For the general managers and coaches currently at the NFL combine, a hint: Jill Biden probably doesn't want to be a left tackle in professional football. Not that you'd know it by the way she showcased her blocking ability Tuesday. The woman has skills.
What a night.
Of all the predictions made about Super Tuesday, we never heard a talking head guess that Jill Biden would take on charging vegans at a campaign rally. We also never heard anybody predict that Mike Bloomberg would get out of the race on Wednesday, after spending $500 million and winning only American Samoa.
Late Tuesday night, Mike Bloomberg was still talking as if he planned to stay in the race. The former mayor of New York City was rallying the troops, smiling, pledging to go on--and scaring the pants off moderates, and not just Democrats, all over the country. After betting all that money on Super Tuesday states and collapsing "in stunning fashion," as the AP put it, would he really continue to split the vote, paving the way for the socialist candidate(s)? By Wednesday morning, Mike Bloomberg had seen the light, and did the right thing for country and party. Maybe.
For if anybody is counting out Bernie Sanders at this point, they aren't paying attention.
Elizabeth Warren finished third in her home state. Which means the ultra-liberal wing of the Democratic Party will begin coalescing, too. Those who want Medicare For All, the Green New Deal, college tuition on the national credit card, housing allowances from the government, and trillions of dollars in more debt, will soon begin lining up behind Bernie Sanders. And there are a lot of people who agree with the socialist-democrat from Vermont. When you give away free stuff, there will be no shortage of those who'd take it.
But Super Tuesday belonged to Joe Biden. We never thought we'd write that sentence.
Before Tuesday night, Joe Biden had never won a state during a presidential primary. Not in all the times he's run for president, starting in 1988.
For those who might not remember, that was the primary featuring Michael Dukakis and Dick Gephardt and Jesse Jackson and Gary Hart/Donna Rice and Paul Simon. And not that Paul Simon, but the one with the bow-tie and horn-rimmed glasses. That was the year Bill Clinton was jeered during the nomination speech, and his political career supposedly ruined. Yes, that was a long time ago.
But Joe Biden is a persistent cuss. Patience and resiliency are good characteristics to have. So is endurance. Even dedication.
So what's next? We are happy and gratified to be able to answer that question: We don't know.
But it doesn't appear as though the primary campaign is anywhere close to done for the Democrats. Which means that we're going to do all this again next Tuesday. And the Tuesday after that. And the Tuesday after that. For voters in Michigan, Missouri, Arizona, Florida, Illinois, Georgia, Ohio, and others have yet to cast ballots.
Then in April, voters in Louisiana, Wisconsin, New York, Pennsylvania . . . . This could go on till summer.
We believe another man famous for his bow-tie collection--George Will--once said the nominating conventions are boring and the press shouldn't cover them. This year, however, the one held in Milwaukee should be a hoot. Imagine that: finding politics in a political campaign!
On to the formerly smoke-filled backrooms!
But will fear and loathing be enough? It's a fair question. If either of these candidates--Joe Biden or Bernie Sanders--wins the nomination, and one of them certainly will, will he be able to make the case for himself? Or just against the current occupant of the White House?
The glue that holds the Bernie Sanders campaign together seems to be anger and fear. That is, a visceral dislike for not just Donald Trump, but Republicans and the wealthy and Wall Street and banks and anybody who doesn't agree with this new version of an old idea called socialism. So far, Joe Biden, his party's once and future front-runner, has given voters another option.
Distaste for others, even an opposition incumbent, isn't usually the way to win an American presidential election. There has to be positive appeal. Even in 1980, Ronald Reagan knew that.
The Big Takeaway: This week, Joe Biden managed to overcome not just the media, some vegan protesters and Bernie Sanders, but his own party's fellow travelers.
Editorial on 03/05/2020