U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) spoke this weekend about moving the Democratic political conversation from the surging perception that President Joe Biden is a fatally diminished candidate to a focus on “policy” — specifically a focus on whose “policies have and will benefit the vast majority of people in this country.”
It’s a metric that Sanders believes reveals a demonstrable edge for the Democrats over the GOP. Sanders pushed messaging on the popularity of expanded Medicare and the maintenance of Social Security — both targets for reduction in reported GOP plans — as key elements in the Democratic platform’s appeal.
[NOTE: Sanders also credits Biden with the dramatic turnaround in formerly sinking American industrial regions, a resurgence that the New York Times described today: “America’s so-called ‘left behind’ counties — the once-great manufacturing centers and other distressed places that struggled mightily at the start of this century — have staged a remarkable comeback. In the last three years, they added jobs and new businesses at their fastest pace since Bill Clinton was president.”]
Bernie Sanders on Face the Nation: "What we are talking about now is not a Grammy award contest for best singer. Biden is old. He's not as articulate as he once was. I wish he could jump up the steps on Air Force One. He can't. What we have got to focus on is policy." pic.twitter.com/cHb35DMEhK
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) July 7, 2024
Asked if Sanders would continue to support Biden’s re-election campaign, which was publicly torpedoed by the President’s recent poor debate performance, Sanders responded that he’s already actively doing so. “I’ve already done six events in Wisconsin, we’ve been to New York, we’ve been to Ohio,” the Vermont Senator said.
As for Biden’s fitness for office, and whether the President possesses the vitality to win, Sanders said: “President Biden can clearly defeat Donald Trump, the most dangerous president in the history of this country.”
Sanders insisted that the “most important” point about Biden’s candidacy wasn’t his admitted physical decline, saying: “What we are talking about now is not a Grammy award contest for best singer. Biden is old. He’s not as articulate as he once was. I wish he could jump up the steps on Air Force One. He can’t. What we have got to focus on is policy,” Sanders said.
What must Biden do to accomplish the herculean task of rising from the ashes of his debate debacle to win another term at age 81, as questions swirl unmitigated about his dwindling capacities? Sanders has an answer — but like everyone else, he has no certainty that Biden can do it.
“[Biden] has got to say, ‘I am prepared to take on corporate greed, massive income and wealth inequality and stand with the working class in this country.’ He does that, he’s going to win and win big,” Sanders said.
Biden has shown combativeness since the debate — see the brief clip below — but it has not put to rest the suspicion that the President can no longer consistently deliver such moments. Policy, as Sanders suggests, is important, but a large percentage of voters vote for people more than for issues.
Biden: You have been wrong about everything so far. You were wrong about 2020. You were wrong about 2022. Remember the red wave? pic.twitter.com/9AGqZTdOB9
— Acyn (@Acyn) July 5, 2024
