Zombie Joe

Over the last week there was a stunning change in the race for the Democratic presidential nomination. On Friday, it was understood that Joe Biden had to win South Carolina, where there was a larger percentage of black voters than in the first three states (where he had done poorly) or his campaign was likely over. Pundits were starting to accept the idea that Bernie Sanders, who had won New Hampshire and Nevada and was barely edged in Iowa (we may never know who exactly won that state) would be the nominee.

Then Biden won decisively in South Carolina. The dropouts started: Tom Steyer first, who wasn't really a factor, but then stunningly Pete Buttigieg, who had won Iowa, and the following day Amy Klobuchar. Both significantly endorsed Biden.

The next day, Super Tuesday, Biden cleaned up. He won eight of the eleven states. Sanders did win three states, including the delegate rich California, but was stunned in Texas, Minnesota, and Massachusetts, where he expected to win. Later in the week Mike Bloomberg, who spent 500 million dollars of his own money just to win American Samoa, dropped out, and yesterday Elizabeth Warren followed suit (she won zero states, and finished third in her home state of Massachusetts). That leaves a two-man race between Biden and Sanders, not counting Tulsi Gabbard, who is still running a quixotic race that doesn't seem to have an end game, unless it's as a third-party candidate.

What happened? It appears a few things. Mostly, it was the Democratic establishment scared out of its wits at the prospect of a Sanders nomination. He is seen as a socialist (a Democratic socialist, but the niceties are too fine for most people to differentiate) and fodder for Donald Trump. Biden was always seen as the most likely to beat Trump, as even though he is old and somewhat doddering, he was Vice President and has pretty high likability numbers. If the objective is simply to beat Trump, he was seen as the best chance.

I'm not sure about this--I think anyone of the candidates, except for maybe Gabbard and a few other fringe candidates, could beat Trump. But it was stunning how quickly the DNC and their like circled the wagons. Can we assume that Biden (or perhaps even Barack Obama) spoke to Buttigieg and Klobuchar? Were deals cut? Would anyone be shocked it Klobuchar gets the nod as Biden's VP?

I think what helped Biden and hurt the others was that the campaign got started too early. Remember, there were twenty-plus candidates last spring, and we're down to essentially two. Warren peaked too early, as it looked like she was the one last fall, but a few missteps, and perhaps sexism, derailed her candidacy. Others, who were attractive candidates, like Kamala Harris, Beto O'Rourke, Kristin Gillibrand, and Cory Booker, might have fared well if they had actually lasted until a vote was taken. Bloomberg's strategy, to come in late with a blitz of advertising, might have worked had he not been such a loathsome candidate (Warren basically did him in with rain of body blows in his first debate). That left Biden, who was the front runner from the start, as the only option for so-called moderate Democrats.

It's hard to see Sanders overtaking Biden at this point. The youth vote, which is Sanders's strength, did not materialize in large numbers on Tuesday. This makes me nervous. I think Biden would make a good president (My choice was Warren, who I think would have made a great president) but there are so many "Bernie Bros" who act like children who take their ball and go home. I've seen comments on Facebook from Sanders supporters who would not only stay home if he is not the nominee, but actually vote for Trump instead. These may be Russian trollbots, but if they are on the level they are the worst kind of evil. Biden is not Trump, not even close, and if these progressives really want four more years of the mayhem that Trump has inflicted--on the environment, on the judiciary, on basic human rights--then they are just beyond the pale.

This year's race for the Democratic nomination has been likened to public transportation. You may have just missed the bus or train that came by, but the next one will get your where you want to go. It is not a marriage, not a meeting of soulmates. The objective is to send Trump into obscurity. If it is Biden, so be it.