For Democrats distraught that Donald Trump is president, Joe Biden is the savior who will ride into town on a white horse on January 20, 2021 to save America. Or, more likely, he’ll just take Amtrak.
Many of the most recent polls put Biden at the top. In the Real Clear Politics rolling average, which keeps track of all 2020 presidential polls, Biden is far ahead of Vermont socialist Bernie Sanders, 32.8% to 12.3%. A poll in January by Emerson College even put Biden at 45% to Sanders’ 5%.
But as 2019 rolls on and Democrats plan to hold their first debate in June, less than than four months from today, some in the party are having second thoughts about ridin’ with Biden.
In all, McClatchy interviewed more than 30 Democratic strategists — “pollsters, opposition research experts, media consultants, ex-party officials, and communications specialists” — and the consensus was not good for Uncle Joe.
Strikingly, these conversations yielded a similar view: The Democratic political community is more broadly and deeply pessimistic about Biden’s potential candidacy than is commonly known. While these strategists said they respect Biden, they cited significant disadvantages for his campaign — from the increasingly liberal and non-white Democratic electorate to policy baggage from his years in the Senate and a field of rivals that includes new, fresh-faced candidates.
“Among political professionals, there are deep concerns because we know the history,” said a Pennsylvania-based Democratic strategist, granted anonymity to speak candidly about a party elder. “We have reason to be skeptical of the hype. We heard it with Hillary, and we saw it happened,” the source added. “And there’s a lot of reason to think he would wind up a significantly weaker candidate than Hillary.” – READ MORE