Walt's advice to President Trump re the ballot question for November

As I predicted (lifetime pct .992), it's come down (already) to a fight between Old Joe and the old Jew. The once and future Vice-President Joe Biden scored victories from Texas to Massachusetts on Super Tuesday, revitalizing a presidential bid that was teetering on the edge of disaster. But (((Bernie Sanders))) seized the biggest prize with a win in California, ensuring that the self-styled democratic socialist will make the running in the Democrats' nomination fight for the foreseeable future.

The dust hasn't entirely settled yet, but as I write it looks like Mr Biden won Virginia (99 delegates), North Carolina (110), Alabama (52), Tennessee (64), Arkansas (31), Minnesota (75), Oklahoma (37), Massachusetts (91), Maine (24) and Texas (228). Mr Sanders won Vermont (16), Colorado (67), and Utah (29), and is leading in California (415). (((Michael Bloomberg))) spent half a billion dollars to win American Samoa (6). It should be remembered though that mail-in ballots are yet to be counted in CA, and some states, notably TX, don't follow the winner-take-all rule, but divide the delegates along regional or other lines.

Still, it's going to come down to a latter-day Messiah -- wasn't Jesus a socialist Jew? -- versus the would-be successor to the last Democratic emperor. If I had been in Jerusalem around A.D. 33, I'd have bet on the emperor. If I were in Washington today, I'd bet on Old Joe, because I know the DNC are going to pull out all the stops to keep the anti-establishment candidate from winning.

The contours of the Biden vs Sanders fight were made clear last night as the contenders trash-talked each other in victory speeches delivered from opposite ends of the country. "You cannot beat Trump with the same-old, same-old kind of politics," said Senator Sanders, ticking off a list of past policy differences with Mr Biden on issues such as Social Security, trade and military force. "This will become a contrast in ideas," he said.

For his part, Mr Biden promised, last night and in campaign speeches in the days preceding, that he would turn back the clock, and make America what it was during what is now referred to as "the Obama-Biden administration". No new ideas, just what Mr Sanders correctly refers to as "the same-old, same-old kind of politics." I don't call it SOSO - Same-Old Same-Old -- but SSDD -- Same Shit Different Day!

Therein lies the key to four more years for Still-President Trump. If Old Joe secures the Dumbocratic nomination, as seems likely, there will be those advising him who will recommend dredging up the Bidens' (père et fils) nefarious dealings in the Ukraine. That would be bad. The American public long since tired of hearing about that, and raking the muck yet again would bring back the Pelosi-Schiff charges that President Trump acted improperly in trying to get the Bidens investigated. Don't go there!

The real ballot question, in November, should issue directly from Mr Biden's promises to uphold the Obama legacy and continue with the inaction, indecisiveness and stagnation that marked the eight years of the Prez's administration. In 2016 American voters rejected the failed policies of the Democratic administration, and voted to Make America Great Again. What Donald Trump should be asking voters, from now until election day, is: Do you really, really want to go back to the way things were before? I believe the response will be a massive "NO"! (Lifetime pct. still .992)

UPDATE ADDED at 0755: (((Michael Bloomberg))) dropped out of the race this morning, after failing to convert his massive wealth into sufficient delegates in his first test at the ballot box. In a statement and social media posts, Mayor Mike said he would endorse Joe Biden.

UPDATED: Stop Sanders Stampede is ON!

I didn't post anything yesterday on the result of the South Carolina Democratic primary because I thought it better to wait until the dust settled. I was rewarded for my patience last night when Mayor Pete announced that he was bowing out of the contest to be The One Who Loses to Trump. (Lifetime pct .991) I congratulate him on bowing to the inevitable and getting out before being humiliated.

And who might the inevitable be? From this corner of the woods it looks like Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT). Or former Vice-President Joe Biden. [Note from Ed.: Can someone tell me whether it should be "Vice-President" or "Vice President"? We prefer the former, because the latter sounds like the President in charge of Vice". Which is politically correct?! But we digress...] Old Joe whupped the old Jew (and everybody else) in Saturday's SC primary, garnering not just a plurality in the large field, but a majority. Whoda thunk it? His blowout victory, combined with the exit of Mr Buttigieg, leaves him as the only one with a plausible chance of catching the Senator from Brooklyn.

The questions tomorrow, Super Tuesday, are does Mr Biden have the fuel to catch up? And what will be the effect of the presence (for the first time) on the ballot of another old rich New York Jew? Will the hundreds of millions of dollars (of his own money) spent on nationwide TV advertising -- including a video endorsement by Judge Judy -- win him enough delegates to be a real contender? Didn't work for Tom Steyer.

Super Tuesday is the biggest on the primary calendar: 14 states along with American Samoa will determine one-third of the pledged delegates – 1,344 out of the 1,991 needed to win – to the Democratic convention in Milwaukee. A dominant performance by Senator Sanders could make it nearly impossible for rivals to eclipse his delegate count. But a strong second-place showing by Sleepy Joe could position him as the moderate alternative who might, might be more acceptable to voters in November.

That's how Mayor Mike wants to be seen, but has he entered the field too late? And are Americans really ready to elect a Jewish president, regardless of whether he's a capitalist or a socialist? My political antennae tell me no. Lifetime pct .991. [You already said that today. Ed.]

It will also be interesting to see what happens when Fauxcahontas and Senator Amy Klobuchar drop out, as seems likely before the week ends. [Don't say it again! Ed.] The ladies are likely to win, or at least have a respectable result, in their home states (as will Bernie, in Vermont), but who will their delegates go to in the event of a brokered convention?

Time reports that a rally for Senator Klobuchar was cancelled last night as several dozen protesters took the stage, chanting "Black Lives Matter" [Is that still a thing? Ed.], "Klobuchar has got to go" and "Free Myon", apparently referring to the case of a black teenager convicted of murder after an allegedly flawed police investigation. A campaign spokesthingy told the meeja, "The campaign offered a meeting with the Senator if they (protesters) would leave the stage after being on stage for more than an hour. After the group initially agreed, they backed out of the agreement and we are cancelling the event."

Meanwhile, the Clinton News Network reports that Barack Hussein Obama has told his former Veep that he (the Prez) won't endorse anybody yet. He did manage to call Old Joe to offer his congratulations on the SC win, but his words of praise for Biden's commanding finish in the contest did not change the fact that the Prez still plans to stay on the sidelines and not insert himself into the primary fight as it intensifies. "A person close to Obama" told CNN, "We are skeptical that an endorsement coming from us could truly change the political winds right now," adding that, there is "a very real chance [an endorsement] backfires."

Further reading: "Why Biden's South Carolina Victory Increases the Odds of a Brokered Convention", by Matt Margolis on PJMedia, 1/3/20.

UPDATE ADDED at (almost) high noon: The Stop Sanders Stampede is ON! AP reports that Senator Klobuchar has announced the end of her campaign for the presidensity, and plans to endorse... wait for it... Sleepy Joe, whose rally in Dallas she will attend tonight. The withdrawal comes too late (I would think) to take her name off the Democratic primary ballot tomorrow, so I'm not how they allocate the delegates which she may win in her home state. The chances of her winning delegates in other state were slim and none.