Poor Showing for Bloomberg Keeps Door Open for Biden

Wednesday’s Democratic Presidential debate was highlighted by the poor performance of Mayor Mike Bloomberg. As someone who has prepared candidates for debates, it seemed to me that Bloomberg just had not spent the time to adequately prepare. The questions that came in his direction were very predictable, but the Mayor did not have strong, coherent answers.

His poor performance may have burst the hope that some moderates had that he would sweep in with his unlimited pocketbook and save the party from Senator Sanders. The ray of hope for Bloomberg is that he is not on the ballot this weekend in Nevada. He will get another chance on the debate stage next week, and he still has ten days to right the ship before the Super Tuesday vote on March 3rd.

The strong attacks on Bloomberg by all the other candidates demonstrate just how far to the left the Democratic Party has moved, to the point where there arguably is no room for an ultra-wealthy candidate.

Senator Elizabeth Warren, in a last-ditch effort to save her campaign, ripped into Bloomberg with an especially sharp exchange on his reported treatment of women.
While proclaiming herself a capitalist in comparison to Sanders’s socialism, she still occupies the progress lane to the nomination. It is hard to see a game plan where she dislodges Senator Sanders from his role as progressive leader.

Bloomberg’s poor performance gives Vice President Joe Biden a little room to come back into contention. There will eventually be a leader of the moderate wing to challenge Sanders, and if he does well enough in Nevada so as not be embarrassed, he can hope to have a strong showing next week in South Carolina. If Biden wins South Carolina, he can stay alive to fight as the moderate leader on Super Tuesday.

With all the focus on the Presidential race, little is happening in Congress. The President’s team continues to put out stories calling for a new round of tax cuts, but the chances of that happening in the Democratic House are close to zero. Once the Democrats agree on a candidate, that person will become the titular head of the Party and perhaps some issues can be addressed or at least get a budget agreement to forestall a government shutdown on October 1.

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Poor Showing for Bloomberg Keeps Door Open for Biden
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