Remember back in the fall when Hillary said she was ignoring calls for her to run since Biden was so viable. Tick, tick, tick...just when we think the Democratic race couldn't get any worse. And then The Donald could run as the green candidate, recycling all of his 2016 posters, signs, bumper stickers. Anyone for a reprise of the "lock her up" inaugural chant?
2
I always liked Joe's spirit, though have disagreed on key issues - Clarence Thomas, support for the Iraq war to name 2 of importance. However, Joe has taken very tough hits in his life and they take a toll. Sorry, Joe - we need vibrant energy, a vibrant nominee who will crush trump and his ilk. Your time is past. Bring your skills and experience in support of the final nominee. It's not just age, your energy has diminished and will only worsen in dealing with a lunatic like trump and his attack dogs. You do not want this for your life or your family. Time to move on.
15
I just participated in my first Iowa caucus, with this being me first presidential election cycle as an Iowa resident. I was a precinct captain for Klobuchar. When I got to my caucus location at 5 pm, 2 hours ahead of time, the Bernie captain was just hanging up some Bernie signs. Those of us from Yang, Klobuchar, Warren, and Buttigieg all arrived within a few minutes and joined the Bernie captain in the work of hanging up our posters, spreading out our stickers and brochures, and readying for the group. About an hour later, a couple of Biden supporters walked in the room, looked at the fact that all of the other campaigns were set up, and said,"We are here for Joe Biden! we don't have anyplace to set up!
That echoed my experience this whole cycle in Iowa. At least in my area, Buttigieg, Sanders and Warren had a great ground game. Worked hard, organized, promoted weekly community meetings, etc. Joe's people seemed to think that just showing you was enough, because he was such an obvious choice. Apparently not.
4
Wobbly? He was thoroughly trashed! Now looks to be 4th - AT BEST - in New Hampshire - and I am surprised he is doing THAT well given the meandering answers and the lack of awareness of which state he is in and what year he was VP.
1
I’m Biden’s age. He had his chance. Have some respect and go away.
4
Only in the NY Times would there be a "complete" article about Biden's campaign, and various factors affecting his popularity without mentioning the Hunter Biden situation. Hunter's no show job in the Ukraine, receiving millions of dollars in so-called compensation when Joe Biden was directing the US strategy towards Ukraine is definitely a factor in Biden's declining support. People are well aware of the corruption, and don't like it. This article disingenuously disregards the elephant in the room.
4
now Biden's angry slugging irrational bully will emerge, but some people will find that attractive. Biden has gotten by with that ploy for decades, but it won't work as presidential material, because he doesn't have the creds to back it up like Trump does. Remember when Biden bullied the yogurt guy? Trump would never have done something like that. Pundits call Trump unhinged, but Biden is hanging by a rusting piece of baling wire.
2
It is absolutely idiotic that the Democratic hopefuls continue to create talking points for the Trump campaign. Joe Biden (“What business does a mayor of South Bend, Ind., have running for president?”) and the others could be more influential than the Republican National Committee itself in torpedoing the chance of retaking the White House. The ridiculous length of the campaign cycle has allowed each new front-runner to peak and fade until the only real final winner will be fatigue and resignation.
1
Katie and Thomas - good analysis but it really is a mute point. Time to realize this so you don't look as inept as your political party does. Get up off the floor and resume life.
Trump won.... he tore Biden apart with lies and inuendo and everyone fell for it... this is a sad day... we need to get those uneasy republicans & other voters to vote against trump. Biden was like going home to rest. If we win we are spending 4 years to just clean up and hopefully we can get a third of the mess cleaned up. Big mistake to buy into trump's claim of Hunter & Burisma.... what about Ivanka, Don Jr & Eric? Who of those 4 or 5 running now will pull in republicans independents & undecideds? There isn't one that trump won't tear up (socialist,woman or gay) but he is terrified of Biden so much so he was impeached for it
1
The longer I watch these guys the more I think it should be a Buttigieg/Klobuchar ticket. I want to vote for Buttigieg, but think of how much more he could get done if she as VP was over working with legislators on their legislative priorities. They would be a great team.
3
I have mostly admired Vice President Biden over the course of his 40+ year career in politics, although his performance during the Anita Hill hearings left much to be desired.
So when he threw his hat into the ring to take on Donald Trump in 2020 I was all in. But his performances both on the stump and during the televised debates has left me in such doubt about his candidacy that I have shifted my support to Pete Buttigieg.
Of all the candidates on the debate stage - all fighting for more time to make their positions even clearer - VP Biden edits himself very harshly and will stop himself oftentimes in mid-sentence (!) when the light turns from green to red, or when a moderator "thanks" him when he has run out of time, like he's relieved to be off the hook.
I realize he has a stuttering issue, but funny how it was never really noticeable in all the years he was in the limelight, only recently, which of course may be an indication of his age. But if that's the case, well, that's a problem for me.
Like most Dems I am fearful that Trump will slide past the electorate again and get another four years in office, which would be a disaster for the nation. Joe Biden is simply too wobbly a candidate for me to support.
1
I genuinely like VP Biden, and I am grateful for his lifetime of service, in most part for the good guys; but he has taken one too many curtain calls in my opinion. Sadly, he has lost his edge. It's time to stand aside. As a friend several years my senior has said, I'm tired of voting for old people. We are overdue for some youthfulness and optimism.
We've already been blessed with a really good, even great, Barack Obama. The mission now should not be to clone him but to find the next really good, even great, president. And not everyone who could be that is on the debate stages.
I like Joe Biden but I getting tired of his endlessly invoking Barack Obama as the reason we should vote for him. The message I get, and the one I think we are supposed to get, is that a vote for Biden is a vote for 4 more years of the Obama presidency. All well and good but its beginning to feel like a crutch, as if he cant get elected without the Obama connection (and maybe he cant). I wish Biden would focus on who he is and what he will do beyond his association with Obama.
3
A front runner cannot be so far behind in the early races and claim to be able to beat Trump. He can't even win amongst the Democrats so how is he going to win the White House?
The Democratic leaders are doing a grave injustice to all America by excluding Bloomberg from the debate stage.
Klobuchar has done consistently well through all the debates but this time around she outshined the rest. But even she cannot resist pulling the latest leader down rather than pull herself above. Buttigieg is not going far after New Hampshire. Sanders priorities are well intentioned but do not add up financially. Warren has stopped talking about her healthcare plans, showing that she is not leader enough to admit that her healthcare plan is financially out of wack. Biden's strength is his wider support. But on close examination his history with the Blacks is a mixed bag. In his early senate career he threw the Blacks under the bus in key areas like busing and crime laws. Even with Obama he did not change those anti-Black laws. Besides in presidential debates the sizzle is just as important as the steak and given Biden's unsizzling debate performances he is more than likely to loose the sizzle test against Trump.
The Democrats have just one sure winner and that is Bloomberg. Bloomberg's outstanding success in so many diverse fields guarantees that his steak and sizzle will out steak and out sizzle Trump's phony sizzle. Bloomberg's debate and campaign performance will bring him sure success.
My long-standing admiration for Joe Biden took a dive yesterday when his campaign released a morally low, subtly homophobic ad against Pete Buttigieg (whom I support). The ad sought to diminish the Mayor's accomplishments with adjectives that carry a veiled but discernible anti-gay undercurrent. As an early advocate of same-sex marriage and a career politician with a reputation for decency, the Vice President is suddenly baring his teeth like a rat in a corner.
2
Biden's time is past. People are more inteested in moving forward.
1
It is time for Joe to gently leave the stage; while he may not have openly colluded to assist his son’s business venture in Ukraine, Joe is too tainted to be credible anymore. It is intellectually impossible to believe that with all of the very smart people in the Obama-Biden administration that the Vice President, the Departments of Justice and State and the National Security Council didn’t see the conflict of interest in the US government’s push to dump a corrupt Ukrainian AG that just happened to be hugely beneficial to the VP’s son... not buying it. Any legitimacy Joe had has been deftly ruined by Mr. Trump’s impeachment defense team. The House miscalculated the damage done to Joe. Now it is time for Mr Biden to be honorable and show courage and exit with dignity.
1
Here's the deal ...
Biden turns this Democrat off. He seems to be living in the past, roosting on a limb of 20th century achievements, a bygone social and political time in our nation. There are no such things in America now, in the 21st century, as civil political discourse, compromise, and the public interest.
Poke Biden often enough and he gets flustered, knocked off center, loses his cool. There appears an unmistakable tell in his manner and expression. Who wouldn't want to debate him? Could he maintain his composure and give more than he takes in combat against the vile ad hominem attacks and unhinged rhetoric of Master Liar and Impeached President Trump? Questionable. That will be a test for anyone who is ultimately anointed the Democrat candidate, but I believe others could handle it better than Biden.
But here's the deal, too: Anyone but Trump.
1
Now that Bloomberg is running ads with Barack Obama, it's clear the people that know Joe best have given up on him. Obama in commercials with Bloomberg and not Biden? Ouch!
1
He’s not. Thank you for service Joe.
1
Trump took care of him. Investigate the Biden's was all he needed to plant in the minds of the American public. Biden had no response nor did he forcefully defend himself, hopping it will go away. Democrats are poor at this. Debt clock, Debt and deficit the Republicans rained at them at a time of recession and then at the greatest economic expansion and lowest unemployment, the miracle worker is borrowing a trillion dollars from the Chinese a year and not a whimper about debt and deficit from the Democrats. Shame.
I'm beginning to think that Democrats WANT to lose, let's put up candidates that appeal to the vocal supporters of free everything.We know that they aren't going to vote however.
Biden was a mirage starting with his first few appearance BEFORE he even announced, alienating entire swaths of the electorate he would need. Of millennials, he said give me a break. Imagine that! After 2016 and all of the data we have about how horrible they have it compared to his generation.
Biden was a mirage in two different elections before that.
It's been incredible to see all of these establishment candidates unhesitatingly running for office as if this were the year 2000.
He's out of touch and he's not the only one.
Go home, Joe. Enjoy the fruits of a long and pretty good career. It's time to undo a lot of the things you've pushed.
10
@Rima Regas
I couldn't agree more. From his first emergence as a candidate "with high national approval rating' (hard for me to believe even then) until his appearance in the NH debate recently, I've witnessed his sad decline. I wish he hadn't exposed himself to the public's awareness that he is simply too old. I hope he can withdraw with some of hs former dignity intact.
3
I can't even imagine either Pete and Bernie actually beating Trump in the 2020 presidential election. It looks like the rise of Peter and Bernie in the Democratic primaries and caucuses simply hands the 2020 election to Trump. Why would Democrats who actually want to replace Trump in 2020 favor Bernie and Pete in the primaries? That is the biggest mystery to me. Maybe Trump supporters are crossing over and voting for Bernie and Pete in the Democratic primaries in order to ensure the reelection of Trump in 2020.
5
Why is the media trying to equate electability in an election against Trump with ability to defeat a large number of Democrat opponents in Iowa - or even in all 50 states?
It’s not whether he is the favorite of primary voters but whether he will win in November.
Otherwise we will get George McGovern.
3
I was an ardent supporter of Biden last night I had the impression that Joe Biden had all but given up. Today I saw him, and I realized he just needed a good nights sleep.He got it last night..and bounced back from his disappointment. Am still for Joe Biden.
12
@betterlate Great argument...let's elect a guy who needs a good night's sleep. At least there would be no 3am tweets.
3
Biden should give us an early signal in a few short weeks if he can stay in the race. That will come in South Carolina. If he doesn’t take first by a convincing number, he will be out.
21
All you have to do is watch/listen to any of the debates so far, and it is plain to see: Joe Biden is not up to the task of being president.
He’s done great service for our country and has held the second-highest office. But he should not be president.
51
Biden has served his country for decades, and generally holds a positive record given the length of service. His mantra "I want to serve" is now threadbare; he is not of this era and appears worn out and fumbling for words, far too often. (His son's very lucrative and strange activity in Ukraine gives one pause, as well.) However, overall, Biden cannot win the nomination, now on his third attempt, and seems too willing to display hubris and his attraction to the limelight.
95
@KennethWmM
It's a shame Biden decided to run yet again.
His arguments seem threadbare, repetitive, forced - in short not up to either the task or the times.
I was surprised that he threw his hat in the ring but I guess, like many politicians, this seems to be all he knows how to do.
I agree that there is no way he can win the nomination, nor - should he somehow - he could not possibly hold his own against the insulter-in-chief currently occupying the seat in the White House.
1
Biden just has no charisma and is not exciting. He carries a lot of baggage as well including his backing of the war on drugs which has caused the nation to have the highest incarceration rate in the world. No thankyou.
7
@dave Trump is very exciting, let's find another reality star.
Oh, it may be technically correct, as the investigation of Burisma predated Hunter Biden's sinecure on the Board. As stated, however, the remark could lead a casual reader to conclude that Joe Biden wasn't involved in the firing, or that it was unrelated to any effort to stop the investigation of Burisma.
Let's be clear: the evidence is pretty solid for the conclusion that Biden sought to stop the prosecutor's investigation into Burisma; and when he failed, gave the Ukrainian government a quid pro quo: the release of already-approved funds as soon as the prosecutor (Viktor Shokin) was fired. The former prosecutor himself has attested to this - saying he refused when he was asked to back off by the President; and after he refused was fired. Biden himself crowed about having gotten the guy fired - ironically, for "failing to investigate corruption"- including at Burisma.
And no one can honestly believe Biden's version of this. So I'm sorry that for whatever reasons -a lack of awareness of the facts, or political expediency, Teachout mis-states the case w/r/t this part of Ukraine-gate.
3
This has been explained before in this paper. Biden fired a corrupt prosecutor who was not really looking into Burisma to uncover wrongdoing - instead he was looking into it to get a kickback to walk away from that investigation. This was his general modus operandi. Biden’s getting rid of him was in accordance with official US policy and European policy.
1
If Black voters stick with him, then so will white moderates who remember the Civil Rights Era. That coalition will knock Pete out of the race.
If Joe stumble, the black voters will go en masse to whichever other candidate they think is most electable.
That is likely to be Mike Bloomberg.
4
The Senate has now asked for and has already obtained ALL available documents on Hunter, financial, secret service, travel, etc, etc.
The $3 million from Ukraine are just a tip. The $1.5 billion from China are the big one.
Nancy Pelosi knew that in order to get that impeachment, she would have to take down Biden, the formerly most electable candidate.
And you saw what happened in Iowa...
4
@novoad, sadly, the Biden campaign is done and he hasn't acknowledged it. And even if the voters' message isn't clear, the Republicans will distract with "The Hunter Biden Show" with the help of all the gasbags on right-wing radio and TV (including the medal of dishonor "winner"). Thank you for your lifetime of service, sir. Now please let a winner in. (It hurts me to write this, but too often, the truth hurts.)
Hillary Clinton did really poor in New Hampshire so I don't think Biden should be that concerned about how he does in that state. There are no recent Nevada polls but in the last poll he was leading and ifhe does poorly in Nevada then maybe it will be time for him to pack it in. But at the moment he still looks like a formidable candidate based on a fairly recent South Carolina poll and so actually does Steyer. I think writing off Biden too soon is a mistake. Large numbers of Latinos and blacks have not yet voted and until they do Biden's chances remain unclear.
2
Biden might have a hard time this year. The debate performance was not great but perhaps he can recover by super Tuesday. While the general election is months away, the voters should keep their eyes on the swing states. Biden and Sanders are beating Trump in one on one match ups in Michigan (based on the most recent 1/15/20 poll), in Wisconsin (based on the most recent poll 1/15/20), in Florida (based on a 1/15/20 poll), and in Pennsylvania (although the only poll I could find for Pennsylvania is dated (11/14/19). Trump won all these states in 2016 and they are worth 73 electoral votes-- far beyond the 43 needed.
3
The Media naturally focuses on current happening North Carolina being early gets attention. But where is it in the general election? This year like 2016 is Establishment vs. Insurgency and Trump won primary and general elections as the Insurgent.
Who will be the Insurgent, the one offering no more of what has been in a broken Nation? Good question.
Trump is trying to hang on to that; the opponent who can mock him and promise a bright future, or at least a good try, will win. Joe? Pete? Liz? Bernie?
The last two carry that message most effectively and Trump is going to be hard to bring down.
Voter turnout the outcome. Can Dems unite where are the Independents.
I’d choose Sanders Mr. Insurgent.
3
I’m rooting for you, Joe!
And remember to keep that record player on at night!
2
I don't know if he is electable. But it will take more than the first two states to figure that out. Besides, I thought Biden wasn't expected to do well in Iowa or NH?
3
At this point in time, the reality is that Mr. Biden is not particularly electable.
I believe that is a shame, because those who are more likely to be the Democratic Party's nominee are even less likely to be electable.
Once this election season is concluded, the Democratic Party will be at an historic junction where it will need to choose the direction in which it wishes to go. I believe that choice will have everything to do with the fortunes of the party for the next few decades.
2
@BayArea101 Indeed. A major reform in the party is called for. If the left takes over, many of us so-called moderates will simply desert the party. (I prefer to call myself a "common-sense Democrat." I have yet to meet any others who would use that label.)
3
"A weak showing in New Hampshire... could undermine his electability argument and accelerate a flight of donors and voters to his rivals."
And if those donors and voters are smart, they will flock directly to moderate-progressive Amy Klobuchar, who won last night's debate and whose star is ascendant.
4
The electability of Joe Biden has been touted from the start of his campaign almost exclusively by the same pundits who asserted Trump could never beat Clinton and other similarly accurate prognostications.
The only real data point we have is that Biden performed terribly in Iowa. If he does not do well in New Hampshire, we will have two useful data points. The likelihood appears that this second data point will not be favorable to Biden.
From his performance in the debates, his speeches, and feedback from the electorate, he appears utterly unlikely to defeat Trump, which is his only claim for the nomination.
He has repeatedly said that he can work with Republicans, indicating further his inability to deal with the one essential fact of the current political landscape, that the Republican party will not compromise in any substantive way with anyone, especially not Democrats.
To my mind, Joe Biden is out of touch with reality, tired, unimaginative, and uninspiring. If this is the candidate of the pundits, it is time we got both new pundits and a new candidate.
4
Using early polling to declare yourself “the clear front-runner in the party” -- months upon months before even one vote is cast -- is a fool's errand and leads to endless circular reasoning and tautologies by breathless political pundits desperate to feed into the maw of airtime and digital space even the tiniest shift in "conventional wisdom."
Not to mention exhaustive -- and exhausting -- daily micro-handicapping of the presidential "horse race" years before candidates even declare. It has really gotten out of hand.
And please let this be the last election cycle that readers, listeners and viewers are bombarded with the omnipresent yet vacuous buzzword "electability." It could even cause PTSD.
The Iowa caucuses are a great metaphor for how badly the overhyped campaign-industrial complex has gone haywire.
5
The problem with determining if Biden is electable is the fact that the people who come out and vote for at these things are the die hard democrats—the more left wing and “radical” elements of the party and not independents (who the democrats need to win a general election). It isn’t much different than what goes on with the Republicans; hence, they wound up with Trump.
Dems need to wise up and select someone who is popular with the general population and who won’t seem like a threat to establishment republicans to dig into that as well. The goal is to be rid of Trump. He has to lose the election and democrats need to hold off on an overly progressive agenda. And who knows—maybe the dems can even take back the Senate, too; allowing Biden to be more progressive than you think.
4
@HJ You are living in the past, just like Biden. The US is polarised: there are VERY few independents left to fight for. FAR more important - as Trump as recognised - is firing up one's base. Vote the Bern.
Isn't it time we stopped pretending that presidential primaries are legitimate elections? They are elections in name only. if Bernie Sanders is not going to be the Democratic nominee for President, it's not because he isn't favored by a plurality of Democratic voters. It is because he is despised and feared by Democratic leadership. John Kerry summed it up in a recent comment when he said that Bernie could take down the Democratic Party. Leadership will do whatever is necessary to derail the Sanders campaign. It isn't clear at this point how obvious or draconian such measures will be, but pay attention. The fix is in and it certainly won't be pretty.
7
Compromising Biden is exactly what Trump and the Republicans are trying to do. They would not continue to engage a full scale assault on him if he was not perceived as the greatest threat to the reelection of Trump and Republican power in Congress. The Biden Threat to them is about the symbolism he along brings to the Democratic Primary Campaign and to the general election. Biden is a known quantity and has a decent reputation earned over a very long political career. The complete opposite of Trump.
Likewise, Trump is a known quanity, but has an indecent reputation earned over a very long private and now public career.
The latest indecent behavior displayed by Trump in his roll as POTUS is a clear indication why symbolism matters.
Many others currently running for the Democrat nomination for President has more progressive platforms than Biden, and are also much more energetic. However, again the symbolism of Biden is the threat to Trump, not the political platform. The disinformation campaign against Biden started with the UKraine Affair, and continues.
1
Joe Biden is unelectable for the third time. He is low energy and offers nothing new. If you want baggage vote for Joe; if you want a good future vote for a true progressive.
4
When VP Biden criticizes Mayor Pete for inexperience does that count for much? Hillary Clinton had so much experience yet lost to someone with zero political experience. It takes more than experience to get elected - whether that is good or bad
4
Biden is the only candidate who can lead America into the 1970s.
8
Based on Biden’s lacklustre performance, I dare to say that Trump had no reason to go after him in Ukraine.
2
I like Joe Biden. I really believe he could have been a very good President. I am sorry to say though that he is too old. The job of President requires the energy/ strength of a younger person. The strain is enormous.
I think President Trump is probably too old too. Further- Bernie Sanders is not only too old but suffers from a heart condition. He can not do the job to the level needed.
7
Biden might have been able to win in 2016, but he ceded his opportunity to the perceived "next in line."
That made 2016 the battle over who was the most despised candidate of this modern era. Courtesy of the Electoral College and Hillary's hubris regarding the mid-western states, this led to the situation we are now experiencing.
I'm not sure that Trump can defeated in this 2020 cycle, but the Democrats can and must begin vigorously recruiting viable candidates for 2024.
If the Democrats lose the House this time, perhaps all hope for them is ruined.
7
@retiree the fact that the "next in line" perception exists is a glaring failure of our system.
2
Sorry. In 2024, Trump will run as VP to Pence, a la Putin/Medvedev. TWELVE MORE YEARS!!
For me it has nothing to do with Biden's electability. He is too old to serve. I admire Joe, thank him for his contributions to America, he may win; but I watched his stump speech and he does not have the stamina to serve. Bottom line.
16
America and the world will continue to see many events unfold besides jobs reports and stock market prices. Most of the events will not be disturbing to many and they will be a direct result of having Trump as president along with the fear-driven backing of Republicans and the influence of foreign nations on our society.
The precarious times we are living through will cause many Democrats to either stay with candidate current choices, or more likely, change depending on the headlines that explode into the news.
1
Does Biden really have a chance? Here is my very subjective feeling, as a skeptic: Biden has no chance to win the general election. He simply does not exude the energy that seems necessary to convince ordinary voters that he can handle the job. He comes on too weak, too soft, too old.
I am wondering if he’s not just wasting his time and energy doing all this campaigning. And, after all, on what truly objective reasons did he decide to enter the race for the presidency if not again for purely emotional satisfaction? It would be some achievement if he would just get nominated. But that’s not even in the cards.
What then is he effectively getting for himself from all this time and effort invested in this merry-go-round ? What’s in it for him? Perhaps it’s more for the fallout to his family, for his children, which at least would seem a reasonable motivation.
7
Does anyone else see a parallel to the Republican 2016 race where the establishment propped up one establishment figure after another only to be humiliatingly dismissed by the electorate. JEB! Then on to Rubio. Then finally settling on the repulsive Ted Cruz. The 2020 Democratic version was Harris, then onto Biden, then onto Warren, then onto Buttigieg. Even the repulsive Klobuchar is being desperately politically photoshopped to make her appear appealing. Of course the entire lot is seen for what they are. Craven, say-anything-to-get-elected phonies who will turn around the minute they get elected and sell us out, just like Obama did. People are not falling for it this time. The only one the polls show being able to beat Trump is Bernie Sanders, and for good reason. People like him and know he will help them.
8
@FXQ You make a lot of assumptions, which may or may not be true, but assert them like they are. You have a very negative view of politics and apply a purity test to the entire field, ending with only one acceptable candidate. As for me, I’m not looking for a perfect candidate, just one who can beat Trump, who is bad for the country. In a perfect world I might vote for Sanders but he might be un-electable.There are many people in this country who won’t vote for him because of his self description as Democratic Socialist. If Sanders can’t win don’t you think it would be better to vote for someone who represents not all but some of your views?
2
@FXQ I agree with everything you said and think it's the reality we are in with the Democratic party. With the exception of lumping Elizabeth Warren in with the bunch. I do believe she would stand up and make the sjgnificant changes we need. Her problem is that she is running against Bernie who still has a strong headwind from 2016 and is cut from the same cloth.
Onward, fellow Americans. It's all we really know.
2
@MsB
This belief that Sanders somehow can not win, where do you get that from? Think hard. Just where did that come from? If you say you heard it on TV, then you have just proved my point about the establishment desperately trying to sabotage Sanders. In reality, national poll after poll has Sanders as the only one who beats Trump. Don't take my word for it, Google it right now. Even a Fox poll had Sanders beating Trump by 4 points. And again, this idea of a purity test. Where do you hear this? From candidates who resist what poll after poll shows what the voters are asking of their politicians, but they say they are not able to give it to them. That's not purity, that's a poor politician.
2
I think Joe Biden has confused the Democratic primary with a Republican one, since his pitch is basically, “Vote for me because I’m the most popular in the GOP!”
That representation is true and based on decades of things like cosseting Wall Street and support for the Iraq War. Even ACA merely shifted the expense of insuring our poorest to the middle class while allowing insurance companies & others to continue profiteering.
60% of American eligible voters have concluded that neither party genuinely champions their interests. The carnival huckster Trump exploited that sad disaffection to gain power.
But we now have a shot at electing a candidate who will truly change this.
So the question is whether to choose that transformative, FDR-type of change & mobilize the 60% to join us in fighting for it—or play the same cynical game we’ve played for decades, “because that’s how to beat Trump.”
I hope that Democratic voters have had enough of lesser-of-two-evils voting. I hope that the 60% (& many Republicans) will back convergence-issue goals from which we all benefit: genuine health care overhaul, fully-funded public schools, equitable taxation, breaking up monopolies, family leave, a living wage, & other *healthy capitalism* initiatives.
It may be Dem taboo to say it, but Obama proved to have fooled us with false hope of “change you can believe in” & instead epitomized the duopoly policies that Biden thinks will still satisfy voters. I think that Biden is wrong.
11
Why was Biden ever considered electable? He has run twice and lost both times.
34
@Sara Strachan Replace "Biden" with "Hillary" as she is edging closer to running.
1
Old lion, young lion - As said 10 months ago, elder statesman Biden might best designate, mentor, finance, enthusiastically endorse and campaign for his chosen Dem presidential candidate half his age. Then occupy quarters near the Oval Office as éminence grise to Dem 2020 administration.
3
Look into Biden's eyes, in photos and also on TV. The light has gone out. Look at his posture and how he dresses. He looks slumped and in the cold of Iowa and New Hampshire his collar is turned up, he looks like an old man having a hard time getting warm. He's not going to be President.
13
Anita Hill, Clarence Thomas, Crime Bill, Iraq War Vote.
Pete Buttigieg, while a student at Harvard, wrote a scathing article in the campus newspaper ardently arguing against the Iraq War. His fellow students admonished him and disagreed. Who was right in the end? Peter Buttigieg!
He was barely twenty and still had better judgement than Joe, Hillary, and all the others who fell in line out of fear. Sound familiar?
Wake up Joe. It was not the Obama Biden administration. No one calls it that. Nobody except Joe Biden. It was the Obama administration. Period.
19
Great guy but unfortunately no longer presidential material.
5
Biden looks appallingly weak and unhealthy. I would never vote for him.
12
Biden is no longer clearly the front runner. His inability to match Sanders' fund raising by about half and his poor showing so far show a lack of enthusiasm for Biden. This weakens his status as front runner. But Biden's proposals and approach are more likely to defeat Trump than those of the progressives --e.g., those of Sanders. The two approaches to this campaign--the progressives and the centrists--do not have the same ability to topple Trump. The first (the progressive approach) says that when Trump says right we say left---a complete overturn of our system.
But Biden's centrist approach keeps the system we have pretty much intact, while promising many improvements in a system heavily weighted to benefit the very rich; lets move more benefits to the middle, it says. As long as the economy is strong, and people have their jobs, even with some minimal raises ---ordinary people will be very reluctant to topple the system and lose what they have. If the economy were to go into recession (highly unlikely) well before the election--the progressives would have a good chance to defeat Trump. But as it stands, people will vote for Trump in the mistaken belief that their job depends on his leadership. In this sense, Biden's approach at present , which is shared by some of the other candidates, is more likely to win the next election than that of the progressives. Whether Biden is the strongest candidate sharing that approach is another issue.
Biden's campaign never had legs. All he had was some momentum from his association with Obama admin which is now spun in the corporate DP as a "golden era". Of course, it was not. The Obama admin was simply, on the surface at any rate, rational as compared to Bush&Cheney.
Biden is the past, a relic of the centrist DLC coup in the Dem party that has enabled the Republicans and their allies, the oligarchic corporate and wealthy classes, to completely take over and run the country as their own giant estate, with the rest of us cast as their serfs.
His 4th place finish in IA has completely done away with this media-driven “electability” argument, the myth that the Obama voters would come flocking home to support Biden.
Under Obama, the 99% was crushed; "centrist", or neoliberal, warmongering insanity with a happy black face plastered on.
People's homes and savings are still gone, and Biden who helped with that huge siphoning of middle class wealth into elite pockets is certainly not going to get it back for them. In fact, he'll probably be too busy undermining social security to spare it a 2nd thought.
He has no political vision to improve the country, and even if he did, it would not be credible in the least because of his dismal record.
Joe Biden is the guy for wealthy, old, head-in-the-sand limousine liberals, moderate old Republicans and low-information voters who go by name recognition.
Nobody left of center that actually knows Joe’s voting record will vote for him
14
Biden should have heeded Obama's advice when he said "Joe, you don't have to do this. "
17
Democrats ain't looking good.. The two front runners are the.. old, rigid, ideologue Sanders, and a 38-year-old mayor from small-town Indiana...---
Isn't this supposed to be the most important election in a generation.. ???
7
This is Mayor Pete’s moment (we all call him Mayor Pete because we can’t spell his last name). If he comes in at the top two in New Hampshire, and Biden is fourth again, Biden’s donors start moving in-masse to Pete. Bloomberg won’t take their contributions, so they have no stock in him.
5
@Rich r Pete hits the wall on SuperTuesday. He has Zero Minoritys upport and that is not going to change, no matter what happens in NH.
1
Joe is not doing himself any favors by his attacks.
Mayor Pete is no Obama, he says.
Well, Pete is not trying to be Obama.
And for that matter, Joe is no Obama either, that is clear.
Gotta do better than that.
20
After The Iowa catastrophe the guy that has to go is Thomas Perez. The Dems need to remember that nobody wins in a range war.
14
Millions of Americans saw this coming out of the gate and this article nails it down. How any of the political experts thought he had a chance in the primary, let alone the election is beyond me. Gonna be hard when he concedes what so many knew way back.
The press urging him on, calling him the front runner based on nothing, and pretending he would handle Trump in a debate was cruel. Though we understand the press has to write about something. After months of speculation Super Tuesday will produce some real data. Whereas Iowa results are not much of an indicator one way or another.
The press needs to learn a little restraint.
4
All of the age comments apply equally to Senator Sanders. It's a wash in that respect. Honest, reasonable, likable Midwestern Amy Klobuchar has the chops to win Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Wisconsin.
8
@Blair Amy Klobuchar is anything but likeable. I will vote for any of the candidates, but for her I will need the clothespin. She may have a decent message, but as soon as she begins her attacks on Buttigieg I mute the sound. I won’t listen to that stuff. So for me at least her message has been completely lost and I see nothing to like about her.
Joe is good at reminding people about he and Barack Obama’s accomplishments together. Unfortunately we all saw musically what happened to Ringo Starr without the other Beatles.
5
Biden won't take a single vote away from Trump and won't motivate anyone off the non-voting sidelines, but he will push many more into that apathetic group (110,500,000 non-voting eligible voters and counting). That's why Hillary lost and she was a far better candidate.
2016 favored an anti-status quo candidate and our current situation has gone far further in that anti-establishment direction.
The status quo has nothing to talk about, nothing to sell. No one gets excited over more status quo. A status quo candidate will guarantee that voters - who always want change - will vote for the other guy just to vote against the status quo. That's how Trump won.
A Moderate is the least safe candidate possible. The most anti-establishment candidate will beat Trump. The risk-adverse Democrats say Trump is unbeatable but the correct candidate (Bernie) could slap him silly. Trump has huge baggage and he fools no one.
The only reason the Trumpsters stick with Trump is not because they like him, they hold their noses, but simply because they see no anti-status quo alternative.
The proof is how easily Tulsi peels off hundreds of thousands of Trumpster votes from Trump - and she's a female person of color with a flaming liberal platform similar to Warren! That's amazing.
Trump will go down in a landslide and straight into jail if Moderates can find their courage and support the only true Democrat in their party, Bernie.
8
So many of the top comments are at odds with national and swing state poll data. Biden has led the national polling average since the beginning and continues to lead the RCP average by 5. And he polls best against Trump in swing states.
Biden's position is only "perilous" in the sense that "some" Democrats opine that not winning IA and NH "could" impact future polling and fundraising.
Or not.
Like who you like. But don't back it up by citing this article as your "data" (e.g. "I don't know how much more data the media needs to finally learn that Biden isn't it").
He's still the clear lead candidate until actual data indicates he's not.
3
@James
Bernie beats Trump nationally in the polls as he did in 2016. He also beats Trump in Ohio, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin.
You need to check the polls yourself because the status quo media keeps quiet about this. They'd rather plant the "Bernie can't win" unexamined assumption.
3
@James: When polled, numerous independents and moderate Democrats won't admit they're leaning toward Trump, so they'll say Biden. Totally skews the polls.
@Fourteen14 Bernie has never been attacked and the Russians and Trump are propping him up. Trump is absolutely salivating to run against Bernie. Iowa is utterly ridiculous and the press has done America poorly in giving it the false sense of importance it has. Same with New Hampshire. Please stop with the Biden hatred based on these two states.
1
So many commenters mention how one or another Democratic candidate with "crush" Trump in a debate. It's a one night event they're talking about, and we can't even be positive it will ever happen. Trump doesn't need to debate anyone, he knows it, and he won't. Let's stop focusing on what contest we'd find enjoyable to see played out on our tv screens, and instead look at who can get the Independents (43% of the electorate) to turn out and vote. They're the group that decides presidential elections, not some spitting contest.
3
@Sandy: The craziness of the Democratic left and its socialist programs and identity politices causes numerous moderates and independents to veer away from the Dems and into the arms of Trump.
Read between the lines everybody --
It's not hard to see the ambivalence in Biden's face - and considering his age and lifetime of political battles - along with the baggage of his son's shenanigans - which will hang on him like a ten-ton weight during a toe-to-toe campaign battle with Trump - frankly - who can blame him --
Which leads to the real issue - that being - if Biden is not 110% all-in on this thing - how can we expect voters - who's only concern is to find the candidate they believe can beat Trump - to stand behind him -- ?
I don't the think Sanders is the guy - but I also don't believe Biden really wants it that badly anymore...
5
Yes, Biden is too old. But ot is not age as a number-- Bernie is one year older and strong, energetic and as active as Pete. Buttigieg's tiny margin in the electoral vote was probably partly due to Sanders being stuck in Washington. Biden had the same advantage and lost.
And when it comes to fund raising, Biden is the only one with a Super-Pac and still comes in way behind the winners.
Bernie 2020 and the Senate. (Red-baiting is dead.)
5
Biden was collateral damage from the impeachment process. He is now unelectable.
11
Dan Pfeiffer, who served as a top aide to Barack Obama. Referencing the New Hampshire contest, said, “The test for Biden is less about where he places and more about whether he shows strength as a candidate coming out of it.”
Isn't it the same thing? What a smart sounding nothing. Again.
3
I've always liked Joe Biden. He would not make a bad president, but he's not electable. He has the same problem that Dems have. This country is not a parliamentary democracy that rewards long legislative service. Joe was not the primary voters' choice in 1988 and 2008. The time to run was 2016. Not now. To twist the famous phrase of Alice Roosevelt about her father, Theodore, Joe Biden looks like every corpse at an Irish funeral.
3
"“Joe Biden is a fighter,” said Andrew Bates, a spokesman for Mr. Biden’s campaign. ""
I wish I could believe that. I am a Biden fan who has, nonetheless, been very disappointed in his lack of fire. On the basis of body language alone, he looks sad, tired, old and tentative.
I was also disappointed in how his wife fielded the question, "when is Joe going to come out with a strong speech defending his son and fighting the ugly narrative Trump is promoting about Burisma ?(the president should talk: his kids have been making a killing off their access to the president).
She essentially said, "But Joe is." Huh? Unless he shows some more fire by coming out and fighting Trump's attacks, he won't last a second against him on a debate stage, let alone a voting booth.
3
I didn't start out being for Joe Biden, though I greatly respect him. Why the Democratic Party and the media refused to acknowledge him as the front runner for so many months tells of bias, however. Whether he is not exciting enough for the daily headline or too old for a younger demographic -- well, I think those are questions that will be asked after it is far too late. And then the media will attempt to dignify the analysis, as if it was all a mystery in real time, the answer discovered only in retrospect. In my teens, I took part in Civil Rights marches, looked up to the Kennedys and cast my first-ever vote for McGovern. I know something about the spirit of the time during a crucible of American history. None, and I mean, none of the candidates put on stage, debate after tiring debate, has the charisma to defeat Donald Trump. Yet, there is a dismissal of Joe Biden despite the many months he held high in national polls. And now we read news stories that seem to want to justify the dismissal that brought him to this point. I support Joe Biden, and I would have supported others who are no longer on the ticket. My greatest hope, however, comes from Michael Bloomberg, who has the money to get his message to the public independent of the media, which might just be as complicit in a tepid Democratic campaign as the DNC itself.
10
Biden is still the one ring to call them all.
He is the one Republicans most fear. Can there be any doubt about that?
And give Republicans their due, they are better at strategizing because they are not limited by morality or compassion.
Biden, with the help of Obama and all the current and past Democratic candidates, united in a crusade to defeat Trump and his Republican enablers can win back the presidency, flip the senate and a couple more state legislatures.
But Biden should announce at the convention a pledge to be a one-term president to restore our democratic traditions, return our government to respectability and decency, and our political discourse to a lower decibel level.
He should also announce his picks for VP and several cabinet positions.
Imagine the help Biden might receive from
Stacy Abrams as VP,
Pete Buttigieg as Sec. of Defense,
Kamala Harris as AG,
Susan Rice at State,
Andrew Yang at Commerce and
Julian Castro at Homeland Security.
These and others might serve at least for six months in the cabinet after campaigning hard to defeat Trump. The result would be a caretaker presidency dedicated to healing the nation and our relationships abroad.
Also, many of our brightest stars would have an opportunity to gain experience governing so they could provide better choices for president in 2024.
Biden said he wants to work with both sides. Let him first show his ability to work with his Democratic rivals to defeat Trump once and for all.
10
@Dennis: What a nightmare scenario. Fortunately, it'll never happen.
How electable is Joe Biden?
Answer: Not very.
At critical moments in his political career, from his horrific handling and oversight of the Supreme Court nomination of Clarence Thomas and profound disrespect (bordering on misogyny) of Anita Hill, his jumping on the George W. Bush bandwagon to invade Iraq, the committee hearings he led purportedly establishing the existence of Hussein's weapons of mass destruction that gave Dubyah the excuse to proceed with the Iraqi invasion, and his poor judgment in using his influence to land a position for his son, Hunter Biden, on the board of a Ukrainian energy company........ . Well, you get the idea.
Joe Biden's time has not passed, it never was.
25
Touchy-feely Uncle Joe is facing reality. He’s out of step and his opponents know it. He’s not far enough left for young Democrats.
13
@George
Is there anyone who is not for change? Is there anyone who wants more status quo?
That's Biden's entire constituency - about three or four votes.
1
I was in Nashua this morning. I googled VP Biden’s Campaign offices. It was on the 5th floor of a building ... not a single sign at street level. I went up to the fifth floor office. Th office was festooned w Biden signs. There was ONE man in the office. That’s it. He said that office was for phone banking. I asked where I could go to help w door to door canvassing. He did not know and had to call someone to find out. He directed me to a house close by.
As a supporter of VP Biden (I’ll support anyone but Pres. Trump), I was shocked and saddened at the lack of organization.
I’ve been receiving text messages so I texted them asking where to go. They got back to me two and a half hours later.
I chalked it to Biden having given up on NH.
Out of curiosity I drove around and checked out Warren and Pete’s offices...both bustling w activity. Bernie’s office was packed w people.
My 2 cents.
34
@Citizen Maine
and that is why Biden doesn't get the nomination.
2
Biden does not stand a chance against Trump, but Trump would probably be crushed by Bloomberg. Where should Trump direct his attacks? Money? Experience? Not a chance. Woman? Maybe not. No insults would stick, rather sound desperate, envious and childish. The philanthropist vs the misanthropist. It would be an epic battle, but one where it is difficult to see how Trump could come out on top.
13
In less than two months, Nancy Pelosi will be 80. She looks great for her age but it’s obvious she is her age- and her mental acuity shows it. She doesn’t have the ability to do her job anymore. It is the same for Biden. He walks around talking about physically kicking Trump’s (you know what), but mentally and physically, Trump would absolutely wipe the floor with Biden.
So Biden starts with a lie. He claims Trump is corrupt... in comparison to whom? Him? We Trump supporters eagerly await the vetting that awaits old Joe.
He has a carload of baggage and years of misstatements. And if you think Trump’s next statement is cause for anxiety, wait till you start hanging your hopes on Biden.
I like a good game and I hate to see a drubbing. If Biden is the nominee, it’s going to be brutal.
8
@Arthur Taylor Biden "...starts with a lie." Yes, he's a classic example of Washington cocktail party corruption. But you are a Trump supporter? Don't look now, but your hero's whole life is a lie. You know it, everyone knows it. Trump himself wouldn't even deny it.
So yes, it's going go be brutal. But Biden's not going to be the nominee, so the game goes on.
5
@paulyyams: I wonder... Is it "classical Washington cocktail party corruption" to be given the China portfolio as Vice President of the United States, bring your son Hunter to China with you on Air Force 2, and - two weeks later - have him receive an "investment" of $1,500,000,000.00 ($1.5 billion) from the Bank of China for his newly formed hedge fund? Is that "classical Washington cocktail party corruption?"
Donald Trump owned hotels prior to his Presidency. He writes a check to the Treasury for any net profits stemming from foreign stays at those properties while he's President. The United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, just threw out Congress's emoluments suit against the President. What other pay for play or acceptance of bribes can you attribute to the President? And please don't bring up Ukraine, as that depends on ones point of view - The hater's being that it was an attempt to undo the 2020 election - our's being it was a legitimate ask into the actions of a seemingly corrupt former Vice President - the same one I described above.
1
Of all the candidate on stage yesterday the one who is not electable is the one who was not on stage. I don’t mean Bloomberg, he’s fine. I mean Trump. He’s the one who should not, never, ever, be electable.
15
Joe Biden is only candidate that won't incite Trump's base. But I think so much of animosity directed toward him is really directed at Obama's legacy and potentially minorities who will be deciding factor.
2
I was glad to see today that Biden released the ad throwing shade at Pete’s record as mayor. One of the questions out there has been whether Biden can still punch. This shows he’s still got some fight in him, and it was really just a love tap compared to what Biden’s been getting from Trump, and what Pete should expect from Trump should he become the nominee. And we also need to know whether Pete’s support can withstand closer examination of his record. Both Harris and Warren deflated when they started getting hits.
3
It should have been abundantly clear that Biden was extremely weak by the fact that he was polling less then 30% nationally for months. If after decades in the Senate and serving eight years as the VP for the popular president Barack Obama, Biden is not the first choice of more than seven in ten Democratic voters, then he is strikingly unpopular.
Only now are the media waking up to that simple fact. Should have realized it long ago.
10
@Sean
Actually, I heard some pundits on MSNBC say on the day Biden announced that his numbers on that day could be his highest.
2
@Sean
The times they are a changing. For both Biden and the mainstream media. They failed to adapt and they became irrelevant.
Both Biden and the media attached themselves to the status quo and clung to it as their cash cow. Now it's in decline and they're going down with it.
They failed to lead, to get in front of history by reinventing themselves.
What will the media do without Trump? Unless they get behind Bernie they will miss the next big thing, which will be bigger than Trump.
1
Not electable: Sanders, Warren, Buttigieg
Electable but lacking substantive support: Yang, Steyer
Electable even if he funds his own party: Bloomberg
Electable, maybe: Klobuchar
Disappointingly adrift at sea: Biden
Everything subject to change without notice.
11
Where, exactly, do the primary votes for Bloomberg come from? Only voters with a very short memory.
Working against him will be the history of stop & frisk, multiple sealed settlements for sexual harassment claims, actions against OWS, and antipathy all over the country for his paternalistic billionaire arrogance.
Are we prepared to forgive & forget, given the stakes?
This past week, we got our first peek at 2020's Biden "electability" fallacy -- fourth place -- and by all evidence, there should be a similar outcome Tuesday night. Endless fodder for inexhaustible speculation by pundits, though.
Fact is, Mr. Biden's résumé as a presidential candidate is abysmal. Even the most cursory scan of the 1988 and 2008 election cycles makes that clear.
As much as he likes to invoke the name "Barack," he has yet to prove himself credible nationally when running on his own. No matter what a given poll may say, actual votes are better.
We'll see what Nevada and South Carolina (his "firewall") bring, but given his decades-long penchant for self-implosion, is anyone really taking bets that he'll last much past Super Tuesday, if that?
Even if so, a candidacy that limps, lurches and staggers along is not an especially good look when trying to unseat an incumbent president, especially this one. If the Democrats can't do better than Biden 3.0, they're in a heap of trouble.
18
@Dotconnector
The Democrats (because they are oldsters) are engaged in a common strategic planning error; they are fighting the last war. Biden and the Moderates are as irrelevant as the Maginot Line.
3
The problem is Trump will be re-elected if the economy remains stable. So none of them are "electable".
8
Joe Biden just doesn't have the energy needed to get elected on his own. I am hoping that Elizabeth Warren will select Joe Biden (or one of the other candidates) for her running mate. If we can pair up our candidates we'll have a strong ticket.
Individually the candidates all lack strength - but together, regardless of the pairing (who is the Presidential candidate or who is the Vice President candidate), Democrats will win easily.
I'm so ready for one candidate to be chosen, so that we can launch our attack against Donald Trump and the rest of the gutless Republican Party. It's time to send the Trump Family packing.
4
God bless him. He needs to get out of the way and help behind the scenes.
11
How could Biden be electable?
A Biden vs Trump election would be more of the same lesser evil vs greater evil as before, as if decades of choosing the lesser evil hadn't driven the US away from post-war prosperity and down to its current state of decay.
If the Democratic Party chooses to betray the public again and selects Biden as their nominee, Trump wins hands down, requiring very little effort on his part.
It won't even be a contest.
Biden voted for the Iraq war, supported all regime change wars, promulgated the drug war, promoted his 'Crime bill' that helped build the incarceration state, backed up bailing out Wall Street and not 'main street,' supported getting rid of Glass-Steagall and backed the Commodity Futures Modernization Act which led to the 2008 meltdown, loves the 'droneabombers,' once supported segregation and opposed busing, liked NAFTA, likes the death penalty, protected credit card companies, bungled the Anita Hill hearing, loves the Patriot Act and the NSA, is against "Medicare for All," free college and the $15 minimum wage.
Nobody in their right mind wants to return to the good old days of Obamaism and Bidenism.
That’s exactly what gave us Trump.
That and the odious HRC, of course.
22
Biden's election to lose, I think he already lost it. Past poor debate performances and overall he just doesn't inspire me to believe that he can beat Trump.
Trump will attack him daily on the issues about his son. Biden is a decades long politician, where is the solid rebuttal to those attacks? How can he not already have one?
Trump inflected harm to Hillary because she decided to uphold her marriage vows and not divorce her husband and then he slimed her with her husbands history. So how will Biden defend his son's actions?
I don't see him going on the attack, I see more the how dare you question it reaction.
7
@Heidi
We have no idea if Hillary 'upheld her marriage vows' or not, maybe she was just more discreet ? And not to forget, she totally had Bill's back when it came to sliming the women who tried to say what he had done to them, going back to his tenure as Governor.
4
@Heidi
He's saying nothing about the $50,000/month because there is no defense. It represents all that's wrong with the legalized corruption of the status quo, which he represents.
Biden's plan is to keep quiet and not pour gas on that fire. There is really nothing he can say.
2
@irene
Hillary's biggest mistake on that file was demeaning women in her exact position by saying she's not some Tammy Wynette little woman standing by her man.
To outsiders who don't know their personal business, that's exactly what Hillary's choice became - a little woman standing by her man.
In reality, both she and the Wynette song women she trashed chose to stay with their husbands because they believed her marriage was worth saving, that there was value there.
She would have gotten far less flak if she explained her choice to stay by not trashing other women who made the same choice. Women who have been humiliated by their husbands in public are all in the same boat. There is no high ground to claim there.
2
There seems to be an assumption in these pieces that the candidates are fighting a popularity contest that is completely divorced from the internal politics of the DNC.
Where are the articles about what is happening behind the popularity contest?
5
He’s not electable. And he needs to retire. He is a 20th century man when we need a 21st century thinker.
22
It is inevitable that in a field this large, there must be candidates that will have results that don't jibe with where the candidates think they are. With the first real primary in New Hampshire (the Iowa count is suspect), Biden and the people will really know how he stacks up in an altogether larger field of candidate in the New Hampshire primary. If he is low on funds he will have difficulties raising funds if his showing is at back of the pack and forced to drop out.
1
@Other
We won’t know where he stands until after South Carolina, as by that time we’ll have more diversity in the election samples. Iowa and New Hampshire were never a good match for his support.
1
When was the last time that black voters in a southern state(SC) mostly decided the fate of one of the leading white presidential candidates for the Democratic Party?
History will be made in one of the reddest states in early March.
4
Joe Biden is a fine man. I, at 71, do not want a 78 yr old President. My generation has about destroyed this nation. Youth should rule.
15
Joe can't beat Trump who will bait him and he will take the bait. He came off as querulous during the Dem debate. If he cares about having Trump ousted in 2020 then he will step aside.
Bernie is sharp and he is right about everything he says but I'm not sure that will get him elected. He is also someone who who won't get baited by Trump.
It's Pete who can meaningfully take on Trump; he won't get rattled by Trump's antics and he will stay on point no matter how Trump tries to obfuscate..
As for Hillary she should totally disappear in the sense of ceasing to make any more public comments - if she cares at all about the fate of Democratic Party she will absent herself from the public scene totally.
12
Biden has lost too much cognitive ability due to age. It shows, unfortunately. And his angry shtick (fight fire with fire I assume is MO) doesn’t work. It turns people off.
Age does not affect everyone the same. Bernie still has the goods, but is older than Biden. Bernie is still sharp and electable.
Biden is also a poor communicator. He often stammers and cuts sentences off. It is annoying.
His experience is super valuable. He should take a role as an advisor, at least.
16
"...Mr. Biden argued that putting Mr. Sanders at the top of the ticket would expose down-ballot Democratic candidates to being labeled 'socialist...'”
I'm not hoping for a Bernie nomination, so I don't say this as a defense of Senator Sanders. But while Biden (whose nomination I also do not support) may be correct in his assessment, I agree more with Pete Buggigieg, who said "It is time to stop worrying about what the Republicans will say. Look, ...if we embrace a far-left agenda they're going to say we're a bunch of crazy socialists. If we embrace a conservative agenda, you know what they're going to do? They're going to say we're a bunch of crazy socialists."
Didn't Biden learn in the 2018 midterms -- when after spending almost 2 years trying to strip Americans of their healthcare, Republicans actually ran on the lie that DEMOCRATS were trying to strip citizens of their healthcare -- that the smears will come regardless? While I agree with him (and Amy Klobuchar, and Michael Bloomberg) that the only way forward is for the two parties to find some miraculous way to work together, Biden sometimes seems not to understand certain nuances of the political climate in which he's competing.
10
Biden's debate prep left a gaping hole as he spoke of his accomplishments. He jumped from blocking Robert Bork to another topic, failing to mention his greasing the skids to ensure that Clarence Thomas was not blocked by the compelling testimony from Anita Hill. Clarence Thomas has done and continues to do damage on the Supreme Court that counteracts most of the positives in Biden's career. There is a reason why Biden failed to get the presidential nomination in 1988 and 2008 and they alone are sufficient reasons to keep him off the ticket in 2020. He doesn't have a prayer going up against Trump.
29
Biden kept tripping on his words and sputtering things out. He looks lost and frailer. It's been a hard few years.
He blew it by sitting out last time. His son would have wanted him to run. He could have won and avoided this trainwreck 3 years.
As he rightfully pointed out, he been at the negotiating forefront and has headed and passed some serious progressive legislation. Gay marriage, climate accord, Iran nuclear deal, drug courts, 3 liberal women Supreme Court nominees.
But you know he was just "business as usual establishment" to Bernie Bros. even though their candidate backs the exact same overall ideals(?).
But Biden's time has passed. He did some good work.
12
Joe Biden looked for moments last night pretty feisty but then when I tried to imagine four years out I wasn’t so sure about the duration. He just better make sure Amy is his running mate. Then he can nap all he wants after they’re sworn in and just wave from a passing motorcade now and then.
8
Mr. Biden continues to be the most "electable" candidate the Democrats can field. He has the ability to help Democratic Senators and other down-ballot candidates get elected. Along with a strong Vice-presidential candidate, specifically Amy Klobuchar, Mr. Biden can defeat Mr. Trump and help flip the Senate, both of which being necessary to return America to a nation we can be proud of.
Mr. Sanders refers to himself as a "Democratic Socialist" and continues to call for a "revolution": he will be referred to as a "socialist" by Mr. Trump and his supporters if he is ever nomnated; will "independents" and "disenchanted Republicans" still cast their ballots for him? And what down-ballot Democrats will win seats in the House or Senate as they are called "Socialists" by candidates on a ticket led by Mr. Trump?
Ms. Warren calls for "Medicare-for-all" and calls for the wealthy to give the government 2% of their assets to pay for it; she responds to any queries about the expense of her "Far Left" ideas for free education, universal child care, etc. with "I've got a plan for that."
Mr. Buttigieg lacks experience for the Presidency; he is very intelligent and no doubt his time will come to run for the Presidency, but now is not the time.
As for Ms. Klobuchar - she would be a _great_ VP candidate running with Mr. Biden. And she will be an excellent candidate for President in 2024.
2
@Odysseus Warren no longer supports Medicare for All. Your beliefs about the chances of each candidate, including Biden, need updating.
2
@Tom Feigelson Mr. Biden is a couple of years younger than I am. Perhaps that is why my comments are a bit out of date.
Thanks for letting me know
I wish he ran in 2016. But now, I'd rather have mayor Pete. Pete has the executive experience, not just running a senate office of 3 people like the rest. Even Biden didn't run most anything as VP. And the voters don't want a left winger like Warren or Sanders - the vote split is greater with moderates like Pete. At least Sanders ran a small city though. Warren has never run any government.
4
He's still leading in the polls with Bernie. It ain't over til it's over. Though I am rooting for Bernie, I'd easily vote for Biden if he is the nominee. Both have the street smarts to beat Trump head on. Bernie just has better policies.
3
Is it fair that Bernie Sanders gets to start the primary season with 2 home games? The electorates in both Iowa and New Hampshire are non-representative of the Democratic Party, and the results in these states can't be taken as any kind of barometer. The real primary race starts in Nevada and South Carolina. Biden should point out that despite a year of non-stop attacks, he still leads Trump in head-to-head polling. Of course, Sanders also leads Trump head-to-head, but only because Trump has been taking it easy on him... Bernie hasn't had to face the Republican attack machine in the way that he will if he is the nominee.
2
New Hampshire has the lowest poverty rate of all USA states. Not representative economically or racially.
5
Per the last poll I saw from my state Florida (which was 10 days ago), Biden has a super strong lead — he is 24 points ahead of the 2nd place finisher. It’s ludicrous for voters and donors to base their votes on just 2 small states.
7
It's not just Biden, but the idea of "electable" that is now in doubt. And that's for the good.
We want the person that mythical voter, who's somewhere in the heartland (where ever that is) will vote for. Never mind who we want.
An analogy is Christmas presents. I have a shelf for presents people thought I could use. Every few years, I clean house and still wonder who can I recycle these nice but not me things?
2
For the love of all things climate related, I don't understand the appeal of Pete Buttigieg. He depends on billionaires for funding. His policies are from 2008. His background goes Ivy League, McKinsey, briefest possible jaunt in the military, and then mayor of Indiana's 4th largest city, where his record on numerous issues appears very mixed.
I'm 9 years younger than Buttigieg, and all I sense from him is blind ambition for power with a Sorkin-esque cadence. Earlier in the primary, he flirted with some progressive causes, but pivoted hard to the center in the autumn when Biden began floundering. By the way, his polling with nonwhite voters is almost negligible.
I don't see him as the candidate for the occasion. The planet is frying. Healthcare, education, and housing costs are leagues ahead of wage growth. The right wing across the world is ascendant, in conjunction with deteriorating prospects for the average person. We need a movement to right our course. We need social democracy. We won't get that with Pete's platitudes, funded by Pete's billionaire donors.
19
@Ted B
He does not depend on billionaires for funding.
You can vote for whom you want, but there's no need spread misinformation.
2
I have rather strong opinions about this, as does almost everyone I know. I am embarrassed for Biden and wish he had the grace to drop out of the race now, but I’m not holding my breath. I blame him and his donors for pushing out other viable candidates earlier on. While there were several “electable” moderate candidates once upon a time, now we have Klobuchar or Bloomberg. A week ago I would have told you I couldn’t dream of supporting either, but now I just don’t know. For the record, I am a Warren supporter, actively working on her campaign, but also a realist. I would at least like to give Democrats a choice between a progressive and a moderate who has a chance of beating Trump.
19
The sad truth, when the Democrats lose in 2020, is that election would have been lost not in November of this year but in 2009 and 2010 when they forced an unpopular healthcare law down the throats of a public that didn't want it. They clearly and obviously misread the mandate given to them. The long decline since then has meant that the best that the Democrats can put up against Trump is three people in their 70s and one mayor of a small city. That appears to be the best they can do. If they cannot even competently run an election in a small state, why do we believe they can beat an incumbent in a strong economy? And so it will be that a vindictive, unprincipled, misogynist will be reelected in November. It is a sorry state of affairs.
3
Was Biden ever really good? I remember him being called a gaffe machine way back in 1988 when he first ran and when I was very young and thought he seemed old then. Then he tries a second time, and now a third. "C'mon man!" Klobuchar is my pick for several reasons. Also, to me, there seems to be a big difference between almost 60 and being in your 70s. I think she'd crush Trump in a debate, but then again Trump has already said he might not do any debates. Ugh.
11
@Ann
I hope Trump doesn’t do debates. The first debate is the Dem candidate with all the time of the world against an empty chair.
On the second debate the Dems should cease the opportunity and put a robot to answer for Trump the answers that better fit the Dems. Let’s see if Trump doesn’t show up for the third debate. It may be too late to recover.
4
Joe is likable but today he is bashing the Sanders campaign with the S word, socialism. All Sanders supporters want is the same benefits that anyone else in the developed world enjoys: Universal Health Care, Accessible Higher Education and Fair Wages. Right now we HAVE Socialism but it benefits the rich. Why should some yacht owner get a tax brake for his yacht port fees? Just one example of how our current government gives government handouts to the very comfortable.
6
At this point, Joe is dependent on competitors making mistakes instead of his actions winning. He appear old and tired. You can clearly see this on the debate stage. Even Bernie has more energy. That is what is keeping Joe back. He is sleepy---not exciting.
6
The more negative he is, the less electable. Attacking Pete B makes him look so weak.
5
Joe looks dazed and disoriented. He has zero vision. He resting on “the past”. He seems tired and out of touch. I cannot imagine him energizing Anthony. Bernie feels 10 years younger with 100 times the drive. Joe should gracefully step down and put whatever he has left fully behind the Democratic nominee. No shame but he’s done!
41
After watching the New Hampshire debate last night I was reminded that there are people who are nearly 80 who seem to be with it, while others not so much. I’m in my 7th decade and I want a young person to vote for in November. I have supported Mayor Pete and after last night am compelled to give Amy Klobuchar another look.
28
It doesn't appear that the nature of presidential candidacy is well understood generally by the public or the press. Biden, for example, knows he cannot win, but that does not matter; it is not part of his calculus. By running for president, a candidate becomes subject to government funding, private contributions and corporate largess. In addition to expenses (private jet transportation, gourmet meals and hotels; staff, promotion and many other benefits), a candidate is on an all-expenses paid (and salaried) personal marketing and promotion tour. Winning the presidency is really not the objective, as all of the DNC candidates know. Sanders is otherwise the poster-child of government largess: he knows he doesn't stand a snowball's chance in hades of winning, nor is he even prepared to assume such a responsibility. That is not why he's running, and why he won't retire: he is on a permanent public-office election annuity, paid for by taxpayers. Running for office is a business in and of itself.
4
@Matt Andersson
Or...Sanders is attempting to advance the progressive cause.
Something he did in spades, even while losing last primary.
Suddenly, Universal HC, Green New Deal, Inequality etc. are part of the debate and highly placed on the Dem. platform.
Nobody thought he'd come even close to winning last elec., including himself. There is a strong desire for change in America. His frontrunner status and record setting fundraising, his million volunteers this primary, all point to a desire for change. Sanders actually has a good chance if you believe 538, RCP and the betting prognosticators.
Count him out at your/our own peril.
13
Best thing Biden could do is drop out and endorse Amy Klobuchar, passing the centrist torch to somebody that actually can beat Trump by uniting Democrats, independents, and anti-Trump Republicans against him.
33
@Warren Ludford Yes, let's nominate a candidate who nobody outside of Minnesota and political junkies even knows exists, and whose platform is "better things aren't possible."
7
Clearly Amy didn’t start with the name recognition Biden, Bernie, Bloomberg and Warren had.
But anybody watching a Democratic debate, particularly the last one, can see she’s the real deal, with broad based appeal, experience, knowledge and clear, achievable policy plans.
This is opposed to the pipe dreams that Warren, Bernie, Yang and Buttigieg float to bring in younger voters. All of which aren’t even supported by most congressional Democrats, let alone independent and anti-Trump Republicans.
Also, Bernie and Biden are both way too old, and Buttigieg as a small town mayor is hardly the resume for a major party nominee.
4
@Warren Ludford: No one's watching the Democratic debates. They have zero impact on potential voters.
It seems pretty clear that Biden’s heart isn’t in this campaign. He goes through the motions without much passion, and seems equally dispassionate about his prospects of winning the nomination. All that is not lost on his donors, who have largely kept their wallets in their pockets or purses.
Certainly his age is an issue, as he lacks energy and focus on the campaign trail and in debates.
His reason for entering the campaign was that he was a candidate that could beat Trump, presumably as a moderate white man with plenty of experience and name recognition who might appeal to the blue-collar crowd who switched to Trump last time. He also apparently has the black vote sewn up in his pocket.
His campaign seems to reflect that sort of contentment - just waiting around for black folks to hand him the nomination, and if that doesn’t happen - no big deal.
All that sets him up for failure, which seems fine with him, and dropping out of the race after Super Tuesday, and maybe before. If he doesn’t win South Carolina, and he may not with continued lackluster performances, he could call it quits then - his donors certainly will.
6
Nobody on the Democratic stage is going to be electable if they keep using incompetent stage lighting for their events. View a few clips from the New Hampshire debate. Note that every candidate's skin tone came out some variation of grey-green. Not the people asking the questions, though. They all sported warm, natural looking skin tones. They were in different, typical broadcast light. On the split-screen shots the contrast was striking.
That's the effect of using too much blue in the light on the candidates. Ironically, in split-screen shots, chilled correspondents huddled in outside New Hampshire locations looked warmer on screen than the candidates did on stage. Banquo's ghost is not the look you want for Joe Biden.
Amazingly, this lighting malpractice seems to be happening on purpose. Previous debates have shown the same over-blue tendency, always applied selectively to the candidates. Republican stage lighting never blunders this way. It has been color-perfect since the Reagan administration. Democrats, get some lighting professionals.
35
Is there no facet of marketing that Dems can't foul up?
4
@S.P.
a good point! Biden's face looked as white as snow which didn't help him at all. He needed a softer look.
1
Sadly, Mr. Biden is a mere shadow of the man he once was. Time catches up to all of us in the end, as it seems to have done with him.
18
Biden unelectable? Of course, but that never stopped the Dems from nominating a candidate will a ton of negatives, someone who unlikeable, and unfit for office. Only the GOP gets away with that.
26
Does nobody see that this is exactly what Democrats need to happen?
Biden is hampered not only by his own dwindling abilities but by his son’s serpent’s tooth. That Burisma contract is indefensible and will continue to be a strong - and valid - weapon for Trump. (Nobody pays $50k/mo for nothing. Buying access is what turns American voters’ stomaches.)
But Biden couldn’t be seen to withdraw on his own, and hand Trump that victory. This is the best solution.
14
@Angelus Ravenscroft is anyone worth $20 million a year playing basketball, as Kobe Bryant was paid? Of course not, but that wasn't what he was paid to do, he was paid that because he was a draw-card, he was good advertising, he was a name, young Biden was exactly the same, i am shocked that so many have such a hard time understanding how simple this is, its not a one world government conspiracy, the Illuminati ruling from a small apartment in Queens, he is and was a name, very good advertising. Simple, now can we all move on from this because its only Trump who wants this none story to carry on rolling.
1
@Angelus Ravenscroft
I don’t know what the going rate is for being a board member, but Hunter has a good education and some credentials. And this wouldn’t be the first time I’ve seen a business overpay someone for something they hope might materialize. But nevertheless, Hunter was an adult and making his own job choices as a private citizen. Until I see some evidence that Joe (the public official in this story) did something unethical, I’ll assume this is a whole lot of ado about nothing.
3
@Angelus Ravenscroft Biden’s vote for the War on Iraq and his active promotion of the war, keeping other voices off of TV, shows me that we can’t afford to have another prowar president. Democrats already ran Hillary, another War on Irag voter, Syrian War and Lybia War are also on her list of credentials. I think people are fed up.
3
Stick a fork in Joe. He is done. Just like the emails haunted Hilary, and she could not own and acknowledge the problem, Joe will be haunted by Hunter’s $83,000/month job with Burisma, and he has not owned that problem. I am hoping his money dries up quickly and that he is out before March. A good ticket would be Bloomberg and Klobuchar, or Klobuchar and Bloomberg. Buttigieg is too young, too glib, and way too inexperienced. Sanders and Warren cannot win in November.
31
@Mary
On the contrary, I see Buttigieg as being decent, intelligent, thoughtful, mature for his years, and consistent in his message of inclusion. And as for his experience, running a city is way more experience than a senator, no matter how much Klobuchar hollers about it, will ever have.
2
In last night's debate, Joe's voice, demeanor, and body language declared, I'm whipped. His face tense, voice angry, body stiff, all conveyed the message, a combination of fear and resentment that the lesser deserving, in his mind, were widening the distance and he was out of fuel.
It's probably not fair, if there is such a thing in politics. Credit the rise of Hillary's (imaginary) capital and the devasting illness and loss of his son. Timing isn't everything, but it's a lot.
Joe probably would have made a decent President, but it's not at all clear that he would have beaten Trump and that the rise of the trump cult would not have happened. All those angry white voters in the now-familiar states, weren't going anywhere.
They still aren't.
15
Biden is becoming unelectable. As was Mitt Romney, Amy Klobuchar and other centrists.
Both the Republicans and Democrats are moving away from the center. It matters little whether a candidate is incapable of understanding budgets (Warren), an dreamy admirer of Hugo Chavez-type economic control (Sanders) or an outright criminal (Trump).
We have met the enemy, and it is us.
11
@delta blues — Warren's vulnerability has been that she does understand budgets—all too acutely for status-quo politicians, who dislike her as a result.
12
Donald Trump is electable. That answers any question about anyone else.
14
@Bryan Still not qualified, though, unless your qualification for being electable is to be the best autocrat you can be.
7
Why is the DNC pushing Biden - another Hillary debacle in the making? Along with age and The problem child Hunter it will ever happen. Trump was never afraid of him. The debate was sour grapes from the Iowa losers. They are making the same old mistakes - talking to college campuses and urban centers. Did someone miss the message - the average American worker - on the farm and in the factories.
18
DNC pushes Biden because they want no change and are fundamentally comfortable with inequality. Other questions?
11
@Barbara — with farm employment down to extreme low single-digit percentages (and comprised mainly of non-Americans at that), and factory employment contracting continuously for decades, the notion that those two categories describe, "the average American worker," is preposterous.
2
@Barbara the DNC’s treatment if Joe as the anointed one. It is the same playbook they used in 2016 with Clinton. And we all know how that worked out.
If they continue with thus playbook, Tom Perez will assure a trump reelection. The USA will be finished.
6
Biden is a candidate who acts and looks like his time has passed. Bernie looks and preaches much younger than old Joe. In fact Bernie is the best politician, stump speech giver in the group. However his policies are simply bad and indeed about class warfare as well as weak old policies that are readily proven to be destructive.
The Democrats will end up being split in two by socialism. Then we need to split the moderate Republicans from their party and let them join with the moderate Democrats and finally have a party of centrists!
17
@Tammy
Sanders, if nominated, will be crushed in the presidential election. America is not ready — and will in all likelihood never be ready — to elect a socialist, particularly one who saw fit to honeymoon in the USSR in 1988... I’ll no doubt be skewered by many for this comment, but so be it... I think Bernie has some admirable qualities, but his past weighs him down like an anvil, and his far, far, far to the left ideas simply will not pas muster in any of the regions lying outside the bubble...
8
This race has become similar to a multiparty EU election. You have distinct groups in progressives, moderates and Bernies. African Americans do not like Bernie and are afraid Buttigieg is unelectable. Biden is the safe bet for those over 50 both white and black in South Carolina. Biden will still do well there. He’s like 20 points ahead there. Yes, that’s down a great deal but not sufficient enough for him to lose and he’ll regain momentum. In fact, him losing will galvanize voting numbers in South Carolina. Bloomberg is becoming more and more attractive. Get him on the debate floor with a half way decent performance and Biden and the rest of the field is toast:
12
@TellTheTruth
"African Americans do not like Bernie"
Sanders is the preferred candidate of African Americans under 50, and the preferred candidate of people of color overall.
6
@TellTheTruth Progressives will not vote for Bloomberg. He will further the rift between progressives and moderates.
4
@Vin unfortunately they don’t vote in large enough numbers in primaries to make a difference. In addition, in that younger demographic it’s only a 3 percentage point difference, between Biden and Bernie. Again, my younger brothers and sisters don’t vote in large enough numbers in primaries.
4
I don't want a moderate. I support Warren and Sanders, or Sanders and Warren, in either order. Warren would be a fantastic president, and she's eminently qualified. Sanders has is heart and soul in exactly the right place, and will motivate the voters we need. But if we had to choose a moderate, Biden would be the worst option (or Mayor Pete). His support is weak. I hope primary voters realize "electability" doesn't depend on name recognition alone, it depends on motivating people to vote. (States like NY: it should be easier!) Klobuchar or Bloomberg would be a much better compromise.
36
I am sorry if people interpret this as being mean, but perhaps the reason Joe Biden isn't doing "more of that" or "getting out there more" is because he CAN'T. Respectfully, the man is 77 years old. As a physician, I interact daily with septuagenarians; virtually all of them tell me they have a lot less energy than they used to. It's time for him to leave the stage. Unfortunately, his stubborn refusal to do so blocked the path of truly electable folks like Harris, Booker, and Bennet, depriving those candidates of a path as well as the oxygen and money needed to run a campaign.
75
@DC Trump is 73....just sayin'
5
@Is. 73 and clearly cognitively impaired. We can do better.
6
@Is And Sanders is year older than Biden.
1
Sadly, Biden's biggest impact on the 2020 campaign could well be that he has blocked more electable moderates from gaining attention, support and momentum. His longevity in politics is far more due to being regularly re-elected senator from a small state than any great positive impact on policy (unless one considers things like undermining Anita Hill and gutting personal bankruptcy protection "positive".) And his current popularity, such as it is, stems from his clinging to Obama's legacy and popularity.
It's time to get out of the race. Perhaps it's not too late to let more electable candidates shine.
55
@Thunder Road And make way for Hillary...
I respect and like Joe Biden for his record but I'm not going to vote for him in the primaries.
I fear voting for him will do for the national Democratic Party what Governors Graham, Chiles and MacKay did for Florida's Democratic party before 2000. Those were good governors but their political supporters put all their energy into winning the state's governorship. When they were gone, there was no one groomed for succession in the next generation for any statewide office. The promising Democrats we have now are all younger than 60, some much younger.
Look at the sorry stream of republican incompetence we've had in state government since 2000. We've even had to settle for a true crook as a republican governor.
I'm interested in putting the next generation into the presidential race. I'm not so interested in a person with experience, as a person with the ability to rise to novel challenges. We are in a political terra incognita and traveling in darkness. So, Democratic candidates, leave Pete's "inexperience" and Elizabeth's "electability" out of the criticisms and offer ideas and programs you can carry out that will benefit voters. I see a lot of talent in three younger presidential candidates by that metric. One of those is getting my primary vote.
11
Biden is not my favorite for any number of reasons -- in fact, he's the one I will have the hardest time voting for should he win (which I seriously doubt at this point).
Watching him on the debate stage, he seemed to fade right before our eyes.
I was out collecting ballot signatures for Warren today and a Bernie supporter told me that Biden's lack of focus and energy to bring to the task (i.e., as compared to Sanders) is because Biden lacks any deep conviction. He is just going through the motions. And it shows.
47
At this point in time when it is so apparently clear to most Democratic voters that Biden is not a very feasible candidate, I have to wonder about his donors. Are they donating resources to ensure that the Democrats lose? I suggest that all folks who are enthusiastic about Biden, please dissociate from Biden, an honorable, respectable man and Biden the Democratic nominee for President. The former is already a bit murky, no thanks to his children, the latter is now in complete jeopardy. If he is sensible, he will help regain his stature and personal honor by simply canvassing for another candidate who echoes his views...Klobuchar, Buttigieg, Steyer or Bloomberg.
13
Bernie's cult is again out in force. I've come to the conclusion that if Bernie becomes the nominee of the Democratic Party, even though he's never been a Democrat, Trump will be reelected comfortably. The Republican/Russian propaganda machine will label Bernie and all Democrats "socialist" and "communist," who are going to take away the health insurance of 150 million people. Bernie's "Medicare for All" goes way beyond the public coverage of other universal care countries. That plan will not pass Congress, but it gives Trump and his minions plenty of ammunition.
The other problem with Bernie is that many of his followers will divide the Democratic Party, just as they did in 2016. They will play the old "corporate Democrat" and "there is no difference between (nominee) and Trump" song. They will sit out the election or vote for Jill Stein or even Trump. It will be 2016 all over again.
36
Sanders may have never been a Democrat, as you say, but Ronald Reagan, John McCain, Rudolph Giuliani and Donald Trump (yes, THAT Donald Trump) were all card-carrying Democrats at one time.
20
@jas2200
I agree with your opinion of Sanders and Sanders's followers, who are often as rigid as he is. The majority of them, as far as I have seen on social media, are close-minded.
Medicare For All is a losing proposition. As Michael Bennet pointed out today on MSNBC, in the 2018 House elections, one lone candidate won running on M4A. All the rest were against it.
5
@jas2200
There is no way I would vote for an irrasible old man who only becomes a democrat when he's running for President.
7
If only low-polling candidates drop out before the convention, the nomination could be up for grabs. Klobuchar, Bloomberg, and even someone not in the primaries could win and go on to beat Trump. Biden never had the lock on "electability" as he is simply too old school and comes with too much baggage (like the Anita Hill hearings). I believe he might beat Trump anyway but I have many doubts.
Biden also lacks any claim to being the Anti-Trump. Unlike the orange man, he does have a calmness and humaneness about him, but he is not the real populist exciting candidate like Bernie or Warren.
18
@fionatimes
And this Liberal would not vote for either.
1
Biden's supposed challenge to Trump, Trump's supposed fear of Biden, these are not credible. Maybe the old Biden (from years ago) would have frightened Trump but this Biden, an almost different man, is no threat. That Biden is first in polling reveals the weakness of polling. That pundits still talk about him as the leader shows how slow they are in altering their narrative to reflect the here and now. Biden appears so limited and is so pressured to not appear limited that he evokes sympathy from me.
62
Biden could have had my vote.
He lost me when I observed that he can't seem to finish a sentence. He starts to say something, interrupts his own train of thought and may, or may not, ever finish the original thought. This may occur multiple times in a single answer.
This looks a lot like some age related cognitive decline. It may be normal for his age, but the same performance by, say, a 50 year old, it would look like cognitive impairment.
If I hear Biden speak more coherently I'd be willing to vote for him, but I don't expect that to happen.
It's sad, because, otherwise, he'd be the best candidate.
37
@RickP — It has nothing to do with age. Biden stutters sometimes. It has been a life-long affliction. He did it in his youth.
5
@RickP Or it could be a pattern developed by someone with a lifelong stutter, couldn't it? This issue has been so widely covered in the media, I have to believe that you just wanted to take your opportunity to make a hit re assumed cognitive impairment in Biden. I'm not a Biden supporter. I think there are lots of reasons not to support him. But fabricating cognitive impairment is playing fair.
2
@RickP
Perhaps, my bad. I was unaware of Biden's stuttering affliction until recent news reports. As a Sanders supporter, there are plenty of reasons to oppose a Biden nomination, but, his halting delivery is not one of them. Ignore the delivery and focus on the content. That's all that can be asked of any of the candidates.
3
Unfortunately for Biden, he's giving off the same Hillaryesque vibe of insider candidate favored by establishment DNC. That is the death of his candidacy. And while the DNC continues to support corporate, billionaire people at the expense of everyone else, the nation and democratic constituency is continuing to move back to the historical center left.
Neither Joe Biden (nor Bloomberg) for that matter, really felt personally called to run for president. They were recruited by the DNC in order to peel away votes from Sanders and Warren, to prevent a progressive Democrat from winning. The DNC should stop trying to be Kingmaker and just people run who want to run, instead of trying to protect all their patronage jobs, which is what the elections have come to mean for the corporate Dems and the thousands of hangers-on that come into washinton as appointees every time a Dem is elected Prez.
80
@Kip Leitner -
"Buttigieg for Billionaires!" - has a certain ring of current Citizens-United American values to it, no?
4
@Kip Leitner
"Neither Joe Biden (nor Bloomberg) for that matter, really felt personally called to run for president."
Don't know about Biden, but Bloomberg, who is much more an Independent than a Democrat, has certainly lusted for the presidency for many years.
5
Bloomberg will take votes from Joe, Warren, Pete, Amy....but not one vote from Bernie. If the DNC is trying to off Bernie, Bloomberg won't help.
4
Why anyone was ever betting on him to begin with was a mystery. Whatever other virtues Biden may have he has with perfect consistency been a very weak Presidential candidate with three decades of evidence now in the record. His fundraising has been a joke, will now get worse, and betting markets have him around fourteen percent for the nomination and sinking.
16
I tire of the constant questioning of Pete Buttigieg’s inexperience. We have in the White House now inexperience coupled with incompetence, erraticism, and unabashed criminal conduct. To have just inexperience would be a strong step up from our current situation. Except that Buttigieg also has profound intelligence, good judgment about governance, equanimity, decency, and integrity. In fact, the equanimity and decency that so consistently characterize him make him the perfect antithesis to the President, his potential political opponent. I think those two qualities are key to Buttigieg's success, current and future, as a candidate. Biden, too, has always been a paragon of decency, and I enormously respect him for that, but his time has passed, I fear.
71
@Ann A. —. Although I’m a Biden supporter, I agree with you that “To have just inexperience would be a strong step up from our current situation.”
5
@Ann A.
That inexperienced mayor from South Bend just beat three Senators, a Vice President and a billionaire in Iowa.
Biden has run three times for president. He has not won a single state yet.
7
@Ann A.
What do we really know of Buttigieg, a former intelligence officer? He creeps me out and I don't trust this smooth talker one bit. His record as mayor is very suspect. Klobuchar is right him.
1
Biden could do his party and country a great service by bowing out now and letting the actual "electable" candidates sort it out.
113
If he can't win without attacking fellow Democrats, then he needs to get out of the race. At that point he is doing more damage than good.
24
@Teddi
The art of politics is about launching effective attacks at your opponents. If Democrats can't do it in primary season, they're going to be toast during the general.
1
Hey, enough with the slurs and nasty remarks. Joe Biden has served our Country for many, many years. He has my upmost respect and affection. If you think it’s so easy running for office, be my guest, and jump right in. Yeah, thought so.
I’m determined to remain neutral, and allow the process to play out. Tearing down ANY Democratic Candidate hurts us ALL, and ultimately helps that Creature.
United we Stand, Divided we’re Trumped. And THAT’S the most polite and civil word I can actually use.
42
Thank you!
6
Biden can’t win period. Bloomberg saw the handwriting on the wall back in November and that’s why he got into the race.
Joe is not a bad guy but it’s just way past his time. That profile picture of him in this article isn’t a photo of the next president. I don’t want to be mean but if you look at that photo it’s pretty obvious what I’m saying.
Bloomberg might be just as old but he’s so much more vigorous and the Bloomberg campaign is more of a machine that goes way beyond just Mike as a candidate. What he has done with gun violence, climate change, public health, education and philanthropy is unmatched. Bloomberg will spend billions of dollars to beat Trump and will also attract so many moderates.
The Democratic Party needs to overcome two big problems:
First, they seem to excel at the art of the circular firing squad, which will be catastrophic if they nominate Biden with Burisma hanging over his head. It might not have been illegal but it looks really bad and it’s obvious that his son would have never gotten the job and that much money if his father wasn’t vice president.
Second, this notion that all billionaires are evil by definition is absolutely suicidal. Donald Trump wants to tag the Democratic nominee, whoever that person is, as a radical commie. He might even say “socialist“ but when he gets ramped up his disinformation machine will make socialist and communist synonymous words. Just watch. Mike Bloomberg is the antithesis of this and Trump knows it.
20
I just heard from them. They are pleased with last night's performance. When I evalute Biden compared to Buttigieg and Sanders, I still think he is their strongest candidate. ABC's questions about Buttegieg as mayor was telling; 50% of Americans believe we should limit and cut the deficit. They are called Republicans. Sanders will lose most of them. As Bidencollege tpwm, equipped to navigate this country foreign affairs." The only Democrat who has any foreign policy experience is Biden. He will not be sending kisses to the leader of North Korea.
6
@Elinor Yes, his foreign policy experience include voting for and actively promoting the War on Iraq. This was not just a “mistake” as about a million people died, according to The Lancet. Do we want more of that?
2
I’ve always liked Joe Biden. I am not concerned about his son’s work in Ukraine. It seems Hunter profited from his dad’s name, but look at the three Trump Trolls (plus the in-law Troll), doing that in the current administration.
But doggonnitt, Joe is not the man to be President. He really is cognitively impaired to a significant extent. He does not speak clearly or articulately. He is physically and mentally wobbly.
I keep changing my mind about who I like best, from Bernie, to Elizabeth, to Pete, to Amy, and maybe Mike. After last night I like Pete less and Amy and Bernie a lot more. Elizabeth just doesn’t connect with me (even though I like many of her ideas.)
But Joe’s gotta go. If he leaves sooner it will be better for all. He can support Amy as I think he will do (or whoever he wants to support.) Joe, you have a wonderful family. Go be with them. You’ve done a lot for us over the decades and now you deserve the rest. My best to you, sir.
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@Scottapottomus If you're concerned about Joe being cognitively impaired, you have to seriously consider how age is affecting Bernie too. He's older than Biden, and has already had a heart attack. He and Biden are well past their peak years physically and mentally. Let's face it, the optics of them standing on stage next to a smart, fit Pete Buttigieg, 40 years younger, are striking. Bernie and Joe have their best years behind them, while Pete has his ahead of him. It's time for generational change with the Dem leadership.
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@Russ M. I wish we had younger candidates to choose from, but Bernie comes across as much more vibrant, energetic and cogent than either Trump or Biden.
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Biden was good friends with segregationist senators, he treated Anita Hill horribly, he was wrong on trade, he was wrong on the crime bill, he was wrong on the Iraq War, he’s been a strong supporter of the banks and credit card companies etc etc. The real issue isn’t whether or not he’s electable. The real issue is that he’d be a terrible president.
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@Hubert Nash Right!
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@Hubert Nash, you are exactly correct, I still recall the Thomas hearings when ever Biden is mentioned and remembering that I would never support him in any election. I had no choice as he was President Obamas running mate and voted for the ticket. Here in NH, I notice many of my friends now saying "Never Biden". Most are on board with Pete and Elizabeth.
5
Biden and Sanders are, indeed, too old. In fact, so is Bloomberg. All three are in their late 70s. Warren is relatively young at age 70. Buttigieg, on the other hand, is too young at age 38. So, who's left? Among the seven candidates on the debate stage last night, if we take out Biden, Sanders and Buttigieg, only Amy Klobuchar and Elizabeth Warren are in the presidential age range, also Andrew Yang and Tom Steyer but neither of them is likely to catch on. Missing, regrettably, are candidates like Sherrod Brown (67) or Steve Bullock (53), either of whom would be an excellent president or VP. Could either of them be drafted (Brown) or reenter the race (Bullock), at this late date, to head the ticket?
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Biden is uninspiring, visibly aging and losing vigor.
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@RP add resentful, angry & irrelevant
5
@RP
Biden is not the key. I think Democrats need a team effort.
All the candidates, together, may be able to trump Trump.
All the candidates could band together, to campaign.
Many of the candidates could be in the new Cabinet.
"United we stand. Divided we fall." (Aesop)
United,
they can defend democracy, against Trump dictatorship.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Why not Bloomberg?
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@mbsq
Bloomberg is - and it just shows a sad state of Democratic Party - the only candidate who can face Trump.
Isn’t ir a pity that Biden’s son instead of being an asset to his father’s campaign plays a role of a (potential) liability.
Post Hillary Clinton DP has not done homework since 2016 - we are all facing something that may seem to be irreversible.
@mbsq
Bloomberg’s slightly older than Biden. He needs to step out from the shadows and do interviews, do what he needs to do to get on the debate stage, and prepare to answer hard questions and take attacks. For all I know, he presents worse than Biden. I’m not from NYC, so I don’t know what he was like in his prime, but nonetheless, it’s been a few years since he was mayor and he’s been aging too.
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@mbsq only if Amy is his running mate
1
I still believe Biden is a good choice to go after trump. I do believe also that he needs a strong VP on his team and a very good Cabinet. I do not think debates are the best judge of the best candidate. Unlike trump, I believe most presidents rely on the knowledge of many experts around them and presidents are not always given just a minute or two to make replies. I believe that after these very dark, damaging 4 years of trump we need a respite. We need to have a leader who knows the ropes, knows the players around the world and will do his best restoring the institutions destroyed by trump.
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Biden is finished.
Whether one likes him or not (I do, he seems nice), we must admit he is finished. He never incited passion, he never grasped the momentum, his campaign has been hobbling along from the moment it started.
Either way, I struggle to see how the Democratic Party is going to win in 2020. Sanders will most likely be the nominee after he wins NH and NV, but his proposed mass proletarian revolution isn’t going to happen, as we saw in Iowa with the same staid turnout rates of 2016. He might energize New Yorkers or something, but it’s not the Democrats winning New York that’s going to tip the scale. Buttigieg isn’t a real competitor, his inability to connect with non-whites is an insurmountable and deadly fault in the Democratic coalition. The rest, including Warren, are as dead in the water as Biden.
Trump is coasting to re-election, most unfortunately. The best the Democrats can do now is limit the catastrophe and keep the House, as ineffective as that ultimately is.
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@Patriot
Agree except for one big exception. Bloomberg can and will beat Trump if given the opportunity to go head to head.
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@Patriot -- Your irresponsible comment, "Sanders' proposed mass proletarian revolution isn’t going to happen" is the biggest barrier to him actually winning.
Slandering Sanders as you do with a "proletariat" label, mis-portrays him as a communist, which he is not. But that's your point, isn't it? To call him a communist, which he is not, in order to get your friend Trump reelected.
4
What? He self-identifies as a socialist, the proletarian class is the focus of socialism. Proletarian isn’t exclusive to communism, nor to Stalin, nor to Mao. I could have said working class it’s the same concept, but the proletarian class is the actual backbone of socialist thought, it‘s not an insult.
Again, the media has declared Biden's candidacy dead. I think this may be the 3rd or 4th time this season. I continue to believe he is, at this time, the most electible democrat. Bernie is not drawing in the new voters that he promised and Pete is grossly lacking in experience and has close to zero support in the African American community. Warren blew her chance when she decided to tie herself to Bernie. I think a number of potential nominees were forced out of the race too early, so now we have what we have. To assume the race will or should be determined by voters in Iowa and New Hampshire is a joke and an insult to the rest of the country.
22
People accusing "the mainstream media" of bias in favor of Biden never made much sense to me, as him cruising to the nomination makes for a boring story and forgettable headlines. Him dropping like a rock, or better yet a prolonged, wide open primary --- now far more likely after Iowa as per 538's tracker, which has Bernie in the lead with 2/5 odds of winning a majority, and nobody winning in second with 1/4 odds --- from journalists' perspectives makes for a sexier narrative.
2
Biden is never going to get the nomination...every time he's asked a question in the debates he's like a deer in the headlights...he has nothing new to say only what he did in the Obama administration as vice president...to sum up his candidacy in four words...he's just too old...
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@ORnative
He just doesn't seem all there. It's kind of sad to watch. He needs to get out for the good of the party. His best chance was in 2016.
7
He is wobbling off the ropes as if it’s much further into the primaries. Fourth place isn’t electable.
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@Adam As you observe he is wobbling off the ropes. A rope a dope strategy certainly would never work in politics.
I don’t know how much more data the media needs to finally learn that Biden isn’t it. He was first in Iowa, until he wasn’t by a long shot. Voters have determined that to select Biden as the Democratic nominee is to choose someone who will get pummeled by Trump about Hunter and Ukraine, and they’re clearly deciding not to hand the president that grenade. Democrats also want a candidate who will fight the Republicans and their narrow-minded, destructive agenda, not someone deluded enough to think he can make deals with the fine fellas across the aisle. Word on my street, the next street over, the streets of Wisconsin, and the streets of San Francisco is “No Biden.”
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@Pietro Allar — Trump will make up false allegations and vilify WHOEVER the Democratic nominee is. It wouldn’t just be Biden.
4
The centrists, cave-ists, and big-moneyists have already moved on to bloomy anyway, as suggests the spam at https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/08/us/politics/trump-reelection-campaign.html . He's only mentioned in the last paragraph twice, but there's at least 26 mentions, some perhaps bought, in the Comments.
"It is over", Biden.
4
@SR
The big money has moved on to Bloomberg, while the "little people" are digging deep for Saanders. Who will "buy" our government?
We shall see. At this point, I'm all in for Bernie, and firm in my view that Trump will not be re-elected.
3