Posted on 05/02/2019 5:40:59 AM PDT by Kaslin
Former Vice President Joe Biden officially entered the race for the White House and instantly became the Democratic front-runner. He got a modest bounce in the polls and now leads Sen. Bernie Sanders by a 33% to 16% margin among Democrats. Nobody else is even in double digits.
Biden's 17-point lead over Sanders is up from the 11-point lead he had before he formally threw his hat in the ring. And the front-runner is now generating far more positive social media chatter than any of his other challengers.
Looking ahead to the general election, the longtime Democrat leads Donald Trump by a 43% to 36% margin in a general election matchup. He is the only Democrat currently leading Trump in the polls.
On top of all that, 48% of voters nationwide have a favorable opinion of Biden, while just 36% offer a negative assessment. It's rare for such a well-known politician to have such positive numbers.
The only bad news for Biden at the moment is that the election is a very long way off. That reality is highlighted by the fact that his 7-point lead over the president is down from 9 points a month ago and 11 points two months ago. And his current lead certainly isn't overwhelming in a poll where 21% of voters are not committed to either candidate.
It's also reasonable to assume that his bounce from formally entering the race will fade fairly quickly. It has for every other candidate. Plus, as the clear front-runner, Biden can expect challenges from all sides in the coming months.
In that regard, he has a very long history in politics for his opponents to dredge up and exploit for their own benefit. Some of Biden's statements and positions from earlier times do not fit at all with the Democratic Party of the 21st century.
On the personal side, Biden will face a significant challenge winning over a political party that is getting younger and more diverse. Most Democrats (56%) expect their party to nominate someone under 70. Only 27% think the nominee is likely to be a white male.
In many ways, the former vice president's position is similar to that of Rudy Giuliani in 2007. The former New York City mayor was well known and popular within the party. He led in the polls all year despite being out of sync with his party's base on key cultural issues. But once the voting began, Giuliani was finished. He dropped out of the race less than a month after the first votes were cast in Iowa.
While it is not the most likely scenario, a Biden collapse is quite possible to envision. If that happens, the Democrats will be likely to nominate someone much further to the left politically.
On the other hand, at this time four years ago, pundits were routinely dismissing Trump's lead in the polls. Biden could very well follow the Trump trajectory and hang on to his steady lead over a large field of challengers who all start to sound the same to most voters.
In either case, what happens to the Biden campaign will be the defining feature of the Democratic presidential nominating contest. The race is his to lose.
He is not all there, and as President he would be a walking poster boy for the 25th Amendment.
Has Gropin’ Joe broken 1,000 at any event yet?
It's interesting to contemplate that the media may prop Joe up and prevent his collapse under all circumstances. Someone further to the Left may damage the Democrat brand even more. They may try to forestall that and just let Joe take the fall in 2020. Trump's re-election is something of a foregone conclusion either way.
A Potemkin Village false-front poster being propped up by the Lamestream Media (an official subdivision of the Democrat Party).
He won’t survive First Contact with reality. Or with the radicals in his own party. Certainly not with Trump.
Joe Biden is 76 years old. At that age, every week is a good week...
I wonder how Trump will handle drunken, crazy Joe when he smirks and makes noises while Trump is speaking during the debate? Certainly not the same way Paul Ryan did by ignoring it.
Crazy Joe owned Paul Ryan.
This time it will be drool and not noises.
Byedone is not going to even make it to the debates. This guy is too old , no offense to old farts like me, too unhealthy looking and he slurs and mumbles a lot. Not to mention the fact he’s an idiot and a buffoon that gaff is his middle name. Trump is going to stomp the crap out of this old fool.
He’s already made this awful, conflict of interest, gaffe about China. Biden’s always been an idiot with dangerous foreign policy views.
When real full time campaigning starts Biteme will collapse like the other drunk - Hillary.
How does ANYONE write such a stupid headline? Biteme could barely get out a sentence. He sounded drunk or the victim of a stroke, his Ukraine connections were being outed by of all places the Slimes.
Someone must have gotten him a life size foam squeeze body with a scratch and sniff head.
+.
This Biden blitz does feel quite artificial
I think Trump will humorously deal with Biden’s dementia.
I’m afraid we are underestimating Democrat ability to manufacture votes.
"I bet Bill didnt get you this hot."
Any week is a good week for Joe Biden if he gets to feel up some chicks. And he des that most weeks.
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