Biden Had a Heckuva Night

Former Democratic rivals Amy Klobuchar, Pete Buttigieg and Beto O'Rourke are all uniting behind Joe Biden's presidential bid. Meantime, Bernie Sanders appears positioned to seize a significant delegate lead on Super Tuesday. https://t.co/YugdYOdTDg

— The Associated Press (@AP) March 3, 2020

It sure looks like South Carolina had more of an effect on this race than I had thought, resulting yesterday in Senator Amy Klobuchar dropping her campaign (when she had sounded very fired up still on Sunday), and then Biden received a triple endorsement: Klobuchar, Buttigieg (whom Biden likened to his son, Beau), and Beto O'Rourke. That's not all:

All day Monday, the campaign pushed out one endorsement after another: 100 leaders in Massachusetts, 30 officials in Virginia, former Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, Sen. Tammy Duckworth of Illinois, major congressional leaders in Texas and California, local leaders in North Carolina, Tennessee and Arkansas. Biden's sudden resurgence — his ability to at least partially clear the field and coalesce support — could prove to be a major turning point in a volatile 2020 primary.

I think SC basically was a "proof of concept" behind the idea of Biden's campaign, and lots of Democrats would like to get on to the business of beating Trump. To me, that's pretty understandable. We just have to see what today brings.

UPDATE: Right now, I'm just rooting that this cat has a very poor showing:

Bloomberg gets on the porch and says he’s spoken with both Pete Buttigieg and Amy Klobuchar.

“I thought both of them behaved themselves,” he says. “I felt sorry for them but I’m in it to win it.” pic.twitter.com/suZZyb6gBr

— MJ Lee (@mj_lee) March 2, 2020

"Behaved?" Like they were kids or something? Behaved! But also because he is a Republican.

Don't Ignore Elizabeth Warren.

Watch how Elizabeth Warren opened tonight's Democratic debate — with an attack on Michael Bloomberg.

Read more from the most contentious #DemDebate yet. https://t.co/aERVQUyCKY pic.twitter.com/EbH1oMpGXB

— The New York Times (@nytimes) February 20, 2020

Let's not miss her on the next poll, all right?

Sen. Warren's performance against Bloomberg's record (and his seeming lack of preparation to defend it) was pretty damn satisfying for me to watch, but I took notice of a handful of folks on Twitter who were having issues about "tone". "Oh she was mean." All standard disclaimers about politics not being beanbag obviously pertain, with a helping of "and if this were a male candidate?" on the side, obviously, but for crying out loud, this was a demonstration of what Warren wants to do to Trump, that Bloomberg, with his baggage, can't do onstage to someone like Trump (assuming that Trump won't be able to resist debates because it means he'll be on TV), and that Warren is uniquely able to.

I also noticed some people wondering why she didn't go after Sanders. I think it's been strategic. Her support would have to come in part from people who are pretty loyal Sanders supporters if her star was to rise, and she's being cagey about not alienating them (or pissing them right the heck off). Leave that to the other people in the competition.

Anyway, I think there still is a tendency for these debates to more or less reinforce attitudes, rather than change them, and even though I miss some people who are no longer in the race, the fewer people on the stage, the less of a mess the process feels like.

She Has Answers

Asked about a potential running-mate: “Who will be your Mike Pence, who will look at you with adoring eyes?”

⁦@ewarren⁩: “I already have a dog.” pic.twitter.com/pBKxLLM5vz

— David Corn (@DavidCornDC) February 9, 2020

As I've elsewhere noted, Sen. Warren's campaign surrogate, Bailey, is a good boy, but the dog line zings because Pence gives Trump those puppy-dog eyes, but we all know how Trump feels about dogs. This is something I recall from the 2016 campaign: she has a way with words and cuts to the heart of things, including cutting up the opposition.

I just want to note that while we've been talking about the lackluster show from Biden's campaign in Iowa, and the contention between Buttigieg and Sanders, Warren placed a very respectable third and seems likely to run third again in NH. That keeps her campaign alive, and there's a lot of ground left to cover. In the meanwhile, what she's showing is that she has put in the work with her debate performance, and how she responds to detailed questions.

She also doesn't just have plans, she has jokes. (So does Klobuchar!) I really don't understand the idea some folks have that she's strident--she cares! She'll fight.

I like that. I like that a lot.