newyorker--2020-03-03--The New Coalition Behind Joe Biden Ahead of Super Tuesday

For the past year , the Democratic establishment has played such an ineffective role in the Party ’ s Presidential primaries that it made sense to wonder whether it still existed at all .
It certainly couldn ’ t run a caucus , as the chaos of Iowa proved , nor could it billionaire-proof its Presidential race .
Donors could not agree upon a preferred candidate—the finances of the presumed establishment favorite , Joe Biden , were so depleted that , late in February , there were reports he might soon need to fly commercial to campaign events—and none of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to fix on an issue beyond displacing Donald Trump , so that debate after debate was dominated by Bernie Sanders ’ s call for Medicare for All .
In 2016 , Sanders had threatened to overthrow the established Party—something like a genuine political revolution—but this time he seemed likely to simply outorganize it .
Political consultants have traditionally recommended a clear economic message and a candidate who does not stray from it , a highly motivated group of well-known surrogates , a field-beating fund-raising network , and a plan to use it to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ began , Sanders had them , and the more conventional candidates did not .
Fear turned out to be a cohesive ingredient this week .
On Saturday evening , Biden won the South Carolina primary in a rout , and , although he had placed just fourth , fifth , and a very distant second in the earlier contests , it was enough to signal that he was the figure to rally around .
By Sunday evening , Pete Buttigieg had dropped out of the race .
On Monday morning , the former @ @ @ @ @ @ @ chaired the Democratic National Committee and the Presidential campaigns of Bill and Hillary Clinton , held a press conference in Richmond to announce that he was backing Biden ( though it was briefly delayed when McAuliffe got stuck in an elevator ) .
By lunchtime on the East Coast , Harry Reid had announced that he was on board with Biden , and so had Amy Klobuchar , who said that she was suspending her own campaign and flying to Dallas to join the former Vice-President at a rally .
Then came endorsements @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Rice , and from the former congressman and Presidential candidate Beto O ’ Rourke , who since the end of his campaign had grown and then shorn a beard .
By evening , Buttigieg had arrived in Dallas to endorse Biden , and the former Vice-President was praising the young mayor by comparing him to his son Beau , who died of brain cancer , in 2015 , and had been the attorney general of Delaware .
Behind the podium , Buttigieg bowed his head .
Fathers , sons , pious gestures—the Democratic @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s turf .
Why ?
Surely it had something to do with the signal sent by black Democrats in South Carolina—that Biden still had the affections of the Party ’ s base .
Probably it had more to do with a general panic about Sanders .
In any case , the effect was dramatic : the Biden campaign has spent a year holding events in small , quiet rooms , and suddenly the whole Party wanted to cram into them .
“ Got ta hand it to mainstream Democrats , ” Michael Steel @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Jeb Bush ’ s campaign , wrote on Twitter , recalling his party ’ s effort to stop Trump .
“ I don ’ t know if it will work , but this is exactly what GOP candidates didn ’ t do in ’ 16.
” Soon Steel , and the rest of us , will know whether it ’ s working .
So far , a hundred and fifty-five delegates have been awarded to the candidates ; on Tuesday , Democratic voters will select more than thirteen hundred more—a third of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , American Samoa , Arkansas , California , Colorado , Maine , Massachusetts , Minnesota , North Carolina , Oklahoma , Tennessee , Texas , Utah , Vermont , and Virginia .
Until very recently , the Presidential race had an almost pedantic geographic specificity : a big , loud rally in Dubuque meant something different from a big , loud rally in Davenport .
Sanders ’ s big , loud rally yesterday was in St. Paul , Minnesota , and Biden ’ s was in Dallas , but , really , they @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is still in the race , and so , too , is Michael Bloomberg , and his billions .
But neither Bloomberg nor Warren had three other Presidential contenders backing them in a night .
The campaign is speeding up , the change measurable in news cycles .
Tuesday ’ s is about the creation of a moderate coalition to back Biden and stop Sanders .
Wednesday ’ s may be about whether that coalition can hold .
Sanders himself sounded perfectly clear about what is happening .
“ Look , it is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ has sixteen articles a day on this .
That there ’ s a massive effort trying to stop Bernie Sanders , ” he said at a press conference on Monday .
“ The corporate establishment is coming together .
The political establishment is coming together .
And they will do everything.
” Sanders ’ s rhetoric can be totalizing , and that made the events of the day sound a little more planned—and the establishment a little more formidable—than it really seemed .
If the corporate and Democratic Party establishments were really operating @ @ @ @ @ @ @ furnished the Biden campaign with some funds .
If they were committed to massing against Sanders , then they might have done so before the very last minute .
The Democrats seem less like a solid organization than a social network , fragmentary and porous but just connected enough for some similar ideas to occasionally pulse through .
This week , Sanders told the San Francisco Chronicle ’ s editorial board that he would only select a running mate who supports Medicare for All .
The decision limits the pool of potential Vice-Presidents @ @ @ @ @ @ @ campaign is about .
As for the network that suddenly coalesced around Biden yesterday : What was it for ?
The word that kept recurring , in the testimonials to Biden in Dallas , was “ empathy ” —he had it , Trump didn ’ t—a construction that leaned heavily on Biden ’ s own character to keep the Party together .
The presence of Buttigieg , Klobuchar , and O ’ Rourke in Dallas gave the reassuring impression of some youth and solidity behind the Biden operation—the candidate might still say confusing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the past month , Biden claimed to have been arrested alongside Nelson Mandela in South Africa , before confessing that the incident never happened ) , but at least he wouldn ’ t be running alone .
If Biden ’ s campaign has become something like a last stand for the past decade ’ s Democratic consensus , then it is striking how little it has to offer : decency , empathy , honor .
A set of personal characteristics .
Maybe those are worries for another day .
The polls on Tuesday @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Biden pulling ahead of Sanders in many of the states that will vote on Super Tuesday ; if true , they augur a wholly different race .
Were the preferences of Democrats , which so recently seemed fixed , really so prone to change ?
Maybe so .
By the time that Biden and O ’ Rourke walked into a Dallas Whataburger , late on Monday evening ( the kitchen was closed , but reopened for them ) , it was possible to detect a new approach by the Biden campaign .
Its @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of African-American voters—now , the Washington Post ’ s Cleve R. Wootson , Jr. , noted on Twitter , Biden ’ s campaign events sometimes begin with the so-called black national anthem , “ Lift Every Voice and Sing.
” Its appeal would hinge on the ability of surrogates to persuade Democrats that all of the Party ’ s most promising talents agreed that Biden was the banner to rally behind .
And its first test will come very quickly , on Super Tuesday , when the forces that cohered around Biden in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that the support behind the Vice-President represents something as formidable as the Democratic establishment—and not just an opportunistic network of influential people who share common enemies .

For the past year, the Democratic establishment has played such an ineffective role in the Party’s Presidential primaries that it made sense to wonder whether it still existed at all. It certainly couldn’t run a caucus, as the chaos of Iowa proved, nor could it billionaire-proof its Presidential race. Donors could not agree upon a preferred candidate—the finances of the presumed establishment favorite, Joe Biden, were so depleted that, late in February, there were reports he might soon need to fly commercial to campaign events—and none of the moderates in the race seemed able to fix on an issue beyond displacing Donald Trump, so that debate after debate was dominated by Bernie Sanders’s call for Medicare for All. In 2016, Sanders had threatened to overthrow the established Party—something like a genuine political revolution—but this time he seemed likely to simply outorganize it. Political consultants have traditionally recommended a clear economic message and a candidate who does not stray from it, a highly motivated group of well-known surrogates, a field-beating fund-raising network, and a plan to use it to outmaneuver any rivals. As the year began, Sanders had them, and the more conventional candidates did not.
Fear turned out to be a cohesive ingredient this week. On Saturday evening, Biden won the South Carolina primary in a rout, and, although he had placed just fourth, fifth, and a very distant second in the earlier contests, it was enough to signal that he was the figure to rally around. By Sunday evening, Pete Buttigieg had dropped out of the race. On Monday morning, the former Virginia governor Terry McAuliffe, who has chaired the Democratic National Committee and the Presidential campaigns of Bill and Hillary Clinton, held a press conference in Richmond to announce that he was backing Biden (though it was briefly delayed when McAuliffe got stuck in an elevator). By lunchtime on the East Coast, Harry Reid had announced that he was on board with Biden, and so had Amy Klobuchar, who said that she was suspending her own campaign and flying to Dallas to join the former Vice-President at a rally. Then came endorsements from the former Obama national-security adviser Susan Rice, and from the former congressman and Presidential candidate Beto O’Rourke, who since the end of his campaign had grown and then shorn a beard. By evening, Buttigieg had arrived in Dallas to endorse Biden, and the former Vice-President was praising the young mayor by comparing him to his son Beau, who died of brain cancer, in 2015, and had been the attorney general of Delaware. Behind the podium, Buttigieg bowed his head. Fathers, sons, pious gestures—the Democratic Party establishment had moved onto Biden’s turf.
Why? Surely it had something to do with the signal sent by black Democrats in South Carolina—that Biden still had the affections of the Party’s base. Probably it had more to do with a general panic about Sanders. In any case, the effect was dramatic: the Biden campaign has spent a year holding events in small, quiet rooms, and suddenly the whole Party wanted to cram into them. “Gotta hand it to mainstream Democrats,” Michael Steel, a Republican operative and adviser to Jeb Bush’s campaign, wrote on Twitter, recalling his party’s effort to stop Trump. “I don’t know if it will work, but this is exactly what GOP candidates didn’t do in ’16.”
Soon Steel, and the rest of us, will know whether it’s working. So far, a hundred and fifty-five delegates have been awarded to the candidates; on Tuesday, Democratic voters will select more than thirteen hundred more—a third of the total in one evening, in Alabama, American Samoa, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, and Virginia.
Until very recently, the Presidential race had an almost pedantic geographic specificity: a big, loud rally in Dubuque meant something different from a big, loud rally in Davenport. Sanders’s big, loud rally yesterday was in St. Paul, Minnesota, and Biden’s was in Dallas, but, really, they could have been anywhere. Elizabeth Warren is still in the race, and so, too, is Michael Bloomberg, and his billions. But neither Bloomberg nor Warren had three other Presidential contenders backing them in a night. The campaign is speeding up, the change measurable in news cycles. Tuesday’s is about the creation of a moderate coalition to back Biden and stop Sanders. Wednesday’s may be about whether that coalition can hold.
Sanders himself sounded perfectly clear about what is happening. “Look, it is no secret—I mean, the Washington Post has sixteen articles a day on this. That there’s a massive effort trying to stop Bernie Sanders,” he said at a press conference on Monday. “The corporate establishment is coming together. The political establishment is coming together. And they will do everything.” Sanders’s rhetoric can be totalizing, and that made the events of the day sound a little more planned—and the establishment a little more formidable—than it really seemed. If the corporate and Democratic Party establishments were really operating as one, then they might have furnished the Biden campaign with some funds. If they were committed to massing against Sanders, then they might have done so before the very last minute. The Democrats seem less like a solid organization than a social network, fragmentary and porous but just connected enough for some similar ideas to occasionally pulse through.
This week, Sanders told the San Francisco Chronicle’s editorial board that he would only select a running mate who supports Medicare for All. The decision limits the pool of potential Vice-Presidents, but it makes clear what his campaign is about. As for the network that suddenly coalesced around Biden yesterday: What was it for? The word that kept recurring, in the testimonials to Biden in Dallas, was “empathy”—he had it, Trump didn’t—a construction that leaned heavily on Biden’s own character to keep the Party together. The presence of Buttigieg, Klobuchar, and O’Rourke in Dallas gave the reassuring impression of some youth and solidity behind the Biden operation—the candidate might still say confusing or embarrassing things (three times in the past month, Biden claimed to have been arrested alongside Nelson Mandela in South Africa, before confessing that the incident never happened), but at least he wouldn’t be running alone. If Biden’s campaign has become something like a last stand for the past decade’s Democratic consensus, then it is striking how little it has to offer: decency, empathy, honor. A set of personal characteristics.
Maybe those are worries for another day. The polls on Tuesday morning showed a staggering reversal, with Biden pulling ahead of Sanders in many of the states that will vote on Super Tuesday; if true, they augur a wholly different race. Were the preferences of Democrats, which so recently seemed fixed, really so prone to change? Maybe so. By the time that Biden and O’Rourke walked into a Dallas Whataburger, late on Monday evening (the kitchen was closed, but reopened for them), it was possible to detect a new approach by the Biden campaign. Its political legitimacy would rest on the support of African-American voters—now, the Washington Post’s Cleve R. Wootson, Jr., noted on Twitter, Biden’s campaign events sometimes begin with the so-called black national anthem, “Lift Every Voice and Sing.” Its appeal would hinge on the ability of surrogates to persuade Democrats that all of the Party’s most promising talents agreed that Biden was the banner to rally behind. And its first test will come very quickly, on Super Tuesday, when the forces that cohered around Biden in the past week will try to prove that the support behind the Vice-President represents something as formidable as the Democratic establishment—and not just an opportunistic network of influential people who share common enemies.


newyorker--2020-03-03--Bernie Sanders’s Long Weekend on the Way to Super Tuesday

When Bernie Sanders left South Carolina , on Friday , on one of two private jets that his Presidential campaign had chartered , he was widely regarded as the clear front-runner for the Democratic nomination .
Joe Biden was expected to win the South Carolina primary , the next day , but that looked like it might be a small bump in the road .
( “ Let Biden have this one , ” a canvasser for Sanders had told me , at a bar in Charleston , a few days before . )
Sanders was scheduled to fly to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Saturday , then on to Virginia , California , Utah , Minnesota , and , lastly , Vermont , where he began his political career , by running for governor and senator on the Liberty Union ticket , almost fifty years ago .
At every stop , Sanders would give his roughly forty-minute stump speech , often to crowds of ten thousand or more people .
First up : the MassMutual Center , in Springfield , where Sanders rattled off his usual list of policy plans .
He would legalize marijuana in every @ @ @ @ @ @ @ racist criminal-justice system ” with executive orders .
He ’ d pass comprehensive immigration reform and universal background checks for gun sales .
He ’ d fight to codify Roe v. Wade and would expand funding for Planned Parenthood .
Then he shifted into the Donald Trump section of his speech .
The incumbent President is a “ pathological liar ” and “ grossly dishonest , ” Sanders said .
The crowd roared .
That enthusiasm did not always equal unwavering support .
Sanders was a “ close second ” among the candidates @ @ @ @ @ @ @ with a Reiki tattoo on his forearm ( it meant “ living your best life now , ” he explained ) .
Cyr , who is white and lives in Springfield , said that he would listen to any candidate who came to town .
“ I ’ ve been a lot more active since 2016 , ” he told me .
“ Couple marches , couple protests .
Couple of town halls.
” His first choice for President was Elizabeth Warren , who , he thought , had a better record of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ doubted her chances at the nomination .
“ I ’ m already mentally prepared that Bernie is very likely going to be my favorite candidate moving forward , ” he said , “ probably after Super Tuesday.
” Erin Kennelly , a forty-year-old property manager from Vermont favored Warren , too .
She ’ d met Sanders in the mid-nineties , when he came to her high school .
“ I remember his energy and enthusiasm back then , ” she said .
“ He ’ s been consistent , ” she added @ @ @ @ @ @ @ seeing things implemented ” if he won .
She would support “ anybody but Trump ” — “ although , ” she said , “ I ’ d really not like to see Bloomberg.
” Her ideal ticket was “ Bernie and Elizabeth together.
” She also dreamed of Warren running with Julián Castro .
“ A woman and a Latino , ” Kennelly , who ’ s white , said .
“ Mind blown.
” James Cordero , a Latinx twenty-one-year-old student at the University of Massachusetts , Amherst , was closer @ @ @ @ @ @ @ classmates who had come to the rally with him , and noted that there were Asian , bisexual , gender-nonconforming , and other Latinx students in the group .
Cordero mentioned the Green New Deal , “ a huge platform point for younger voters , who are looking for a sustainable economy , ” and said that he was donating two to three per cent of each of his modest paychecks from his campus job to Sanders .
“ I ’ ve never donated to a political candidate in my life , ” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Sanders spoke in near freezing temperatures on Boston Common , America ’ s oldest city park , after Béla Fleck had finished a “ quirky ” banjo rendition of “ The Star-Spangled Banner , ” in a minor key ( “ because of the times we ’ re in , ” Fleck said ) .
The crowd of roughly thirteen thousand was mostly white , and “ wicked excited , ” as someone near me shouted .
“ I fucking love Bernie , ” Matthew Hochman , a fifty-one-year-old legal recruiter from Somerville @ @ @ @ @ @ @ read “ Bernie Beats Trump in poll after poll ” and “ Fight the Billionaire Class.
” In his speeches , Sanders often mentions polls that show him beating Trump ; there are somewhere between sixty and seventy-five such polls , according to Sanders—the precise number varies .
“ Boots on the ground , ” Nick Russell , a twenty-two-year-old recent college graduate from Worcester , who stood next to Hochman , said .
“ I don ’ t think other candidates get these numbers.
” “ Elizabeth Warren wouldn ’ t get @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
“ I have a lot of female family voting for Elizabeth , ” he went on .
“ I just don ’ t think she ’ s the right person right now .
Bernie ’ s been carrying this message for thirty years .
And we need a revolution in this country.
” “ I would have voted for Elizabeth , ” Russell interjected .
“ But , I swear to God , she had fucking Clinton staffers.
” He apologized for cursing .
“ She ’ s best when she ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ great .
But in the middle of the campaign she just imploded.
” Diane and Gary Bamber , a couple in their late sixties from Chatham , were also at the rally .
Diane , a retired nurse , wore a sticker that read “ Vote Socialist.
” She and Gary , a retired engineer , had been Sanders supporters since 2016 , though Gary worried more about the “ S-word ” than she did .
“ I wish they ’ d call it ‘ progressive ’ or something , instead , ” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ think you ’ re going to have some sort of evil empire .
It ’ s just the opposite .
“ They might just cancel all this , ” Gary went on , referring to the primary process , “ by saying , ‘ We don ’ t care what you vote for.
’ The D.N.C.—I don ’ t trust them at all , ” he said .
As I spoke to a couple in their twenties from New York—one strongly for Sanders , the other “ a Democratic tourist here to witness @ @ @ @ @ @ @ toward Warren—a high-school senior named Kyle Mann interrupted .
“ We don ’ t like Warren around here that much , ” he said .
“ She ’ s a sour apple .
Awful representation for our state.
” “ She acts like a fake populist , essentially , ” Mann , who will be old enough to vote in November , went on .
“ She wants to be Bernie Sanders .
But she ’ s taking a super PAC and doing all these moderate things .
She does not represent the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Bernie does.
” He added , “ I ’ m obviously going to vote Democrat .
But it ’ s going to be Bernie .
The only way it ’ s not Bernie is if the D.N.C .
fucks him over.
” He was certain , he said , “ because of all the polls.
” Before I left , I met an artist named James Clark , who told me that he was undecided .
He was holding a sign he had made , which bore the image of a hand with @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a series I ’ ve been working on , ” he explained .
“ This political moment has inspired me to create some art to reflect the times .
That ’ s kind of how I feel .
Keeping my fingers crossed.
” Sanders was in a different Springfield , in Virginia , by the afternoon .
The crowd was less white than the ones in Massachusetts had been , and I saw more hijabs than backward baseball caps .
One of the hijabs belonged to Ilhan Omar , who introduced Sanders , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ emphasizing that his campaign is “ truly multiracial , truly multigenerational , and working class.
” Another belonged to Roya Mohseni , a fifty-six-year-old Iranian-American who lives in Maryland .
“ I came because Bernie is for all the people in the U.S. , ” she told me .
“ Because he ’ s against the billionaires .
He ’ s against the oppressors.
” A friend had mentioned Sanders to her about five years ago , she said .
“ I Googled him .
He was relating to me .
He was @ @ @ @ @ @ @ people .
Supporting about the student loans.
” Mohseni said that she had lots of debt , as did her husband .
“ There ’ s no way we can buy a house , ” she said .

When Bernie Sanders left South Carolina, on Friday, on one of two private jets that his Presidential campaign had chartered, he was widely regarded as the clear front-runner for the Democratic nomination. Joe Biden was expected to win the South Carolina primary, the next day, but that looked like it might be a small bump in the road. (“Let Biden have this one,” a canvasser for Sanders had told me, at a bar in Charleston, a few days before.) Sanders was scheduled to fly to Massachusetts, for rallies on Friday and Saturday, then on to Virginia, California, Utah, Minnesota, and, lastly, Vermont, where he began his political career, by running for governor and senator on the Liberty Union ticket, almost fifty years ago.
At every stop, Sanders would give his roughly forty-minute stump speech, often to crowds of ten thousand or more people. First up: the MassMutual Center, in Springfield, where Sanders rattled off his usual list of policy plans. He would legalize marijuana in every state and fix the “broken and racist criminal-justice system” with executive orders. He’d pass comprehensive immigration reform and universal background checks for gun sales. He’d fight to codify Roe v. Wade and would expand funding for Planned Parenthood. Then he shifted into the Donald Trump section of his speech. The incumbent President is a “pathological liar” and “grossly dishonest,” Sanders said. The crowd roared.
That enthusiasm did not always equal unwavering support. Sanders was a “close second” among the candidates for Rob Cyr, a thirty-five-year-old engineer with a Reiki tattoo on his forearm (it meant “living your best life now,” he explained). Cyr, who is white and lives in Springfield, said that he would listen to any candidate who came to town. “I’ve been a lot more active since 2016,” he told me. “Couple marches, couple protests. Couple of town halls.” His first choice for President was Elizabeth Warren, who, he thought, had a better record of “getting things done.” But he doubted her chances at the nomination. “I’m already mentally prepared that Bernie is very likely going to be my favorite candidate moving forward,” he said, “probably after Super Tuesday.”
Erin Kennelly, a forty-year-old property manager from Vermont favored Warren, too. She’d met Sanders in the mid-nineties, when he came to her high school. “I remember his energy and enthusiasm back then,” she said. “He’s been consistent,” she added. She worried a bit about “seeing things implemented” if he won. She would support “anybody but Trump”—“although,” she said, “I’d really not like to see Bloomberg.” Her ideal ticket was “Bernie and Elizabeth together.” She also dreamed of Warren running with Julián Castro. “A woman and a Latino,” Kennelly, who’s white, said. “Mind blown.”
James Cordero, a Latinx twenty-one-year-old student at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, was closer to the stage. He pointed to classmates who had come to the rally with him, and noted that there were Asian, bisexual, gender-nonconforming, and other Latinx students in the group. Cordero mentioned the Green New Deal, “a huge platform point for younger voters, who are looking for a sustainable economy,” and said that he was donating two to three per cent of each of his modest paychecks from his campus job to Sanders. “I’ve never donated to a political candidate in my life,” he said.
Sanders addresses a crowd of thousands in Boston. Photograph by Scott Eisen / Getty
The next morning, Sanders spoke in near freezing temperatures on Boston Common, America’s oldest city park, after Béla Fleck had finished a “quirky” banjo rendition of “The Star-Spangled Banner,” in a minor key (“because of the times we’re in,” Fleck said). The crowd of roughly thirteen thousand was mostly white, and “wicked excited,” as someone near me shouted.
“I fucking love Bernie,” Matthew Hochman, a fifty-one-year-old from Somerville, said. He wore buttons that read “Bernie Beats Trump in poll after poll” and “Fight the Billionaire Class.” In his speeches, Sanders often mentions polls that show him beating Trump; there are somewhere between sixty and seventy-five such polls, according to Sanders—the precise number varies.
“Boots on the ground,” Nick Russell, a twenty-two-year-old recent college graduate from Worcester, who stood next to Hochman, said. “I don’t think other candidates get these numbers.”
“Elizabeth Warren wouldn’t get this crowd here,” Hochman agreed. “I have a lot of female family voting for Elizabeth,” he went on. “I just don’t think she’s the right person right now. Bernie’s been carrying this message for thirty years. And we need a revolution in this country.”
“I would have voted for Elizabeth,” Russell interjected. “But, I swear to God, she had fucking Clinton staffers.” He apologized for cursing. “She’s best when she’s attacking Michael Bloomberg. That was great. But in the middle of the campaign she just imploded.”
Diane and Gary Bamber, a couple in their late sixties from Chatham, were also at the rally. Diane, a retired nurse, wore a sticker that read “Vote Socialist.” She and Gary, a retired engineer, had been Sanders supporters since 2016, though Gary worried more about the “S-word” than she did. “I wish they’d call it ‘progressive’ or something, instead,” he said, adding, “People think you’re going to have some sort of evil empire. It’s just the opposite.
“They might just cancel all this,” Gary went on, referring to the primary process, “by saying, ‘We don’t care what you vote for.’ The D.N.C.—I don’t trust them at all,” he said.
As I spoke to a couple in their twenties from New York—one strongly for Sanders, the other “a Democratic tourist here to witness the Presidential process,” but leaning toward Warren—a high-school senior named Kyle Mann interrupted. “We don’t like Warren around here that much,” he said. “She’s a sour apple. Awful representation for our state.”
“She acts like a fake populist, essentially,” Mann, who will be old enough to vote in November, went on. “She wants to be Bernie Sanders. But she’s taking a super PAC and doing all these moderate things. She does not represent the populists and the progressives that well. Bernie does.” He added, “I’m obviously going to vote Democrat. But it’s going to be Bernie. The only way it’s not Bernie is if the D.N.C. fucks him over.” He was certain, he said, “because of all the polls.”
Before I left, I met an artist named James Clark, who told me that he was undecided. He was holding a sign he had made, which bore the image of a hand with two fingers crossed. “Part of a series I’ve been working on,” he explained. “This political moment has inspired me to create some art to reflect the times. That’s kind of how I feel. Keeping my fingers crossed.”
Sanders was in a different Springfield, in Virginia, by the afternoon. The crowd was less white than the ones in Massachusetts had been, and I saw more hijabs than backward baseball caps. One of the hijabs belonged to Ilhan Omar, who introduced Sanders, calling him “my fellow-radical” and emphasizing that his campaign is “truly multiracial, truly multigenerational, and working class.” Another belonged to Roya Mohseni, a fifty-six-year-old Iranian-American who lives in Maryland. “I came because Bernie is for all the people in the U.S.,” she told me. “Because he’s against the billionaires. He’s against the oppressors.” A friend had mentioned Sanders to her about five years ago, she said. “I Googled him. He was relating to me. He was telling the truth. Supporting the Palestinian people. Supporting about the student loans.” Mohseni said that she had lots of debt, as did her husband. “There’s no way we can buy a house,” she said.
Nearby, Tenisha Graves, who’s twenty-eight, wore a “Squad Goals” T-shirt. She had come to hear Omar. “She’s really inspiring,” Graves said. “An unapologetic Muslim. She fights hard for women’s rights, minority rights, and Bernie.” Graves said she has “heard every speech Bernie has ever done.” After Trump’s election, she went on, “Bernie’s message resonated instantly. It’s so inclusive. He speaks to our issues instead of pandering to ‘the black vote.’ ” Graves had flirted with supporting Warren, she told me, but felt that Warren had become “disingenuous.” Of Pete Buttigieg, she said, “I’ve heard enough about him, I’m good.” Biden or Bloomberg? “No, I’m good,” she said.
After the rally, I spoke with a quartet of teen-agers, members of their high school’s Young Socialists chapter. One of them, Ali Ibrahim, was the son of Pakistani and Russian immigrants. “Bernie’s platform really treats us with dignity as citizens,” he said, adding, “I’m about to be a college freshman, and Bernie’s plan to cancel college debt is really important to me.”
Ian May, the one white kid in the group, wore a Young Socialist Movement T-shirt. He motioned toward Ibrahim. “He’s helped me get my foot in the door. He got into politics long before me”—at the age of five, apparently, rather than at fourteen, like May. “The more you learn about what America has been doing in the world,” May went on, “you see that you need a change in America. We shouldn’t be overthrowing governments around the world. Denying health care, denying fair wages, denying dignity to people in our country, and then yelling about how we’re spreading democracy around the world when we bomb brown children.”
How was the Young Socialist Movement group regarded at their public high school, I wondered? “There was some pushback initially,” Ibrahim said. “But as time moved on, we tried making public that we’re for good things, for charity. Our views are not anything crazy.” The group has about twenty members, they told me. “When people talk about democracy, what they end up meaning and not knowing that they mean is socialism,” Ibrahim said. The four teens figured that about two-thirds of their four-hundred-person senior class would vote for Sanders, maybe more.
At the first rally in California, on Sunday, in San Jose, many of the signs were in Spanish: “Unidos Con Bernie,” they said. Jose Carlos, a sixty-three-year-old postal processing employee with three kids in college, held one of the signs. “It’s incredible that a parent gotta pay a hundred thousand dollars for education,” he said. “You spend one day in an emergency room and have to pay thirteen thousand dollars—that’s incredible.” Carlos has supported Sanders since the senator’s previous Presidential campaign. Would he support another Democrat in November, if it came to that? “Well,” he said, “I’d have no other option.”
Yalei Sun, a fifty-year-old lawyer who came to the rally with his thirteen-year-old son, told me that he’d been drawn to Bloomberg, but was now back to Biden. Here, he held a Sanders sign. “Anybody better than Trump,” he said, adding, “This is not the America I signed up for.” Sun immigrated to the U.S. from China. He’d heard of Trump even before he got here, when he’d read a magazine story about him, in China. “He was marketing himself,” Sun said. “Turns out he’s a hoax.” Sun was delighted when Sanders, halfway through his speech, started in on the President. “I like anything about Trump,” he said, giddily.
“The candidate who wins here in California will likely be the Democratic nominee,” Sanders told the crowd, eliciting nearly deafening chants. Then he talked about his “friend Joe Biden” for a while. The day before, Biden had won nearly half the vote in South Carolina. (Sanders received twenty per cent.) “Please do not forget,” Sanders said, “Joe Biden voted for the war in Iraq! And that was the worst political decision ever made by the United States Congress. And I’m proud to tell you I helped lead the opposition.” He discussed some other “bad votes” Biden had made. “My point here,” he said, “is not to just be negative about Joe. My point is to ask you, ‘What campaign is going to defeat Donald Trump?’ ”
I asked a fifty-year-old nurse from the East Bay, who stood with her partner at the back of the crowd and introduced herself as Maria, whether she would vote for Biden if he were the nominee. “No,” she said. “I’m Bernie or bust.” She added, by way of explanation, “Biden has created policies that have actually destroyed the working class,” including the Iraq War and legislation related to student debt. She repeated that she would not, under any circumstance, vote for him. Her partner nodded along.
Sanders speaking on Sunday, in Los Angeles. Photograph by Jonathan Ernst / Reuters
On Sunday afternoon, after landing in Los Angeles, staffers from the Sanders campaign summoned the reporters who were following him to a small, bright room in LAX. Sanders hadn’t given interviews to the embeds since the news broke, a week before, that intelligence officials believed that Russia was interfering in the 2020 election in an attempt to aid Sanders. (Sanders had previously noted that social-media accounts purporting to support him and posting “ugly stuff on the Internet” could actually be trying to sow division. He promised that, if he were President, he would end Russia’s interference in American elections.) This time, he wanted to “say a word on Pete Buttigieg,” he told the gathered press. Buttigieg had just dropped out of the race. “I want to congratulate him on running a brilliant campaign,” Sanders said. He went on, “Tonight, I just want to welcome all of his supporters into our movement. And to urge them to joining us in the fight for real change in this country.” Buttigieg later announced that he was endorsing Biden.
A reporter asked Sanders whether the moderates remaining in the race had made plans to come together in order to defeat him. “I think it’s no secret that the establishment is very nervous,” Sanders said. “The corporate wing of the Democratic Party.” He added, “The argument that we can’t beat Trump is absolutely wrong.” Another reporter asked whether Sanders was concerned with how well Biden had done in South Carolina; he said that he wasn’t. (“Nationally, we are doing very well with the African-American vote, and I think you’re going to see that on Super Tuesday,” he said.) He then walked away, ignoring a question from a third reporter, about his health.
That evening, the comedian Sarah Silverman and the ninety-four-year-old actor Dick Van Dyke—“I am what’s left of Dick Van Dyke,” he said—warmed up a crowd at the Los Angeles Convention Center. I struck up a conversation with an assistant television editor in her forties who said that we “need deep policy overhaul right now,” and that if the nominee were Biden, she’d be “really disappointed in America.” The TV editor, who was African-American, added, “I probably would not vote for a Presidential candidate if Bernie is not a choice.”
As Sanders took the stage, I chatted with Eric Castellon, a twenty-six-year-old student in a Stars and Stripes bandanna. “I guess I would be considered a Bernie Bro,” he said. “The narrative of Bernie Bros is just a way to push people away from Bernie,” he went on. “But anyone who supports Bernie is a Bernie Bro. I’m not going around trolling people. I just like Bernie.” I asked if he’d vote for anyone else in the general election. “I don’t think I’d vote for Bloomberg,” he said. “I would go for Biden, but I wouldn’t be proud of myself.”
The next morning, Sanders spoke to reporters again, this time at a hotel in Salt Lake City. “The corporate élite is getting very nervous about our campaign,” he said. He mentioned a super PAC called the Big Tent, which was spending millions in several Super Tuesday states, and wondered who was funding the ads. “Let me take an educated guess,” he said, citing the pharmaceutical industry, the insurance industry, and the fossil-fuel industry. He asked the director of the super PAC “to have the courage and come forward and disclose who is funding these ads,” and said that, as President, he’d seek to overturn the Supreme Court’s decision in Citizens United v. F.E.C., “which allows for this corrupt political system to continue existing.”


newyorker--2020-03-03--How Jack Welch Helped Create Bernie Sanders

It was purely a coincidence , of course , that Jack Welch , the corporate titan who led General Electric from 1981 to 2001 , died two days before Super Tuesday .
But the obituaries for Welch , who was eighty-four , should serve as a reminder of how we reached the point where a self-proclaimed democratic socialist like Bernie Sanders seems likely to win Democratic primary contests in California and other big states .
Welch was a Republican .
( In 2016 , he endorsed Donald Trump , then withdrew his endorsement after the “ Access Hollywood ” tape @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s major contribution to history was the brutal management model he pioneered during his twenty years atop G.E.—a model that focussed on raising the company ’ s stock price regardless of the impact on its employees or other stakeholders .
Although he would later partially renounce the “ shareholder value ” movement , he was widely regarded as its godfather .
Many other corporate leaders followed the example that he set .
Together they created a more intensive form of American capitalism , one which greatly enriched owners of capital—themselves most definitely @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that gave Sanders his opening .
Politics aside , Welch and Sanders shared some traits .
Both were born while Franklin Delano Roosevelt was in the White House , and they grew up in working-class households—Welch in Peabody , Massachusetts ; Sanders , in Midwood , Brooklyn .
After attending local high schools , they went on to top-notch colleges .
Welch got a bachelor ’ s degree from the University of Massachusetts , Amherst , and then got a Ph.D. in chemical engineering at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign .
Sanders @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the University of Chicago , where he majored in political science and joined the youth section of the Socialist Party of America .
After college , the two men ’ s lives followed very different paths , of course .
Sanders moved back to New York , and then to Vermont , where he tried his hand at writing and carpentry .
He was active in the antiwar movement , and , in 1972 , he represented the locally founded Liberty Union Party , which was ( and is ) avowedly socialist , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ years later , he was elected as the mayor of Burlington .
Welch joined G.E .
in 1960 and worked his way through the ranks .
In 1977 , he was asked to run the firm ’ s consumer-appliances division , famous for its refrigerators and washing machines .
In 1981 , at the age of forty-five , he became the youngest C.E.O .
in G.E.
’ s history .
Looking to make his mark on the sprawling conglomerate , Welch closed down divisions that he deemed to be underperforming and laid off @ @ @ @ @ @ @ nickname Neutron Jack .
He also shifted the company ’ s emphasis away from manufacturing , acquiring RCA , which owned the NBC television network .
All of this was done in the name of strengthening G.E.
’ s competitiveness and maximizing returns to shareholders .
Wall Street and the business media cheered Welch on .
G.E.
’ s market value rose from twelve billion dollars , when he took over , to more than five hundred billion dollars , in 2000 .
In 1999 , Fortune called Welch the “ leading management @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the media put Welch on a pedestal , some critics inside and outside of G.E .
noted the darker side to his tenure , which went beyond ruthless downsizing .
To keep the company ’ s managers on their toes , he ranked all of them annually and fired the bottom ten per cent .
To cut costs , he slashed G.E.
’ s research budget , which had made it a world leader in many areas .
To boost profits ( and goose the company ’ s stock price ) , he @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Capital—which engaged in many kinds of risky lending .
Welch also revolutionized G.E.
’ s executive-compensation policies .
With the connivance of the board of directors , he was afforded all sorts of corporate perks and huge grants of stock options .
When he retired , in 2001 , his exit package was worth more than four hundred million dollars .
The heads of big American companies had always been well paid , but , under this new model of corporate capitalism , Welch and other C.E.O.s retired as rich as Croesus @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in less rosy shape .
Under Welch , the company had skimped on investing in the technologies of the future , such as green energy .
G.E .
Capital was a time bomb .
During the financial crisis of 2008 and 2009 , it almost went off—and the federal government had to bail it out .
Even though G.E .
Capital didn ’ t have any ordinary depositors , the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation agreed to guarantee a hundred and thirty-nine billion dollars of its loans .
The taxpayers ’ guarantee reassured G.E.
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ didn ’ t end up having to call on it .
But its issuance was invaluable .
That was an example of what Sanders calls socialism for the rich .
In retrospect , the financial crisis was a tipping point .
Many ordinary Americans turned against the imperial leaders of corporate America .
In 2016 , when Stan Greenberg , the veteran Democratic pollster , surveyed middle-class voters , one of the things that stood out was the level of hostility toward C.E.O.s , who were widely seen to be out for themselves @ @ @ @ @ @ @ National Convention , in Philadelphia , Greenberg presented some of his findings and said , “ The corporations and the C.E.O.s are the entry point to what is happening in the country.
” Greenberg tried to persuade the Hillary Clinton campaign to tap into this populist feeling , with limited success .
Sanders didn ’ t need any prompting .
He has been inveighing against corporate America for forty years or more .
At times , his attacks on “ billionaires ” and “ the one per cent ” get a bit repetitive @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
In 1981 , the year Welch took over as C.E.O .
of G.E.
, the richest one per cent of households received about ten per cent of all pre-tax income , according to the Berkeley economist Emmanuel Saez .
By 2017 , the figure had more than doubled , to twenty-two per cent .
The rise in the share of the top 0.1 per cent was even more dramatic .
To be sure , Welch and other corporate leaders can ’ t be held solely accountable for these developments .
Technological changes @ @ @ @ @ @ @ played significant roles , too .
But make no mistake .
If the lopsided form of capitalism that Welch embodied hadn ’ t so disfigured the American economy in recent decades , Sanders would still be a fringe figure .
Today , though , many of his critiques ring true .

When Jack Welch, the longtime C.E.O. of General Electric, retired, his exit package was worth more than four hundred million dollars. Photograph by Richard Kalvar / Magnum
It was purely a coincidence, of course, that Jack Welch, the corporate titan who led General Electric from 1981 to 2001, died two days before Super Tuesday. But the obituaries for Welch, who was eighty-four, should serve as a reminder of how we reached the point where a self-proclaimed democratic socialist like Bernie Sanders seems likely to win Democratic primary contests in California and other big states.
Welch was a Republican. (In 2016, he endorsed Donald Trump, then withdrew his endorsement after the “Access Hollywood” tape came to light.) But Welch’s major contribution to history was the brutal management model he pioneered during his twenty years atop G.E.—a model that focussed on raising the company’s stock price regardless of the impact on its employees or other stakeholders. Although he would later partially renounce the “shareholder value” movement, he was widely regarded as its godfather. Many other corporate leaders followed the example that he set. Together they created a more intensive form of American capitalism, one which greatly enriched owners of capital—themselves most definitely included—but ultimately led to a populist backlash that gave Sanders his opening.
Politics aside, Welch and Sanders shared some traits. Both were born while Franklin Delano Roosevelt was in the White House, and they grew up in working-class households—Welch in Peabody, Massachusetts; Sanders, in Midwood, Brooklyn. After attending local high schools, they went on to top-notch colleges. Welch got a bachelor’s degree from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, and then got a Ph.D. in chemical engineering at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Sanders went to Brooklyn College and transferred to the University of Chicago, where he majored in political science and joined the youth section of the Socialist Party of America.
After college, the two men’s lives followed very different paths, of course. Sanders moved back to New York, and then to Vermont, where he tried his hand at writing and carpentry. He was active in the antiwar movement, and, in 1972, he represented the locally founded Liberty Union Party, which was (and is) avowedly socialist, in a U.S. Senate race. Nine years later, he was elected as the mayor of Burlington. Welch joined G.E. in 1960 and worked his way through the ranks. In 1977, he was asked to run the firm’s consumer-appliances division, famous for its refrigerators and washing machines. In 1981, at the age of forty-five, he became the youngest C.E.O. in G.E.’s history.
Looking to make his mark on the sprawling conglomerate, Welch closed down divisions that he deemed to be underperforming and laid off tens of thousands of workers—earning him the nickname Neutron Jack. He also shifted the company’s emphasis away from manufacturing, acquiring RCA, which owned the NBC television network. All of this was done in the name of strengthening G.E.’s competitiveness and maximizing returns to shareholders. Wall Street and the business media cheered Welch on. G.E.’s market value rose from twelve billion dollars, when he took over, to more than five hundred billion dollars, in 2000. In 1999, Fortune called Welch the “leading management revolutionary of the century.”
Even as the media put Welch on a pedestal, some critics inside and outside of G.E. noted the darker side to his tenure, which went beyond ruthless downsizing. To keep the company’s managers on their toes, he ranked all of them annually and fired the bottom ten per cent. To cut costs, he slashed G.E.’s research budget, which had made it a world leader in many areas. To boost profits (and goose the company’s stock price), he created a giant bank inside of G.E.—G.E. Capital—which engaged in many kinds of risky lending.
Welch also revolutionized G.E.’s executive-compensation policies. With the connivance of the board of directors, he was afforded all sorts of corporate perks and huge grants of stock options. When he retired, in 2001, his exit package was worth more than four hundred million dollars. The heads of big American companies had always been well paid, but, under this new model of corporate capitalism, Welch and other C.E.O.s retired as rich as Croesus.
G.E., however, was left in less rosy shape. Under Welch, the company had skimped on investing in the technologies of the future, such as green energy. G.E. Capital was a time bomb. During the financial crisis of 2008 and 2009, it almost went off—and the federal government had to bail it out. Even though G.E. Capital didn’t have any ordinary depositors, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation agreed to guarantee a hundred and thirty-nine billion dollars of its loans. The taxpayers’ guarantee reassured G.E.’s creditors, and the company didn’t end up having to call on it. But its issuance was invaluable.
That was an example of what Sanders calls socialism for the rich. In retrospect, the financial crisis was a tipping point. Many ordinary Americans turned against the imperial leaders of corporate America. In 2016, when Stan Greenberg, the veteran Democratic pollster, surveyed middle-class voters, one of the things that stood out was the level of hostility toward C.E.O.s, who were widely seen to be out for themselves. At an event during the Democratic National Convention, in Philadelphia, Greenberg presented some of his findings and said, “The corporations and the C.E.O.s are the entry point to what is happening in the country.”
Greenberg tried to persuade the Hillary Clinton campaign to tap into this populist feeling, with limited success. Sanders didn’t need any prompting. He has been inveighing against corporate America for forty years or more. At times, his attacks on “billionaires” and “the one per cent” get a bit repetitive, but they reflect an underlying reality. In 1981, the year Welch took over as C.E.O. of G.E., the richest one per cent of households received about ten per cent of all pre-tax income, according to the Berkeley economist Emmanuel Saez. By 2017, the figure had more than doubled, to twenty-two per cent. The rise in the share of the top 0.1 per cent was even more dramatic.
To be sure, Welch and other corporate leaders can’t be held solely accountable for these developments. Technological changes, globalization, and conservative policies all played significant roles, too. But make no mistake. If the lopsided form of capitalism that Welch embodied hadn’t so disfigured the American economy in recent decades, Sanders would still be a fringe figure. Today, though, many of his critiques ring true.


newyorker--2020-03-03--North Carolina Primary Election 2020: Live Results, Maps, and Analysis

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newyorker--2020-03-03--Texas Primary Election 2020: Live Results, Maps, and Analysis


newyorker--2020-03-03--Virginia Primary Election 2020: Live Results, Maps, and Analysis

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newyorker--2020-03-02--The Global Panic Over Coronavirus

The Global Panic Over Coronavirus

In a “ Twilight Zone ” –like drama spawned by eerie uncertainty , the world is shutting down a bit more each day , as the coronavirus pandemic accelerates across sixty countries on six continents—all in just nine weeks .
There ’ s no longer an illusion that the contagion can be contained .
And this is only the beginning .
Marc Lipsitch , a Harvard epidemiologist and the director of the Center for Communicable Disease Dynamics , estimated that between forty per cent and seventy per cent of the world ’ s roughly five billion adults will get the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ China , in late December .
The United States reached a turning point over the weekend , as cases of the sickness—initially isolated in California , Oregon , and Washington State , on the West Coast—were confirmed in Illinois , in the Midwest , and New York , Rhode Island , and Florida , on the East Coast .
( On Monday , four new coronavirus deaths were announced in Washington State , bringing the total to six . )
For Americans , the problem is no longer stemming the tide of a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ shifted—from stopping them from infecting us to stopping us from infecting each other , ” Lipsitch said .
“ There is no American exceptionalism in exposure to coronavirus.
” In the United States , transmission is likely already far , far wider than the ninety publicly confirmed cases on Monday because of U.S. officials ’ failure to do sufficient testing .
“ We haven ’ t found hundreds or thousands of cases because we ’ re not looking hard enough , ” Lipsitch said .
“ We don ’ t have the testing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ going on .
We ’ ve looked largely at people who had a relation to China or high-risk areas.
” That ’ s too low , he said , by several factors of ten .
He called the initial U.S. response “ utterly inadequate.
” Lipsitch told me that the Chinese government ’ s response in Hubei Province , the epicenter of the coronavirus outbreak , was more thorough than the approach taken so far in the U.S. by the Trump Administration .
In Guangdong province , Chinese health officials tested more than @ @ @ @ @ @ @ clinics , where people who think they have a fever of any origin are seen .
In contrast , the U.S. has been testing a handful of isolated cases .
“ Our government ’ s response was something like one per cent—or less—than what China did , ” Lipsitch said .
Asia and Europe also have reacted faster to the outbreak .
Disruptions have impacted virtually every aspect of public life there .
Japan has closed all schools , effective Monday , until April , turning away thirteen million students and leaving their @ @ @ @ @ @ @ do with them .
On Saturday , baseball games were played without audiences , after the Japanese government ’ s order to cancel or postpone sports and entertainment events : Seiya Inoue , of the Chiba Lotte Marines , homered against the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles in an empty stadium .
Models at the Tokyo Girls Collection strutted down the runway with no one in attendance .
And horses at the Nakayama Racecourse ran without spectators .
In a sign of the risks ahead , a cruise-ship operator in Japan filed for bankruptcy @ @ @ @ @ @ @ cancellations of night cruises that once ferried up to a thousand people around the sights of Kobe .
The fate of the Summer Olympics , in Tokyo , is still to be determined .
In South Korea , the government is considering prosecuting the leader of the Shincheonji Church of Jesus for gross negligence or murder , because sixty percent of the country ’ s more than four thousand confirmed cases are sect members .
BTS , one of the country ’ s most popular musical groups , called off tour dates scheduled @ @ @ @ @ @ @ American pop-punk band Green Day postponed shows across Asia .
In Europe , Italy has quarantined eleven towns—encompassing more than fifty thousand people—hit by the coronavirus , while the famed La Scala opera house , in Milan , was shuttered .
Despite the precautions , the number of confirmed cases in Italy shot up by fifty per cent over the weekend .
On Sunday , the staff of the Louvre , the world ’ s busiest museum , voted to close its doors , owing to a fear that the Paris institution—and its @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a breeding ground for the virus .
France , which has more than a hundred cases , enacted a nationwide ban on all public events bringing together more than five thousand people .
Switzerland banned all events with more than a thousand attendees , which instantly axed the Geneva Motor Show .
In Spain , the Mobile World Congress trade show in Barcelona , was cancelled .
Germany , where nine of the country ’ s sixteen states have reported cases of the coronavirus , cancelled one of the world ’ s most @ @ @ @ @ @ @ be held in Berlin .
Greece cancelled all activities relating to the annual Carnival celebration .
In the Middle East , Iran , a coronavirus hot spot , with the highest mortality rate in the world , cancelled Friday prayers and closed schools and universities in twenty-four of its thirty-one provinces .
Saudi Arabia , the guardian of Islam ’ s holy sites , banned foreign pilgrims .
Qatar cancelled the motorcycle Grand Prix , which was scheduled to start Sunday .
Morocco announced that it was postponing all sports and cultural events @ @ @ @ @ @ @ cases—yet .
“ This is not a time for fear , ” Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus , the head of the World Health Organization , said on Thursday .
“ This is a time for taking action to prevent infections and save lives now.
” On Friday , Americans began preparing for possible shutdowns and quarantines .
When the first cases were still three thousand miles away , on the West Coast , several stores where I live , in Washington , D.C. , were out of Purell , Clorox wipes , and cleaning @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and nonperishable goods , such as canned vegetables and pasta .
“ We sold out of every can of beans in the store Friday night , ” a manager at a local Trader Joe ’ s told me .
The growing appearance of public panic may be a good thing , however .
Lipsitch called precautionary steps rational .
“ People are understandably confused .
I ’ ve been telling people to get bleach and alcohol-related cleansers and several months ’ supply of medicine and the like , ” he told me .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ you ’ ll have to use them , but there is a good chance that you will .
”

In a “Twilight Zone”–like drama spawned by eerie uncertainty, the world is shutting down a bit more each day, as the coronavirus pandemic accelerates across sixty countries on six continents—all in just nine weeks. There’s no longer an illusion that the contagion can be contained. And this is only the beginning. Marc Lipsitch, a Harvard epidemiologist and the director of the Center for Communicable Disease Dynamics, estimated that between forty per cent and seventy per cent of the world’s roughly five billion adults will get the virus, which was first reported in China, in late December.
The United States reached a turning point over the weekend, as cases of the sickness—initially isolated in California, Oregon, and Washington State, on the West Coast—were confirmed in Illinois, in the Midwest, and New York, Rhode Island, and Florida, on the East Coast. (On Monday, four new coronavirus deaths were announced in Washington State, bringing the total to six.) For Americans, the problem is no longer stemming the tide of a foreign pathogen. “The emphasis has shifted—from stopping them from infecting us to stopping us from infecting each other,” Lipsitch said. “There is no American exceptionalism in exposure to coronavirus.”
In the United States, transmission is likely already far, far wider than the ninety publicly confirmed cases on Monday because of U.S. officials’ failure to do sufficient testing. “We haven’t found hundreds or thousands of cases because we’re not looking hard enough,” Lipsitch said. “We don’t have the testing capacity to find out what’s going on. We’ve looked largely at people who had a relation to China or high-risk areas.” That’s too low, he said, by several factors of ten. He called the initial U.S. response “utterly inadequate.” Lipsitch told me that the Chinese government’s response in Hubei Province, the epicenter of the coronavirus outbreak, was more thorough than the approach taken so far in the U.S. by the Trump Administration. In Guangdong province, Chinese health officials tested more than three hundred thousand patients in so-called fever clinics, where people who think they have a fever of any origin are seen. In contrast, the U.S. has been testing a handful of isolated cases. “Our government’s response was something like one per cent—or less—than what China did,” Lipsitch said.
Asia and Europe also have reacted faster to the outbreak. Disruptions have impacted virtually every aspect of public life there. Japan has closed all schools, effective Monday, until April, turning away thirteen million students and leaving their parents scrambling to figure out what to do with them. On Saturday, baseball games were played without audiences, after the Japanese government’s order to cancel or postpone sports and entertainment events: Seiya Inoue, of the Chiba Lotte Marines, homered against the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles in an empty stadium. Models at the Tokyo Girls Collection strutted down the runway with no one in attendance. And horses at the Nakayama Racecourse ran without spectators. In a sign of the risks ahead, a cruise-ship operator in Japan filed for bankruptcy on Monday, due to the many cancellations of night cruises that once ferried up to a thousand people around the sights of Kobe. The fate of the Summer Olympics, in Tokyo, is still to be determined. In South Korea, the government is considering prosecuting the leader of the Shincheonji Church of Jesus for gross negligence or murder, because sixty percent of the country’s more than four thousand confirmed cases are sect members. BTS, one of the country’s most popular musical groups, called off tour dates scheduled for April in Seoul, while the American pop-punk band Green Day postponed shows across Asia.
In Europe, Italy has quarantined eleven towns—encompassing more than fifty thousand people—hit by the coronavirus, while the famed La Scala opera house, in Milan, was shuttered. Despite the precautions, the number of confirmed cases in Italy shot up by fifty per cent over the weekend. On Sunday, the staff of the Louvre, the world’s busiest museum, voted to close its doors, owing to a fear that the Paris institution—and its tens of thousands of monthly visitors—could become a breeding ground for the virus. France, which has more than a hundred cases, enacted a nationwide ban on all public events bringing together more than five thousand people. Switzerland banned all events with more than a thousand attendees, which instantly axed the Geneva Motor Show. In Spain, the Mobile World Congress trade show in Barcelona, was cancelled. Germany, where nine of the country’s sixteen states have reported cases of the coronavirus, cancelled one of the world’s most important travel-and-tourism trade fairs, due to be held in Berlin. Greece cancelled all activities relating to the annual Carnival celebration.
A bistro in Milan lacked customers on February 27th. Photograph by Andrea Mantovani / NYT / Redux
In the Middle East, Iran, a coronavirus hot spot, with the highest mortality rate in the world, cancelled Friday prayers and closed schools and universities in twenty-four of its thirty-one provinces. Saudi Arabia, the guardian of Islam’s holy sites, banned foreign pilgrims. Qatar cancelled the motorcycle Grand Prix, which was scheduled to start Sunday. Morocco announced that it was postponing all sports and cultural events, even though it has no confirmed cases—yet. “This is not a time for fear,” Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the head of the World Health Organization, said on Thursday. “This is a time for taking action to prevent infections and save lives now.”
On Friday, Americans began preparing for possible shutdowns and quarantines. When the first cases were still three thousand miles away, on the West Coast, several stores where I live, in Washington, D.C., were out of Purell, Clorox wipes, and cleaning gloves, and low on toilet paper and nonperishable goods, such as canned vegetables and pasta. “We sold out of every can of beans in the store Friday night,” a manager at a local Trader Joe’s told me.
The growing appearance of public panic may be a good thing, however. Lipsitch called precautionary steps rational. “People are understandably confused. I’ve been telling people to get bleach and alcohol-related cleansers and several months’ supply of medicine and the like,” he told me. “That doesn’t mean that you’ll have to use them, but there is a good chance that you will.”
Behavioral scientists, psychologists, and epidemiologists are loath to use the word “panic.” “We prefer to think in terms of behavior, in conditions of uncertainty,” Kathleen Tierney, a sociologist at the Institute of Behavioral Science, at the University of Colorado, Boulder, told me. Baruch Fischhoff, a psychologist at Carnegie Mellon University and a former president of the Society for Risk Analysis, said that panic comes in three forms, only one of which applies to the range of reactions to the coronavirus crisis. The most basic form is feeling panicky, which most people feel at some time, Fischhoff said. It’s bad for quality of life, but it’s not associated with specific behavior; most people feel it at some point but don’t act on it. The second type of panic is allowing stress to overcome normal, reasoned responses. But it, too, is fairly rare, research shows. Most people don’t lose control of themselves. “The idea of mass panic—people running in the streets and abandoning normal behavior—is the myth of panic,” Fischhoff said. “That’s the kind of panic you see more in movies than in everyday life. In fact, most people band together.” An enduring image from the 9/11 attack on the World Trade Center is of people running from the scene. But the evacuation from the towers themselves—each with more than a hundred floors—was “extremely orderly,” Fischhoff said. “Egress was less viscous. In a horrible situation, people were brave and very orderly.”
The third kind of panic is the type witnessed—among people in widely diverse societies—since the outbreak of the coronavirus. It includes panic buying and hoarding. “It reflects the attitude ‘better safe than sorry,’ ” Tierney, the sociologist, said. The good news is that people are lining up—albeit in long lines—in an orderly fashion to buy groceries. No one is breaking into Trader Joe’s to get access to food, she said.


newyorker--2020-03-04--Texts from Joe Biden to Barack Obama on March 2, 2020

Hey , buddy !
Hope you ’ re having a SUPER MONDAY haha .
How you been ?
Oh , man , just randomly saw this photo of us on my phone .
Good times haha !
!
!
Thanks for always “ having my back ” so to speak haha !
!
!
!
Oh , also , Jill says hi to Michelle !
We should get together the four of us !
What about any time before tomorrow ?
?
?
OMG did you follow the impeachment ?
?
?
Crazy , right ?
So intense .
Was @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Hey , not to be an asshole , but would have loved your support going through that .
It was an intense coupla weeks for me for sure bc it was about my son .
Not mad , just kind of confused about why you never said anything publicly .
I get that you ’ re in a tough position but honestly would have appreciated it .
Whoops , didn ’ t mean to send photo again , my bad !
So cute though lol !
Speaking of which , WHO ARE @ @ @ @ @ @ @ cute I ’ m dying .
This is Joe Biden , by the way .
BTW are you in the states ?
We actually have a campaign jet to fly you to Michigan or California or wherever you want if you ’ d be up for it .
Free snacks haha !

Hey, buddy! Hope you’re having a SUPER MONDAY haha. How you been?
Oh, man, just randomly saw this photo of us on my phone.
Photograph by Olivier Douliery / Bloomberg / Getty
Good times haha!!! Thanks for always “having my back” so to speak haha!!!!
Oh, also, Jill says hi to Michelle! We should get together the four of us! What about any time before tomorrow???
Barack, text me back.
Barry.
OMG did you follow the impeachment??? Crazy, right? So intense. Was totally thinking about you the whole time.
Hey, not to be an asshole, but would have loved your support going through that. It was an intense coupla weeks for me for sure bc it was about my son. Not mad, just kind of confused about why you never said anything publicly. I get that you’re in a tough position but honestly would have appreciated it.
Photograph by Olivier Douliery / Bloomberg / Getty
Whoops, didn’t mean to send photo again, my bad! So cute though lol!
Speaking of which, WHO ARE THESE LITERAL BABIES?
Photograph by Mitchell Layton / Getty
We were so cute I’m dying.
This is Joe Biden, by the way.
BTW are you in the states? We actually have a campaign jet to fly you to Michigan or California or wherever you want if you’d be up for it. Free snacks haha!
Barack.
You’re voting for Bernie aren’t you.


newyorker--2020-03-04--Can “RuPaul’s Drag Race” Save Us from Donald Trump?

It ’ s a truism that , with Donald Trump as President , the American political scene has morphed into a sickeningly high-stakes reality-TV show .
The ravings of Fox News hosts can send U.S. troops to the border .
Prisoners pin their hopes for clemency on the benevolence of Kim Kardashian .
But it goes both ways .
The drag performer RuPaul Charles has long described drag as a political act , and since Trump ’ s election he ’ s become more serious about it .
“ I understand what it is we must do , ” he @ @ @ @ @ @ @ re going to mobilize young people who have never been mobilized , through our love of music , our love of love , our love of bright colors.
” On the twelfth season of “ RuPaul ’ s Drag Race , ” which premièred Friday , Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is a guest judge .
In promotional reels , contestants pledge allegiance to “ The United Queens of RuMerica , ” and RuPaul says , “ The time has come for America ’ s first drag-queen President !
” Joe E. Jeffreys , a drag @ @ @ @ @ @ @ academics are having a field day with “ the representation of America ” in the show .
But that ’ s to be expected .
With its “ fun-house-mirror magnification ” of social codes , as Jeffreys put it , “ Drag Race ” is a bonanza for scholars .
It ’ s been the subject of multiple academic anthologies .
Jeffreys teaches a semester-long class called “ RuPaul ’ s Drag Race and Its Impact.
” Students study the history of American drag , going back to vaudeville , and spend weeks @ @ @ @ @ @ @ topics such as gender , race , class , body image , fashion , and ethnicity .
They unpack slang terms like “ hog body ” ( an unfeminine physique ) and “ hunty ” ( a term of endearment ) .
The course lasts fifteen weeks , but , Jeffreys said , “ We ’ re really just scratching the surface.
” Last Tuesday was the high point of the semester : all thirteen contestants on Season 12 of “ Drag Race ” stopped by the class for a meet and greet @ @ @ @ @ @ @ class in advance , so that word of the visit wouldn ’ t leak to the show ’ s fan community ( which includes many of the students ) .
Despite having been children when “ Drag Race ” premièred , in 2009 , Jeffreys said , “ Many of them have gone back to Seasons 1 and 2 .
They have a deep connection to this material .
A real encyclopedic knowledge.
” Around 9:30 A.M. , the students filed into a black-box theatre .
They were all stylishly dressed , with @ @ @ @ @ @ @ stage-management and psychology major , began a start-of-class ritual : a reading from RuPaul ’ s 2018 book , “ GuRu.
” He chose a passage that began with “ The color red always gets me excited.
” He said it made him think of the show he was stage-managing .
“ We ’ ve been having serious debates on whether to use color in our paperwork.
” Jeffreys interrupted with an announcement .
“ Class ?
We have some special guests .
Please welcome the cast of ‘ RuPaul ’ s Drag @ @ @ @ @ @ @ students shrieked as thirteen drag queens in full makeup and glittering regalia came bounding into the room .
They spent several minutes dispensing air kisses and hugs .
After a while , they took seats on the stage .
Jeffreys asked them to introduce themselves : “ Tell us about your drag style.
” Jaida Essence Hall , from Milwaukee , Wisconsin , was dressed in a teal Chinese silk dress suit , with teal hair in a sixties flip .
“ I do love glamour , ” she said of her style @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and put together .
A bit Jackie.
” Crystal Methyd , from Springfield , Missouri , wore an orange wig , multicolored silk pants , and a cropped vest adorned with pompoms and plastic toys .
“ I love colors and comfortable clothes , ” she said .
“ And My Little Ponies.
” ( She had the toys glued to her high-heeled boots . )
Widow Von ’ Du , from Kansas City , Missouri , wore a black bodysuit and an enormous Afro , which she said was inspired by Black @ @ @ @ @ @ @ My style is very Black Power , ratchet queen , ” as several students in the audience whooped .
Jackie Cox , from Canada , wore an electric-blue sequinned dress suit , hoop earrings , and an ultra-high ponytail .
She said , “ My drag style is your cool aunt.
” There was a Q .
& A. session , during which they talked about getting into costume .
“ Is there a point in your transformation when you become drag ?
” Jeffreys asked .
“ The lash !
” Brita @ @ @ @ @ @ @ boy hair , and still be like ‘ I ’ m a cute lesbian right now.
’ ” Jackie Cox said , “ Brita , you are a cute lesbian.
” Heidi N Closet talked about growing up poor and being raised by her grandmother , along with her four siblings .
“ I want to convey the message that it doesn ’ t matter where you come from , that you can do whatever you want as long as you put the time into it , ” she said .
Widow Von @ @ @ @ @ @ @ fourteen years ago , when she stumbled onto her first gay-pride parade .
“ I was doing a martial-arts exposition downtown , and we were leaving and I was , like , Why are there all these naked dudes dancing on boxes ?
It started to rain .
And this one drag queen was standing on top of this float , and these dudes were pushing her , and she was just living her dream .
Soaking wet .
And I was , like , whatever this is , I want to be @ @ @ @ @ @ @ was over , the students were giddy .
Katherine Gallo , a drama major , talked about what the show had meant to her growing up as “ a queer kid on Long Island.
” Her town is “ a fun half and half , ” she said .
“ It ’ s very accepting of being gay , but not of being super overt .
I didn ’ t know there could be fluidity with gender until I watched ‘ RuPaul ’ s Drag Race.
’ That was so exciting to me.
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ San Antonio , said that watching “ Drag Race ” was the first time he saw “ the narrative for queerness coming from actual queer people.
” Ford , who grew up in Durham , North Carolina , said he ’ d started watching the show during Season 7 .
He was one of the only openly gay people in his high school .
“ I was alone .
All my friends were girls .
I felt like I was reborn when I found out that there were thousands of people like me @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to the max , unapologetically and without any worry about convention.
” Growing up in the Trump era is “ forcing kids to mature much faster , ” he said .
“ ‘ Drag Race ’ exposes me to issues in the queer community that I need to be aware of .
When I vote in my first Presidential election , I feel like I ’ ll be voting for the queens who are on the show , and that I ’ ll be giving them an added voice .
It ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
”

It’s a truism that, with Donald Trump as President, the American political scene has morphed into a sickeningly high-stakes reality-TV show. The ravings of Fox News hosts can send U.S. troops to the border. Prisoners pin their hopes for clemency on the benevolence of Kim Kardashian. But it goes both ways. The drag performer RuPaul Charles has long described drag as a political act, and since Trump’s election he’s become more serious about it. “I understand what it is we must do,” he told The Atlantic. “We’re going to mobilize young people who have never been mobilized, through our love of music, our love of love, our love of bright colors.” On the twelfth season of “RuPaul’s Drag Race,” which premièred Friday, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is a guest judge. In promotional reels, contestants pledge allegiance to “The United Queens of RuMerica,” and RuPaul says, “The time has come for America’s first drag-queen President!”
Joe E. Jeffreys, a drag historian at N.Y.U., told me that academics are having a field day with “the representation of America” in the show. But that’s to be expected. With its “fun-house-mirror magnification” of social codes, as Jeffreys put it, “Drag Race” is a bonanza for scholars. It’s been the subject of multiple academic anthologies. Jeffreys teaches a semester-long class called “RuPaul’s Drag Race and Its Impact.” Students study the history of American drag, going back to vaudeville, and spend weeks examining how “Drag Race” handles topics such as gender, race, class, body image, fashion, and ethnicity. They unpack slang terms like “hog body” (an unfeminine physique) and “hunty” (a term of endearment). The course lasts fifteen weeks, but, Jeffreys said, “We’re really just scratching the surface.”
Last Tuesday was the high point of the semester: all thirteen contestants on Season 12 of “Drag Race” stopped by the class for a meet-and-greet. Jeffreys hadn’t told the class in advance, so that word of the visit wouldn’t leak to the show’s fan community (which includes many of the students). Despite having been children when “Drag Race” premièred, in 2009, Jeffreys said, “Many of them have gone back to Seasons 1 and 2. They have a deep connection to this material. A real encyclopedic knowledge.”
Around 9:30 A.M., the students filed into a black-box theatre. They were all stylishly dressed, with interesting hair. Jack Ford, a stage-management and psychology major, began a start-of-class ritual: a reading from RuPaul’s 2018 book, “GuRu.” He chose a passage that began with “The color red always gets me excited.” He said it made him think of the show he was stage-managing. “We’ve been having serious debates on whether to use color in our paperwork.”
Jeffreys interrupted with an announcement. “Class? We have some special guests. Please welcome the cast of ‘RuPaul’s Drag Race’ Season 12!” The students shrieked as thirteen drag queens in full makeup and glittering regalia came bounding into the room. They spent several minutes dispensing air kisses and hugs. After a while, they took seats on the stage. Jeffreys asked them to introduce themselves: “Tell us about your drag style.” Jaida Essence Hall, from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, was dressed in a teal Chinese silk dress suit, with teal hair in a sixties flip. “I do love glamour,” she said of her style. “It’s very polished and put together. A bit Jackie.” Crystal Methyd, from Springfield, Missouri, wore an orange wig, multicolored silk pants, and a cropped vest adorned with pompoms and plastic toys. “I love colors and comfortable clothes,” she said. “And My Little Ponies.” (She had the toys glued to her high-heeled boots.) Widow Von’Du, from Kansas City, Missouri, wore a black bodysuit and an enormous Afro, which she said was inspired by Black History Month. She said, “My style is very Black Power, ratchet queen,” as several students in the audience whooped. Jackie Cox, from Canada, wore an electric-blue sequinned dress suit, hoop earrings, and an ultra-high ponytail. She said, “My drag style is your cool aunt.”
There was a Q. & A. session, during which they talked about getting into costume. “Is there a point in your transformation when you become drag?” Jeffreys asked.
“The lash!” Brita Filter said. “I could have boy hair, and still be, like, ‘I’m a cute lesbian right now.’ ”
Jackie Cox said, “Brita, you are a cute lesbian.”
Heidi N Closet talked about growing up poor and being raised by her grandmother, along with her four siblings. “I want to convey the message that it doesn’t matter where you come from, that you can do whatever you want as long as you put the time into it,” she said. Widow Von’Du talked about the moment, fourteen years ago, when she stumbled onto her first gay-pride parade. “I was doing a martial-arts exposition downtown, and we were leaving and I was, like, Why are there all these naked dudes dancing on boxes? It started to rain. And this one drag queen was standing on top of this float, and these dudes were pushing her, and she was just living her dream. Soaking wet. And I was, like, whatever this is, I want to be part of it.”
When the class was over, the students were giddy. Katherine Gallo, a drama major, talked about what the show had meant to her growing up as “a queer kid on Long Island.” Her town is “a fun half and half,” she said. “It’s very accepting of being gay, but not of being super overt. I didn’t know there could be fluidity with gender until I watched ‘RuPaul’s Drag Race.’ That was so exciting to me.” Michael Roberts, who is from San Antonio, said that watching “Drag Race” was the first time he saw “the narrative for queerness coming from actual queer people.”
Ford, who grew up in Durham, North Carolina, said he’d started watching the show during Season 7. He was one of the only openly gay people in his high school. “I was alone. All my friends were girls. I felt like I was reborn when I found out that there were thousands of people like me. And here they were expressing themselves to the max, unapologetically and without any worry about convention.” Growing up in the Trump era is “forcing kids to mature much faster,” he said. “ ‘Drag Race’ exposes me to issues in the queer community that I need to be aware of. When I vote in my first Presidential election, I feel like I’ll be voting for the queens who are on the show, and that I’ll be giving them an added voice. It’s very special. It is a responsibility.”


newyorker--2020-03-04--Joe Biden’s Super Tuesday Revival

Joe Biden’s Super Tuesday Revival

During the past seventy-two hours , a period in which Joe Biden ’ s political fortunes were rapidly improving , the former Vice-President often looked humbled , a little bewildered , as if he could scarcely believe what was happening to him .
By the time he appeared onstage at the Baldwin Hills Recreation Center , in Los Angeles , on Tuesday night , a little past 10 P.M. , he looked more vigorous than he had in a year .
“ We are very much alive , ” he said .
He listed the states that he ’ d @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , Oklahoma and Tennessee , Minnesota , Alabama and Arkansas , and maybe even Massachusetts , where , he said happily , the race was too close to call .
( Soon , Biden would win Massachusetts , too . )
Democrats were still at the polls in Texas and California , but , even so , the scope of Biden ’ s victory was apparent : he ’ d won in prosperous suburban states , rural and conservative ones , and progressive strongholds .
Chaos is always just slightly below the surface @ @ @ @ @ @ @ mixed up his wife and his sister , endured a brief incursion by vegan anti-dairy protesters , and shouted his way through a list of modest-sounding policy proposals .
Eventually , he found a finer point to make .
“ People are talking about a revolution , ” Biden said .
( “ People , ” in this instance , meant Bernie Sanders . )
“ We started a movement.
” That sounded a bit grand , especially the “ started ” part .
If anything , Biden had revived the old Obama @ @ @ @ @ @ @ voters and wealthy suburban moderates , with some support from working-class whites thrown in .
But , in state after Super Tuesday state , the pattern was consistent : Democrats who voted early favored Sanders , and those who made up their minds in the last days before voting , after Biden had won South Carolina and the Democratic establishment had consolidated behind him , helped deliver decisive wins to the former Vice-President .
This consolidation had seemed somewhat independent of Biden , whose campaign could not afford many ads or organizers .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ corner of Virginia , a state where he had only a single field office . )
In certain ways , these victories seemed to be happening to Biden .
After Amy Klobuchar , Pete Buttigieg , and Tom Steyer dropped out of the race , following South Carolina , and after support for Elizabeth Warren and Michael Bloomberg weakened , those candidates ’ voters appeared to be choosing Biden over Sanders .
Warren finished third in her home state of Massachusetts .
Bloomberg spent five hundred million and won only American Samoa .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ said to be considering its future . )
Just after polls closed , the Associated Press called California , the biggest contest of Super Tuesday , for Sanders , though the final totals are still to come .
The nominating contest has months left .
But , if Tuesday night ’ s results point toward a broad , national victory for Biden , then that outcome will be strangely separate from the campaign that preceded it .
By most measures , Biden has been an unconvincing candidate : a peripheral figure in the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ often listless and intermittent campaigner .
Much of the primary contest has been spent debating the progressives ’ ideas—Medicare for All , the wealth tax , the decriminalization of border crossing—and the other candidates generally have been forced to respond to Sanders .
But the campaigns of Biden ’ s many mainstream Democratic rivals—of Kamala Harris and Cory Booker , and Bloomberg , Buttigieg , and Klobuchar—were always designed to take advantage of Biden ’ s perceived weaknesses , whether in fund-raising or in reassembling Obama ’ s coalition .
Each of those @ @ @ @ @ @ @ among the moderates now seems like the decisive one .
There were always two campaigns happening at once .
There was the argument over the Party ’ s future , in which the central figure was Sanders .
And then there was the election , in which the central figure was always Biden .
Both of those campaigns will continue .
The looming decisions belong to Bloomberg and Warren—whether to continue , and , if so , how .
With Warren ’ s candidacy severely weakened , the race is running short on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ compromise between the Democratic Party ’ s present and its future .
After that , the focus will be on Sanders and whether he can find a broader coalition than he has thus far .
The primary contest has often seemed to turn on contingencies—on a news cycle , on a debate , on the timing of an endorsement .
But , by the end of the night , the race seemed like it might have been a little simpler all along .
Most Democratic voters are more moderate than Bernie Sanders .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ with Joe Biden .

During the past seventy-two hours, a period in which Joe Biden’s political fortunes were rapidly improving, the former Vice-President often looked humbled, a little bewildered, as if he could scarcely believe what was happening to him. By the time he appeared onstage at the Baldwin Hills Recreation Center, in Los Angeles, on Tuesday night, a little past 10 P.M., he looked more vigorous than he had in a year. “We are very much alive,” he said. He listed the states that he’d just won: Virginia and North Carolina, Oklahoma and Tennessee, Minnesota, Alabama and Arkansas, and maybe even Massachusetts, where, he said happily, the race was too close to call. Soon, Biden would win Massachusetts, too. Democrats were still at the polls in Texas and California, but, even so, the scope of Biden’s victory was apparent: he’d won in prosperous suburban states, rural and conservative ones, and progressive strongholds. Chaos is always just slightly below the surface with Biden, and onstage he momentarily mixed up his wife and his sister, endured a brief incursion by vegan anti-dairy protesters, and shouted his way through a list of modest-sounding policy proposals. Eventually, he found a finer point to make. “People are talking about a revolution,” Biden said. (“People,” in this instance, meant Bernie Sanders.) “We started a movement.”
That sounded a bit grand, especially the “started” part. If anything, Biden had revived the old Obama coalition, harnessing decisive margins among black voters and wealthy suburban moderates, with some support from working-class whites thrown in. But, in state after state, the pattern was consistent: Democrats who voted early favored Sanders, and those who made up their minds in the last days before voting, after Biden had won South Carolina and the Democratic establishment had consolidated behind him, helped deliver decisive wins to the former Vice-President. This consolidation had seemed somewhat independent of Biden, whose campaign could not afford many ads or organizers. Biden won in just about every corner of Virginia, a state where he had only a single field office. In certain ways, these victories seemed to be happening to Biden. After Amy Klobuchar, Pete Buttigieg, and Tom Steyer dropped out of the race, following South Carolina, and after support for Elizabeth Warren and Michael Bloomberg weakened, those candidates’ voters appeared to be choosing Biden over Sanders. Biden won Klobuchar’s home state of Minnesota, where she had led in the polls, and delegate-rich Texas. Warren finished third in her home state of Massachusetts. Bloomberg spent five hundred million dollars and won only American Samoa. On Wednesday, his campaign was said to be considering its future.
Late on Tuesday night, the networks called California, the biggest contest of Super Tuesday, for Sanders, though the final totals are still to come. The nominating contest has months left. But, if Tuesday night’s results point toward a broad, national victory for Biden, then that outcome will be strangely separate from the campaign that preceded it. By most measures, Biden has been an unconvincing candidate: a peripheral figure in the debates, uninspired on policy, an often listless and intermittent campaigner. Much of the primary contest has been spent debating the progressives’ ideas—Medicare for All, the wealth tax, the decriminalization of border crossing—and the other candidates generally have been forced to respond to Sanders. But the campaigns of Biden’s many mainstream Democratic rivals—of Kamala Harris and Cory Booker, and Bloomberg, Buttigieg, and Klobuchar—were always designed to take advantage of Biden’s perceived weaknesses, whether in fund-raising or in reassembling Obama’s coalition. Each of those candidacies failed, and that nuts-and-bolts contest among the moderates now seems like the decisive one. There were always two campaigns happening at once. There was the argument over the Party’s future, in which the central figure was Sanders. And then there was the election, in which the central figure was always Biden.
Both of those campaigns will continue. The looming decisions belong to Bloomberg and Warren—whether to continue, and, if so, how. With Warren’s candidacy severely weakened, the race is running short on figures who seem able to forge a compromise between the Democratic Party’s present and its future. After that, the focus will be on Sanders and whether he can find a broader coalition than he has thus far. The primary contest has often seemed to turn on contingencies—on a news cycle, on a debate, on the timing of an endorsement. But, by the end of the night, the race seemed like it might have been a little simpler all along. Most Democratic voters are more moderate than Bernie Sanders. And most of them now seem comfortable with Joe Biden.