warren.
1
And by a "transgressive" Democrat, you mean someone from the Democratic wing of the Democratic party. Bernie Sanders, whatever he calls himself, is an FDR Democrat. Nobody else in the field, with the possible exception of Elizabeth Warren, is even that far left.
1
It can't just be about "Can the candidate beat Trump?". It has to be "What will that candidate do if elected?". Biden thinks he's going to work with McConnell? Where has he been for the last 10 years? It also has to be "Can that candidate generate the kind of voter enthusiasm that has a strong coat tail effect?" To turn this country around not only do we need a president with bold progressive ideas. That president will need the support of congress. And so long as the Republicans hold the Senate, nothing monumental has a prayer of being enacted, no matter how large a mandate a (hopefully) Democratic president receives from the electorate. It would better serve the country if some of the twenty-odd hopefuls opted to aim a little lower and (assuming there's a seat to be had) run for the Senate. Or state governor. Twenty candidates filling twenty posts of high authority would better serve the country than one candidate filling a single office.
4
Democrats keep looking for the vanilla candidate who can sway the low-information voters instead of what they should be doing, which is to nominate a candidate with vision and ideas who will excite the base. Republicans pander to their base, but Biden told Democrats to "stop whining" when Obama wasn't progressive enough. This second-guessing of who is electable doesn't work. Harris and Warren are my top candidates. They're both tough and smart. But I will vote for whichever candidate heads the Dem ticket because no person with a conscience should vote for any Republican at this point.
6
Your comparisons have one problem. You compare the 2018 elections with 2016. The statistics you site are based on the congressional elections and statewide elections. Yes the Democrats picked up the majority of House of Represenatives but far more moderates won then progressives. That is because you need to represent your district, a good portion who were Obama to Trump voters. In Statewide elections the Democrats didn’t do so well. Losing the governors races in Florida, Georgia and Ohio as well as Senatorial races in Florida, Missouri and Indiana. In the former these did not represent a change in the party in the Governor mansion but in the latter they all represented change. The real question is who can win Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin with Ohio thrown into boot. Remember the path to the White House is by 270 electoral votes which are only awarded to the person who wins the state.
2
Joe Biden as the Democratic nominee will immediately shift too much emphasis on his VP pick. I don't think the founders envisioned such a scenario.
2
Appealing to Trump voters is nice, but it's not very productive. What would stimulate newer, younger voters is a newer, younger candidate, like Kamala Harris or Mayor Pete.
But... maybe Joe was prescient when he suggested Stacey Abrams for his vice president.
What must be demonstrated before the election is, if Donald loses, he'll be indicted for his crimes. His best option is to resign and accept a pardon for himself and his kids.
I will vote ANYONE in order to get rid of the nightmare-fake-person in the White House.
I would like Joe Biden, and all of the candidates to take the Indivisible Pledge ASAP.
The most important issue in 2020 will be defeating Trump. All the candidates, including Howard
Shultz, must band together before Election Day and totally support the person running
against Trump.
2
Making the election all about beating Trump implies that things were going great during the Obama years but, for those in touch with reality, those years were all about a student debt crisis, and rising inequality, opioid dependence and fossil fuel extraction.
For those planning on being alive by 2050, climate change and student debt are the top issues - but Biden has already gaffed about not having any empathy for millennials and he's already compromising with the Republicans and big energy on his response to climate change.
Biden might win, but he is surely NOT what the country needs right now.
5
Since when has “progressive” been the requirement for a Democratic presidential candidate? Progressives represent a small, noisy minority of our party and a progressive hasn’t won the presidency in 75 years.
I like Biden because he represents more of my views and those of most of the Democratic Party than any of the so called “progressives,” whose only platform seems to be to give everything away for free (and no plan for how to pay for it).
6
Yes. We want to return to sanity. Desperately, achingly, and with every fiber of my being.
7
We need to take this election in steps, take Trump out first then plan for whatever progressive path we need... and Joe might be that first step. He could pick a vP that could take over on the second term. ;)
We should fight for the VP Joe will pick.
2
The most satisfying conclusion to the awful narrative of the Trump administration will be the inauguration of Elizabeth Warren or Kamala Harris. Democrats need a candidate who can unite the Sanders-progressive and the Clinton-liberal wings of the party, one who can excite and motivate our diverse party base, and govern with intelligence, passion, and willingness to try new things. As other have stated here, Biden is a candidate from the 1980s; his day is done. On my personal list, he's #20 or lower. Like others here, I'll vote for the Democratic candidate no matter what, but I pray to whatever gods there may be that it isn't old Joe.
1
Then according to what's in print, which woman will be his running mate, and potentially the first female commander in chief?
Should be someone young, with forward thinking, new ideas.
An individual that understands that the mold must be broken, and the ability to lead by example is an endearing characteristic.
Someone that will become the new leader of the party for a generation.
AOC comes to mind but is she just too new and inexperienced? Who else are available?
@Vanman
In ten years AOC may have the political wisdom to speak for a majority of Americans, but for now, the country needs someone who knows how to get the job done.
1
Perhaps Democrats are embracing the idea that the path to victory is to choose a candidate that is NOT the most opposite of Trump, but rather a candidate that is better than Trump.
Trump is so polarizing that a Democratic candidate could rely on simply letting Trump himself provide all the motivation to the Democratic base and instead focus on being more appealing to Trump's base.
This would be a tremendous departure from the campaign that HRC ran, where she not only focused on appealing evermore so to her core voters as her campaign neared Election Day, seemingly exclusively at times, but also excoriated many voters as "deploarables". If Hillary had spent more time appealing to instead of condemning white working class males, while attending fewer rallies of middle aged pant-suited highly college educated accomplished career women like herself, she would be President.
Biden is not the brightest bulb in the chandelier, but he has signaled he will not run the same campaign as HRC, and instead is going to go after Trump voters, and this could be his best strategy to getting the party nomination.
1
"... the experts deciding who's electible."
This is akin to an ad hominem attack. You disparage "experts" for deciding who can be elected, but such experts don't exist. The pundits, while they may be completely wrong, are merely analyzing polling data, which have shown improving numbers for Biden. The data may reflect Biden's name recognition as you suggest. But if Warren, Harris, Booker, or Gillibrand want any hope of winning the nomination, they better start doing and saying things that add to their popularity, not detract, even as they become increasingly recognizable.
It's not the "experts" who seem to be deciding Biden is electible; it's respondents to the surveys.
3
I am white, a woman, and voting for the one person who can save us living on this fragile and threatened planet. Climate change is real, it's serious, and if we don't tackle it head on, we all lose. On Tuesday, June 4, in Portland, OR, the last hearing for Juliana vs. U.S. takes place. Children's Trust elevates the voices of 21 Youth Plaintiffs to secure the legal right to a stable climate and healthy atmosphere for the benefit of all present and future generations. Over 1000 supporters are expected! I wonder if any of the 23 candidates will attend.
6
And another person who wants Joe Biden. That said, I will vote for the Democratic nominee - whoever that turns out to be. What I want most is to get Trump and the Republicans in the Senate out of office.
12
"Hillary Clinton’s loss can only be explained by a long list of factors, but surely one of them was apathy: The certainty that she had the election in the bag probably depressed voter turnout."
No! The apathy was not because voters expected her to win. It was because as a politician she generated apathy. The Democrats need to learn the correct and very important lesson from 2016. A politician needs to be able to speak to the people in a voice that they understand with believable answers and generate enthusiasm. Hillary's answer to many important questions too often was: "you can read that in my position paper". That does not fly. She did not make it clear what she believed in. She may be a great person but she was a poor politician.
Both Hillary and Joe Biden have the strong backing of the Democratic establishment. Polished videos such as Biden's announcement of his candidacy are not adequate. Before a crowd of his supporters he looked old and stumbled. The politicos need to start listening to the people before they make the same mistakes and give us 4 more years of Trump.
7
@Common cause Agreed about Clinton. And many of those who understood her believed that the destructive manner in which she was installed as nominee could not go unanswered and put chose to put their votes elsewhere. It seemed that the entire party was tone-deaf to the suggestion that integrity matters.
4
Would that the president be elected by popular vote, I might be inclined to agree with this perspective (and Hillary Clinton would be president). Alas, the electoral college means that the Democratic nominee must run the gauntlet of states where white working-class whites have a disproportionate share of voting clout. So, Joe Biden likely will be more electable than the other candidates running. Just the reality of our political system.
8
Biden is too old for the job. He'll be nearly 78 years old by voting time 2020.
Trump is confident he could beat Biden in the general election...
The only good thing about Biden now is that he will concede with more grace and less general destruction than Bernie did in 2016.
4
Trump is not confident he can beat Biden.
3
@Astrochimp
Can we spell a-g-i-s-m?
4
I'm a right-center Independent and will be fine with Joe. I prefer "unexciting" or low key to the freak show that's been running for almost four years (counting it's campaign).
The worst would be if Democrats nominate a full-blown socialist. The country's not ready for it, I've not heard any cost/funding info from them, and there's a good chance we'll be dealing with an economic situation after the current "borrow/spend trickle down" policy.
A Democrat in the White House is the only way to get rid of party, propaganda, and 1%ers over country.
15
What this and many other analyses don’t address is that the most critical electability metric is a candidate’s electoral college math. In other words, we know a Democratic candidate will win the west coast and New England and a couple of fairly reliable blue states, but a candidate’s true electability comes down to her/ his chances in the swing stares. NYTimes, could you please ask your political analysts to add this to their prognostications.
14
A recent pool in Pa has Joe Biden ahead of any Democrat running and more importantly leaps and bounds ahead of Trump. While Biden may not be my preferred Candidate what for me it now comes down to who is the Perfect as opposed to the Best candidate .
Joe Biden in my opinion is the Best Candidate as he has the most cross over appeal and he is generally well liked by Americans. The primary by its very nature will push him more to the left, but he is smart enough to not let it do so to make him not electable on a national level. If Joe Biden is the Democrats Candidate without a doubt in my mind he will win Pa make the state Blue again an he will win the Presidency .
Democrats should have one focus in 2020 and that is beating Trump, coupled with if possible taking a few Senate seats from Republicans. Nothing else should matter, not the candidates age, gender, or race. We need the Best Candidate .
16
The Alabama legislature has just won every persuadable suburban female vote in America for ANY Democrat who's nominated--including Bernie. Gender is now beside the point for the nomination. What will count in the general is how much passion the candidate can generate, as both Hillary and Trump showed in 2016, in their opposite ways. Sleepy can't cut it.
2
To answer your question: yes, I do. In a field of unexceptional people, he is truly exceptional. He has the bona fides. He is a good decent person. He will restore respect for law and order. Your question really brings that into focus.
13
In my first election in 1956, I voted for a friend of my father's who was running for county coroner on the Republican ticket. That was the only Republican I ever voted for.
If Joe Biden is the candidate, I will vote for him.
But surely we can do better.
7
@Len Charlap
We go to war with the army we have, not the army one wishes we had.
The nation is in shock over Trump and people want something comforting - something that we are familiar with and can trust.
We took a chance with Trump and see the mess that's being made, and now we want to run back and hide behind the skirts of our familiar place.
We have to go forward at this point. Elizabeth Warren is the one who speaks the most plainly and gets to the point. But the last Massachusetts pols who have run are Kerry, Romney (twice), Dukakis and Ted Kennedy. Not exactly a winning record.
3
@Gerry
You say... "We have to go forward at this point." Nominating a left wing idealogue (as much as I love them) feels forward but I'm afraid the motion is more circular, as in chasing our tails. The point is, the biggest obstacle to moving forward is Trump winning in 2020. Let's "move forward" by selecting a Democrat that will beat Trump rather than simply appease our progressive beliefs.
2
Let’s remember one key thing: Hillary Clinton received almost 3 million more votes than Donald Trump did. Trump won the electoral college for a number of reasons that probably won’t be present in 2020. First of all, there will be no complacency on the part of the Democratic and potential Democratic electorate. Nobody will be predicting that Trump will lose the election. Second, Joe Biden is not Hillary Clinton who has been surrounded by a whiff of scandal throughout her entire political career. Third, no Democratic candidate is going to take PA, WI, and MI for granted as did HRC in 2016. And fourth, the Trump share of the electorate is dying off and not being replaced while the Democratic share of the electorate is growing. These factors would give Joe Biden (or, almost any other Democratic candidate) a valuable tailwind. Discussions of Biden’s “electability” have everything to do with ensuring that PA, WI, and MI don’t end up in the Republican column again.
The fact of the matter is that while everyone will have his or her favorite candidate going into the convention, given who is in the White House right now and the danger of giving him another 4 year lease on it, it’s inconceivable that Democrats won’t turn out in large numbers to support the Democratic nominee, whoever that may be.
6
Joe Biden is the Democrats version of Bob Dole.
He will look appealing, but ultimately come up short to the incumbent President. However, the Democrats need to field a centrist candidate in order to pull Republicans over in a general election. Our country has more conservatives/independents than progressives, which is unlikely to change anytime soon.
5
We have an abundance of riches in the Democratic field. That said, I will vote for a box of rocks rather than that sack of corruption currently sitting in the White House. Joe’s is out of another era. If he’s our nominee I will vote for him but I believe we should elect a younger more forward thinking progressive candidate. The bottom line for Democrats is we must come together and VOTE.
10
This is dangerous logic by extension. If the author feels white men cannot represent the interests of others in politics, is it then understandable for white men to hire only those who “understand” their interests simply by dint of identify, for colleges to return to homogeneity, etc etc. The premise of the article is both dangerous and unsupported by any data.
3
@LTJ
Excellent observation. Left or right, humans identify with others that remind them of themselves and all others are the outsiders who need to be eliminated or ignored.
The identity-talk that underscores this analysis sinks it. The phrase "authenticity itself is coded as white and male when it’s defined by white men" is worse than campus rhetoric, it's an insult to the intelligence of readers. So Trump was coded as "authentic" by the Patriarchy, was he??
The idea that Hillary was mainly defeated by "voter apathy" is a shameful fig leaf. Everyone knew D Trump was a dangerous clown, not a 'white-male politician'. Hillary was not "ignored" by all those virtuous women and ethnic voters, she was avoided.
5
Trump does not fear Biden. Trump suspects Biden will be easiest to defeat, because they are both older white men who are indistinguishable to independents and younger voters. (For the record, I am an older white man.)
Trump's Tweet-storm referencing Biden simply raises Biden's name recognition and likelihood of getting the nomination. Don't be fooled. Trump is playing Br'er Rabbit, begging us Democrats not to throw him in the briar patch.
6
In your dreams. Trump rightly fears Biden because of MI, PA & WI.
6
Quit looking for reasons not to vote for him. We all know it’s congress that actually makes the policies so it’s real simple. This is a binary choice. Democrat or Republican. What’s important to you? Healthcare that can’t be dropped? Sensible gun control so our kids might be safer in schools? Or finding out if Hillary had email? What’s important to you and which party will help you achieve it? I can’t believe there are people that will not vote because ‘their’ Democrat isn’t on the ballot.
11
Political experience is overrated, and the the Democrats have a long history of nominating "experienced" candidates that then lose because they fail to excite the electorate and increase turnout. Status quo Joe will be no different, and his history of bad policies and gaffes will be easily weaponized by the Russians and others to suppress turnout. The videos of him acting creepily towards younger women will scare off that demographic. His history of putting big corporate financial interests ahead of worker and consumer protection will catch up with him. His former support of segregationist policies and the crime bill will hurt him with the black community. His shameful treatment of Anita Hill will hurt him with the black community AND women. His foolish support of the Iraq War will alienate anyone with a brain and 20/20 hindsight. And he's just plain too old to appeal to millennials and anyone who wants change.
My politics are way to the left of Bernie, Warren and all the rest, but I too prefer a presidential candidate that's moderate enough to appeal to the center. The candidate that strikes me as being most electable while also having the best mix of progressive yet pragmatic policies is Seth Moulton. He can't be smeared as a socialist or a Pelosi acolyte. His biography as a combat vet will appeal to blue collar and law and order types. And, perhaps most importantly, if Trump refuses to leave office, he's already got some generals behind him...
3
There is only one issue for this Biden-aged, white male progressive: defeating Donald Trump. Many, including me, will vote for him. And if he has the good sense, that Hillary lacked, to pick Kamala Harris or Stacey Abrams as a running mate, he'll not only unify the patry, but generate the excitement and massive, blue wave turnout that can beat Trump and retake the Senate. Democracy v. autocracy is on the ballot in 2020. So, at this point, every Democrat should hold their breath and say, "Go Joe, go!"
10
Yes, this country does need better policies, but under our constitutional system, that is what Congress is for. The truth is that all of the Democratic presidential candidates generally support the same policies. In 2020, what this country will need in the White House is a moral center focused on kindness, honesty, and compassion. We need somebody who a large number of people can relate to. It doesn’t come down to skin color or gender. It comes down to heart.
Whatever you may think about Biden’s Senate career—he’s made mistakes, but he’s also learned from them—the fundamental fact about Joe Biden is he is real and authentic. He has suffered, made the best of it, and came back stronger and more humble. He cares about people. If you want a way to begin to bind up the tribal wounds of this country, you need a Democrat who is fluent in Republican.
I understand that the author wanted to make a point about the “maleness” and “whiteness” of the “electability” question, but she does us all a disservice by implying that true electability has something to do only with race and gender. At the end of the day, electability has to do with leadership, that ineffable quality that includes relatability, but more importantly, that urges others to follow the leader’s moral example in order to serve something bigger than oneself. At this moment in history and in this place, Joe Biden has it and is worthy of support.
7
Sadly, Biden’s no leader. He's a lackey of corporate forces and the finance, credit card industry.
No. I don't want Joe Biden to be president. But, more than that I don't want Donald Trump to be president. So, if the Democrats nominate Biden, he's got my vote. So does any other Democrat. This is not the year to be picky. There is no perfect candidate. Trump is far, far, far from perfect, yet millions will vote for him. Democrats must do the same and hold their noses, if need be, and vote to rid us of the dangerous and embarrassing Trump. Let's not forget that the rightward turn in the country, the conservative judges, the acceptance of White Supremacy and xenophobia, the anti-abortion legislation, the trade damage and the war mongering is all due to Trump. He has cast a pall over the nation and we cannot move forward until that pall is removed. So, I will vote Democratic, for Biden, for whomever. We must win our country back.
9
"In several key states, including Ohio and Florida, white women with college degrees flipped: A majority voted Republican in 2016 and Democratic in 2018."
This was great news in 2018. By citing this, the author implies that these voters in Ohio and Florida will naturally prefer a candidate to the left of Biden. This makes no sense. If they flipped, they are part of the "bland median" the author decries. How far to the left does the author think these voters are willing to go?
5
Can a Kamala Harris supporter (there are so many out there, it seems) please explain why you find her so compelling? I just don’t see it.
Here in California, Harris’s home state, Democrats are not battle-tested like they are in the midwestern swing states. A Democrat needs only a pulse to win a Senate seat in California.
She hasn’t impressed me outside of California. Aside from her inexperience, on the campaign trail she is indecisive, overly cautious, and ingratiating. Time will tell, but so far she doesn’t seem to the type of candidate who can appeal to the sort of swing voters who went for Donald Teip in 2016.
I suspect the reason people like her is that she checks and wins all the identity-politics boxes: the female box and the diversity box and the “progressive” box. But what I don’t see her winning is at the ballot box.
2
You must not have watched her in the different Senate hearings. She's tough, smart, articulate, and brooks no nonsense. As a strong, bright woman of color, of immigrants, she would get under Trump's skin, lead him to make gobs of unforced errors, and skewer him debates.
Her Medicare for All waffling was disappointing, but she's getting her campaign sea legs.
Biden, like Trump, is past it
This Vermonter wants neither Sanders nor Biden.
Would love some mix of Warren, Pete, Kamala.
Will vote though for whomever is the nominee as all are the opposite of Trump & co.; actually wanting what is best for our country.
4
I'm a pretty good example of what the challenge is for Democrats now. I am a Democrat. I voted for neither candidate in 2016. Nominate Biden and he's got my vote. Nominate Warren or Sanders I don't stay home I'll go and vote for other Democrats as I did in 2016 but either not vote (again) for President or vote for Trump (the lesser of two evils in my book). Also I was livid with Republicans for impeaching Bill Clinton when we all knew about his womanizing before we (including me) voted for him (twice). Impeach Trump and I will be just as angry. He won. Beat him at the ballot box because he's a disturbed, angry, volatile man. We have a Constitution; we can't ignore it because we hate who won.
The Constitution allows the removal of a President by means other than the ballot box, and commands it (“shall be removed...”) when the President is impeached and convicted for committing high crimes and misdemeanors.
1
Yes, we have a Constitution — which Trump trashes daily!
Clinton did not do that, not at all.
Hard to consider you a Democrat given you think Warren and Sanders are too far left — all they really are is good old fashioned FDR New Deal liberals — and that you would vote for Trump under any circumstances.
You clearly have no commitment to the rule of law, the Constitution, or social justice. If you did, you'd want to see the initial stages of impeachment begin now!
2
I have a bumper sticker on my car that says "ANY FUNCTIONING ADULT 2020" ... so yes, I will happily vote for Joe Biden.
10
This piece fails to recognize the role that white female voters played in Hillary Clinton's defeat. They voted for Trump in astounding numbers and provided Trump with the majority in Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.
According to 538, 53% of white women voted for Trump and only 43% voted for Clinton.
See also: https://newlaborforum.cuny.edu/2018/01/18/why-did-a-majority-of-white-women-vote-for-trump/
This piece is just more rhetoric that seeks to gloss over the failure of the Democratic Party to take positions and nominate a candidate needed to splinter Republican voters.
4
Want this country to die of a theory? Go purist; pick someone who appeals to some "emerging" slice of the electorate. Pick someone that a big chunk of the electorate just isn't ready to buy. Elections have consequences- look at what has been done to the Courts by these people.
So Joe is a lot of antique things but we have a thing to deal with and it is loud, mean, hungry and vicious and we need to get it out of power.
So a piece of advice to Joe- pick a strong, intelligent female running mate who fits all or as many of the slice-profiles mentioned here as possible, but for God's sake, get someone who can win at the top of the ticket and someone who flies the flag of the new order on board as Veep.
And maybe Joe can draw out the poison that infected so many misguided folks in 2016 who voted for someone described aptly in that last chapter of that book so many of Trumps supporters seem to think has all the answers...
7
Sorry but Joe is too old and the debates will prove it.
6
@NJ Keith Let's hope. Because only Democratic party "outsiders" win the Presidency, not party stalwarts.
"...thrice-married former reality TV star turned accused sexual assailant and verified compulsive tweeter."
And what is all that behavior? A high degree of pathology (lying, denials, impulsivity, anger, fear) and criminality as of a result.
You're correct in your analysis. I'm a life long older Democrat, but I will not vote for mediocrity (Biden), definitely not vote for Republicans, nor put up with a capitalist system that is strangling workers and will ultimately kill the planet and all its species.
5
@Sara
If you do not vote and Trump wins a 2nd term, you have, in fact, voted for the capitalist system you so correctly condemn.
4
I'm wondering why anyone thinks that I'm looking for a candidate who "looks like me" ? Problem is that no candidate looks like all democrats, this criteria is just silly.
7
Biden is "an older white man tightly associated with sexual harassment and racism" ? As opposed to the White House's current occupant?
This column is one more example of why Trump will win in 2020. In the interests of political purity, Ms. Filipovic trashes the person who is leading in the polls, including among both women and people of color. The result is to weaken the candidate who has the best chance of winning and to give comfort to the opposition.
6
Biden equals Hillary in an Armani Suit. 2016 Showed that Americans were ready for a DRASTIC turn away from the dinosaurs of the past, as well as their policies. Eight years of Obama/Biden had most Americans hoping that they had enough change left in their pockets to survive. America had quickly turned into a most unfriendly place to do business.Most workers did not see a pay raise for almost a decade. America's growth rates were the most pitiful in half a century. Our foreign policy turned from leading the world to leading from behind, and our Military was greatly diminished. Yale recently told us that there are almost 20M residents living here, who should not be here, thanks to decades of neglect by our Congress .
Biden and his cronies running for president NEVER spoke up about any of those major issues, or offered solutions that would actually solve the problems. On business, all they offered was more restrictions and the highest tax rates in the world. On foreign policy, they chose to bow to the world. On Immigration, their "solution" was to grant amnesty to those who broke our laws and hide in the shadows, robbing American citizen's pocket books through the cost of social programs they told us would never be accessible. They lied.
They claim that Trump wants to take us backwards, when in fact it is the Democrats who seek to do EXACTLY what they say Trump wants to do. Biden has publicly made that exact claim, but be careful what you wish for, as you just might get it.
4
WE NEED JOE!
I'm one of many women of color who are strongly in the Biden camp--to stay. And to all you progressives who feel we must be too ignorant or stuck on "name recognition" to choose the" right" candidate that speaks to our needs--such an insult couldn't be more telling of your own racism. If you actually believe that by now we are not acquainted with the majority of these candidates in the age of Donald Trump--you couldn't be more out of touch.
Perhaps if you are white and not too bothered by the whole White Nationalism trend--I guess you would chalk his candidacy up to "another old white guy". In addition to his centrist platform and legacy of accomplishments bringing this country back from the edge of extinction--he came out the gate and kicked Trump in the teeth. Every other candidate (except Liz) has been twiddling their thumbs. We saw his disgust of this trend was visceral, and as mothers of children of color--this is an issue that just happens to be of utmost importance to us.
As a side note-- If I hadn't seen this with my own eyes-- the treatment he's received I would never have believed it--because I never believed the whole reverse racism/sexism thing Republicans whine about existed. Yet here it actually is being perpetrated by those who are supposed to be in MY party. Let me just say racism, sexism and now ageism, in any form to any is simply repulsive. We the oppressed do not seek to become the oppressors.
8
As Jill Biden said: “it’s time to move on.” My ranked choice ballot — if the Democratic Party would introduce it — would be 1) Inslee and 2) Warren. We can’t wait four more years to seriously address climate change and Inslee has two terms trying to enact his platform as a governor. Both have described in detail what they would try to accomplish if elected. Both are progressive capitalists as defined by Stieglitz.
10
Thanks for the Feminist run down (complete with the most unflattering photo Biden you could find).
"Electability" means that you are estimated to stand a strong chance of ACTUALLY getting elected. This is very important! I keep hearing and reading statements from pundits who are biased against (or, as in this case, contemptuous of) the political center (beer instead of chardonnay) and they always leave that part out. Actually getting elected."We organize! We articulate the issues! We communicate! We mobilize! We activate! We vote! We legislate!"
2
Centrism and defeatism are not what the Democratic voters under 45 want. 70% of Democrats favor impeachment. The weak Democratic “leaders”are deaf to the FDR Democrats, the real Democrats.
Biden will implode. The sooner the better.
4
@Oldmadding
Well then they'd better clarify what they do want under four more years of increasingly corrupt and authoritarian rule.
1
@Oldmadding
hmmmmmmm...and here I thought I'd been a 'real Democrat these past 25 years.
1
Ms. Filipovic's argument leaves out the single most important fact: The Electoral College.
Swing voters in Michigan, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and a couple other key states will determine the election in 2020 just like they did in 2016.
These swing voters skew much more white and moderate than the democratic party on the whole. It is a stunning omission that essentially negates her whole argument.
6
Yet, Obama won those states — an inexperienced, biracial, moderate.
Clinton, who Biden resembles in far too many ways, lost 3 key battleground states and came close to losing others.
Sorry, but the argument for Biden's electability is much like that for Hillary — exaggerated, overblown, hyped up, and will prove counterproductive. Nominate Biden and he'll such the energy out of the room!
Wait a minute! I thought we're #MeToo on Biden and not allowed to vote for him?
With 23 candidates in the pool- Will some liberal please tell me who I can and can't vote for! My goodness this is getting too complicated for me!
Also, "Anyone but Trump" is not an answer!
The electability argument is bogus, because it really doesn't matter much whom the Democrats nominate. Trump is such a polarizing candidate that the election will be just between Trump and not-Trump. I expect most Republicans would agree.
3
I am not a blue collar worker. I am a female moderate Democrat. I see Biden as a man who can help us keep the democracy we have seen slipping away for the last four years. It's not because of name recognition that I prefer him. Sanders, Harris, and Warren all have name recognition. Buttigieg doesn't have universal name recognition and is a very appealing candidate but I have considered them all and still come back to Biden. His minuses have been greatly exaggerated. He is not a sexual harasser nor a racist. Has he stumbled in the past? Yes, but he is someone who listens, can recognize his faults, and change direction. Trump does none of those things. Can he beat Trump? Maybe he can, if he doesn't get pulled to far left.
12
What a biased, awful article. Does the writer mention anywhere that it's the electorate in a hand full of swing states that will determine the outcome of the election? I'm not sure which candidate would be most likely to win in those states but that is almost all that matters. She also makes up some nonsense about authenticity saying " authenticity itself is coded as white and male when it’s defined by white men." No...authenticity is acting like oneself rather than faking a persona. It's cool to be cool (Obama) and it's hip to be square ( George W) but acting like someone you aren't like Warren's ads showing her drinking a can of beer in her kitchen is a turn off and that's coming from someone who donated to her previously.
9
Biden: "I have the most progressive record for anybody running."
He opposed school busing for desegregation in the 1970s.
He voted for a measure aimed at outlawing gay marriage in the 1990s.
He was an ally of the banking and credit card industries.
He chaired the Clarence Thomas hearings that gave short shrift to the sexual harassment allegations raised by Anita Hill.
He backed crime legislation that helped fuel an explosion in prison populations.
He eulogized Sen. Strom Thurmon (R), who rose to prominence as a segregationist.
He backed the Iraq war.
5
Yes, Jill. Yes, we do. We could certainly do worse, and I have faith Mr. Biden will build a cabinet of smart, experienced members and right the ship. To the progressives, I say "Let a moderate be your Trojan Horse." Trump fears Biden, because he's everything he's not: vital, genuine, kind. I'd love to see Trump spin himself into a Twitter breakdown trying to counter Biden's appeal. Go, Joe, go!
5
Perhaps the author should glance at the Electoral College map?
It's all about PA, MI and WI. Biden is the Democratic candidate most likely to win in all three states, where the "middle ground" is paramount.
7
Been there. We need change, Big Time !
2
@Getreal
Not sure which 'there' you've been, Getreal. But here's where I've been: watching a dangerous president and his fellow gangsters doing their best to dismantle this imperfect but vital democracy. The most urgent change needed is to take the WH and Senate away from them. Anything else is counter-revolutionary.
4
When, not if, Biden runs for president, he will not have the support of people under the age of 30.
It won't matter, because they don't vote anyway. It's too much trouble and less self-satisfying than posting an angry rant on social media.
3
If this guy is so liberal and progressive, why did he attack Anita Hill -- the first woman of the "me too" movement -- and give us arch conservative Clarence Thomas on the Supreme Court? The women of our party will never agree with that. He was also part of the cabal that pushed that war on us in 2003, with their bogus allegations of "weapons of mass destruction," which everyone knew was a lie, real time. Did we hear him complaining about the $49 billion that went to Halliburton on no-bid contracts? Has he stood up for his Pennsylvania citizens, as their jobs and industrial capacity were shipped overseas? No. He doesn't see the big picture. He only sees the lobbying check on his desk. Vote no, on unelectable Joe.
5
here is one college educated white male who is not voting for jb
i'd rather see trump in there for two more years w/ a gop senate as the economy turns sour
i can see a dem winning and again nothing gets passed b/c of the senate
let them have it all - a dem wave in 2020 and wh win in 2022 might be a generational change we need
a jb loss might be what finally puts an end to the DNC dems
i will not vote for jb
2
This article is frankly insulting. Joe Biden is a solid progressive. He is simply pragmatic. Whereas the more left-wing Democratic candidates are making all kinds of promises that they can never deliver, he is proposing, for example, the public buy an option to Medicare which might actually get to the Senate. Also, if you recall, he was the one who convinced Obama to approve of same-sex marriage. You have a completely wrong opinion of him.
8
A Biden/[fill in the blank with a woman's name] ticket reinforces his terrible record with women and the party's constant reliance on the old guard. It is not change, will not excite young people, and puts us one embarrassing screwup on a debate stage away from 4 more years of Trump. There's one solution, and I hope he emerges big time once the debates start: #mayorpete
Call me ageist but I’m not voting for Biden or Bernie in the primary. The age range of LBJ, Nixon, Carter, Bushs 41 & 43, Clinton, and Obama is what I’m voting for.
2
Joe Biden represents the majority, the mighty middle. The revulsion for the current Chief Executive is growing, who will be there to defend us? Every day he inches us toward war and shreds bits and pieces from our Constitution presaging the likely outcome of his re-election. Biden is just what we need, the good grandfather, with a steady but firm hand on the tillar. A man of honesty and courage and clear thought. He will be the champion of all with malice toward none. A man that will be cheered world-wide for stopping our mad rush toward extremism. Those are the stakes in 2020. We can't fail. Go Joe, so say all of us.
1
Jill, anyone who runs against Trump is electable.
4
What you are really saying is that you prefer other candidates. That’s your privilege. Vote for the candidate of your choice. But please don’t tell us we must vote for your candidate for your reasons.
1
Yes, I do, actually.
5
Democrats' credibilty in understanding American voters and "electability" was destroyed in 2016. Ms. Filipovic's shallow analysis proves they're still incapable of giving it any serious thought.
1
What a sad opinion piece. To claim that Joe Biden is "tightly associated with sexual harassment and racism" is quite despicable. Whether you agree or disagree with Biden's policies is one thing, but when an opinion writer makes these kinds of comments it shows an inability to analyze and come to sensible conclusions. I might even suggest that Ms Filipovic is a "sexist and hater of men and opposed to the democratic process". But I won't say that because it would be at the same level of analysis as this opinion piece.
4
Let's nominate Hillary again so a statement can be made about not letting the pale patriarchy dictate who should be the nominee - that worked well in 2016
I think joe will do a good job.
4
Nope. Not at all. He’s so establishment he doesn’t even know what the establishment is anymore. He’d just continue another 4+ years of inequality and exacerbating this climate hellscape.
2
In an earlier column, "The Men Feminists Left Behind," (November 5, 2016), Jill Filipovic urged "white men who feel ignored, disrespected and lost" to "take a cue from the great feminist strides women have made and start to embrace that progress." That was three days before the 2016 presidential election. Perhaps Ms. Filipovic's skills as a reader of tea leaves will prove more reliable this time around, but her tone is as condescending as ever, and her present column strikes me as a peculiar amalgam of demographic analysis and wishful thinking.
3
It is clear that much of our ruling class wants Biden. He would be the most right wing Democrat ever.
Attack the Left, Appease the Right!
1
J. Filipovic: "a white male Democrat has not won a majority of American voters since at least the 1970s"
Wikipedia on the 2000 vote: Gore 50,999,897, Bush 50,456,002
9
Biden's a great guy, but he lost me when claimed the Republicans in the Senate would essentially play nice with him if he were elected. Their major legislative agenda will be to ensure he is a one-term president and can get nothing done. Hilary lost the election by being the smug shoo-in next president of the united states, by exciting few of us and completely ignoring the rust belt states, assuming they would give her their electoral votes anyway.
We need someone exciting, exciting enough to flip enough Senate seats to make the election matter.
1
I like Biden and don’t think he’d sit there “without posing any threat of changing much.” He’s actually quite bright and liberal minded. His age is the only major problem with his candidacy. The job is too much for someone who would turn 80 in office, by my lights. I’m looking at the other end of the spectrum: Pete Buttigieg. That fellow is impressive.
2
For Democrats and all other anti-Trumpsters, this election presents two competing narratives.
On one hand, people want to vote for the policies that they believe it. The Warren/Sanders wing represent a point of view that excites many but leaves others skeptical. Harris will appeal to those who want a woman but don't want anything as radical. There's a whole field of middle-of-the-road men to select from as well, and there's a long primary season to winnow it all down to two winners.
On the other hand, there's Trump. We need to get rid of him at any (legal) cost.
Whichever Democrat gets nominated, we should all pledge to support them. We can't let the left/center divide split the Democratic vote and give Trump another term.
4
With all due respect, my American cousins and friends seem to be as afraid of the future as they are frightened by the past. Why else the big push for a guy who was vice president of the most disappointing president in political history?
Having been pushed quite far to the right wing, the US needs to move back somewhat to the left. Joe Biden's big white smile, reassuring as it might be, cannot move the US to the left. Only Bernie Sanders has the experience, the policies, the will, and the ability to make the progressive leftward changes Obama and Biden failed to make from 2009-2016.
2
@Lawrence Chanin
Obama: “...the most disappointing president in political history”?
Seriously?
The polls disagree.
3
Seriously???? Does anyone think that another four years of Trump would be better than Biden???? Stop the hit job on Biden - please? NYT and many other media outlets ignored Trumps history and focused on why Hillary was bad - let's focus on why anyone other than Trump is better. OK?
20
@Kathy
Unfortunately, yes, many people think another four years of Trump would be better than Biden. That’s why we Democrats have to make sure every single one of us votes, unlike last time.
4
Joe Biden 2020 = John Kerry 2004 = Walter Mondale 1984
7
I can't wait for any of these dems to run against Trump. Joe has already said "china is not competion" for USA. THAT DEMONSTRATES A tOTAL LACK Of UNDERSTANDING about an economy so crucial to the well being of the USA . That may mean nothing to you but I think a lot of people do care. The whole group of dem potential nominees don't care about economics, national security, or employment of people in the USA. They do care about open borders, green new deals , and anyone who does not care to work . Good luck running on that platform.
4
I DO!!
5
We Want Warren in the White House!
6
If what we see as the major challenge facing America and world, we want candidates who will be living in 30 or 40 years to see whether or not we succeeded in combating climate change. That will require a leader who values science and technology, a person who can attract the best people, and will cooperate with other advanced economies seeking solutions and will assist those living in developing and non-industrialized countries.
The only way to succeed will be to quickly reverse income inequality with major wealth claw backs to invest heavily in non-fossil fuel transportation and infrastructure, water diversion (to places needed--not drainage to the sea) and dike systems to protect our farm lands and port cities from flooding. And find partners to do the same in their countries. This is a do or die situation.
This is no joke. We need someone who truly has skin in the game.
5
Biden is the classic " old white guy " that millions of Democrats
blame for all the problems we may have in the USA.
Why then would he even be a consideration?
9
As a 65 year old white Midwestern male I believe the Democratic Party needs to embrace the younger electorate. A young President would be a fresh start. Someone unburdened by ties to big money, and an enlightened awareness of the problems this country is facing. In addition, a younger President can begin to create a legacy of equality, prosperity, and freedom. We need a real leader, with a real sense of humanity.
8
Great column. Most pundits and most people have not caught up to the world that exists today. We will be surprised again in 2020.
1
I have read in the left-wing blogosphere that the polls showing Biden ahead have been deliberately skewed without having been falsified; for example, one poll didn't question anyone under 45 years of age. I'd like to believe it, because I, as a sixty-six year-old white male liberal Democrat, can't think of a single Democratic candidate I'd like less to vote for than Joe Biden.
I also don't think he'd beat Trump, regardless of polling,
6
First, it is about getting rid of Trump and as Pelosi said if we fly off into "progressive" directions we may not succeed. Trump is unlikely to leave office unless he is resoundly defeated. We already know that Biden will take PA, OH, FL, MI away from Trump and in the general elections everything else will remain the same. Its not like NY and CA will decide not to vote otherwise.
It is imperative to get rid of Trump no matter what and unless you can get the rust belt to vote for a Democratic nominee his or her ideas will not matter a whit.
6
Joe Biden is clearly the best candidate that the Democratic Party can nominate to both beat Trump, restore American leadership globally and to begin to heal some of our most extreme divisions domestically. In those respects, his age and experience are clear pluses. And he is also in the best position to take back Pennsylvania and most of the Midwest (including Ohio). If Harris was added to the ticket most of the South would be in play and we could be in landslide territory. The problem with this column is that it is clearly designed to foster an agenda that is not only inconsistent with the reality of the present situation but in my opinion is out of touch with the mood of a very large plurality of registered Democrats.
7
A voice from Wisconsin (once an Illinois Obamian). Joe Biden is the balm that everyone yearns to feel. He will win Wisconsin, and that may actually be all that matters.
1014
@DekalbDem - From Milwaukee, I agree
24
@DekalbDem And Pennsylvania.
Biden leads Trump 53-42 among Pennsylvania voters in Quinnipiac poll
https://www.delawareonline.com/story/news/2019/05/15/biden-leads-trump-53-42-among-pennsylvania-voters-quinnipiac-poll/3681564002/
27
@DekalbDem
He ran for President twice before and wasn't even competitive in the primaries.
He's popular now but when Trump goes after all of his past -- as he did with Clinton -- he won't look so good.
Please, NO
57
Anyone? Another yes here. Biden also understands the idea of an empowered VP. A Biden/Warren or Biden/Harris ticket is an exciting path to renewal for America.
981
@OF...or, how about we flip it. Warren/Biden or Harris/Biden. He would be there to give council and guidance. I'd vote for that.
58
@OF,
I absolutely agree with you. I would love to see the two tickets you suggest, or perhaps Biden/Klobuchar. It would be great to see such a ticket announced soon, although it flies in the face of custom. It would be unbeatable!
18
@OF
Biden/Warren. All the way.
A huge sigh of relief with Biden at the helm and a step towards a future Warren presidency.
Win win for America.
42
The answer is yes. At this moment, only he can be fairly certain of winning. Unless that changes, it's got to be Joe. Winning is the only thing.
1196
@Komagaku
We already have a lousy president; should we replace him with a similar model, just a tad less lousy?
52
@Komagaku
"The answer is yes. At this moment, only she can be fairly certain of winning. Unless that changes, it's got to be Hillary. Winning is the only thing."
2016 edition of the same bias. Learn from the past. Electability does not mean what you think it does.
58
@EWM Fair enough, but I thought Joe was more electable than Hillary in 2016. We just didn't get a chance to find out. Name another candidate among the twenty-odd running now about whom my original statement can be made at this stage. If that changes in the coming year, I'll be the first to welcome it.
21
Does Anyone Actually Want Joe Biden to Be President? --
I KNOW I do not.
Game over, Joe.
2
I'm amazed.
Biden can speak hard, but his brain is soft. Plus he and his "trustable" son do not comply with not having suspicious connections with foreign governments.
Warren falsified documents.
If those persons comply with your ethics minimums, go ahead.
But then if you are comfortable with that, choose Eric Holder, who did not criminally prosecute HSBC managers who gave services and advised on avoiding taxes to mexican drug cartels (See Netflix "Dirty Money" or Google it). A guy who's able to do that would be a very good President.
Like Hillary.
Senator Elizabeth Warren is my choice. I want Donald Trump to be beaten by a woman for the second time.
4
@Vera Orthlieb - Unless you can convince a few million of the 25 million women that voted for Trump in 2016 to vote for a woman you can plan on losing again. And if you don't win back the Senate you can count on 4 more years of anti-abortion hacks being nominated to the Supreme Court.
Why is it that women won't vote for a woman? I've never heard a man say, "I won't vote for him because he is a man." Simple as that.
2
So- White voters, particularly white male voters are largely irrelevant and policy doesn't really matter.
Got it.
4
The answer to your question, Jill, is yes. A lot of people think the most important issue is sending Donald Trump to the ash heap of history, and even many Republicans think that the strongest candidate against the Doofus-in-Chief is Biden. That may change, but don't be so arrogant as to think your views are the most widely shared by a modestly educated, modestly informed American electorate.
7
Answer: Yes. Tomorrow, if possible.
5
This column is a case study in why he Democratic Party will lose again.
(1) focus on identity politics
(2) dismissive of middle American voters
(3) laser like focus on issues that appeal to voters in New York and California
(4) condescending - white men without a college degree drinking beer.
9
@Dan M - Exactly. I can't understand why Democrats can't focus on "Tax Cuts for the Rich" that are designed to destroy Social Security and Medicare.
Maybe focus on strengthening Obama Care or access to quality education for all Americans regardless of income. Maybe figure out how to fix the NYC subway and transportation systems and infrastructure in this country.
4
I'm from Pennsylvania where polls indicate Biden tops Trump by double digits. And you're telling us no one actually wants Biden to be president?! Sounds like you're putting belief over facts which is what's gotten our country into this mess in the first place. A friend of mine recently told me she worries that none of the democratic candidates have the IT factor. As far as I'm concerned, if a billy goat could beat Trump by double digits I'd vote for it. Democrats! Don't let the perfect become the enemy of the good!
9
Whats the point of writing an opinion piece with this headline?
I would suggest pitching a candidate one likes rather than putting down another. But thats just my opinion of course.
Best
Simon
6
Gaffe-prone and hopelessly out-of-touch Joe Biden needs to quickly be put on the spot in terms of policy and agenda—
And not just be allowed to schmooze around with a squinty-eyed smile.
3
“Does anybody actually want Joe Biden as President?”
Clearly Jana Flipovic does not. Now if she could only come to the conclusion that she is not everybody.
8
Biden/Harris...my vote all the way!
5
Interesting how this column leaves out the fact that HC managed to lose white women in 2016. But that intractable little fact would have been inconvenient with this authors obvious anti white male bias. Joe Biden right now is clearly the strongest candidate in the field and while he is far from perfect he is light years ahead of the current occupant of the oval office. I know that this fact is crushing to many feminists who can't see past their own agenda of having a woman nominee but facts are stubborn things. Right now a Biden - Harris ticket appears to the best shot back to sanity.
6
How about if Biden comes out and states that he will be a one term president, while also announcing someone like Kamala Harris or Amy Kobluchar as his running mate?
3
Yes. Plenty of people want Joe Biden to be president. You must be joking when you write that the notion of his electability is just pure here say. Observe the massive right-wing mis- and disinformation machine. With the help of a big Russian assist, it convinced half of the American people that Hillary Clinton had murdered US troops in Benghazi and that Donald Trump was the second coming of Christ. Go ahead and feed this machine your Mayor Pete or any of the other dozens of candidates. The machine will toss them for months, spin lies, spew smears and the candidate will be finished in the eyes of the Fox crowd and, more importantly, the group of spineless Republicans who know better. We need that spineless crowd to vote for Biden. It's not a stretch.
3
"He is from one of those scrappy Rust Belt cities fetishized by so many pundits — people who believe that the imaginary working-class white voter who is going to deliver the White House to the Democrats..." Considering that the popular vote won't matter, I think it is the working class white voter (WI, MI, PA) who will deliver the White House.
6
You don't get it and haven't made a convincing case "for" anyone, just against Joe Biden And for the record he was never accused of sexual harassment. Your thinking is what got us to this emergency in the first place.
5
While the author of the article probably didn’t write the headline, I would respond to her with another question. Would she rather have Joe Biden as president now rather than Donald Trump?
1
This op ed is wrong that Biden is strongly associated with sexual harassment and racism and should apologize for making this sweeping and pernicious statement.
4
You make many good points.
Yep. I'm all in for Biden. None of the candidates even come close to his stature ... as a statesman, patriot, hard-working senator, family man, US ambassador, and, yes, fun guy. (Okay, he kinda blew the Thomas committee, but I don't for a minute think he demeans women -- quite the opposite! So he touched your shoulder, seriously?) Most of all, he is a genuine human being and perfect for the job.
3
C’mon, give the elderly demographic someone to vote for!
1
Jill says "a white male Democrat has not won a majority of American voters since at least the 1970s..."
Bill Clinton won a solid majority in 1996.
Al Gore won a wafer thin majority of the votes cast in 2000.
2
@Patrick Kirk
Jill Filipovic is correct. Both times, Clinton won with less than a majority of American voters, the first time probably thanks to Ross Perot who took 18.9% of the popular vote. Gore lost the Electoral College with a narrow plurality, not a majority, of the popular vote.
The larger point is that only charismatic Democratic "outsiders" -- Carter, Clinton, Obama -- have won the Presidency, not lackluster party stalwarts -- Mondale, Dukakis, Gore, Kerry, Hillary Clinton. Biden's "electability" is the all too usual illusion of the Democratic party afraid of its own shadow.
The mule is the apt totem of the Democratic party, stubbornly incapable of learning from its own history. Though I'm sure real mules are smarter than that.
1
YES!!! Why in God's name would you even suggest otherwise? We NEED this man. He's he only person in the pack who has the experience and moral compass to steer our country back on the right track.
5
@JD Many candidates have good moral compasses but lack the breadth of experience to be President. I think Joe Biden has both qualities.
4
I'm a white senior and a Democrat- albeit one with a college degree (sorry; I'll try to do better in my next life)- and I'm an unabashed Biden supporter. Perhaps Ms. Filipovic wasn't around during the period in which he served this nation with distinction as our last popularly elected president's second-in-command. Perhaps she's ignored the fact that progressives are supposed to evolve and to become more, um, progressive as time goes by and conditions change (heck, I once appeared in blackface at an office Xmas party and couldn't wrap my head around the concept of same-sex marriage). Biden's problems with "sexual harassment and racism," such as they were, are over and done with. He IS, without question, the most electable of Democrats- most especially in the Rust Belt states where the next election is going to be won or lost. Plus, any perceived deficiencies he still carries with him can, and most likely will, be compensated by his own choice of VP.
Biden/Harris 2020
comment submitted 5/18 at 1:17 AM
9
Electability is nonsense. Bill Clinton only won because of Ross Perot dividing the Republican vote, not because Clinton was so "electable." John Kerry was "electable" and he lost. Hillary Clinton was super "electable" and she lost. Barack Hussein Obama was unelectable on the basis of his name alone and he won. If Democrats want to lose in 2020, they should go with the "electable" candidate.
4
so biden is tightly associated with racism and sexual harassment,individuals like this author, are determined to lose in 2020, i'm sure of one thing you and yours won't prevail in 2020, but joe biden hopefully will
1
Not enough people want Biden.
1
Biden has no intention of winning the nomintion. Nor do the other democrats. The choice is up to the DNC. Ask yourself why the field so crowded this time, when last time democrats gave us an attempted coronation.
For the answer, look to the new DNC rules.
The whole undemocratic SuperDelegate fiasco burned the democrats in 2016 and created an oceanic demexit movement out of the fold.
So the DNC changed the system in hopes of luring those people back.
Now, the SuperDelegates only vote if no candidate gets over 50% of the vote. Got it?
This crowded field guarantees that result.
It is well within the realm of possibility that all of these candidates are jockeying for post-election position, hoping that the favor they are doing now for the establishment - by giving the SuperDelegates cover - will later pay off for them personally.
It is not an election. It is a charade.
https://emcphd.wordpress.com
2
Yes, I would like Joe Biden to be president. Thanks for asking.
4
I actually like Joe Biden. A friend of mine's daughter had her picture taken with "Uncle Joe" a year ago. She likes him, too.
2
This perpetual reading of the white working-class tea leaves (or beer hops?)
Snarky, racist, sexist and classist. Remember that the millennials are into their craft beers dear (yes, that was thrown in for effect). You’re not winning friends which IS how you get elected.
1
I want absolutely anyone who will stand up to the shameless corruption that Trump and the quisling republican party represent. Full stop.
4
Well maybe the non-white male demographic groups will win with the Columbo advantage ~ being underestimated ~ because they sure aren’t getting media affirmation.
This piece is spot-on. “Electability” is code for “I’ll vote for someone who racists and sexists will vote for” — it’s pandering to the lowest common denominator.
Why not back the candidates that really inspire *you* — not the ones who you think other people will, in their ignorance, support?
I also wish people would focus on issues and policy ideas more, not electability. Just because someone is “electable” doesn’t mean that they’ll implement the changes people want. If we focus on ideas and policy more, we can get behind not just a person for Election Day but a whole agenda for four years.
1
This particular dem has zero interest in Biden. He’s out of touch, he quits, we need generational change.
Warren / Buttigieg is my ticket.
2
Who wants Joe to be president. I do.
4
"Does Anyone Actually Want Joe Biden to Be President?"
Not me.
3
I certainly do.
4
" No force has been greater louder or hungrier than women"
52% of white women voted for Donald Trump, over Hillary Clinton. A fact known to the author but that so disturbs her that she refuses to address it.
4
YESSS! We want Joe. Tens of millions of us want Joe.
2
Biden can win, but its also about his VP. Can a Biden ticket, and then Administration pave the way for his VP to win the next election...?
This is about winning in 2020 and 2024!
Democrats, and/or Independents have to quit their quest for love and inspiration. Just stop it! You don't need to fall in love with the candidate. You just have to vote for her/him!
This is about beating Trump. Period! Its not about You! Its about Us...all of us. And more about the Republic!
Repubs vote for the candidate, and against the opposition. They don't get all heart-sore and run off to vote for the 3rd party candidate as some form of a jilted lover revenge pact! (I'm talking to you Bernie cult members!)
I wasn't a huge fan of HRC (her resume was outstanding) but I voted for her, because I've been in a deep state of extreme dislike of Trump for decades now! I find Sanders distasteful, a bit loony, and not the least bit inspiring, but I would have voted for him - to vote against Trump!
Dem voters have to learn to vote like Repub voters. Which is simple. Vote for the Dem candidate!
Stop seeking love and inspiration and 100% agreement with the entirety of the candidates positions.
I'll vote for a Llama with mange if that's the party nominee! I'd take a parrot that only knows how to curse in Farsi!
(Local and state; its a straight Dem vote from here on out - unless the GOP candidate completely denounces Trump!)
I'm not seeking love and inspiration - just a Trump beater!
3
What does Jill want? Joe Biden, not to take part in Dem Primary? Did she not learn anything from 2016 primary?
What a misguided thought this article represents!
4
Not me. Biden is an old tongue tied Democrat retread. if this is the best Democrats can come up with, Trump will win in a landslide. 24 candidates, 24 losers.
2
I'd be just fine with Joe and Kamala as his Attorney General.
Please Bernie, go away and take Liz Warren with you. Neither of you could get your voters to vote for the Dem on the ballot last time.
I don't care if it's the man or woman from the moon..as long as there is a D after their name.
Anyone but a republican.
1
To beat Trump you must be a decent human being. Combine competence and prior government experience.Come on down Joe Biden.
4
In answer to the question posed by the headline: an emphatic “No!”. Biden has nothing new to say. We don’t need another old, white man with a platform consisting of little more than catch phrases and slogans. We certainly don’t need another old codger with little, wandering hands. Why does this goofy, grabby man have the foothold he does? If he were female he’d be laughed out of the arena.
1
Was the tea leaves/beer hops crack as asinine as I think it was?
A good beer, preferably one with more hops in my case, can be enjoyed across the political spectrum. These shallow stereotypes only widen the divides.
4
Welcome to 2016, Part 2, where the perfect is the enemy of the good.
3
That would be a big yes!
2
The electoral college is the key and it changess everything. Al gove would have been president but for it. So would Hillary. We need a surgical approach to this election so we don't lose. I know tha tis a bad tactic but NOTLOSINGis the key.
2
How about we wait a few months to decide? And once we go, get our butts to the polls.
1
My first priority is to beat Trump. And, yes, current polling shows Biden strongest in the general election. But:
Mr. Biden has not yet faced the Republican/Russian smear machine. The smears will not appear to come from the right. They will focus on Anita Hill, Mr. Biden's coziness with the financial powers that be, his terrible judgment in speaking in support of Republican candidates. They will be credible. And, if effective, they will depress Democratic turnout. This, in turn, will cost the party downballot in a big way. Remember, to actually change this country's direction, we need to win a lot of downballot races, not just the Presidency.
Second, beating Mr. Trump is not my only priority. I also want a President who will solve the Trump problem in the long run as well. If Mr. Biden makes nice with Congressional Republicans, will they make nice back? I seriously doubt it. We need someone who can effect a realignment of American politics to change the conversation completely. Mr. Biden is not that candidate.
Finally, I want someone who will be a great President. Much as I am fond of Joe, he's not that guy. Nothing he's done in his many decades of public service indicates that he is capable of stepping up to the challenge. Yes, Obama was untested. But at least he hadn't flunked the test repeatedly. Biden is "Get-Along Joe." That's what he'll do: he'll go along to get along. And in the next election, all the excitement will come from the right.
1
This piece is spot on. And if Biden or Bernie wins the nomination, I'll eat my hat.
Nostalgia. It’s the yearning for an earlier time - Mayberry, two parents, Cronkite, Route 66. DJT tapped into it with MAGA and ‘law and order’. It was a phony vision for gullibles (mistakenly labeled deplorables by HRC). Biden offers a more realistic nostalgia - a functioning government, agencies and cabinet managed by competent professionals, strong NATO, speaking truth... in other words restoration of character in our leadership. His own grueling life and political experience prohibits him from expressing a phony vision.
1
What exactly made Ms Jill Filipovic the arbiter of who should or should not be nominated? Every Democrat running is far superior to Donald Trump. That includes Joe Biden who is knowledgeable, competent, and compassionate. I do not see why this writer feels the need to disparage Mr. Biden, white working class, and men all in one essay. The people with whom I speak (and they all vote), the number one criteria for their vote is ability to to defeat Donald Trump.
6
Radical change in either direction only results in a reversal of fate in the next election cycle, ultimately stifling any change whatsoever and dividing the nation as well. Biden may not be the best candidate from the perspective of many Democrats. but there are many who do not count themselves among either party after the debacle of 2016, where both parties gave the finger to centrists and the basic expectations of integrity which civilized society demands. What many of us are looking for is a magnanimous victor who will honor all Americans rather than favor one extreme or the other. If that person is not on the ballot, then what difference will it make whether we are divided to the left or to the right? It becomes a contest between left-wingers and right-wingers, the only certain outcome being that one side or the other will complain about apathy when they fail to attract a the larger part of the population.
1
I'm surprised few people are concerned about Biden's age. If he wins office, he will be 78 years old when he's inaugurated. Many other candidates in the field have a lot of experience in politics, a stellar resume, and great ideas. It would be nice to have someone young and vibrant.
1
The main reason that there are so far only 23 candidates for the Democratic nomination for President in 2020 is that the only popular program of the Party is to replace Donald Trump. Therefore, any candidate can have any views, including views not shared by the majority of the country. This article confirms that. The entire premise of the article is the physical nature of the candidate. White, Black, male, female, any color, any gender definition. So, what they advocate is not even mentioned. It is also not relevant. That is also the premise of the present House of Representatives. In its first 100 days in office, it has opposed Trump. Opposed Trump. Opposed Trump. There is no other policy. It, and these candidates, have not passed a bill to accept DACA people as citizens, nor offered comprehensive immigration legislation, nor any such. They oppose Trump. So, the party is likely going to nominate Biden as President and one of the women of color in the race already as Vice President and "acting President" because Biden has already shown his incompetence. He is a cardboard character, given to incoherence in statements and reversing himself as often as Trump. All that is irrelevant. The new Vice President will be his successor. Chosen because of identity, not politics or policies.
1
@Francis Walsingham I think your analysis of the Democratic House is quite off the mark. They have passed many bills which have been tied up by McConnell in the Senate. If you do a little research you will discover that fact.
3
Biden is just ok. I think people have forgotten his propensity for gaffes and Trump will have a field day with that. I’m looking for a candidate who will not fall prey to Trump’s provocations (sorry Ms. Warren, would love you as VP though), who is experienced (sorry Mayor Pete), who doesn’t give up on their state after one attempt at a Senate run (looking at you Beto), who has a good grasp of ideas on a variety of issues both domestic and foreign (scratch Bernie, kudos to Elizabeth Warren). At this point, the only candidate that fits the bill for me is Kamala Harris. It was a pleasure to watch her take on Barr and Kavanaugh during the Senate hearings and ask hard questions without the grandstanding that others brought to the table. She has years of experience at the state and federal level and I believe she won’t fall prey to Trump’s trickery. She’s also starting to put together some solid ideas for her platform. A Harris/Warren ticket would be an excellent combination. Since I’m an expat Coloradan I’ll give a plug to John Hickenlooper but I think he missed his chance when he declined to run in 2016.
3
Educated white women have been a mainstay of the Republican majority since 1920. They are George Bush's soccer moms and Sarah Palin's mother bears. The fact that women swung Democratic in 2018 is proof that they are an unreliable bloc. Women in swing states voted for a misogynistic, cartoonish demagogue in sufficient numbers to reject the first opportunity tolect one of their own. Reliance on 2018 voting patterns would be a serious error.
The Democratic Party needs to examine it's very structure and redefine itself. It will continue to be marginalized if it stays as a coalition of warring identity groups and esoteric idealists with a no unifying theme. Internecine warriors will not make it a majority party.
3
@John Hurley well said. Self-identifying as the party of minorities or women turns off many voters. As it should. I am an old white guy who has voted Dem my entire life and will continue to do so. But if I am offended by this trend I can imagine many men and women who are not as liberal must also be offended and not likely to vote Dem. The time is ripe for the Dems to abandon the politics of "groups".
4
@John Hurley
As a highly educated, older white woman, I fully agree. As someone else wrote, it is the "same tripe" all over again. The Democrats should adopt the adage of "United we stand. Divided we fall" if they want to be successful at winning in 2020.
When I hear that the backbone of the Democrat party is black women it makes me want to scream "NO IT ISN"T"! Have these people ever traveled west of the Mississippi? This is a big country of diverse people and backgrounds. Not all of the country was settled by white Europeans and black slaves. Much of the west was settled by Spanish, Mexicans, Asians and whites. Of course, native peoples were here first. Let's not forget them.
The Democrats should represent the liberal and progressive, social justice, science, education, a social democracy, health care, poverty, infant mortality, climate change, laws, environmental protection, national lands etc etc etc. These issues are gender and race neutral.
Instead the Democrats have broken themselves down into identity groups that don't have any understanding of the Democrat party as a whole in this country. When I hear pundits from DC say "The American people want x, y, or Z" it drives me bonkers. Too often they have absolutely no idea about the rest of America - including Alaska and Hawaii (and Puerto Rico..)
This column exemplified my frustrations with the exclusions and cliques of the Democrat party.
3
Sorry, beating Trump is the #1 goal. That may take some help from independent and Republican voters. Biden is best positioned to win them over, based on his record and his policies, which are more moderate than most of the other Democratic candidate. I say let's go with Joe and a woman VP and get Trump out of power. Joe might step down after one term due to his age, but it he wins, he will have done us all a great favor.
9
Electability = nominating a person that can win Wisconsin, Michigan, Ohio, and Pennsylvania.
Pretty much every other state is settled. (Sadly)
Republicans are good at holding their nose and voting for a candidate who will advance their issues. Democrats better learn how to do this or it’s 4 more years of Trump.
5
@K I would throw North Carolina and Florida into the mix. Only by massive voter suppression have the GOP been able to keep them in the red column.
1
Biden is a candidate for those still pining for the "good old days".... the same thing that got us Trump.
We will never go back to the 1950's.
Democrats need to run a fearless progressive, and there are a few in the mix, but Biden isn't one.
6
Who is? Can you tell us?
This article (intentionally, maybe?) leaves out the most important part of the equation and why Biden might be the right candidate:
The Electoral College.
Yeah, yeah, everyone here hates it and really wants to ban it with a Constitutional Amendment. But until that happens, a handful of people in a handful of states are going to make or break this election. Ignoring that fact will lead to another 4 years of Trump.
6
This highlights the reason we need to abolish the electoral college. We are now choosing a candidate who can win in a few purple states, instead of necessarily reflecting the actual votes of the majority. It’s beyond frustrating. As a poster from Kansas states, I too have only a symbolic blue vote in my red state in the presidential election. Time for a change!
5
@Daniette
Why is it that the electoral system needs change and reform when Democrats lose elections?
2
@surgical Because it underscores how much the GOP has gerrymandered the electoral constituancies in their favor, devaluing the popular vote, the majority.
2
@Surgical Reconstruction It needs to change because it does not reflect the will of the majority, no matter which party wins. Keep in mind that 2 of our last three presidents were not wanted by the majority. That is undemocratic.
1
Being preferable to Trump is a very low hurdle that Biden easily clears, as do all the rest of the Democratic candidates. Jill Filipovic is almost right that no one is enthused about Biden. But she omits the deep-pocket Democratic contributors who leaped to fund his campaign and who will fund it all the way, rather than grassroots low-dollar contributors. They are very enthused about electing a Democrat from Delaware, yes, Delaware, not "Rust Belt" Pennsylvania -- Delaware, where corporations go for shelter from taxes and accountability. The "normalcy" to which Biden promises a return is Democratic party business as usual, waving promises of greater "opportunity" at diverse constituencies without the greater results that might threaten contributors' bottom-line.
4
I worry that Democrats are so focussed on winning back the White House they are overlooking the yearning of the electorate for real, substantial change. I fear that getting rid of Trump will treat a symptom but will not cure the disease if it means a return to the 'status quo'.
4
Nobody I've met in my circles, including myself are interested in Joe running. In fact, most of us can't understand why he's running at all.. Didn't we learn *anything* from 2016? This county is sick and tired of establishment candidates..
Bernie, Warren, Tulsi, in that order.
7
Idealism is a wonderful quality but it will mean nothing if Trump wins a second term. Biden may not be some people's first pick but surely Trump must be their last.
As for the age issue, here in California our well-seasoned, non consecutive four-term, 81 year old governor Jerry Brown recently left office after doing incredible things for this great state.
10
Yes, I for one am backing Biden. Experience and the wisdom of his 76 years do count for me. Total lack of political and diplomatic experience (as well as his personality) define the Trump debacle. The 2 former traits define most of the current Democratic candidates.
Because of modern medicine, Americans are living longer. Seventy-six is what 66 used to be. Don't let agism put him down. He's tough enough, and experienced enough in Washington politics, to stand up to Trump and to repair the damage the current President has done on the world stage. His very familiarity seems to be one of his downsides to pundits-- but what do we REALLY know about the others?
Go Joe!
7
No, just no. I have watched and listened to Biden since 1980 when I turned 18. I do know Joe Biden, and he is just one more corporate politician. I'm a college educated, married women with children living in the South, and I want more from my government. Democrats, starting with Bill Clinton have become the party of moneyed centrist who are more like Republicans than the Democrats that I grew up reading about and loved. People are waking up to the lies spewed by the DCCC, DNC, corporate lobbyist, and media owned by conglomerates. I can only hope the DNC will look beyond the money/power and realize Biden will bring about another four years of Trump.
6
I see a lot of posts saying “no” to Joe Biden. But not one mentions who they would recommend.
1
Well, the Biden haters may very well get their wish. I heard Biden talking to reporters the other day. When asked about the tariffs, he sounded like a high school kid that crammed the night before for a test on a subject he knew nothing about. He was zig zagging from one talking point to another, not making any sense. I watched several other interviews, and it seems he has a hard time focusing on one thought, then jumps to another. This will all come out in the debates. Methinks his lead in the polls will vanish, and Dems will look toward someone else. Who, Warren? Sure, some Dems like her, and like her "visions" and "proposals". But in the end, they are just that - visions and proposals. We all have ideas ans dreams, but its the true leader who had the brains and the chutzpah to put them to work, and make them a reality - other wise known as accomplishments. Warren doesnt have any. Her entire ideology is government creates opportunity, and should all look to govt to lead us into prosperity. It hearkens back to her "you didnt build that speech". However, in the face of a such a dramatic change in the economy, from Obama's low growth and stagnation, to Trumps high growth, jobs a plenty - its going to be tough for Warren to make the case that we should go back to the same economy run by the President you gave the same "you didnt build that" speech.
4
As a lifelong Democrat,a member of the white male working class,and a recovering alcoholic I can do without the flip and condescending characterization of my demographic. My tea leaves aren’t beer hops Ms........they’re quite clear in fact and are predicting that the failed strategies of the Clinton campaign are still in vogue and are leading us to another four years of the Trump nightmare
9
@I.padva
Exactly what nightmare are you experiencing now?
Hows the economy treating you? If not so good, then go out there and get a better job, theres plenty of them around. That wasnt the case just a few short years ago. Good jobs were reserved for only the top performers.
Give it a shot. Youll be amazed how it could change your outlook.
Describing Biden as “an older white man tightly associated with sexual harassment and racism” is the kind of inaccurate, disgusting self-evisceration that will hand this country once again to Trump. Argue the merits, but this is too far.
12
I don't think Biden's a particularly good choice. But, I'll take literally anyone over Trump.
4
The more they praise his "electability" the more we count our silverware.
Joe Biden would have made a much better nominee than Michael Dukakis...in 1988.
2
name recognition +
avuncular +
smart -
political baggage -
2
I don’t know anyone under 70 who wants Biden elected. Period.
6
@Citizen of the Earth agreed
1
Well, you don't know me and I'm 54. Most of the older people I come in contact with through my work as a nurse, keep the televisions in their rooms tuned to Fox News 24/7. Joe Biden will get my vote if he secures the nomination all the snarky opinion columns and anecdotes won't change that. Since you like anecdotes, most of the people I know are under 70and would fully support Joe Biden.
2
Well apparently by this piece, the people who look down on the people who want Joe Biden don’t want Joe Biden
2
Democrats need to focus on removing Trump. I really don't care if Bozo the clown is the Democratic nominee. Democrats must prevail, and pretend to be united and excited about whoever can get undecided Obama voters who took a chance on Trump last time.
4
The Democrat that wins will be the person who convinces voters they hate Trump the most.
@Roland Williams, I believe the Democrat that wins will not be the person who convinces voters they hate Trump the most, but rather, who convinces the voters of their decency, common sense and their belief in the Rule of Law.
3
I can only speak for myself and the people I know:
No
4
Why is it that you cite the African American vote to make your case against Joe Biden. It is in fact his strongest suit. Politico, in an April 30th article, points out that Biden’s polling among black voters was at 44%, compared wit 20% for Harris. I’m pretty sure I’ve seen similar numbers from 538’s polling averages.
What’s that about? What about the recent New York Times article in which members of the congressional black caucus tout Biden/Harris as a “dream ticket” against Trump.
Here’s a thought! Let’s listen to and follow the lead of black voters rather than trying to lead them away from candidates they prefer.
7
Yes, I want Joe Biden. He knows how Washington works and has the best chance to actually get something done. Bernie is not a Democrat, but he pretends to be to run for President. That endears him to no one. He would be utterly ineffective. Governance is about people and power - Biden understands both and is the most effective candidate in the field, by far.
4
Trump’s popularity among the ever growing disaffected and demented portion of the American voting population could easily carry him to victory in 2020.
Remember these are the people who believed -- and still do -- that President Obama was born in Kenya, that Hillary Clinton’s emails constituted a serious threat to our national security and that Ted Cruz’s father participated in the Kennedy assassination.
4
I suspect any front-runner for the democratic nomination is going to get attacked by NYT opinion columnists, much to the glee of Mr. Trump.
I just hope you and the voters coalesce around whoever is eventually nominated.
2
Swing voters in swing states. No matter their color, sex, age, educational level, occupation, sexual orientation, astrological sign, or favorite flavor of ice cream. In presidential elections, they are the only voters who matter. Run the candidate they prefer and we will win.
4
Jill Filipovic does actual harm in writing this tripe. This country is at a dangerous crossroads and the last thing we need right now are "shoot in the foot" op/eds descrying the flaws of democratic nominees when there is an unhinged, autocratic President in The White House methodically tearing down our beloved institutions at an alarming rate. Fence-sitting future voters are the crucial "what if" here. A large portion of the electorate won't do the homework required to know all the facts but reading random pieces like this could turn the tide enough to put Trump back in residency for another chaotic 4 years.
13
@mikeo26
This comment should have been a Times Pick. I feel exactly the same. I couldn't believe it when I read the headline. It is the same tripe all over again. Yes! There are many many people who are excited about Joe Biden running and he could attract Republicans disenfranchised from the Trump party. Joe Biden is one among many good candidates. Stop with the derision, the questioning, and the identity politics. Democrats are their own worst enemy.
3
Yes, yes, yes!!!
This liberal says a resounding yes. It’s about character, integrity, and most importantly electability. It’s about a candidate who can win in the swing states. It’s about the SCOTUS.
Yes, yes, yes!!!
6
Clarence Thomas will soon resign, and then that won't make any difference for the next 40 years. Try to keep up.
"The Democratic Party of 2019 does not look much like Joe Biden." Enough said.
3
@Michael
Makes no sense. The Democratic party of 2019 looks like EVERYONE. No one excluded. Also, we had an African American and a woman running for the last three election cycles. Did you forget?
2
"But authenticity itself is coded as white and male when it’s defined by white men." Thanks for letting me know how I define authenticity.
4
Anyone but Trump in 2020. For the sake of our Democracy vote BLUE 2020.
2
Biden is "tightly associated with sexual harassment and racism"? How dare you. Biden is a good man (see Barack Obama) with a career he should be proud of. For you to imply he's a racist is beyond the pale. You don't seem to get the trouble we are in. 2020 is not a normal election. Basing who you think should be nominated on race, color and age makes you "tightly associated with racism". The ONLY issue is getting Trump and his crime family out of the White House. Joe Biden would be an excellent President. And yes, I "Actually Want Joe Biden to Be President"!
14
My partner, a radical black feminist, is very enthusiastic about Joe. Biden. It seems to be certain privileged white feminists bent on having their own as President who are most hostile to his candidacy. We can't all be divided up and our views predicted by sociological rules. In the NYT opinion pages, identity politics has overwhelmed all other politics, as in the world at large.
9
Let’s see...revive Obamacare, save the planet from global warming, a myriad of other policies advanced over decades, and all while respecting people, the law, and the office.
I can see why you suggest that Biden is an empty suit compared to the others advancing socialist ideas that are too fantastical to work.
3
Who ever could manage to build himself an image and a reputation like Trumps, for sheer enemymaking, goodwillcrushing, and blah-blah monotrack politics?
I do not believe Joe Biden would even come close.
1
I wish Mr Biden would simply go away. I have voted Democrat for over 60 years and I will not vote for him. The DNC, it seems to me is on a self-destruct mission engineered mostly by the Clinton faction. Wake up and wise up DNC we are tired of your neoliberal yuppie politics - it's time for real action and real policies that recognize the social and financial crisis facing a great many working class Americans.
2
If he can beat Trump, then let's elect him.
3
Joe has a lot of bad baggage and he may noy be "electable". If Democrats run Joe they risk alienating young voters, African Americans, and Latinos who won't vote for him.
C'mon Democrats, it's time to dig deep and run someone with new ideas and no old baggage. Kamala Harris, Pete Buttigieg, or someone like them who represents the future not the past.
@Ken Solin
You know what? Until young and minority voters prove they can show up consistently in non-Presidential election years, they can pound sand. In our most recent supreme court election, Wisconsin voters very narrowly elected an extreme conservative to replace longtime liberal justice Shirley Abrahamson. I just can't get worked up to support the kind of candidate supported by otherwise apathetic voters.
1
Repeat after me:Hillary Clinton won the popular vote.This is a f-a-c-t,not so-called “fake news”. Acknowledging this fact might disrupt some glib assumptions about the 2016 election,but too bad-the media’s job is to report the truth,not to reinforce “conventional wisdom “.
2
You say that no white male democrat has won the White House but Al Gore won the popular vote and very likely would have won the presidency had the recount been allowed to b proceed to its conclusion.
2
Win or lose...the thought of Joe Biden as President calms my entire mind and body! It has been a while since I felt such calm....
6
Status Quo Joe has gotta GO! We need CHANGE, not strange!
Ah yes, paradoxically, the obvious is not at all true..... so sayeth yet another opinion writer bearing the arcane truth that, while obvious on a moments reflection, has unfortunately been slightly obscured by a bit of lazy nostalgia.
No. I'll take Joe Biden, thank you very much.
And, I'll thank you to leave the crowded table of Democrats eating their own.
4
Hillary maybe should have won in 2008,and then Obama in 2016. He would have been a better president for waiting 8 years;more experienced and all that.
If before a campaign even begins, a large swath of the electorate already despises a candidate -- deservedly or not, fairly or not -- that should be disqualifying. Such a candidate is, as far as I'm concerned, unelectable, and if not strictly unelectable, at least severely handicapped, which is not a good thing. In 2016, Hillary didn't do so well in this department. And I know -- she did get more votes than Trump. But fairly or not, she also had more enemies, many of them so corrupt and powerful, they were willing to break the rules and the law to see to it that she lost. Granted, some of them have been indicted, some have been convicted and I foresee many more being convicted, but fat lot of good that does us! It'll take a generation or more of digging to get out from under the destruction to the integrity of our nation of laws and restore the stability of the international order that has at least more or less made the western world safe since World War II, that Trump has so badly damaged. I never dreamed I'd see a U.S. president welcome fascist leader like Viktor Orban to the White House and praise him for suppressing the media, abusing immigrants, stifling political opposition, and trying to dismantle the courts, academia, etc., in short, the very things he'd like to do here. I'm afraid I won't live long enough to see the damage undone all because a certain powerful cohort in the Democratic party had the hubris to foist a poor candidate on us because it was "her turn."
3
It is this simple; if you do not want Biden to run, Trump will be president until 2024. Would you like/be happy with that?
4
Ms. Filipovik's contemptuous reference to "beer hops" exemplifies why Donald Trump is president and may remain so. Had she used a racist or sexist stereotype of the same caliber her op ed career would be over. That's precisely how Democrats can lose in 2020.
10
"a white male Democrat has not won a majority of American voters since at least the 1970s"
I'm confused, - who was Bill Clinton then? He won the popular vote.
Jill Filipovic - what am I missing here?
3
@Richard The term "majority" means >50%. Ms. Filipovic is correct (although her lazy uncertainty as to when it last happened could be cured by one minute on google).
1
@Johnny Orange
Thanks - I overlooked the Perot thing
1
We get it, Jill. You don't want a white male as the Democratic nominee.
I actually don't want him either, but yet I find almost every word in your opinion piece highly objectionable and some offensive.
How about making an argument concerning Biden that doesn't rely on racism, sexism, and ageism? You know, one with substance?
6
Do I want an ancient guy with no solutions other than anecdotes?
No. I, we, deserved something better.
It’s early, so please relax. Of course you can also long for a female, African American, Native American, Latino, LGBTQ, Christian, Islamic, Jewish, candidate to appeal to all the identity groups. Then policy, competence, and the capacity to bring together a divided nation won’t be of consequence.
2
I’m with Nicole Wallace- I will vote the Democratic ticket - I will vote for a bus
I will vote for anyone who is not enabling this criminal regime.
6
"Within that group, it is women of color who are the backbone of the Democratic Party."
So you're saying that this group will now dictate who runs a party that runs our country?! How unfortunate.
1
tHe very definition of bigot, focusing so blatantly on age and gender. It is doing Trump's PR for him to pile on Biden because he is the best known quantity, and to dramatize a non-issue in the grand scheme of things it will take to throw trump out. Seriously? Every candidate’s record will be scrutinized ad nauseam, and there is la lot to know about everyone plus the stuff trump and his noise machine will invent. Biden’s record has been in plain sight forever. Still he persists. The alarm about his touchiness is petty - he acknowledged the issue, obviously he is attainable so can we move on already? Experience, relationships and a sincere commitment to at least attempting to bridge divide where there is a glimmer of hope. What’s that saying, keep hope alive? Someone needs to reach across the aisle, and most will lack the courage or awareness it takes to see and speak to everyone, not just those who support you. Why do you think black voters have made Joe Biden the front-runner? Let’s not throw the baby out with the bath water just because he’s white, older and well-known. His fellow nominees should take a lesson from his past mistakes and learn from them - like he is and will - and then we’ll see where they stand in their mid-70s.
4
I would love for Biden to be president now - i.e., he should have been the nominee in 2016 and I’m certain he would have won. But he isn’t, and we can’t turn back the clock in any sense of the term. Biden is not a wise choice for 2020.
The dilemma the Democrats face is that we have to have a tent wide enough to fit every sane person in the country. Therefore, the reasoning goes, we have to run a centrist candidate who thrills no one but at least is the milquetoast we know.
First of all, that strategy has never worked for either party. Just ask Ford or Mondale or Dukakis or Dole or Kerry or Romney.
Secondly, it’s become evident that the center isn’t where we think it is - or may not exist. The swing voters are less likely to be “moderates” than they are to live in the fringe where the far left and far right find that they have common concerns. As for the solidly blue 50% it’s reasonable to assume that most of them are to the left of Obama. A lot of the Democratic establishment fails to appreciate how much Obama redrew the map; they’re still chasing those fabled Reagan/Clinton voters that are no longer any sort of bloc if they ever really were one. They didn’t deliver Hillary and they won’t deliver Biden.
In any case let’s stop trying to second guess what the “center” wants and vote for the candidate who best reflects your vision for the country. We’ll have a vigorous primary contest and we’ll unite around the winner. Democracy might actually work if you give it a chance.
3
Joe is 'way-too yesterday, but if he chooses an exciting VP I could be happier. That said, as JenD noted, I'd vote for a bag of rocks if it meant getting rid of Trump and his minions.
1
Electability is a term that means compromise, (in this case between the various Democratic factions first, the mainstream GOP, if it still exists, second, and the feral wingnut GOP last), and sustainability, the best chance to hold a coalition together for a full term, which can lead to a second term. Success, even in smaller measures for everyone, breeds more success. Evidence of that ability is as important as policy ideas. A solid staff will bring a solid policy, a solid candidate brings leadership, and you go with the best on that measure.
As a progressive person of color, I have no interest in seeing Joe Biden as president of the United States. It has nothing to do with the color of his skin but rather with the contents of his political record, sources of his campaign funding, and his prior behavior towards women. It's his physical contact with women in public which I find the most offensive where he hovers over them and brings his face towards their heads. The second area which I see as problematic for him is the support for the financial services industry that has caused enormous harm to this country. And the third objection to him becoming president has to do with his treatment of Anita Hill. Not only was it how he conducted the Clarence Thomas' hearing showed clear signs of sexism, but it probably is the reason that we have Thomas on the Supreme Court.
2
@Richard Whetstone
Georgia is going to vote for Trump, and NY is going to vote for the Dem candidate. So the fact is that your opinion and my opinion about who the Dems should run simply does not count.
What counts is who the purple states are willing to vote for, and they would be far more willing to vote for Biden over Bernie or Warren.
2
Biden has two qualifications to be elected President: 1) A lot of people, especially those in the rust belt working class, like him, because they can relate to him, and 2) he represents the best chance of any Democrat to beat Trump. It's the second one which is the overwhelming favorite. Note that "policies" aren't among these choices. It's all about identity politics, and mostly about getting rid of the scourge of Trump.
Once the working class folks wake up to the fact that Trump has been making their lives much worse, the anti-Trump fervor will increase dramatically. But these good Americans need to wake up to that first.
3
Multiple choice. Vote for:
A) the candidate most lightly to unseat the current President (whoever that might be); or
B) the person who you would wish to be President (whoever that might be).
For many, this will be a Rorschach test.
1
A "white male Democrat has not won a majority of American voters since at least the 1970s." Technically true, but misleading. Bill Clinton, running in 1992 against an incumbent Republican and third-party candidate Ross Perot, won the Presidency with 43.0% of the vote. (Perot won 18.9% of the popular vote, and zero electoral votes.) In 1996, Clinton got 49.2% of the popular vote, Republican nominee Dole only 40.7%, and third-party candidate Perot 8.4% of the vote (and again, zero electoral votes). And since no woman of color has ever been a major-party candidate, history gives us no clue how one might fare in 2020.
2
All this chatter about who would make the most electable presidential candidate ignores the fact that electing a Democrat as president will go for naught if the the Senate still has a Republican majority and Mitch McConnell is still its leader.
4
Yes....I want Joe Biden as President if it means getting trump out of the Office. I will vote for ANYBODY
I would even vote for Jill Filipovic. I don't want to hear that Jill Filipovic or Anyone else is not qualified to be President because we know, by the conduct of the current occupant, that qualifications are not necessary.
2
Yes many people want him to be president. The idea that only a female or a non-Caucasian person can/should be nominated is repugnant.
This kind of thinking leads to more Trump and Republicans as they feel left out of the discussion, being only white.
8
Interesting.
I am a 52-year-old, 6-5, white male single father.
I was a carpenter for most of my working life. I shook my head at the Gen X article that I read in the Times ten minutes ago. Apparently, to be Gen X is to be misunderstood by others in Gen X.
I don't vote Republican. I never have. Not even once.
I voted for Hillary after supporting Bernie.
Problem with Joe Biden is his policies are far more watered down than Hillary's. I held my nose when voting for Hillary because she is little more than a Reagan Democrat in my eyes.
Also, in my humble opinion, Old Man Joe lacks Hillary's wit and punch at the point of attack. Yes, this middling white boy has substantial respect for Sec. Clinton.
I am one of the army that gives Bernie $20 per month. Ditto Planned Parenthood.
The Dems don't seem to understand that they don't represent me and neither will Biden. I detest everything that the party of the fat elephant represents, but the Dems continue to offer such a pathetic alternative.
Thanks for listening.
Sincerely,
One completely underrepresented Gen X, middle-aged, white boy working man.
10
At this time in previous election cycles Carter, Bill Clinton and Obama were nobodies. Don't let the establishment media push us toward a mediocre candidate like Biden. I believe the most electable candidate is the person whose ideas excite the modern Democratic constituency. This old white man says empower the young, the oppressed, and destroy forever the notion that we need those clinging to the status quo (which is disastrous) to win.
1
Joe Biden is the balm the country needs. Trump is the most hateful negative human being to ever occupy the White house in my long life.
Joe is smart, calm, clear, seasoned and experienced. Does he have career blemishes? Of course every human does. However he will appeal to women, people of color, working class as he is working class himself, mid westerners and those who feel disenfranchised. And if he picks Kamala Harris as VP he will secure his chances. She is also very smart self made and capable.
Joe is older for sure but seems in tip top shape. Age and wisdom is not a negative it is a great positive. Joe has them both. The main thing really the bottom line is that Trump needs to go. The example for our country at the very top needs to be someone with character and a sense of decency none of which the present clan that occupies of the White house have.
I travel world wide and can tell you from personal experience Trump is the laughing stock of the world out side of his core bunch who blindly support him he is well despised. Is that what we want from our leader? To have the rest of the world hate us? Think about this folks.
6
Nonsense! Biden's electability is based on his idea that his self is not all about how it will self-actualize, but how the self can function to help others, not about self-actualizing despite being marginalizing by your otherness. Progressives and Trump share the same delusion: that the purpose of the world is for myself to be itself. This is delusional, but the central construct of Trump, his base, and the progressives. Wake up! The world is there for you to help, not exploit for your own purposes. This is easy to see in Trump. Not so much in progressive thinking, but surely there as much as in Trump. In the last election progressives said that Clinton, given her Wall Street connections, is no different than Trump. NO DIFFERENT THAN TRUMP! Could we please not make this same mistake, and get stuck with Trump again, and perhaps harm this country for many years to come?
2
Racism and sexism? Joe Biden was part of an Administration whose first piece of legislation was the Lilly Ledbetter Equal Pay Act and let's not forget the ACA which determined that pregnacy was not an illness. Every Democrat I know is united in the fact that we are part of a national emergency, The Trump Administration, which at the moment is beginning a campaign to make Roe illegal. Democrats want a candidate who can forcefully compete with the President. Beat Trump is the 2020 campaign slogan, and I hope it is Joe Biden who carries it to the WH.
4
What any country needs as their leader is a very talented person and a hard worker. Experience is a factor but not essential.
Also, you have to trust people that rally to her or him.
If what I’m saying is true, Trump and Trudeau shouldn’t be our leaders.
Biden is talented,experienced and ...too old. He missed his chance in 2016.
I like Warren. In fact, I like senators from Boston. Kennedy,Kerry...
1
The Empire, once again, is set to allow a vote between the lesser of two evils. Can't wait to sit this one out.
This snarky set of assumptions and cliches about white working class men is as bad as all the other cliches about portions of the electorate like the "soccer moms" of the past. It is precisely comments like reading the "tea leaves or beer hops" about working class white men that is exactly the kind of thing that does in fact turn people off, not just white men but their wives, children et al. There are too many misconceived put downs here to list. Denigrating people like myself who are reflected in the polls and want Biden first and foremost because he can beat trump and is in fact an experienced statesman whose past "sins" pale in comparison with trump's daily horrors, is just wrong. We might have to put aside immediate satisfaction, ie progressive young candidates, for the good of this imperiled democracy of ours so just let us vote and stop the unpleasant and erroneous characterizations and the Biden-slamming.
7
It's still all about the electoral college …. and -- and so far as the issues … abortion? again really?? Time for the women of Alabama to attack their legislators with wooden spoons (or aprons). There should be massive rallies in Montgomery -- surround the State House.. until that heinous law is removed. (Altho I do believe, correct me if I am wrong, that women can legally by drugs that will result in aborting the fetus in at least the first six months of pregnancy. File under how to perform safe non-surgical abortions in places where abortion is illegal.
I would prefer to see broader humanitarian issues prevail -- Yemen/Venezuela and income inequality -- the rich really do not pay their taxes -- buy that 90 million dollar piece of art and take it home tax-free. Fair?? no but legal.
Debate all you want but in the end, the voters must make the selection. The task will be hard, the votes may be scattered, but will a candidate be selected who can win against Trump? At this point, even a Democrat seat warmer would be better than the likes of Trump. So don't fear Biden or any other as long as they replace Trump and we can get his stupid appointments out of Washington. What we need now is a win followed by corrective actions. Biden should do quite well with our allies who Trump has pushed away. Biden should be able to bring back some of the trust lost to Trump and his mob but so could some of the others. The voters need to tell us. I just hope this crowded field does not spread voters out so much that the winner is selected by a hair.
2
Yeah, I want Joe Biden.
The whole tone of this opinion piece is a turn-off. How does the author dismiss the white working male, perhaps the largest demographic in the country?
This whole notion of choosing a candidate because of gender, race, age, sexual orientation will marginalize the Democrats even more.
And anyway, my goal is to unseat Trump. Bernie and Liz, with all their hectoring and lecturing, aren’t going to win more than a few states.
4
Biden's time has come and gone. His age is a factor, along with his lack of success in earlier presidential runs. He has become an anachronism, which is underscored when Biden talks of working with Republicans in a convivial bipartisan way. McConnell will not allow that, as he has had great success blocking Democrats at every turn. Democrats need a new generation of leaders, who are not afraid of confronting the dictatorial tendencies of the Republicans.
I find this all so depressing.
If mainstream Democrats feel that only an old white man will save us from another old white man than maybe the country itself is irredeemable. I even have liberal friends who say that even thought polls show Warren defeating Trump in a straight up challenge they say the margin is still too close because the GOP and Trump's Russian friends will cheat and the margin has to be indisputable.
Seriously? Think of what is being said here.
Biden believes Trump is an aberration and that he can 'work' with the Republicans. He is completely clueless to the politics on the ground. He'll be older than Trump is now when assuming office.
Aha, my friends say - that is why his VP choice is so important. But how many really believe he'll choose Harris, Sanders or even Warren as VP? It's not in his nature. Banking on the death in office of your candidate or that they'll serve one term is a fool's bet.
I really can't believe what I'm hearing. It seems the whole nation has entered cloud cuckoo land. Hope is a sucker's bet. If you believe the country is worth saving than fight for what you believe in rather than settle for who you think may save you. I want a choice, not an echo.
Biden is a re-run of Hillary -- a DC insider with a lot of baggage.
We need someone who will get people excited, not just ok.
2
As a white working class male who lacks a college degree (Bernie, not Trump in ‘16), I could not agree more. Seeking milquetoast policies and leadership will net Democrats an ever smaller piece of the electorate pie.
There is a heavy dose of ageism in many of the commenters here, telling themselves and the world that Biden would be 78 at the time he would be sworn in as president.
The first German Chancellor Konrad Adenauer, elected in 1949, was leading the country after the disaster of WWII, won numerous re-elections and retired as chancellor at the tender age of 87. He was respected even by the opposition party leaders in the German Bundestag and their base as well.
Any Democratic candidate no matter what age, yet with experience in foreign policies is needed to lead this country after the disaster and kabuki theatre of Trump and his sycophants in both the administration and Congress.
This man with the supposed "great brain" is upending laws and order; doesn't know a single agreement with our allies he doesn't want to throw into the trash; is holding court at Mar-a-Gaudy for foreigners wanting to influence his decision by pouring money into his hotels, etc., etc.
4
Recently heard someone say that it is not true that Democrats destroy their own but in actuality, it is the so-called liberal media who destroy Democrats.
This column proves that point!
5
It's good that this piece is in the Opinion section, since the author shows such a clear bias.
She describes Joe Biden, as 'older' and (gasp!) 'white' and 'tightly bound to sexual harassment and racism'.
That last element is totally ridiculous.
However, it is not as ridiculous as the assertion that 'apathy' was the major problem in Hillary's defeat.
HRC lost the election because many people absolutely hated her, and many of her supporters had to hold their noses before they entered the voting booth.
2
Donald Trump's fickle self- serving policies change hour by hour. What makes anyone think Joe Biden's will not be well formulated, measured and open to change and modification weighing in and listening to a team of diverse and capable advisors? Besides, policy is often subject to senatorial and congressonial approval. Get Joe in and worry about the electability of a Senate majority to finally bring us back to normalcy. And stop emphasizing his age. Donald is just four years younger, but far less intelligent and seasoned in the ways of D.C. and in the understanding of the Constitution and its underpinnings of our democracy. Wisdom and solid experience count at this precarious moment in our country's history. There is no time for a candidate's learning curve nor identity politics to stop the madness. And as the primaries approach, narrow the field, consolidate differences among them and have them drop their hubris to get behind Joe. It is becoming preposterous and time consuming to have this many unelectable group while their one man opponent lines his coffers, goes on the attack, already feeds his supporters with false propanda and non ending name calling which will stick until the general election. Go get him Joe.
5
We need a candidate that voters are PASSIONATE about. That's not Joe Biden. He has been part of the status quo FOREVER and look where we are - and I'm not talking about Trump. This country is seriously on the wrong track and it is all about money, money, money, money.
We need a candidate who represents the majority. I'm sorry to characterize Mr. Biden this way - but the LAST THING THIS COUNTRY NEEDS IS AN OLD WHITE GUY. He absolutely is not capable of empathizing with most of this country.
Please - anyone who behaves so patronizingly - kissing, smelling heads - wake up people!! NO JOE!
1
Such awful bigotry. And to say that just because I’m a different race, gender or age cohort makes me incapable of empathizing with those how are not dooms is all.
1
@Karen So an old white guy is “not capable of empathizing with most of the country”? What an absurd thing to say (spoken as a middle-aged white woman). Biden has spent 50 years fighting for policies that benefit women, people of color, and other marginalized groups. To make sweeping, uninformed statements like this is not only lazy and dismissive, but it’s a sure way to turn off the “old white men” who we need on our side if we are going to defeat Trump.
I’d also add that anyone who, like Biden, lost a wife and young child in a car crash, and then a grown son a few years back, probably knows a fair amount about pain and empathy.
3
Speaking as an expat American voter living in Canada Trump is and has been such an embarrassment that any candidate perceived to have the best chances of getting rid of him will garner much support. Unfortunately getting rid of the current smell of rotting garbage does not get rid of the source of that garbage. I refer not to that popular minority of Americans who voted for Trump in the first place but of the reasons they did so.
1
This is not the moment for any woman to take the stage. This is an election to return dignity and ethical thinking,experience and charisma to our presidency.
Trump himself will sting and poison any female who tries to take his singular idea of power
and bullying away from him. He is a passive agressive, narcissist who will deliberately berate his rival. We as a country do not need to watch him destroy a single female candidate.
1
This piece is a political hit job on the Democratic party and reeks of political purity. I favor Biden as a candidate for his unifying and practical/progressive mindset (and yes, I will support whoever the nominee will be).
6
Both of my kids will be voting for the first time. So will many of their friends and many, many more. They know what’s coming with climate change, income inequality, governmental corruption, student loan debt, and on and on. They’re not stupid. They know the scope of change needed has to be match the size of the problem.
Pundits have no idea.
3
Joe Biden is nothing more than a warm blanket on a cold night to those who want him for President. He has yet to articulate any policy proposal, no matter how briefly.
Biden uttered a monumentally dumb and naive comment when he said that if he wins the Presidency the Republicans will experience an "epiphany" and will be much more cooperative. Is he talking about the same Republicans who stonewalled President Obama for 8 years? For God's sake, Biden was Obama's vice president during those years!
President Obama was stunned at the way his advances were rebuffed by Republicans. He never expected so much venom from Congress. And today, Biden believes that he can turn Republicans around. I certainly do not want someone in the White House who intends to genuflect before Republicans. I want a progressive who will do the big and bold things that our nation so desperately needs.
2
I doubt Joe Biden is electable. He is a relic of a different America. His positions on women, race, and foreign policy has been consistently on the wrong side of history. He is rightfully considered as creepy. He and Pelosi represent the failed Democratic response to a complete domination by the GOP. 2018 did not represent a victory inspired their policies—it represented a thirst for progress and progressive policies. They are lazy thinkers and would lead to low turnout and 4 more years of GOP corruption. Let’s wait to anoint the victor. We need better than Joe.
1
We don't need another old white man as president. I admire Biden's past, but we shouldn't let several very competent young people fall by the wayside. Does electability equal competence?
Obviously, we have suffered enough because of the election of an electable incompetent.
Democrats should be wary of goody-goody candidates who remind them of "the good old days". Get nasty. It obviously works.
The Democrats are going to shoot themselves in the foot again. Last election, they manipulated the system so Hillary could "win" and it backfired. This time, they're trying to "win" again, and it could backfire again. Let the people decide who they want and don't manipulate the system so you think you can "win."
1
>> Joe Biden: ...stands the best chance of getting independents and perhaps even some moderate Republicans to cross over and vote Democratic; >>>
More than anything else, the pathetic pathological Democrat pursuit of "moderate Republicans" has left Democrats without an identity of their own - a solid constituency. The 'mystical moderates' do not know what Dems stand for. It changes from one election season to the next. Middle-class Americans have mixed views on Dems. Working-class Americans likewise have mixed views. Most people HOPE Dems stand for their values but are not blessed with conviction.
First things first: Democrats must stop trying to be all things to all people and gain an identity of their own. Build it and they will come.
1
Joe Biden is a decent man. That may be all he needs to beat Trump.
3
And we should vote for the least intellectually able politician who graduated at the bottom of his class at the University of Delaware and his law school? Biden was and is almost as dumb as John McCain who graduated at the very bottom of his class. Democracy is so wonderful; anyone over 35 can run for president. At least much-despised Trump made it through Wharton, not something that Biden could even dream of doing.
1
An "electable" candidate is far more likely to get things done than some idealist/extremist. As our current officeholder has proven, it is far easier to blow things up than to rebuild them. An electable President has that opportunity, an extremist will not.
3
Biden is the ONLY candidate who can beat Trump. Period. As much as we like to think we have evolved, there is no way this country is prepared to elect a woman, a socialist, or a gay man. If you don’t believe these labels exist front and center in the minds of many, you haven’t been paying attention the last three years.
Trump is a reaction to the quiet racism that seethed with Obama in the White House. Am I proud to say any of this? No! Do I wish it were different ? Yes. And I continue to work to make it so. But at this juncture I’m not willing to risk believing in a “woke” America at the expense of four more years of terror in the White House
5
Biden makes old line, dependable Dems and the establishment leaders they follow feel comfortable and good about themselves, even when they lose. As did Hillary. For example, he has the support of southern black women and their preachers. As did Hillary. The comfort he provided to the establishment will probably get him nominated. As it did Hillary.
This is another vote for "staying the same", a conservative concept. Biden may as well be what late night talk show hosts call "republican classic" under the veil of a democrat. This is not the progressive leader i want. Biden is really out of touch, hes not gonna do anything to help the opioid problem or legal MJ. Except pass some legislature to make it look like hes done something. Which always leads to negative results. i dont expect anything good to happen from Biden being in charge except "its not Trump". Its more like Jeff Sessions
Biden maintains the naive and frankly at this stage idiotic belief that mitch and crew will work with him once Trump is gone. He championed the reprehensible bankruptcy “reform” bill. He let Clarence Thomas on the Supreme Court. Why any Democrat would support him is beyond me.
1
No, but I absolutely want a candidate that has a chance to beat the fraudulent president we have now. It’s that simple.
“Hillary Clinton’s loss can only be explained by a long list of factors, but surely one of them was apathy: The certainty that she had the election in the bag probably depressed voter turnout.”
No. The fact that the DNC conspired and rigged the election against an actual progressive candidate (Sanders) and the fact that Clinton was possibly one of the most awkward uninspiring candidates in recent memory is what depressed voter turnout. The social justice warrior wing of the democratic party says they want a visionary progressive candidate until that candidate turns out to be a while male and then all of a sudden all their positions and ideas are irrelevant because they are an embodiment of “white male privilege” and “patriarchy”
2
Joe Biden is certainly not perfect. But he is experienced and (probably more importantly) likable... The people know what they're getting. He's not everyone's first choice, but he is electable.
Truth be told, I think the overwhelming majority of Americans would turn out to vote for a can of chicken noodle soup to dispose of the fraudulent amoral hooligan currently squatting in OUR White House.
1
The New York Times wants Biden to be President because supporting him allows the paper to make Wall Street happy while still presenting itself as a liberal news organization. The corporate news media as a whole wants Trump because he is good for ratings and the advertising dollars they generate. The financial services industry, private health insurance companies, big pharma, the petroleum industry, the military industrial complex, the 1% and mainstream Republicans see Biden as the second best choice after Trump because he will allow them to maintain control. Putin doesn't want Biden and neither does the energized base of the Democratic Party. Biden will lose to Trump. The best thing he could do for the country is change his mind about running.
2
Joe Biden as President is a nightmare. So many great candidates and he has to join in. Sen. Harris, Booker, Warren. Joe Biden has had his time..let's move on.
2
Apparently, Bret Stephens does, which is as good a reason not to vote for Joe Biden as any.
2
Electability doesn't mean anything at this point. Polling doesn't mean anything at this point. So why does the mass media keep doing it and reporting on it like it is a factoid? Please STOP with these personality profiles and report context and platform of each these candidates. Ideas and policies is what we have to live with after the election. Leave the personalities to the cartoonists.
1
Democrats are told they can't possibly be serious about voting for Biden because it's nothing but a bunch of "entrenched biases" and the "perpetual reading of the white working-class tea leaves". These statements are profoundly biased.
Biden's appeal is a direct refutation of Trump's bigotry, and of him socially and economically. It resonates with diverse groups of Americans. Those of us from racially diverse families who don't reside in the author's rarified milieu doubt she ever speaks with average working people of color
I just spoke with a large group of black voters who strongly support Biden. The author keeps repeating "electibility", yet none of them ever said it. A host of polls, including a new Morning Consult poll, show 47 percent of black women back Biden for the primary. No one else even comes close. To put it in perspective, Biden is polling over 4 times better with black women than Harris is. They choose Biden because he actually reflect their values, not those of a New York Times pundit, an unabashed agitator in left-wing culture wars, pretending her critique is about "age" and "electability", when it's about her values.
Americans support Biden because they believe in him. He's the only Democrat who is very liberal and sincere, yet speaks, gaffs and all, like a regular American. Unlike all other deer in the headlights Democratic candidates, he won't sign the identity politics and economic policy purity oath and train wreck mandated by the Democratic left.
6
Can we stop pretending that people vote primarily on the demographics of a candidate. It’s insulting.
1
He will be a huge failure at the debates since he can never answer a question. Maybe he can list his accomplishments as senator - none. Maybe he can describe his business ventures in the Ukraine. Is HE a Putin lackey? He said China was not a threat - was that after his son got a huge contract?
In a word, YES
we do want Joe Biden to be President.
2
"Does Anyone Actually Want Joe Biden to Be President"
No. It would be like continuing to have a dying patient (the current Democratic Party) on IV four more years. It's time to pull the plug.
The most I can see in his deluded supporters is the hope that he can mentor a new generation to take over. Better to go out with a bang than a whimper.
1
We are not the 'bland middle', but rather lifelong liberal democrats who protested segregation and war and have fought long for a healthy environment and we wholeheartedly support Vice president Joe Biden to be our next President.
5
Does Anyone Actually Want Joe Biden to Be President?
As opposed to Trump, a very, very big yes!
His age is nowhere near the story that we now see cropping up everwhere. Credit Trump with getting this bit of garbage on everyone's mind.
I'll risk Biden's thought processes (even though he isn't a teenager anymore) compared to Trump's demented cognitive machinations!
2
Jill is the one out of touch with reality.
Focusing only on certain smaller groups and ignoring the working class white voters is the thing that got us into this mess.
And the argument that Joe is bad is because he is a white old man, is as racist sexist and ageist as anything the republicans spew.
The fact is Joe appeals to many groups and brings people together to form a majority.
That is how you win.
2
It's true that electability is complicated. On the other hand, isn't it a worse mistake to denigrate a highly qualified leading candidate, the way that the New York Times denigrated Hillary Clinton in comparison to its softer treatment of Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders? Best to try not to disqualify any qualified candidate right now.
2
It looks to me like the large field of Democratic contenders is a deliberate strategy that is endorsed by the DNC to show how diverse and capable the Democratic Party is. We have women. An Asian business man. A young rust belt gay mayor. People of color. A very ethnic New Yorker who is Jewish, and now the mayor of NY City who even though his birth name was not Italian, he uses his mother’s maiden Italian name. A very capable Latino from Texas and Beto. It is fine with me if the race among this group is for the VP spot. One thing is for sure, they will all be in locked arms at the Democratic convention. Another thing to me is pretty sure. If Hillary ran with Cory Booker, she would be in the White House.
The anti Trump at any cost movement has given us some rogue Democrats in Congress who appal me and a Party leader who is unable to control the message, and is painfully obvious in her desperation to lead. I am a white, college educated female who feels abandonned by the Democrats. There is no one for me to support, just a jangle of egos clashing violently. I cannot abide Biden, seeing Anita Hill's face everytime I look at him. His smarmy cuddles of women and young girls are disgusting and he flips more than a fish out of water - which is exactly what he is in 2019. Democrats, you want my vote? Give me an alternative to Trump, not someone who could well be worse.
A very solid yes, Biden Harris. Go back and re-watch Biden's debate with Paul Ryan where he eviscerated that granny starver, as Charles Pierce always called him. We're going to need someone with his depth of experience and intelligence to try to put back together everything that, domestically and foreign-policy-wise, will have been broken by the current corruption and incompetence. And he is compelling in Pennsylvania, where I live; I'm assuming this opinion writer lives in New York, which isn't now and never will be at play.
1
In 2016 of the white women who voted
53% of all white women voted for Trump
51% of white college women voted for Clinton
62% of all white non college women voted for Trump
No Democratic presidential candidate since LBJ in 1964 has received a majority of the white [male plus female] vote.
HRC received a plurality of the popular vote.
But rightly or wrongly the electoral vote determines who gets elected.
HRC lost in 2016 because she presented no program to help displaced workers regain lost status and new jobs that paid a wage comparable to the wage of the lost job.
Calling displaced workers deplorables caused HRC to lose PA, MICH, WISC and talking down to rural America lost these rural states.
see
http://wamc.org/term/tom-vilsack .
for a discussion of why HRC lost rural America.
Biden allowed Hill to make her case against Thomas. Biden voted AGAINST Thomas' confirmation in committee and on the Senate floor.
Unfortunately I don't see any of the announced
Dem candidates defeating Trump in 2020.
Trump will continue to spew hatred against immigrants while not solving any problems.
The Dems must nominate a candidate with experience who will present programs to restore the lost income of the working class that is now part of Trump's base.
2
If Biden is the best the Democratic party can do, I will not vote.
1
Ok, so you don’t want Joe Biden it a white older male. Do we really need this long list of selected/curated statistics and anecdotes to make you feel better about that?
Here are a couple that really matter:
With a lot of candidates weird pluralities matter (see Trump)
People who poll high on the “I don’t like them” scale have a hard time (see H Clinton)
It’s called the pledge delegates and its where the money is at, so that is the spot to put the pressure on. Biden is another hero from a previous era and needs to stay there. Delegates if you are listening we want a smart ruthless woman candidate, you give us that and then step aside we will rally and vote her in. But if it a money making thing, a way to fill your coffers then by all means give us Biden and loose the presidency we as citizens are sick of this yang and yang of the two party system
1
No, no one really does but the Democrats dint have anyone that can beat trump so this is who they’ll run....
Joe's been from Wilmington, Delaware for how long? Rust belt? You mean his PA birthplace, now how long ago? I think he's too old, too, and "A white male Democrat..." there's that. He has good foreign policy creds which are important now but I just don't think in the field and period of "now" he can make it past the debates with a field of 23! The sexual harassment is baloney in my opinion, but the Anita Hill charge stands. In the face of what current president gets away with, couldn't anyone get away with anything?
"This perpetual reading of the white working-class tea leaves (or beer hops?) only makes sense if those voters are actually more influential than all the others."
White working-class 'beer hops"? In other words,, they are, to you, deplorables, Ms. Filipovic?
2
As a seventy something white male who thought Hillar Clinton was a great candidate--the best prepared since Humphry--and never a big fan of Biden, I find this dicing and slicing the voters into ethnic and gender blocks dopey. Joe Biden is considered electable because polling of voters regardless of which square they are in demonstrates he is at this point in time. That does not make a white male conspiracy. It is also important to note Hillary won the popular vote and there is little doubt that the Democratic nominee, of whatever race or gender will do so again. But Trump won the electoral college where small states have an over weighted impact. The challenge is to win in them without losing our soul. Biden has the advantage there for now. I will not vote for him or against him in the primary because he is an old white man.
1
Yes, I would want Joe Biden over the alternative, based on pretty much any criterion one could imagine. Preference is always relative, a fact that seems to elude the opinion writer.
1
Stability. Domestic and international experience. Biden.
1
Does anyone actually want Donald Trump as President? Touche.
1
Yes, I actually want Biden to be president of the United States.
3
There is no one I'd rather vote for than Joe Biden.
2
Jill, write about why 53% of white women voted for Trump. With the Vice President in the race most of those women will vote for him and therefore he becomes Trump’s worse nightmare. And also a nightmare for all the VP’S detractors.
2
Trump, Biden, who cares. Members of the same ruling class posing as opponents. We live in a one-party system with a far-right faction and a center-right faction. It is brutal capitalism versus less brutal capitalism. At least with Trump we have to deal with the ugly face of who we really are as a country. What an evil empire we are! I would support a BDS movement against the US!
@Pablo Cuevas
Vote with your feet, then. Nobody is forcing you to live in Brooklyn. Divest yourself of America and emigrate to the country of your choosing that will allow you in.
Simple solution.
Well, as long as we’re going to politically backpedal America - A vote for Biden is... a vote for Ike. Think about it.
2
To answer the question ,yes I do for one and it looks like I’m not alone. So spare use the male bashing and gender whining. This article is complete bunk. If the country was “ready” for a female then Hillary would of won but she didn’t do let it go. The people of “color” didn’t elect Obama all by themselves. Stop making the election a tribal affair. It’s a national affair and my the best man or woman win. It’s also worth noting all politics are local.
1
The Democratic party has learned NOTHING from the 2016 and 2018 elections. Progressives either voted third party or stayed home. The largely ignored voted for the most disgusting candidate possible to give a giant middle finger to the entire body politic. In the South, voters picked the most extreme candidate. (Don't even cite Doug Jones (D-AL) because he is, in word and deed, a false Democrat, a Republican in a donkey suit. Biden is one way to guarantee that Trumpers don't wake up. Trump has been so generous to corporate America that, despite Biden's record as a corporate hack, they are unlikely to fund Biden as thoroughly as they will (and already have) fund Trump. The media needs to give far more attention to the likes of Harris or Klobuchar (other than trying to find and endlessly repeat dirt that is barely more than light dust.) The media needs to stop sanctifying old white guys. In this case, very old white guys. The bulk of the Republicans who have walked away will not vote Democratic. The best we can hope for with most of them is that they stay home, unable to vote for a Democrat but also unable to vote for Trump. You can already see a replay with the Bernie Bros, at least on YT, refusing to give their support to anyone else, except, maybe, Warren. For one weird reason, De Blasio winning the primary would be a hoot! (I do NOT want him as president. Ever.) Trump was intimidated by Comey's height - imagine them on the same stage!
Why is no one talking about whether Biden (or Bernie for that matter) could serve for 2 terms? His age is a problem. Do we really want to go through this 20+ person search again in another 4 years?
2
It would appear that major print and cable outlets, this one included, are quite dedicated to the proposition. In the name, it would seem, of feeding audiences the name they already recognize. Click, click. as nothing learned from endless coverage of that "audience fascinating" Donald Trump last time?
Thank you Jill for saying what we are all thinking, and standing against the inertia of the rest of the 4th branch and DCCC that would rather lose 2020 (and keep the donor class).
Biden is a disaster for the Democratic ticket, this article completely shreds the narrative that he won't be. Now two entire generations are being told that their future is of no value because a handful of low information midwest voters got us Trump; "third way moderate liberalism" is the true cause of the Trump disaster.
I will not vote for Biden if he gets the nomination and do not have to being in NY, NO WAY. I will vote straight ticket Democrat below however.
1
Yes. The hash-tagging, identity-politicking, know-nothing left is no better than the flag-waving, identity-politicking, know-nothing right. Established competence and a grasp on reality are what Biden brings to the table. The radicals on both sides need to come out of their bubbles.
7
Less Americans strongly identify with either party. The number of people who view themselves as Independents is almost as many as both the Republican and Democratic party put together.
Florida elected a Republican Governor and Senator in 2018 despite the overwhelming trend toward Democrats.
I'm not a fan of Joe Biden, but after this country elected a radical candidate like Trump, the idea of a centrist candidate is extremely appealing to me.
My preferred candidate is still Hillary Clinton. I think she's head and shoulders above the current Democratic field. I also know she is unelectable. Biden may actually be electable.
4
It is vital that Americans--especially those with an audience and thus reach, such as politicians and journalists--try to see the BIG PICTURE of our moment. Virtually everything that most of our fellow citizens hold dear, from the continuation of our nation's fundamental values and the viability of the Constitution to our country's place in a turbulent world, which needs some semblance of stability, to the sustainability of the earth, and basic civic decency is at stake right now. If President Trump is re-elected, all of these (and other) critical aspects of our society and the larger global village will continue their accelerating decline--with disastrous consequences. (At some deep level, almost every adult American knows this, even if fear, anger, the thirst for power, or the need to appear balanced keep them from acting on such understanding.)
The point is that seen from the big picture, Ms. Filipovic's concerns about Biden are significant. But, at this moment, they are are 5 or a 6 on a 10 point-scale. Defeating Trump with a united, serious Democratic Party, dedicated to the ideals implicit in this column, but focused first and foremost on winning the White House and the US Senate is a 10 on this same scale. Maybe even an 11.
Years ago, when I was first diagnosed with cancer, a colleague told me to concentrate on getting better. That was job #1, he said. Because "You have to survive in order to thrive."
5
You've got to be KIDDING!
"If President Trump is re-elected, all of these (and other) critical aspects of our society and the larger global village will continue their accelerating decline--with disastrous consequences. (At some deep level, almost every adult American knows this, even if fear, anger, the thirst for power, or the need to appear balanced keep them from acting on such understanding."
No! That is exactly backwards! In fact, everyone really understands that the core desire of the Democrats .. that is, a core Socialist-Communist country that takes from the producers and savers and gives to the slackards, dullards, and spendthrifts, is what ruins countries.
Do Democrats really believe that the Republicans, especially Trump, are not right? Don't they really believe that their policies, while sounding nice and "humanist" simply don't work in the long term?
Yes! here. Of course, we don’t want four more years of Trump and Biden beats him by the widest margin in polling head-to-head. But, Biden is more than just the most electable candidate in the field. He is the most qualified. And, not just because of his decades of experience in the highest positions of government. It’s because he, among the Democratic contenders, can bridge the divides in our country that Trump is trying to exploit. [Cory Booker, with his positive message is potentially the other.]. And, for those concerned about his positions on issues, Biden is more progressive than Bill Clinton and more pro-labor than Barack Obama. But, most of all, Biden knows how to work with people to get things done. Progressives need government to work and Biden has the best chance of governing effectively, which should be the prime consideration when selecting a president.
2
This opinion piece reads like a Biden hit job. The arguments are weak and every opportunity is taken to repeat mischaracterizations and attacks on Biden. Count me in as a well-informed voter who thinks Biden would make a great Progressive President in the mold of Barack Obama. Obama unleashed more Federal funding for renewable energy than all previous Presidents combined. That didn't stop the left from attacking him as too timid and from staying home in 2010 which resulted in 1000 lost elections for the left nationwide and a hampered agenda for the rest of his term. Was all that because Obama, the nation's first African American President, wasn't exciting enough or reflective of the new left? No. It's because the left is made up of younger voters who don't view voting as a duty, but think they need to feel "inspired" to vote. Obama inspired the masses but then uninformed attention span is short.
Biden would surround himself with the best of the best in Progressive thinkers, in stark contrast to Trump. Under Biden, we can expect bold action on climate change even if it is limited to Executive action, and progressive supreme Court appointments to help rebalance the self-inflicted harm progressives caused to future generations by being uninspired enough to sit on their hands in 2016 like they did in 2010 and 2014.
The solution to our problem is not the next inspiring candidate. We must invest in building a party and educating the youth on why voting matters.
5
The first basic problem with this column is that there is no good other candidate like Obama in 2008. They all are very flawed for one reason or another. The normal candidates are Cuomo and Sherrod Brown (with Klobuchar as VP) and they chose not to run.
The second basic problem is that Cuomo and Brown are not running because Trump is some 90% likely to be re-elected. We almost always give a President a second terms and Trump with all his faults has peace and prosperity--likely very major peace and prosperity.
The great advantage of Biden is that he will shut up the hysterical Democratic elite in the rich suburbs during the campaign, and the Democrats again will become a normal party in 2024 as the millennials come to power.
Biden. The best of the old timers.
We need to focus on issues with broad appeal and select a who can make them sizzle, who shows energy and passionate commitment. Universal medical care benefits and attracts white, black, old and young etc. The climate crisis will spare no one, not even the rich.
I am concerned about the age, sex and color of the candidate, since every president since George Washington has been a white male except one.
And I want someone whose battery isn't going to run down halfway through his / her term. (I'm 77, and I need to recharge every afternoon.)
Kamela Harris certainly checks all my boxes. Her election would make a strong statement about who we are now as a nation. My other favorite is Warren, whom I like at least as much.
But I'm more concerned about medical care and species survival (with emphasis on the human species) and a number of other issues, than I am with who carries the banner. If I could wave a magic wand and appoint the president, I might go for Inslee, who's a sixty-eight year old white guy but who "get's it" on climate change.
In the end I'll support and vote for the Democrat, unless, as I like to say, he's serving time for something really nasty.
2
Politics, like many aspects of life, is a pendulum. Right now that political pendulum is swinging far to right, and I look forward to it swinging back left. However, I want that pendulum to sustainably stay left for a long time so my young children see the socioeconomic benefits of democratic ideology as they become voters. For that to happen, I think we need a democratic president that won't give the country political whiplash by quickly forcing the pendulum far left. I want someone who will right the ship and competently steer it toward the left, even if it doesn't get as far left as I'd like during their presidency. I think that if we bring in a far left candidate, republican voters will be as motivated to oust them as democratic voters are to oust the current resident of the White House. That will just swing the pendulum hard to the right again. We need someone that will right the ship (not just spin the steering wheel as far left as possible), bring in voters that we've lost over the years, and allow their successor to continue the push to the left. That slow, consistent push will provide sustainability for long term democratic policies. Nobody wins if the 2024/2028 president simply undoes what the 2020 president has enacted.
I haven't decided who I'm voting for in the primaries yet, but Biden seems like one of a few great options to me, for a moral, calm, experienced, pragmatic person with the long-term vision to right this ship.
5
No, Biden is too old and too pliable to be the president we need in 2020. He’s out of touch with the issues, and his cozy attitude towards the GOP is naive and blunting of the democratic power necessary to reset the nation.
That said, if he gets the nomination, Biden has my vote. Though I hope it’s someone fresher, younger, more willing to take chances. No, not speaking about you, Bernie.
2
It’s going to be 2016 all over again - there is not one really compelling Democrat running so far - in a field of 24. All retreads like Biden and Warren and a long list of people like Beto and Mayor Pete who don’t deserve the attention they are getting. All of them are trying to out PC each other and progressively alienating large swaths of the population. This, along with more revelations about the dirty dealings of HRC with help from Obama’s government will help sink anyone who isn’t really a standout. Trump is going to win in a landslide unless something changes dramatically in the next 18 months.
2
@Me i hope views like yours are not a minority voice.
Why are most ant-Biden op-eds written by women?
4
To say that Biden is "closely associated with sexual harassment and racism" is a disingenuous statement regarding Biden. It does, however, clearly show a political bias against white men. Outside the ranks of the 'progressive', young and vibrant left is where the vast majority of Democrat voters lie. Many want a progressive agenda, many want legislators apart from 'older white men'. And many want someone who knows the players and how the system operates. Regardless of how important or desirable any progressive cause is there is not an icicle's chance in hell of it becoming law without knowledgeable guidance from the top and Republican support. The notion that the conservative midwest Republican's are going to fall in line behind any 'socialist' Democrat president is fanciful at best, regardless of the facts. At this point in history the last thing we need is another on-the-job-trainer as president. Obama had great ideas but little experience and dark skin so the Republicans would not work with him. Period. Trump is a bumbling, ignorant, lying creep and the Republicans follow him in lock step. We need a leader who has the experience, ability, means well and who will work with and for progressive goals with all those he or she can bring along.
So they say; Youth is wasted in the young. And hindsight is wasted on the old. Biden has the great advantage of hindsight.
2
Yes, I'd vote for him, but I'd want Elizabeth Warren as VP. Assuming she doesn't get the nomination herself, that is - in which case I'd vote for him as VP.
2
What this opinion piece misses is that presidential elections differ from local elections. The bias of the electoral college means that you have to throw out all the people in pure red and pure blue states before considering who matters to electability. What are the demographics of the purple states that actually matter to the election? As a Democrat in Kansas, my vote in a presidential election is purely symbolic. Vast numbers of people in this country are structurally voter-suppressed in a presidential election.
7
What the voters have been saying since they elected a young African-American with a foreign sounding name in 2008 and then a strange looking misogynistic con man in 2016 is that things aren't going well, everyone knows it and we need to dump the establishment and try something -- almost anything -- else.
Biden may bring a few more of our older white non-college educated voters back to the Democratic party and he may be able to keep the generally conservative black voters in line but he will also lose many of our more activist young left leaning voters who won't think that it is worth the effort to go to the poles to vote for more of the same tired establishment policies.
The Democratic electorate both wants radical change and fears it. Is beating Trump enough? It wasn't in 2016 it may not be in 2020.
2
In 2020, we don’t need a diverse candidate who reflects the different colors of the Democratic Party, or a woman candidate, or a progressive one. Nor do we need a white male candidate. Nor do we need a candidate who performs well in big cities, or in the blue states, like California and New York.
What we need is someone who can beat Donald Trump in Wisconsin and Michigan and Pennsylvania — someone who appeals to the same voters who twice voted for Obama and then inexplicably switched over to Donald Trump in 2016. That should be the main criteria. If you want to call that “electability,” then go ahead.
What color or gender the candidate happens to be, we don’t know, and I don’t care. But we’ll know soon enough who that candidate is after primaries are held in those midwestern states.
2
I am rooting for a Warren/Abrams ticket.
Warren is an outstanding candidate. If she was a man, the media would be swooning over her. She is brainy, has put in homework into fashioning progressive policies and is not afraid to go toe to toe with Trump. Her life story is inspiring but she does not keep rolling it out and say vote for poor me because I had a hard life.
Abrams is the kind of politician that Democrats should be thankful for. She is no-nonsense, hard working, able to work with people across the aisle and is able to say proudly that she is not going to compromise her policies to appeal to the Republican voter. She campaigned hard in SC and energized her base who turned out in huge numbers. The election was stolen from her by the Republicans who used dubious means to invalidate thousands of ballots cast for her.
A Warren/Abrams ticket is the perfect opposite of a Trump/Pence ticket. It will not only attract women of both parties but also young people from all backgrounds.
@Meenal Mamdani
Will it be an electable pair as far as most states are concerned, or just in NY, NJ, CA, and a few other states?