Former Vice President Joe Biden (D-Del.) may still sit in what seems a comfortable position atop the polls in the race to become the Democrats’ presidential nominee, but it is early and some signs of a potential tumble from his perch have already begun to show up.
The main problem, as many Democrats see it, is Crazy Joe the Wonder Veep’s inability to stop saying really stupid things. For example:
To recap Biden’s past week, he said:
-“Poor kids are just as bright and just as talented as white kids.”
-He called Theresa May “Margaret Thatcher” again.
-Said Democrats should “choose truth over facts.”https://t.co/iKE6VVS23w— GOP (@GOP) August 15, 2019
Biden’s “no-filter” approach is so problematic that his handlers are considering that limiting his public campaign events may be the only workaround. Yes, Biden — like Hillary Clinton, but for very different reasons — is one of those candidates who doesn’t benefit at all from voters getting to know him better.
In boxing terms, Biden isn’t exactly on the ropes, but but he is a little stunned. The opponent in this case — his mouth — isn’t likely to let up.
This is a golden opportunity for the viable candidates behind Biden to make a move, and the moving has begun.
In Iowa– where it’s long been thought that Biden is vulnerable — Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) has him firmly in her sights and is closing the gap between them.
A poll released on Tuesday showed Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) moving ahead of Biden in New Hampshire.
Given a lot more time to gaffe it up, there is the potential for the heavy favorite to come out of the nomination gate 0-2.
The New Hampshire poll isn’t surprising. Sanders is from neighboring Vermont and easily defeated Hillary Clinton in the 2016 primary there.
Warren looms larger in Biden’s rear view mirror overall, however. In fact, she’s now ahead of the entire field in Wisconsin.
After Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) miserably fumbled away her opportunity to be the newest media favorite in the field, the MSM is giving Warren a longer look.
She and Bernie occupy the same progressive ideological space, but Warren has always been thought the more serious candidate by the leftmedia. She’s now reaping the benefits of that.
Warren is also clearly making gains in her implicit rivalry with her friend and ally Bernie Sanders for the affections of self-consciously progressive voters, even as she maintains some potential as a party-unifying figure that Bernie may lack thanks to leftover bad memories of his 2016 campaign. In that recent national Quinnipiac survey, she trounced Sanders among “very liberal” voters and actually led him among those under the age of 35.
Bernie practically owned that under-35 demographic in 2016.
Warren immediately solves a couple of problems for the Democrats. She’s 70 years old, but that’s younger than both Biden and Sanders. She gives the Democrats some slight wiggle room there for anyone who wants to quibble about age.
More importantly, she takes care of the diversity problem. The Democrats and their media mouthpieces have been touting this big field’s “historic” diversity and the prospect of nominating an older white guy is no doubt bothering them. A female nominee would at least mitigate that.
Until I gave up making predictions in mid-summer 2016, I was sure that Warren was going to waltz into that race and steal the nomination. I think she may have been surprised by Bernie being able to seize the attention of so many. More likely, she understood better than Bernie did just how rigged the Democratic “super delegate” system was in Hillary’s favor.
For a while I thought Kamala Harris would have a serious shot at winning a war of attrition in this race, but she probably won’t handle the spotlight going forward any better than she did in the second debate.
Lizzy has the opportunity to seize the media momentum right now and, as we have seen in the past, they will give her a pass on almost anything.
True, it is very, very early, but it’s beginning to feel like the nomination race could soon be hers to lose.
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