Biden is no Bill (in terms of political talent) but he comes at politics with that similar 'feel your pain' empathetic angle that suits this moment.

2020 is different that 2016. Trump had his racist base but also the advantage of being the 'infomercial salesman' who some (especially independents and apoliticals) voted for hoping 'for magic'. Trump may still win - but he lacks that advantage now, as most people (outside of his core base) know he isn't effective and can't work magic.

and isn't all about 'class' issues (although class obviously is important).

Because as Malcolm X noted, even a 'black man from Harvard' is still 'just a nigger' in the eyes of many/most whites.

This black man is/was accomplished upper class professional - yet was treated as 'just a scary nigger in the park threatening the safety of a (mediocre) white woman'.

Carville is a political genius who 'gets' what is relevant at any given moment.

He's a street fighter who goes for the throat - which is sorely lacking in how Dems take on Trump/GOP as well as the anti-Dem left.

It was Carville (and Bloomberg/Tim Obrien) as much as Clyburn who took down Bernie and helped Biden, IMO.

He had to cover the Reade story because mainstream outlets like WaPo, NYT etc were covering it.

Hayes, as a high profile white male, was (IMO) attempting (perhaps too hard) to avoid being the stereotype - ie the type who downplays women's claims that MeToo talks about.

But even Alyssa Milano and others came out in support of Biden, seeing through Reade's shenanigans.

of 'winning over the white moderates in swing states'.

The problem as Rachel Bitecofer and others have noted is: (a) the country is heavily polarized and you have to mobilize base voters (and 'base' doesn't mean far-left, but just core constituencies like PoC, women, youth, liberals, etc that powered Obama); (b) elections are nationalized and picking a VP to 'win a swing state' doesn't work anymore, Hillary would've won VA without Kaine; (c) winning swing states is not just about winning over moderates but mobilizing those marginal base voters who may just stay home. Hillary's PoC and youth vote was down in several key states. If she picked someone like Booker, who would've held moderates just as well as Kaine, but also added more PoC/youth vote - she would've won easily; (d) it simply doesn't look good to have an all-white ticket in the year 2020, when PoC make up such a large portion of the Dem party's base vote. Younger PoC (Gen-X, Millennials and younger) will not take well to an all-white ticket.

Harris is this year's Booker, with a better resume, and should be the obvious pick.

She's a star with the resume to be president. She has broad-based appeal to moderates and white women as well as WoC and others. She's tough and can take/give a punch. She's a Gen-X'er and could appeal to younger generations.

Leftists may not like her, but she did support M4A in the primaries and has moved left since her time as AG.

ie a 'sane' establishment white guy who is going to save America from Trump - yeah right.

Fauci, like Mueller, is better than the rest of these guys, of course.

But I wouldn't be surprised if Fauci endorses Trump in the end - then we would've set ourselves up by lauding this guy, like we did with Mueller/Rosenstein.

Whites are underestimating the blowblack from PoC (especially younger PoC) if we get a bland, all-white ticket.

PoC came out for Biden largely due to the fact that he was the 'wingman' of the first PoC president; and the fact that Biden implied from the beginning of his campaign that he would choose a WoC as running mate.

If Hillary had chosen Booker instead of Kaine she wins easily; PoC turnout was down in several key states.

There are angles/narratives that Palmer sees about Trump, Bernie etc that make perfect sense to me.

He covers topics the MSM won't, in a way they won't.

Palmer stood firm that Biden would win the nomination (due to his strong support amongst black voters in the South) while the MSM was crowning Bernie the winner on the basis of a few small primary (mainly white) states.

Rachel and Lawrence are good but their shows can be long and boring (their coverage during the pandemic has been great though).

Hayes is well read but also quick witted and moves through his segments at a good pace. He routinely eviscerates Trumpism, 'Trump TV' (as he refers to Fox News), etc.

He's not alt-left/Bernie Bro; he cares about social justice and is not antagonistic towards 'establishment' Dems who he often has on his show (Cuomo was on recently).

I too disliked when he covered the Reade story. But as a journalist he must cover a story that major outlets like the NYT, WaPo, AP etc are covering. I blame them for not doing due diligence and in playing the both-siderism game, where Biden's 'sins' and Trump's are cast as the same.