Whither the Democrats?

For John, BLUF:  This election year has been one of the more interesting, and not in a good way.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

---

Will the Democrats junk Joe?

Here is the sub-headline:

Amid the coronavirus crisis, Democrats have found a new Great Left Hope in Andrew Cuomo

From The Spectator, Columnist John Fund, 1 April 2020.

Here is the lede plus four:

Joe Biden is the presumptive Democratic nominee.  Yet many Democrats have ‘buyers’ remorse’ as the COVID virus has driven Biden off centerstage and into a hastily-built basement studio in his Delaware home.

Biden has tried to remain relevant to the public through TV broadcasts, but those appearances have been gaffe-prone and interspersed with lapses in lucidity.  Last Friday, he announced on CNN that ‘I speak to all five of my grandkids,’ which must make his very much alive sixth grandchild feel a little neglected.  Dave Catanese of McClatchy found his interview last Monday painful to watch:  ‘Joe Biden struggled mightily at the top of his MSNBC interview where he looked to be reading from notes to answer a question.’

Democrats openly worry about the lack of enthusiasm for Biden.  A new Washington Post/ABC poll found 86 percent of Trump supporters enthusiastic about their choice.  Only 74 percent of Biden backers said the same thing.  Most ominously, the poll found that 15 percent of Democrats who still back Bernie Sanders say they’d vote for Trump, not Biden, in November.  That’s more than the 12 percent of Sanders voters who plumped for Trump in 2016.

The fear that Biden could buckle before a relentless GOP negative campaign or Trump’s bullying in debates is palpable among many Democrats.  Lloyd Constantine, a former senior policy adviser to New York governor Eliot Spitzer from 2007 to 2008, is unsparing:  ‘Biden is a melting ice cube.  Those of us who have closely watched as time ravaged the once sharp or even brilliant minds of loved ones and colleagues, recognize what is happening to the good soldier Joe.’

Constantine and others have found a new Great Left Hope.  New York’s Gov. Andrew Cuomo has caused many pundits to swoon with his blunt no-nonsense daily briefings on the virus.  Kathleen Parker of the Washington Post concluded ‘The governor’s in-charge demeanor and straight talk remind us of what a leader looks like and acts like.’  Last week, cable news networks even skipped covering a speech by Biden to cover a Cuomo news conference.

My wife noted the attraction of Governor Andrew Cuomo when Fox News first started televising his daily news briefings.  I am thinking Governor Cuomo is a real threat to the nomination of former Veep Joe Biden.  It is a long way to the convention, 13-16 July 2020.  Even further to November and the election.

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff