I didn’t think there would be a need for a Joe Biden thread.  Now that he is in position to have a legitimate shot at being the Democratic candidate it’s going to be interesting to see how he handles it.  Up until now he hasn’t had to be really out there publicly.  He’s going to have to make himself much more available as Sanders and Trump are coming after him. All of his dirty laundry and skeletons are about to come out.

President Trump having a town hall tonight in Biden’s home town in Pennsylvania.  It ought to be entertaining.

He has definitely made a huge comeback. It’ll be interesting to see how it goes with he and Sanders going at each other. Trump is going to observe and go after both. Biden’s gaffes may end up being a significant problem. It gives easy material to his opponents. I think he has some problems, but will get a lot of support. He has people that will support him as not as far left as Bernie and people that will support him because of their passion to beat Trump.

Biden is the establishment pick. The DNC wants to show who still runs the show. If they Protect Biden and do not let him talk off the cuff he will be better. He’s the president folks might hear from once per week, and to some that’s preferable. The problem is if Sanders doesn’t win the progressive youth may be disillusioned and not vote at all in November. That obviously favors Trump.

Trump really started laying down the foundation of portraying Biden as diminished in his mental abilities and he will not be the man running the country if he won.  That’s going to sell as Biden will will continue to give material to feed that fire.

Voter turnout will be critical for the Dems. I’m sure there is a concern about Bernie’s people not showing up. A lot of that demographic hasn’t typically voted anyway, and they weren’t going to get many of the more moderate or independent votes. That should be better for Biden, but I’m not sure how many are really that enthused about Biden at this point. I think a lot of his support is because he gives a better chance than Bernie to beat Trump.

Trump definitely started that conversation in the town hall. I saw him mention how Biden had such a good super-Tuesday, “but of course, he thought it was Thursday. ” Biden will give enough of that to allow Trump to continue.

Bernie’s people strike me as the type of people that are Bernie or nothing.  A significant number of these people will take their marbles and go home if Bernie isn’t the nominee.  Some will vote for Trump as a retaliation.  Sanders is not the type of guy that will take the higher ground and support Biden if he gets beat.  He care more about his revolution than anything.  At his age he knows this is his last chance and won’t go away quietly.

The problem as I see it is that neither of these Democrats have the character or charisma to unify the party like Obama, Bill Clinton were able to.  These are two old white guys that have to fight the party as much as Trump and it’s going to be interesting to see how this unfolds.

With Warren out, Bernie really needs her endorsement to have a fighting chance.  I’m sure she’s negotiating both camps to get the best deal.

I think you’re right that a significant number of Bernie supporters may stay home if he loses. Some will hold their noses and vote Biden, but for some, he was the inspiration that got them interested and is necessary for them to remain interested.

I think Bernie would likely throw his support behind Biden if he loses; I’m just not sure that’s powerful enough to get the younger vote for Biden, and I’m not sure it inspires a more moderate voter.

You’re definitely correct about them lacking the charisma. Clinton and Obama definitely had that and could inspire people. These guys don’t have that and aren’t very inspirational which has been part of the concern for the DNC. I don’t think they knew that the savior, Bloomberg, was actually going to be less inspirational.

Curggr - 06 March 2020 04:28 PM

I think you’re right that a significant number of Bernie supporters may stay home if he loses. Some will hold their noses and vote Biden, but for some, he was the inspiration that got them interested and is necessary for them to remain interested.

I think Bernie would likely throw his support behind Biden if he loses; I’m just not sure that’s powerful enough to get the younger vote for Biden, and I’m not sure it inspires a more moderate voter.

You’re definitely correct about them lacking the charisma. Clinton and Obama definitely had that and could inspire people. These guys don’t have that and aren’t very inspirational which has been part of the concern for the DNC. I don’t think they knew that the savior, Bloomberg, was actually going to be less inspirational.

I think this has become a general problem with the democrats.  They spend their time being so miserable at everything that there is no joy.  Obama had a great slogan of “Yes We Can”...Bill Clinton’s “Building a bridge to the twenty-first century”

This group is about the resistance…It makes it pretty easy for a “Make America Great Again” cheerleader effective.  It doesn’t matter if you like Trump, Obama..They sold a hopeful future rather than hating “the Man”.

It’s hard to be that cheerful when the whole message is you’re getting screwed and the powerful people have decided to stack the deck against you. There’s nothing you can reasonably expect to do on your own, so the government will help you go after them, and will take care of you since you can’t.

Assuming Biden wins the nomination, this may be one of the biggest VP picks ever in politics.  Even Biden said months ago he’s an old guy and has to be mindful of that.  I think there’s a high chance of a Biden VP having to take over.  I think a lot of potential candidates know that as well.  If he picks one of the Debbie Downers like Klobachar or Hilary I like Trumps chances but if he can land a Michelle Obama I think Trump would be screwed.

I’m sure there’s already a lot of very serious behind-the-scenes discussions about a running mate for him. He’ll get a lot of “help” in that decision.