4 Reasons Why a Biden Run Would Help Sanders

[ghostsinthemachine]

The politerati are getting a slight break from Trumpalooza these days, thanks to the Biden Bump. The veep has been actively discussing a possible presidential run with Democratic donors and strategists as he moves toward a final decision, and political handicappers have upped the odds that Biden, still coping with the recent death of his 46-year-old son Beau, will enter the fray. This has led to a torrent of speculation about what Biden will do and what a last-minute leap might mean for the 2016 race. Could it hurt the once-inevitable-but-now-email-burdened Hillary Clinton by providing Nervous-Nellie Democrats with an alternative? Could it help Clinton by offering her a more establishment-oriented sparring partner to vanquish—which would yield a positive narrative for her campaign?

The other day, Sen. Bernie Sanders, the independent seeking the Democratic nomination who has drawn thousands to rallies and boomed in recent polls, was asked how a Biden bid would affect the contest. He characteristically pooh-poohed the question. "Politics is not a soap opera," he said. "What impact it will have on the race I honestly don’t know. I mean, I wish I could tell you but I don’t. Will it help or hurt me? Will it help or hurt Hillary Clinton? I just don’t know."

Yet there are several reasons why a Biden run would be good for Sanders.

* Slicing up the pie. The most obvious benefit is a matter of basic math: If Biden is in the hunt, the establishment Democratic vote will be split. That means an outsider will need a lower percentage of the vote to win. If the race is essentially Clinton versus Sanders (assuming for now that Martin O'Malley, Jim Webb, and Lincoln Chaffee don't escape from low-single-digit territory), the winner of a primary contest will have to bag close to 50 percent of the vote. Put in a competitive third candidate—and there's no telling how strong a candidate Biden will be—and the number drops. Within the Sanders camp, his strategists assume that the progressive populist wing of the Democratic electorate that already supports or could potentially support Sanders is about 35 percent. That number is undoubtedly closer to the percentage needed for a win in a contest with Biden than in one without him.



MORE HERE: http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2015/08/4-reasons-why-biden-entering-race-would-help-sanders

[merrily]

1. I love it. "What impact it will have on the race I honestly don’t know."

Bernie says the only thing that is not spin, not bullshit and not foolish speculation.

And " "Politics is not a soap opera." Well, it shouldn't be. It's important stuff, but our willfully shitty msm does its best to devolve this important stuff into a soap opera, doesn't it? And Bernie calls them out for it.

Go, Bernie!

[InAbLuEsTaTe]

2. And Bernie probably didn't have to read from notes on what to say!