With his Midwest sweep on Tuesday and his probable running of the board next Tuesday, Joe Biden is close to unbeatable for the Democratic nomination. He’ll face the president in the fall. If the economy stays stable, a couple of jinks are okay, and the country is at general peace the president will be hard to beat.
So, what next for both men?
Team Biden has to orchestrate a convention that gives Sanders his due but does not pay too a high a price for his support. Biden already started to do that in his victory speech on Tuesday. It has to be a tightly scripted show highlighting Biden at his best.
To counter the gaffe thing they may want to make some self-deprecating gaffe jokes as part of a hopeful nomination speech that almost ignores Trump. I bet Peggy Noonan, wordsmith to the verbally clumsy George Bush the Elder, would write it if she was asked. Sadly, such is the level of her apostasy. Veep? Has to be Klobuchar, Harris, or Whitmer. If he’s smart he goes with Whitmer.
MORE NEWS: If he wins the Democratic nomination, can Joe Biden make it to November?
Trump is a master showman, but political coronations can be boring. With a new veep or some other announcement of import he can turn the event into a happening. But he must beware, the GOP establishment types who run conventions tend towards the bland. The president needs to put his own people (Or hire an outside gunslinger. Maybe a friendly Hollywood mogul.) in to produce the thing.
After the convention Biden’s team must keep him on a tight leash, lest the gaffes continue. He needs to concentrate on Michigan, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, and North Carolina. Straying too far from that and he’s making the Hillary 2016 mistake of shooting at targets that are out of range.
The president must merely be himself, he is a walking charisma machine, but be careful not to beat up on Biden too bad in the debates and engender a sympathy for him amongst female voters. Trump needs to focus on the same targets above. But also look to shore up Arizona and make a run at Nevada, New Hampshire, and New Mexico.
These factors will change by the fall. LifeZette will be here to cover it for you.
Join the Discussion
COMMENTS POLICY: We have no tolerance for messages of violence, racism, vulgarity, obscenity or other such discourteous behavior. Thank you for contributing to a respectful and useful online dialogue.