theguardian--2020-03-04--Biden becomes America's new comeback kid after triumphant Super Tuesday

That was what Bill Clinton called himself after reviving his presidential campaign in 1992 .
Now , even more improbably , Joe Biden – who , at 77 , is the youngest man in the race for the Democratic nomination – has risen like Lazarus to win eight states on Super Tuesday and become the frontrunner .
“ We are very much alive !
” he told rejoicing supporters in Los Angeles .
It was one of the stunning reversals in recent political history .
Less than a month ago Biden slunk away from New Hampshire with his tail between @ @ @ @ @ @ @ counted .
When he trailed in fifth , political obituaries were written .
Bob Shrum , a Democratic strategist , told the Guardian : “ For him to recover from this would be a political miracle unlike anything we ’ ve seen in modern presidential politics.
” The conventional wisdom was that Super Tuesday – when a third of Democratic primary delegates ( who eventually nominate the candidate at the party ’ s national convention in July ) are decided – would not be a question of can Senator Bernie Sanders win , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
But last week , everything changed .
It started with James Clyburn , who is African American and became a member of the House of Representatives in 1993 .
Attending his accountant ’ s funeral , Clyburn was stopped by an older woman near the front of the church .
“ Young man , I want you to whisper in my ear who you are voting for , ” she told him .
At that moment , Clyburn , 79 , effectively the dean of South Carolina politics , felt he had @ @ @ @ @ @ @ did so for Biden in an emotional speech , handing Barack Obama ’ s vice-president a massive boost .
Biden won the state ’ s primary vote on Saturday by nearly 30 percentage points , including 61 % of the black vote , vindicating all the talk of Biden ’ s South Carolina firewall .
He was back off the ropes .
It was the pivotal moment because it established Biden ’ s credibility , electability and viability for the moderate wing of the party .
It was clear that he – not @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Bloomberg , the former South Bend mayor Pete Buttigieg or the Minnesota senator Amy Klobuchar – stood the best chance of defeating first Bernie Sanders , then Donald Trump in November ’ s election .
It was time for moderates to get in line , especially after Sanders ’ s comments in a TV interview – acknowledging Cuba ’ s literacy programme , “ Is that a bad thing , even if Fidel Castro did it ?
” – crystallised their fear of an electoral car crash .
Buttigieg remarked : “ I @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to be explaining why our nominee is encouraging people to look on the bright side of the Castro regime when we are going into the election of our lives.
” On Monday Buttigieg and Klobuchar duly quit the race and endorsed Biden , avoiding the fatal error of Republicans who failed to unite against Donald Trump in 2016 .
The former presidential candidate Beto O ’ Rourke , the ex-senator Harry Reid and the former national security adviser Susan Rice did so too .
Suddenly , Super Tuesday would pit Sanders against the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ moderates are consolidating , ” said comedian Stephen Colbert .
“ We are reaching extreme levels of centrism.
” South Carolina proved a blueprint , not an outlier , as Biden looked on course to win the most delegates on Super Tuesday .
African Americans in the south , moderates and suburbanites supported him in droves .
Counter-intuitively , it was his coalition that boosted turnout , whereas so far in 2020 , Sanders has failed to expand his base .
A massive surge in Virginia worked in Biden ’ s favour , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ long been wary of him .
Moe Vela , a board director at TransparentBusiness and a former senior adviser to Biden at the White House , said : “ It is an incredible night for Joe Biden .
We ’ re seeing a very clear pattern that Democrats across the country , across racial lines , across gender lines , are loudly saying that socialism is not for them and it ’ s not a revolution they seek.
” He added : “ Joe Biden brings predictability and security and stability and represents @ @ @ @ @ @ @ t want a radical extreme .
They want to wake up and feel good about the country again.
” Tuesday ’ s results also proved Hollywood screenwriter William Goldman ’ s maxim that “ Nobody knows anything ” .
Democrats have held 10 televised presidential debates , with Buttigieg , California senator Kamala Harris , Klobuchar and Massachusetts senator Elizabeth Warren notching wins and Biden performing terribly .
But in the end , all that talking and sparring counted for nothing .
There were five states where Biden did not campaign , and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , yet which Biden still won .
Momentum , or “ Joementum ” as his campaign calls it , beat money .
It is , once again , a humbling reminder that most voters are not tuned into every debate or every twist and turn of Twitter .
Go to any Trump rally and ask about the latest Washington scandal and you will often be met by blank stares or so-what ?
shrugs .
But Super Tuesday has been clarifying in two other ways : one uplifting , one sad .
First , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ presidency : Bloomberg had splashed out half a billion dollars and got hammered .
Second , the glass ceiling has been reinforced and America will again not elect a female president : Elizabeth Warren could not even win her home state of Massachusetts .
Both will face renewed pressure to withdraw .
So what began as the biggest , most diverse field history is now a two-person race that looks a lot like 2016 : a moderate establishment Democrat representing a third term of Obama versus the leftwing populist Sanders .
It should @ @ @ @ @ @ @ are broadly similar , with Sanders galvanising young people hungry for change but struggling to win over older voters in the suburbs .
Hillary Clinton ran up the score on Super Tuesday in 2016 yet the primary dragged on , bitterly and divisively , and she eventually lost to Trump .
With Sanders taking California , Colorado and Vermont on Tuesday , there is an even greater chance of a long drawn out fight this time , possibly ending in a contested convention .
And even if Biden prevails , his age and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ original comeback kid , Bill Clinton , was 45 at the time of his resurgence in the New Hampshire primary , a fresh face like Jimmy Carter before him and Barack Obama after him .
Clinton is now 73 – which still makes him four years younger than Biden .

David Smith in Charlotte, North Carolina

American politics has a new comeback kid.
That was what Bill Clinton called himself after reviving his presidential campaign in 1992. Now, even more improbably, Joe Biden – who, at 77, is the youngest man in the race for the Democratic nomination – has risen like Lazarus to win nine states on Super Tuesday and become the frontrunner.
“We are very much alive!” he told rejoicing supporters in Los Angeles.
It was one of the stunning reversals in recent political history. Less than a month ago Biden slunk away from New Hampshire with his tail between his legs even before the votes were counted. When he trailed in fifth, political obituaries were written. Bob Shrum, a Democratic strategist, told the Guardian: “For him to recover from this would be a political miracle unlike anything we’ve seen in modern presidential politics.”
The conventional wisdom was that Super Tuesday – when a third of Democratic primary delegates (who eventually nominate the candidate at the party’s national convention in July) are decided – would not be a question of can the Vermont senator Bernie Sanders win, but how big will his lead be.
But last week, everything changed. It started with James Clyburn, who is African American and became a member of the House of Representatives in 1993. Attending his accountant’s funeral, Clyburn was stopped by an older woman near the front of the church. “Young man, I want you to whisper in my ear who you are voting for,” she told him.
At that moment, Clyburn, 79, effectively the dean of South Carolina politics, felt he had to make a public endorsement. He did so for Biden in an emotional speech, handing Barack Obama’s vice-president a massive boost. Biden won the state’s primary vote on Saturday by nearly 30 percentage points, including 61% of the black vote, vindicating all the talk of Biden’s South Carolina firewall. He was back off the ropes.
It was the pivotal moment because it established Biden’s credibility, electability and viability for the moderate wing of the party. It was clear that he – not the billionaire former New York mayor Mike Bloomberg, the former South Bend mayor Pete Buttigieg or the Minnesota senator Amy Klobuchar – stood the best chance of defeating first Bernie Sanders, then Donald Trump in November’s election.
Supporters attend a rally for Joe Biden in Los Angeles, California. Photograph: Kyle Grillot/Reuters
It was time for moderates to get in line, especially after Sanders’s comments in a TV interview – acknowledging Cuba’s literacy programme, “Is that a bad thing, even if Fidel Castro did it?” – crystallised their fear of an electoral car crash. Buttigieg remarked: “I don’t want as a Democrat to be explaining why our nominee is encouraging people to look on the bright side of the Castro regime when we are going into the election of our lives.”
On Monday Buttigieg and Klobuchar duly quit the race and endorsed Biden, avoiding the fatal error of Republicans who failed to unite against Donald Trump in 2016. The former presidential candidate Beto O’Rourke, the ex-senator Harry Reid and the former national security adviser Susan Rice did so too. Suddenly, Super Tuesday would pit Sanders against the centrist Avengers.
“Yes, the moderates are consolidating,” said comedian Stephen Colbert. “We are reaching extreme levels of centrism.”
South Carolina proved a blueprint, not an outlier, as Biden looked on course to win the most delegates on Super Tuesday. African Americans in the south, moderates and suburbanites supported him in droves. Counter-intuitively, it was his coalition that boosted turnout, whereas so far in 2020, Sanders has failed to expand his base. A massive surge in Virginia worked in Biden’s favour, a clue as to why Trump has long been wary of him.
Moe Vela, a board director at TransparentBusiness and a former senior adviser to Biden at the White House, said: “It is an incredible night for Joe Biden. We’re seeing a very clear pattern that Democrats across the country, across racial lines, across gender lines, are loudly saying that socialism is not for them and it’s not a revolution they seek.”
He added: “Joe Biden brings predictability and security and stability and represents a course correction. People don’t want a radical extreme. They want to wake up and feel good about the country again.”
Tuesday’s results also proved Hollywood screenwriter William Goldman’s maxim that “nobody knows anything”. Democrats have held 10 televised presidential debates, with Buttigieg, the California senator Kamala Harris, Klobuchar and Massachusetts senator Elizabeth Warren notching wins and Biden performing terribly. But in the end, all that talking and sparring counted for nothing. There were five states where Biden did not campaign, and where Sanders and Bloomberg built big operations, yet which Biden still won.
Sanders has galvanized young people hungry for change but struggled to win over older voters in the suburbs. Photograph: Caitlin Ochs/Reuters
Momentum, or “Joementum” as his campaign calls it, beat money. It is, once again, a humbling reminder that most voters are not tuned into every debate or every twist and turn of Twitter. Go to any Trump rally and ask about the latest Washington scandal and you will often be met by blank stares or so-what? shrugs.
But Super Tuesday has been clarifying in two other ways: one uplifting, one sad. First, money can’t buy you the presidency: Bloomberg had splashed out half a billion dollars and got hammered. Second, the glass ceiling has been reinforced and America will again not elect a female president: Elizabeth Warren could not even win her home state of Massachusetts. Both will face renewed pressure to withdraw.
So what began as the biggest, most diverse field in history is now a two-person race that looks a lot like 2016: a moderate establishment Democrat representing a third term of Obama versus the leftwing populist Sanders. It should come as no surprise that voting patterns are broadly similar, with Sanders galvanising young people hungry for change but struggling to win over older voters in the suburbs.
Hillary Clinton ran up the score on Super Tuesday in 2016 yet the primary dragged on, bitterly and divisively, and she eventually lost to Trump. With Sanders taking California, Colorado and Vermont on Tuesday, there is an even greater chance of a long drawn out fight this time, possibly ending in a contested convention. And even if Biden prevails, his age and gaffes could prove a liability.
The original comeback kid, Bill Clinton, was 45 at the time of his resurgence in the New Hampshire primary, a fresh face like Jimmy Carter before him and Barack Obama after him. Clinton is now 73 – which still makes him four years younger than Biden.


theguardian--2020-03-04--Super Tuesday: five key takeaways as two frontrunners emerge

It was a very good night for Joe Biden “ It ’ s a good night and it seems to be getting better , ” Joe Biden said during his election night speech in Los Angeles .
Biden ’ s campaign had been teetering on the edge of disaster before his decisive victory in South Carolina on Saturday , when black voters turned out for the former vice-president .
That victory appears to have reinvigorated Biden ’ s campaign , and propelled him to wins in all of the southern states that held contests Tuesday night – in Texas , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Tennessee , Arkansas and Oklahoma .
Going into Super Tuesday , the Vermont senator Bernie Sanders was considered the frontrunner , with an early lead in the delegate count .
Though Sanders won California , according to projections by the Associated Press , Biden ’ s wins in nine states showed he was still very much in contention for the nomination .
Suddenly , the Democratic party ’ s presidential field , which featured more than half a dozen candidates a week ago , had transformed into a two-man contest .
The Biden @ @ @ @ @ @ @ him with safe leads in some of those states going into Super Tuesday , according to a Democrat with knowledge of that information .
But the margins were just the best-case scenario for projections , and having trailed his rivals in the early voting states of Iowa , New Hampshire and Nevada last month , Biden had been vulnerable before the South Carolina win .
Biden ’ s success also extended to states where he had not even campaigned .
He won Elizabeth Warren ’ s home state , and Minnesota , the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Amy Klobuchar , who dropped out of the race and endorsed Biden on Monday .
Sanders had won both Oklahoma and Minnesota in his 2016 primary race against Hillary Clinton .
… and a very bad night for Mike Bloomberg The billionaire and former New York mayor staked his entire campaign strategy on dominating the Super Tuesday states .
He poured almost $ 500m into advertising and field staff in these states .
But as the night drew on Bloomberg ’ s only victory came in … the US territory of American Samoa @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for grabs ( compared with California ’ s 415 ) .
Even before the night ended , Bloomberg and his team were reportedly planning to reassess his options on Wednesday and weigh whether to drop out in the coming days .
Biden ’ s momentum began early in the night with victories in southern states .
In those states he dominated among minorities , according to exit polls .
In North Carolina , Biden got 62 % of the African American vote and 43 % of the Hispanic vote – a plurality among @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a whopping 71 % of the black vote .
Biden ’ s victories were powered by Democratic voters who went his way just days before casting their ballots a wave of late momentum .
In some states , the late-deciders made up roughly half of all voters , according to AP VoteCast , surveys of voters in several state primaries .
In addition to African Americans , he also drew support from a coalition of moderates and conservatives , and voters older than 45 .
But Sanders had better numbers among young voters @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 72 % of voters between 18 and 29 supported the Vermont senator compared with just 5 % for Biden .
Among voters between 30 and 44 , Sanders beat every other candidate with 57 % support .
But he was unable to sufficiently widen his appeal to older voters and college graduates who make up a sizeable share of Democratic voters , according to AP VoteCast .
The results were more mixed in Texas .
Biden won the majority of votes among African Americans , according to projections , but Sanders dominated among @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for Warren .
The Massachusetts senator lost her home state and barely registered in most other states .
Warren ’ s campaign manager , Roger Lau , authored a memo days before Super Tuesday where he suggested the campaign would continue regardless of how Warren did on Super Tuesday .
“ Super Tuesday is the first test in March to amass delegates , but a week later we will be competing in six states , and a week after that another four that represent over 500 delegates up for grabs , ” Lau @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the time all of California ’ s votes from mail-in ballots are counted , likely in mid-March , we will still only be halfway to the overall number of pledged delegates up for grabs.
” But Warren ’ s poor performance sparked a new round of questions from Democratic strategists of just how many more days she could stay in the race .
The race is about to get more heated Biden and Sanders seemed to tacitly accept that they would be fighting each other in the immediate future .
Sanders , meanwhile @ @ @ @ @ @ @ record on key policy points such as social security .
Biden reiterated in his speech that if Sanders won the nomination he could not beat Trump and might imperil the chances of other Democratic candidates running in down-ticket races .
“ We want a nominee who ’ ll beat Donald Trump but also keep Nancy Pelosi as speaker of the House , ” Biden said .
“ And we want a nominee who ’ s a Democrat .
A lifelong Democrat .
A proud Democrat .
An Obama-Biden Democrat.
” The balance of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Biden winning at least nine states and Sanders four , raised questions about whether the Democratic primary contest would stretch all the way to the July convention or be decided much sooner .
The Associated Press contributed to this report

It was a very good night for Joe Biden
“It’s a good night and it seems to be getting better,” Joe Biden said during his election night speech in Los Angeles.
Biden’s campaign had been teetering on the edge of disaster before his decisive victory in South Carolina on Saturday, when black voters turned out for the former vice-president.
That victory appears to have reinvigorated Biden’s campaign, and propelled him to wins in all of the southern states that held contests Tuesday night – in Texas, Virginia, Alabama, North Carolina, Tennessee, Arkansas and Oklahoma.
Going into Super Tuesday, the Vermont senator Bernie Sanders was considered the frontrunner, with an early lead in the delegate count. Though Sanders won California, according to projections by the Associated Press, Biden’s wins in nine states showed he was still very much in contention for the nomination.
Suddenly, the Democratic party’s presidential field, which featured more than half a dozen candidates a week ago, had transformed into a two-man contest.
Joe Biden and his wife, Jill, at a Super Tuesday rally in Los Angeles, California, on 3 March. Photograph: Chris Carlson/AP
The Biden campaign’s internal polling had showed him with safe leads in some of those states going into Super Tuesday, according to a Democrat with knowledge of that information. But the margins were just the best-case scenario for projections, and having trailed his rivals in the early voting states of Iowa, New Hampshire and Nevada last month, Biden had been vulnerable before the South Carolina win.
Biden’s success also extended to states where he had not even campaigned. He won Elizabeth Warren’s home state, and Minnesota, the home state of the former presidential candidate Amy Klobuchar, who dropped out of the race and endorsed Biden on Monday.
Sanders had won both Oklahoma and Minnesota in his 2016 primary race against Hillary Clinton.
… and a very bad night for Mike Bloomberg
The billionaire and former New York mayor staked his entire campaign strategy on dominating the Super Tuesday states. He poured almost $500m into advertising and field staff in these states. But as the night drew on Bloomberg’s only victory came in … the US territory of American Samoa, where just six delegates were up for grabs (compared with California’s 415).
Even before the night ended, Bloomberg and his team were reportedly planning to reassess his options on Wednesday and weigh whether to drop out in the coming days.
Minority voters were crucial
Biden’s momentum began early in the night with victories in southern states. In those states he dominated among minorities, according to exit polls. In North Carolina, Biden got 62% of the African American vote and 43% of the Hispanic vote – a plurality among the candidates. In Virginia Biden got a whopping 71% of the black vote.
Biden’s victories were powered by Democratic voters who went his way just days before casting their ballots a wave of late momentum. In some states, the late-deciders made up roughly half of all voters, according to AP VoteCast, surveys of voters in several state primaries. In addition to African Americans, he also drew support from a coalition of moderates and conservatives, and voters older than 45.
But Sanders had better numbers among young voters in key states. In California, 72% of voters between 18 and 29 supported the Vermont senator compared with just 5% for Biden. Among voters between 30 and 44, Sanders beat every other candidate with 57% support.
But he was unable to sufficiently widen his appeal to older voters and college graduates who make up a sizeable share of Democratic voters, according to AP VoteCast.
The results were more mixed in Texas. Biden won the majority of votes among African Americans, according to projections, but Sanders dominated among Hispanics.
Elizabeth Warren fades
It was a bad night for Warren. The Massachusetts senator lost her home state and barely registered in most other states. Warren’s campaign manager, Roger Lau, authored a memo days before Super Tuesday where he suggested the campaign would continue regardless of how Warren did on Super Tuesday.
Elizabeth Warren greets supporters as she walks to her polling place in Cambridge, Massachusetts, on 3 March. Photograph: Brian Snyder/Reuters
“Super Tuesday is the first test in March to amass delegates, but a week later we will be competing in six states, and a week after that another four that represent over 500 delegates up for grabs,” Lau wrote in the memo. “By the time all of California’s votes from mail-in ballots are counted, likely in mid-March, we will still only be halfway to the overall number of pledged delegates up for grabs.”
But Warren’s poor performance sparked a new round of questions from Democratic strategists of just how many more days she could stay in the race.
The race is about to get more heated
Biden and Sanders seemed to tacitly accept that they would be fighting each other in the immediate future. Sanders, meanwhile, vowed to aggressively contrast his legislative record on key policy points such as social security. Biden reiterated in his speech that if Sanders won the nomination he could not beat Trump and might imperil the chances of other Democratic candidates running in down-ticket races.
“We want a nominee who’ll beat Donald Trump but also keep Nancy Pelosi as speaker of the House,” Biden said. “And we want a nominee who’s a Democrat. A lifelong Democrat. A proud Democrat. An Obama-Biden Democrat.”
The balance of Super Tuesday’s battlefield, with Biden winning at least nine states and Sanders four, raised questions about whether the Democratic primary contest would stretch all the way to the July convention or be decided much sooner.
The Associated Press contributed to this report


theguardian--2020-03-04--Texas results live: follow the latest primary votes

There are 228 pledged delegates available in Texas ’ s Democratic presidential primary vote , where voters rank healthcare , @ @ @ @ @ education as key issues .
Donald Trump won this increasingly competitive state convincingly in the @ @ @ @

Juweek Adolphe, Peter Andringa, Seán Clarke and Niko Kommenda

There are 228 pledged delegates available in Texas’s Democratic presidential primary vote, where voters rank healthcare, the economy, immigration and education as key issues. Donald Trump won this increasingly competitive state convincingly in the 2016 US election.
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theguardian--2020-03-04--What to make of the Super Tuesday results? Our panelists' verdict | Panel

Lloyd Green : ‘ It ’ s a two person race from here on out ’ On Super Tuesday , Joe Biden demolished expectations .
Biden scored a blowout in the south , fought Bernie Sanders to at least a draw in Texas , and garnered delegates in California .
He even won in Massachusetts , Elizabeth Warren ’ s home , without campaigning there .
Biden ’ s strength was not limited to a single region .
The former vice-president also re-forged the coalition that propelled the Democrats to their victory in the 2018 midterms , with African Americans @ @ @ @ @ @ @ core of his support .
Donald Trump continues to galvanize turnout .
Some things don ’ t change .
Sanders ’ attempt at revolution hit a ceiling .
Still , Biden would be ill-advised to ignore the Vermont senator ’ s demonstrable strength with Latino voters .
Looking back , South Carolina was a harbinger of what came next .
Representative James Clyburn ’ s endorsement made a real difference .
For Biden , 48 hours proved to be a lifetime and a lifeline .
In the end , momentum trumped money .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ reassessing his campaign .
All those hundreds of millions of dollars were spent for a win in American Samoa .
It will be days before the delegate count is final .
The upcoming debate on 15 March will be crucial .
Practically speaking , it ’ s a two-person race from here on out .
• None Lloyd Green was opposition research counsel to George HW Bush ’ s 1988 campaign and served in the Department of Justice from 1990 to 1992 Art Cullen : ‘ Democrats are not itching for a revolution @ @ @ @ @ @ @ American voters after Joe Biden ’ s blowout win on Saturday in South Carolina washed across America on Super Tuesday and lifted the former vice-president to the fore .
Biden ’ s dominant victories in Virginia and North Carolina demonstrated his ability to build a coalition among minority , suburban and working-class voters essential to defeating Donald Trump in November .
Biden contested Bernie Sanders in Maine and captured Massachusetts after Sanders placed a big bet in Elizabeth Warren ’ s home state .
Democratic voters are not itching for a revolution so @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Trump and restore some dignity to the presidency .
It did not appear that Sanders would clean up in California as earlier polls suggested .
Biden was running in a dead heat with Sanders in Texas – unfathomable just a week ago , with little money or organization .
What could Warren know that keeps her running ?
Bloomberg ’ s reason for running has evaporated with Biden ’ s stunning revival .
The candidate Trump fears most – Joe Biden – is capturing the support of Democrats desperate for a winner .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Storm Lake Times in Northwest Iowa , where he won the Pulitzer Prize for editorial writing .
He is a Guardian US columnist and author of the book Storm Lake : Change , Resilience , and Hope in America ’ s Heartland After capturing nearly 60 % of the black vote on Super Tuesday , Joe Biden swept southern states and won the overall delegate count .
The drama of Sanders overtaking him in recent months died down entirely , as Biden performed almost exactly as polls predicted about a year ago @ @ @ @ @ @ @ most striking aspect of his success is how little it seemed to rely on any particular strengths of his own candidacy , and that raises questions about how less established candidates compete at all in future Democratic primaries .
There was no impressive ground game : for over a month , Biden did not campaign in Super Tuesday states at all .
Voters in South Carolina , who ushered in his subsequent wave of endorsements , chose him , despite saying they prioritized climate change , Medicare for All , and reducing income @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on whatsoever .
The full consequences of having a Democratic frontrunner who leads a race with no clear merit of his own , beyond simply getting the right endorsements at the right time , are yet to be seen .
But what remains clear is that black voters – who have myriad reasons for supporting Biden – will continue to tip the scale in Democratic races .
And no candidate can afford to ignore them .
• None Malaika Jabali is an attorney , activist and writer Super Tuesday was a big night @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
His support from black voters , which fueled his South Carolina victory , was also evident in other southern states such as Virginia , North Carolina , and Tennessee and strongest of all in Alabama , where he achieved over 70 % of the black vote .
However , what was more surprising were his victories in some states that were previously thought to be more favorable to Bernie Sanders .
This highlights what may turn out to be the greatest irony of this presidential primary season .
Although the original premise @ @ @ @ @ @ @ his strength with white voters made him electable , that strength did not demonstrate itself until after black voters gave him overwhelming support .
All of a sudden white New England voters who showed no love for Biden two weeks ago in New Hampshire somehow decided to provide him with strong showings in Maine and Massachusetts .
Meanwhile , Elizabeth Warren continues to struggle against the reality that while many voters like and support her policy positions , not enough of these voters are willing to elect a woman to be president ( @ @ @ @ @ @ @ country essentially did vote to elect a woman to be president four years ago ) .
Nevertheless , while Warren ’ s success in the Nevada debate has not significantly changed her vote tallies , Super Tuesday provided evidence that her stop and frisking of Michael Bloomberg in the two most recent debates definitely helped slow his momentum and likely helped Biden .
Two major questions remain .
First , as California results trickle in , how large will Sanders ’ delegate lead be , and will it be enough to survive a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ?
Second , as the calls for Warren and Bloomberg to drop out of the race are likely to increase , will either of them agree to do so ?
Or will each continue to hang in , perhaps working off the assumption that the two frontrunners have weaknesses that could resurface and reverse the momentum that each has experienced ?
Time will tell .
Benjamin Dixon : ‘ Let ’ s be clear about the risks Biden poses ’ On Tuesday night , southern states that will inevitably go to Donald Trump @ @ @ @ @ @ @ centrist Democrats and older African Americans to help secure the nomination for a man who just confused his wife for his sister on national TV .
The consolidation of the moderate faction of the Democratic party was a masterstroke of political genius that nearly made Joe Biden unstoppable .
If it weren ’ t for Sanders ’ convincing victory in California and a close race in Texas the narrative around Biden would have shifted to “ inevitability ” .
And while we have tiptoed around Biden ’ s ailing cognitive faculties , the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Super Tuesday might saddle us with : Biden will face a Republican opponent who will unashamedly call him a racist because of the 1994 crime bill .
Will it be hypocritical ?
Yes .
But will that stop Trump from claiming it , stop his audience from echoing it , or stop it from depressing turnout enough for a Trump victory ?
No .
All of these things come with Biden .
Joe Biden will face a campaign that has all of the advantages of incumbency , the bully pulpit , and the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Ukraine and Hunter Biden ’ s dealings with Burisma .
Will it be in good faith ?
Absolutely not .
But will it stop Trump from using it to depress Democratic turnout ?
Not at all .
Finally , Joe Biden will face himself .
Will he be able to withstand the onslaught of Donald Trump during a debate ?
Sure , Trump isn ’ t as sharp as he used to be .
But I would offer to you that it will be far more easy for Donald Trump to remember his @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that will motivate his base than it will be for Joe Biden to remember which woman is his sister and which woman is his wife .
• None Benjamin Dixon is the host of The Benjamin Dixon Show

Lloyd Green, Art Cullen, Malaika Jabali, Cliff Albrightand Benjamin Dixon

Lloyd Green: ‘It’s a two-person race from here on out’
On Super Tuesday, Joe Biden demolished expectations. Biden scored a blowout in the south, fought Bernie Sanders to at least a draw in Texas, and garnered delegates in California. He even won in Massachusetts, Elizabeth Warren’s home state, without campaigning there. Biden’s strength was not limited to a single region.
The former vice-president also re-forged the coalition that propelled the Democrats to their victory in the 2018 midterms, with African Americans, women and suburbanites emerging as the core of his support. Donald Trump continues to galvanize turnout. Some things don’t change.
Sanders’ attempt at revolution hit a ceiling. Still, Biden would be ill-advised to ignore the Vermont senator’s demonstrable strength with Latino voters.
Looking back, South Carolina was a harbinger of what came next. Representative James Clyburn’s endorsement made a real difference. For Biden, 48 hours proved to be a lifetime and a lifeline. In the end, momentum trumped money.
According to reports, Mike Bloomberg is reassessing his campaign. All those hundreds of millions of dollars were spent for a win in American Samoa.
It will be days before the delegate count is final. The upcoming debate on 15 March will be crucial. Practically speaking, it’s a two-person race from here on out.
Lloyd Green was opposition research counsel to George HW Bush’s 1988 campaign and served in the Department of Justice from 1990 to 1992
Art Cullen: ‘Democrats are not itching for a revolution’
A surge of support from African American voters after Joe Biden’s blowout win on Saturday in South Carolina washed across America on Super Tuesday and lifted the former vice-president to the fore. Biden’s dominant victories in Virginia and North Carolina demonstrated his ability to build a coalition among minority, suburban and working-class voters essential to defeating Donald Trump in November.
Biden contested Bernie Sanders in Maine and captured Massachusetts after Sanders placed a big bet in Elizabeth Warren’s home state. Democratic voters are not itching for a revolution so much as they just want to beat Trump and restore some dignity to the presidency. It did not appear that Sanders would clean up in California as earlier polls suggested. Biden was running in a dead heat with Sanders in Texas – unfathomable just a week ago, with little money or organization.
What could Warren know that keeps her running? Bloomberg’s reason for running has evaporated with Biden’s stunning revival. The candidate Trump fears most – Joe Biden – is capturing the support of Democrats desperate for a winner.
Art Cullen is editor of the Storm Lake Times in north-west Iowa, where he won the Pulitzer prize for editorial writing. He is a Guardian US columnist and author of the book Storm Lake: Change, Resilience and Hope in America’s Heartland
Malaika Jabali: ‘Joe Biden won, despite few obvious merits’
After capturing nearly 60% of the black vote on Super Tuesday, Joe Biden swept southern states and won the overall delegate count. The drama of Sanders overtaking him in recent months died down entirely, as Biden performed almost exactly as polls predicted about a year ago when he entered the race.
The most striking aspect of his success is how little it seemed to rely on any particular strengths of his own candidacy, and that raises questions about how less established candidates compete at all in future Democratic primaries. There was no impressive ground game: for over a month, Biden did not campaign in Super Tuesday states at all. Voters in South Carolina, who ushered in his subsequent wave of endorsements, chose him, despite saying they prioritized climate change, Medicare for All and reducing income inequality, which Biden has not campaigned on whatsoever.
The full consequences of having a Democratic frontrunner who leads a race with no clear merit of his own, beyond simply getting the right endorsements at the right time, are yet to be seen. But what remains clear is that black voters – who have myriad reasons for supporting Biden – will continue to tip the scale in Democratic races. And no candidate can afford to ignore them.
Malaika Jabali is an attorney, activist and writer
Cliff Albright: ‘Black voters boosted Biden with white voters’
Super Tuesday was a big night for Joe Biden as he exceeded expectations. His support from black voters, which fueled his South Carolina victory, was also evident in other southern states such as Virginia, North Carolina, and Tennessee and strongest of all in Alabama, where he achieved over 70% of the black vote.
However, what was more surprising were his victories in some states that were previously thought to be more favorable to Bernie Sanders. This highlights what may turn out to be the greatest irony of this presidential primary season. Although the original premise of Biden’s campaign was that his strength with white voters made him electable, that strength did not demonstrate itself until after black voters gave him overwhelming support. All of a sudden white New England voters who showed no love for Biden two weeks ago in New Hampshire somehow decided to provide him with strong showings in Maine and Massachusetts.
Meanwhile, Elizabeth Warren continues to struggle against the reality that while many voters like and support her policy positions, not enough of these voters are willing to elect a woman to be president (in spite of the fact that the country essentially did vote to elect a woman to be president four years ago). Nevertheless, while Warren’s success in the Nevada debate has not significantly changed her vote tallies, Super Tuesday provided evidence that her stop and frisking of Mike Bloomberg in the two most recent debates definitely helped slow his momentum and likely helped Biden.
Two major questions remain. First, as California results trickle in, how large will Sanders’ delegate lead be, and will it be enough to survive a remaining calendar that many feel favors Biden? Second, as the calls for Warren and Bloomberg to drop out of the race are likely to increase, will either of them agree to do so? Or will each continue to hang in, perhaps working off the assumption that the two frontrunners have weaknesses that could resurface and reverse the momentum that each has experienced? Time will tell.
Cliff Albright is a co-founder of Black Voters Matter Fund
Benjamin Dixon: ‘Let’s be clear about the risks Biden poses’
On Tuesday night, southern states that will inevitably go to Donald Trump in the general election joined forces with centrist Democrats and older African Americans to help secure the nomination for a man who just confused his wife for his sister on national TV.
The consolidation of the moderate faction of the Democratic party was a masterstroke of political genius that nearly made Joe Biden unstoppable. If it weren’t for Sanders’ convincing victory in California and a close race in Texas the narrative around Biden would have shifted to “inevitability”.
01:58 Protesters rush stage as Joe Biden makes Super Tuesday speech – video
And while we have tiptoed around Biden’s ailing cognitive faculties, the remaining voters need to understand fully what Super Tuesday might saddle us with:
Biden will face a Republican opponent who will unashamedly call him a racist because of the 1994 crime bill. Will it be hypocritical? Yes. But will that stop Trump from claiming it, stop his audience from echoing it, or stop it from depressing turnout enough for a Trump victory? No. All of these things come with Biden.
Joe Biden will face a campaign that has all of the advantages of incumbency, the bully pulpit, and the ability to set the national conversation around Ukraine and Hunter Biden’s dealings with Burisma. Will it be in good faith? Absolutely not. But will it stop Trump from using it to depress Democratic turnout? Not at all.
Finally, Joe Biden will face himself. Will he be able to withstand the onslaught of Donald Trump during a debate? Sure, Trump isn’t as sharp as he used to be. But I would offer to you that it will be far more easy for Donald Trump to remember his bigotry and hatred and deliver the lines that will motivate his base than it will be for Joe Biden to remember which woman is his sister and which woman is his wife.


theguardian--2020-03-04--The resurrection of Joe Biden is almost complete: the race is his to lose | Richard Wolffe

The resurrection of Joe Biden is almost complete .
In less than a week , the former vice-president has walked out of the tomb of loser candidates into the glorious sunshine of frontrunner greatness .
This is a remarkable turnaround by any measure .
It also reflects no change in Biden ’ s qualities or character , and everything about a party with a singular focus on one factor : kicking Trump out of office .
Super Tuesday ’ s super wins for Biden change nothing about his flaws as a candidate but they do underscore the strength of his @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Biden ’ s wins also change nothing about Bernie Sanders ’ strength as an insurgent critic of the establishment ; they may even boost them .
But they most definitely blow a hole in his sales pitch to Democrats : that he can build a vast turnout machine to energize the base of the party to beat Donald Trump .
Whatever Nevada bestowed on Bernie , the south hath taken away .
In Las Vegas , Sanders seemed to build a diverse coalition of supporters .
But across the south , the bedrock @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in Virginia , the Carolinas and Alabama – made their choice of Biden so clear and loud , the cable networks didn ’ t wait to count the votes .
Until now , the debate among nervous Democrats has been about whether the party ’ s superdelegates could take a contested convention away from Sanders .
Could the party survive that schism , and would Bernie ’ s fans reconcile themselves to another nominee ?
But after Tuesday , there ’ s a vastly bigger question to consider .
Could the party really @ @ @ @ @ @ @ competitive among the black voters who delivered such huge victories in the congressional contests in 2018 , and the presidential contests of 2012 and 2008 ?
There is precedent for what we ’ re witnessing .
The last nominee to come back from the dead like this is actually Joe Biden ’ s friend and former fellow senator in all things foreign relations : John Kerry .
Back in 2004 , Democrats were on fire for another progressive Vermont firebrand .
Howard Dean was building huge numbers of online donors and seemed to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ base to take on a deeply-polarizing president .
But when big news broke through – at the time , the capture of Saddam Hussein – the contest flipped on its head .
Kerry won in Iowa and never looked back .
Within two months , Kerry had sewn the whole thing up .
As the bumper stickers said at the time , Democrats dated Dean but they married Kerry .
And the reason for the shift was their desperate desire to beat an incumbent president they loathed .
The party wanted to leave @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , even though they knew that Kerry was a flawed frontrunner .
Although we like to think that everything is different about Donald Trump , some things look pretty similar .
Bush was hated around the world , seemed to be destroying core American values , and counted on the die-hard support of the conservative media echo chamber .
Trump is all that on Viagra .
It looks like Joe Biden is playing a similar role to John Kerry , and there are good reasons why .
After all the turmoil of Trump @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to normal life .
The global threat of a botched response to coronavirus underscores the catastrophic effects of an utterly incompetent , but perfectly sociopathic president .
Every single exit poll in the Democratic contests have stressed a single factor : beating Trump .
In the states that voted on Tuesday , between 60 and 70 % of Democrats said they preferred a candidate who could beat Trump over someone they agreed with on the issues .
This is not a subtle choice , which is just as well , because the Trump @ @ @ @ @ @ @ jackboot .
That ’ s why the collapse of Biden ’ s competition at the center of the party is not surprising .
From Pete Buttigieg to Amy Klobuchar , the signs are clear : Democrats will not look favorably on anyone who interferes with their best chance to beat Trump .
What is surprising is the speed of Biden ’ s turnaround .
Just two weeks ago , reliable polling in Virginia suggested the race was tied .
The speed and direction of this contest is not good for the Sanders campaign @ @ @ @ @ @ @ news of the night .
If you think Sanders fans were disappointed , you should talk to staffers and consultants propping up Mike Bloomberg and Elizabeth Warren .
It feels odd to lump them together : one is plainly trying to buy his way to the nomination , the other has tried to wonk her way to it .
However , Bloomberg ’ s poor showing on Super Tuesday simply reinforced how this contest is no different from all the others that came before it .
You can dump a lot of money @ @ @ @ @ @ @ advertising , but you still can ’ t ignore the early states and jump straight into Super Tuesday .
Warren ’ s bad night was arguably worse and far less fair on the merits .
Bloomberg just wanted to be relevant ; Warren wanted to be right .
She trounced the field on policy details and on the debate stage .
But she wouldn ’ t or couldn ’ t turn her fire on Bernie , to consolidate the left behind a candidate with crossover appeal .
So she ended up losing her @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of the very best campaigns of the cycle – and winning precisely nothing .
Sanders himself declared victory with just two states under his belt , one of which is his home state of Vermont .
“ When we began this race for the presidency , everyone said it couldn ’ t be done , ” he said in Essex Junction , Vermont .
“ We are going to win , ” he continued as his fans chanted BER-NEE , BER-NEE , “ we are going to defeat Trump because we are putting @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” .
That movement somehow doesn ’ t include African Americans in the south .
“ You can not beat Trump with the same old , same old kind of politics , ” Sanders said , before attacking Biden for his vote on the war in Iraq .
That was a debate from 18 years ago , which is approximately the age of Sanders ’ most enthusiastic voters .
By the time Sanders stopped talking , Biden had won another state – Arkansas – to add to another five he had already locked @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that Biden started his victory speech by mistaking his sister for his wife .
Or the way two protesters rushed on stage as he began to fire up the crowd .
“ For those who ’ ve been knocked down , counted out and left behind , this is your campaign , ” he said .
“ I ’ m here to report this campaign is very much alive.
” Biden ’ s revival after weeks of bad news is his model for the country ’ s revival after years of Trump news @ @ @ @ @ @ @ moment , ” Biden shouted .
“ We are better than this president !
” He was speaking from a teleprompter , and yet he still screwed up plenty of lines .
But Biden still landed some zingers , just as he scrapped out several big wins .
As he walked off stage , he was declared the winner in Minnesota .
Sanders ’ victory in California will be a source of hope for his campaign .
But scraping out a slender delegate lead is not the same as a multigenerational , multiracial @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the momentum is with Biden : it ’ s his race to lose once again .

The resurrection of Joe Biden is almost complete. In less than a week, the former vice-president has walked out of the tomb of loser candidates into the glorious sunshine of frontrunner greatness.
This is a remarkable turnaround by any measure. It also reflects no change in Biden’s qualities or character, and everything about a party with a singular focus on one factor: kicking Trump out of office.
Super Tuesday’s super wins for Biden change nothing about his flaws as a candidate but they do underscore the strength of his sales pitch to a Trump-weary world.
Biden’s wins also change nothing about Bernie Sanders’ strength as an insurgent critic of the establishment; they may even boost them.
But they most definitely blow a hole in his sales pitch to Democrats: that he can build a vast turnout machine to energize the base of the party to beat Donald Trump.
Whatever Nevada bestowed on Bernie, the south hath taken away. In Las Vegas, Sanders seemed to build a diverse coalition of supporters. But across the south, the bedrock of the party – African American voters in Virginia, the Carolinas and Alabama – made their choice of Biden so clear and loud, the cable networks didn’t wait to count the votes.
Until now, the debate among nervous Democrats has been about whether the party’s superdelegates could take a contested convention away from Sanders. Could the party survive that schism, and would Bernie’s fans reconcile themselves to another nominee?
But after Tuesday, there’s a vastly bigger question to consider. Could the party really nominate a candidate who isn’t competitive among the black voters who delivered such huge victories in the congressional contests in 2018, and the presidential contests of 2012 and 2008?
There is precedent for what we’re witnessing. The last nominee to come back from the dead like this is actually Joe Biden’s friend and former fellow senator in all things foreign relations: John Kerry.
Back in 2004, Democrats were on fire for another progressive Vermont firebrand. Howard Dean was building huge numbers of online donors and seemed to be the only candidate with an energized base to take on a deeply-polarizing president. But when big news broke through – at the time, the capture of Saddam Hussein – the contest flipped on its head. Kerry won in Iowa and never looked back. Within two months, Kerry had sewn the whole thing up.
As the bumper stickers said at the time, Democrats dated Dean but they married Kerry. And the reason for the shift was their desperate desire to beat an incumbent president they loathed. The party wanted to leave as little room for error as possible, even though they knew that Kerry was a flawed frontrunner.
Although we like to think that everything is different about Donald Trump, some things look pretty similar. Bush was hated around the world, seemed to be destroying core American values, and counted on the die-hard support of the conservative media echo chamber. Trump is all that on Viagra.
It looks like Joe Biden is playing a similar role to John Kerry, and there are good reasons why. After all the turmoil of Trump, voters are understandably anxious to return to normal life. The global threat of a botched response to coronavirus underscores the catastrophic effects of an utterly incompetent, but perfectly sociopathic president.
Every single exit poll in the Democratic contests have stressed a single factor: beating Trump. In the states that voted on Tuesday, between 60 and 70% of Democrats said they preferred a candidate who could beat Trump over someone they agreed with on the issues.
This is not a subtle choice, which is just as well, because the Trump campaign has all the subtlety of a jackboot.
That’s why the collapse of Biden’s competition at the center of the party is not surprising. From Pete Buttigieg to Amy Klobuchar, the signs are clear: Democrats will not look favorably on anyone who interferes with their best chance to beat Trump.
What is surprising is the speed of Biden’s turnaround. Just two weeks ago, reliable polling in Virginia suggested the race was tied. The speed and direction of this contest is not good for the Sanders campaign.
Which takes us to the dismal news of the night. If you think Sanders fans were disappointed, you should talk to staffers and consultants propping up Mike Bloomberg and Elizabeth Warren. It feels odd to lump them together: one is plainly trying to buy his way to the nomination, the other has tried to wonk her way to it.
However, Bloomberg’s poor showing on Super Tuesday simply reinforced how this contest is no different from all the others that came before it. You can dump a lot of money into the toilet bowl that is TV advertising, but you still can’t ignore the early states and jump straight into Super Tuesday.
Warren’s bad night was arguably worse and far less fair on the merits. Bloomberg just wanted to be relevant; Warren wanted to be right. She trounced the field on policy details and on the debate stage. But she wouldn’t or couldn’t turn her fire on Bernie, to consolidate the left behind a candidate with crossover appeal. So she ended up losing her home state of Massachusetts after running one of the very best campaigns of the cycle – and winning precisely nothing.
Sanders himself declared victory with just two states under his belt, one of which is his home state of Vermont. “When we began this race for the presidency, everyone said it couldn’t be done,” he said in Essex Junction, Vermont. “We are going to win,” he continued as his fans chanted BER-NEE, BER-NEE, “we are going to defeat Trump because we are putting together an unprecedented grassroots multigenerational multiracial movement”.
That movement somehow doesn’t include African Americans in the south.
“You cannot beat Trump with the same old, same old kind of politics,” Sanders said, before attacking Biden for his vote on the war in Iraq. That was a debate from 18 years ago, which is approximately the age of Sanders’ most enthusiastic voters.
By the time Sanders stopped talking, Biden had won another state – Arkansas – to add to another five he had already locked up early on Tuesday.
Never mind that Biden started his victory speech by mistaking his sister for his wife. Or the way two protesters rushed on stage as he began to fire up the crowd.
“For those who’ve been knocked down, counted out and left behind, this is your campaign,” he said. “I’m here to report this campaign is very much alive.”
Biden’s revival after weeks of bad news is his model for the country’s revival after years of Trump news. “We are better than this moment,” Biden shouted. “We are better than this president!”
He was speaking from a teleprompter, and yet he still screwed up plenty of lines. But Biden still landed some zingers, just as he scrapped out several big wins. As he walked off stage, he was declared the winner in Minnesota.
Sanders’ victory in California will be a source of hope for his campaign. But scraping out a slender delegate lead is not the same as a multigenerational, multiracial movement to beat Trump. For now the momentum is with Biden: it’s his race to lose once again.


theguardian--2020-03-04--Biden triumphs, Sanders hits back and Warren fights on: how Super Tuesday unfolded – video report

Bernie Sanders and Joe Biden emerged as the frontrunners for the Democratic presidential nomination after 14 states voted on Super @ @ @ @ @ across more states , Sanders claimed the crucial victory in California .
The results were @ @ @ @ @ Elizabeth Warren and Michael Bloomberg .
Warren lost her home state of Massachusetts to Sanders @ @ @ @ @ has failed to net the desired results

Bernie Sanders and Joe Biden emerged as the frontrunners for the Democratic presidential nomination after 14 states voted on Super Tuesday. While Biden won across more states, Sanders claimed the crucial victory in California. The results were a blow to fellow hopefuls Elizabeth Warren and Michael Bloomberg. Warren lost her home state of Massachusetts to Sanders while Bloomberg's big spending has failed to net the desired results


theguardian--2020-03-04--Protesters rush stage as Joe Biden makes Super Tuesday speech – video

Joe Biden surged to Super Tuesday victories in nine states , sweeping the south and taking the key state of @ @ @ @ @ on the most pivotal night of the Democratic presidential primary race .
As the former @ @ @ @ @ Angeles , two anti-dairy protesters , who have disrupted other candidates ’ events in recent @ @ @ @ @ the stage and had to be dragged off by Biden 's staffers

Joe Biden surged to Super Tuesday victories in nine states, sweeping the south and taking the key state of Texas in a remarkable comeback on the most pivotal night of the Democratic presidential primary race.
As the former vice-president addressed supporters in Los Angeles, two anti-dairy protesters, who have disrupted other candidates’ events in recent days, ran on to the stage and had to be dragged off by Biden's staffers


theguardian--2020-03-05--Trump claims Obama administration decision slowed coronavirus response – live

The Guardian ’ s Saad Ejaz was at Michael Bloomberg ’ s farewell speech earlier today , here ’ s his report from the room … Michael Bloomberg gave his last public appearance as a presidential nominee today , consoling a room full of staff and supporters at a Manhattan Hotel .
“ Mike will get it done , ” the crowd chanted , rather unenthusiastically , as they waited for Bloomberg .
“ I entered the race for the president to defeat Donald Trump , ” explained Bloomberg once he took the stage , “ And today I am @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” Super Tuesday marked the first time the billionaire , his message or his money had been tested .
The numbers were not kind .
“ I ’ ve always believed that data should inform our decision , ” he admitted , “ After Yesterday ’ s results , the delegate math had become virtually impossible and a viable path to the nomination just no longer existed.
” Instead , it was time to unite behind one candidate to defeat Donald Trump , Bloomberg said , and that could only be his “ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Biden .
“ I am glad to say that I endorse Joe Biden , and I hope you will join me in working to make him the next president of the United states , ” Bloomberg said of the candidate who , just 11 weeks before , he was unconvinced could beat Trump or run the country .
“ He ’ s never been the manager of an organization , he ’ s never run a school system , ” Bloomberg told MSNBC ’ s Stephanie Ruhle in December.
“ The presidency shouldn @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Many of Bloomberg ’ s supporters were in a somber mood ; some were in tears as the speech ended .
“ I ’ m just so sad and disappointed , ” said Margaret Brick , who has supported Bloomberg for the past 17 years , “ But I think he ’ s really going to help Joe.
” Other members of the campaign , like Abdul Malik , were not as sure of Joe Biden .
Malik had worked with the Bloomberg campaign to increase outreach with people of color .
“ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Biden yet , ” said Malik , “ My biggest issue is criminal justice reform and no one else comes close to Bloomberg ’ s plan.
” Bloomberg himself was overcome with emotion , as he reflected on his campaign ’ s journey.
“ I ’ m just amazed at how many have stood with me shoulder to shoulder , ” he said at the verge of tears , “ Working and fighting every step of the way.
” “ And you do it because you love America as much as I do @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ever ask for .
”

Maanvi Singh in San Francisco (now), Joan E Greve in Washington, Adam Gabbatt and Paul Owen (earlier)

5 Mar 2020 00.10 GMT Warren shakes hands with Sanders at the conclusion of the ninth Democratic 2020 U.S. Presidential candidates debate in Las Vegas Nevada. Photograph: Mike Blake/Reuters Surrogates and allies of Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders are reportedly discussing strategies to unite to push a progressive agenda, the Washington Post reports. The expectation is that Warren, who has persisted despite a series of campaign setbacks, would drop out: The conversations, which are in an early phase, largely involve members of Congress who back Sanders (I-Vt.) reaching out to those in Warren’s camp to explore the prospect that Warren (D-Mass.) might endorse him. They are also appealing to Warren’s supporters to switch their allegiance to Sanders, according two people with direct knowledge of the conversations who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss delicate discussions that are supposed to be confidential. The whirlwind of activity reflects the rapid changes in a Democratic primary that is still very much in transition. As late as Tuesday, many Warren allies believed she would stay in the race until the Democratic convention, despite her poor showing to date in the primaries, in hopes of retaining her clout and influencing the eventual nominee.
Updated at 00.13 GMT
4 Mar 2020 23.43 GMT The Guardian’s Saad Ejaz was at Michael Bloomberg’s farewell speech earlier today, here’s his report from the room … Michael Bloomberg gave his last public appearance as a presidential nominee today, consoling a room full of staff and supporters at a Manhattan Hotel. “Mike will get it done,” the crowd chanted, rather unenthusiastically, as they waited for Bloomberg.
“I entered the race for the president to defeat Donald Trump,” explained Bloomberg once he took the stage, “And today I am leaving the race for the same reason.” Super Tuesday marked the first time the billionaire, his message or his money had been tested. The numbers were not kind. “I’ve always believed that data should inform our decision,” he admitted, “After Yesterday’s results, the delegate math had become virtually impossible and a viable path to the nomination just no longer existed.” Instead, it was time to unite behind one candidate to defeat Donald Trump, Bloomberg said, and that could only be his “friend and a great American” Joe Biden.
“I am glad to say that I endorse Joe Biden, and I hope you will join me in working to make him the next president of the United states,” Bloomberg said of the candidate who, just 11 weeks before, he was unconvinced could beat Trump or run the country.
“He’s never been the manager of an organization, he’s never run a school system,” Bloomberg told MSNBC’s Stephanie Ruhle in December.“The presidency shouldn’t be a training job.”
Earlier today, Mike Bloomberg took the stage one last time as presidential candidate.
Here's what the crowd was like. pic.twitter.com/lwrzrurU6g — Saad Ejaz (@msaadejaz) March 4, 2020 Many of Bloomberg’s supporters were in a somber mood; some were in tears as the speech ended. “I’m just so sad and disappointed,” said Margaret Brick, who has supported Bloomberg for the past 17 years, “But I think he’s really going to help Joe.”
Other members of the campaign, like Abdul Malik, were not as sure of Joe Biden. Malik had worked with the Bloomberg campaign to increase outreach with people of color.
“I don’t know about Joe Biden yet,” said Malik, “My biggest issue is criminal justice reform and no one else comes close to Bloomberg’s plan.”
Bloomberg himself was overcome with emotion, as he reflected on his campaign’s journey.“I’m just amazed at how many have stood with me shoulder to shoulder,” he said at the verge of tears, “Working and fighting every step of the way.”
“And you do it because you love America as much as I do and that’s all I could ever ask for.”
4 Mar 2020 23.29 GMT Lindsey Graham, a staunch Trump ally, told CNN that Joe Biden would be a tough opponent in the election. Lindsey Graham on Trump facing Biden in a general: "I think he would be tough. I think Joe Biden's got a good reputation and he'd be tough, he'd be more moderate than Bernie, but I still think it's Trump's to lose." pic.twitter.com/WMUzrghILu — Manu Raju (@mkraju) March 4, 2020 “I think Joe Biden’s got a good reputation,” said Graham, a Republican senator of South Carolina. “He’d be more moderate than Bernie, but I still think it’s Trump’s to lose.” Biden’s victory in Graham’s home state is what gave the firmer vice president’s flagging campaign the boost and momentum to take on Super Tuesday.
Updated at 23.29 GMT
4 Mar 2020 23.20 GMT Chuck Schumer’s team has responded to Chief Justice John Roberts’ reprimand. In a rare statement, Roberts described a speech that Schumer delivered as the Supreme Court considered a case that could result in grave new abortion restrictions as “threatening”. Schumer had said that the Trump-appointed justices would pay a price for restricting abortion access.
“Sen. Schumer’s comments were a reference to the political price Senate Republicans will pay for putting these justices on the court, and a warning that the justices will unleash a major grassroots movement on the issue of reproductive rights against the decision,” said the senator’s spokesperson Justin Goodman in a statement. “For Justice Roberts to follow the right wing’s deliberate misinterpretation of what Sen. Schumer said, while remaining silent when President Trump attacked Justices Sotomayor and Ginsberg last week, shows Justice Roberts does not just call balls and strikes.”
4 Mar 2020 23.05 GMT Joe Biden: 'Trump poses an existential threat' Sam Levin After his big Super Tuesday wins, Biden just held a very brief press conference at a Los Angeles hotel, making about a dozen supporters and a large crowd of journalists wait over an hour for roughly seven minutes of remarks. He did not speak about Bloomberg’s departure or his remaining rivals in the race, saying:
“What we can’t let happen in the next few weeks is let this primary turn into a campaign of negative attacks. The only thing that can do is help Donald Trump ... Donald Trump poses an existential threat to our standing in the world.” “What we cant let happen in the best few weeks is let this primary turn into a campaign of negative attacks. The only thing that can do is help Donald Trump.” - Biden in LA pic.twitter.com/bk6v6pzXc3 — Sam Levin (@SamTLevin) March 4, 2020 “We are going to take this fight all across America to rebuild the middle class,” said Biden, who appeared relatively subdued in the small hotel conference room at the W Los Angeles in Westwood.
Biden ignored reporters’ questions as he walked out, but briefly responded to one question about criticisms that he is part of the Democratic “establishment”, saying, “The establishment are all those hard-working middle-class people, those African Americans...”
LA mayor Eric Garcetti, a Biden supporter, showed up, but made no remarks.
Lulu Lima, an 18-year-old supporter who also stood behind Biden, told me after that her father is a union member and supporter of the candidate. She said she was grateful to cast her first-ever vote for Biden and felt excited about his surge: “It’s awesome to see what can happen ... It means never lose hope, and in a broader sense, never lose hope for this nation.” Lulu Lima, 18, stood behind @JoeBiden today at his LA press conference. Her dad is a union supporter. She said Biden’s recent surge was a reminder to “never lose hope.” She said she avoids talking politics with friends or others her age who are Bernie supporters. pic.twitter.com/ZHA2h4oWUF — Sam Levin (@SamTLevin) March 4, 2020
Asked if she was confident Biden would win, she said, “All we can do is hope.” She said she avoids talking about politics with friends or others her age who are Sanders supporters: “It’s important for individuals to have their own beliefs.”
4 Mar 2020 22.57 GMT Donald Trump’s response to criticisms of his coronavirus response: Thanks, Obama. The president blamed a federal agency decision during Barack Obama’s administration, which Trump said made it harder to quickly roll out testing for the virus.
“The Obama administration made a decision on testing that turned out to be very detrimental to what we’re doing, and we undid that decision a few days ago so that the testing can take place in a much more accurate and rapid fashion,” he told reporters during a White House meeting with airline executives, whom he had called to discuss the economic effects of the outbreak. “That was a decision we disagreed with,” he said. I don’t think we would have made it, but for some reason, it was made.” It’s unclear what decision, exactly, Trump is referring to. The Trump administration has been criticized for dismantling an Obama effort to respond to global health emergencies more quickly. The president has also come under fire for not rolling out widespread testing for coronavirus more quickly, and spreading false information about the disease. White House's 'muzzled' coronavirus messaging is dangerous, experts say Read more
Updated at 22.59 GMT
4 Mar 2020 22.37 GMT Sanders held a press conference at his campaign office in Burlington, Vermont. Photograph: Caitlin Ochs/Reuters Bernie Sanders admitted he hadn’t been as successful as he’d hoped at galvanizing youth turnout. “Have we been as successful as I would hope in bringing young people in? And the answer is no,” he said, speaking at his campaign headquarters in Vermont. “We’re making some progress. But historically younger people do not vote in the kind of numbers that older people vote in. I think that will change in the general election.” He told reporters he was “disappointed” by the Super Tuesday results. “Of course I’m disappointed,” he said. “I would like to win every state by a landslide. It’s not going to happen.” But he emphasized the importance of upcoming races Michigan and other midwestern states, where he and Joe Biden are competing to win over working-class voters — to whom both candidates seem to appeal. “Joe and I are running very different campaigns,” he said. “And my hope is that in the coming months, we will be able to debate and discuss the very significant differences that we have.”
Updated at 22.39 GMT
4 Mar 2020 22.17 GMT Hi, there! It’s Maanvi Singh, blogging from the West Coast. In a rare statement, Chief Justice John Roberts denounced comments from Senator Chuck Schumer, who spoke at a rally outside the Supreme Court as the court heard oral arguments in a case that could result in new restrictions on abortion access. “Justices know that criticism comes with the territory, but threatening statements of this sort from the highest levels of government are not only inappropriate, they are dangerous,” Roberts said. Schumer has said that Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh — Trump’s Supreme Court appointees — “won’t know what hit” them if they voted to uphold abortion restrictions. “I want to tell you Gorsuch, I want to tell you Kavanaugh, you have released the whirlwind and you will pay the price,” Schumer said. US supreme court takes up most high-profile abortion case in decades Read more
Updated at 22.19 GMT
4 Mar 2020 22.00 GMT Today so far That’s it from me today. My west coast colleague, Maanvi Singh, will take over the blog for the next few hours. Here’s where the day stands so far: The House easily passed a bill aimed at limiting the spread of coronavirus. The bill, which lays out $8 billion in funding to combat the health threat, advanced to the Senate on a vote of 415 to 2.
The bill, which lays out $8 billion in funding to combat the health threat, advanced to the Senate on a vote of 415 to 2. Mike Bloomberg delivered an emotional speech to supporters after suspending his presidential campaign and endorsing Joe Biden. The former New York mayor expressed pride in the race he ran, even though the billionaire candidate spent $500 million and failed to win a single Super Tuesday state.
The former New York mayor expressed pride in the race he ran, even though the billionaire candidate spent $500 million and failed to win a single Super Tuesday state. Bernie Sanders predicted he and Biden would be “neck and neck” in the nominating contest after California’s delegates are allocated. Sanders was declared the winner of California, where 415 pledged delegates are up for grabs, as soon as polls closed, but Biden’s 10 victories elsewhere will likely give him the lead in delegates.
Sanders was declared the winner of California, where 415 pledged delegates are up for grabs, as soon as polls closed, but Biden’s 10 victories elsewhere will likely give him the lead in delegates. Elizabeth Warren said she was considering next steps for her campaign after a disappointing Super Tuesday performance. Warren’s campaign manager said the Massachusetts senator was “talking with our team to assess the path forward.”
Warren’s campaign manager said the Massachusetts senator was “talking with our team to assess the path forward.” US markets rallied after Biden’s strong Super Tuesday showing. After a string of market losses tied to concerns about coronavirus, investors appeared to breathe a sigh of relief about Sanders’ sinking fortunes in the presidential primary. Maanvi will have more coming up, so stay tuned.


theguardian--2020-03-05--John Roberts calls Schumer's remarks on justices ‘dangerous’ in rare rebuke

The chief justice of the US supreme court has taken the unusual step of criticizing as “ inappropriate ” and “ dangerous ” comments that the Senate Democratic leader , Chuck Schumer , made about conservative justices Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh .
John Roberts was responding to Schumer ’ s remarks at a rally outside the court while a high-profile abortion case was being argued inside , which pro-choice activists say could threaten abortion rights in the US .
“ You have released the whirlwind , and you will pay the price .
You will not know what hit @ @ @ @ @ @ @ awful decisions , ” Schumer said , naming the two appointees of Donald Trump , according to video of the rally available online .
In a statement , Schumer spokesman Justin Goodman criticized Roberts , saying that to follow the right wing ’ s deliberate misinterpretation of what Schumer said shows the chief justice “ does not just call balls and strikes ” .
Goodman said Schumer ’ s comments were a reference to the political price Senate Republicans will pay for putting these justices on the court , and a warning that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ movement on the issue of reproductive rights against the decision .
He noted that the chief justice remained quiet in recent weeks when the president questioned the impartiality of Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Sonia Sotomayor .
As the US justice system faced a crisis of credibility last month because of the Trump administration ’ s handling of federal cases , Trump took the unusual step of attacking the two liberal-leaning supreme court justices on Twitter and in remarks to the press .
In a dissent last week , Sotomayor criticized the Trump @ @ @ @ @ @ @ supreme court to intervene in lower-court decisions , and the court ’ s willingness to side with such requests .
On Twitter , responding to a segment on Fox News ’ s The Ingraham Angle , Trump unleashed a tirade against Sotomayor and Ginsburg , who has criticized the president in the past .
“ This is a terrible thing to say , ” Trump tweeted .
“ Trying to ‘ shame ’ some into voting her way ?
She never criticized Justice Ginsberg when she called me a ‘ faker ’ .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ , or Trump related , matters !
” But Roberts , who in 2018 rebuked Trump for his criticism of an “ Obama judge ” , jumped to his colleagues ’ defense on Wednesday after Schumer ’ s remarks .
“ Justices know that criticism comes with the territory , but threatening statements of this sort from the highest levels of government are not only inappropriate , they are dangerous , ” Roberts said in a statement .
The justices are currently weighing a Louisiana law requiring doctors who perform abortions to have @ @ @ @ @ @ @ A federal judge found that just one of Louisiana ’ s three abortion clinics would remain open if the law is allowed to take effect .
Roberts is expected to be the deciding vote .

The chief justice of the US supreme court has taken the unusual step of criticizing as “inappropriate” and “dangerous” comments that the Senate Democratic leader, Chuck Schumer, made about conservative justices Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh.
John Roberts was responding to Schumer’s remarks at a rally outside the court while a high-profile abortion case was being argued inside, which pro-choice activists say could threaten abortion rights in the US.
“You have released the whirlwind, and you will pay the price. You will not know what hit you if you go forward with these awful decisions,” Schumer said, naming the two appointees of Donald Trump, according to video of the rally available online.
In a statement, Schumer spokesman Justin Goodman criticized Roberts, saying that to follow the right wing’s deliberate misinterpretation of what Schumer said shows the chief justice “does not just call balls and strikes”.
Goodman said Schumer’s comments were a reference to the political price Senate Republicans will pay for putting these justices on the court, and a warning that the justices will unleash a major grassroots movement on the issue of reproductive rights against the decision.
He noted that the chief justice remained quiet in recent weeks when the president questioned the impartiality of Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Sonia Sotomayor.
As the US justice system faced a crisis of credibility last month because of the Trump administration’s handling of federal cases, Trump took the unusual step of attacking the two liberal-leaning supreme court justices on Twitter and in remarks to the press.
In a dissent last week, Sotomayor criticized the Trump administration’s frequent appeals to the supreme court to intervene in lower-court decisions, and the court’s willingness to side with such requests.
On Twitter, responding to a segment on Fox News’s The Ingraham Angle, Trump unleashed a tirade against Sotomayor and Ginsburg, who has criticized the president in the past.
“This is a terrible thing to say,” Trump tweeted. “Trying to ‘shame’ some into voting her way? She never criticized Justice Ginsberg when she called me a ‘faker’. Both should recuse themselves on all Trump, or Trump related, matters!”
But Roberts, who in 2018 rebuked Trump for his criticism of an “Obama judge”, jumped to his colleagues’ defense on Wednesday after Schumer’s remarks.
“Justices know that criticism comes with the territory, but threatening statements of this sort from the highest levels of government are not only inappropriate, they are dangerous,” Roberts said in a statement.
The justices are currently weighing a Louisiana law requiring doctors who perform abortions to have admitting privileges at a nearby hospital. A federal judge found that just one of Louisiana’s three abortion clinics would remain open if the law is allowed to take effect.
Roberts is expected to be the deciding vote.


theguardian--2020-03-04--Trump picks official involved in Bush-era torture program as his nuclear envoy

The Trump administration has chosen a special envoy for nuclear talks , with the principal task of negotiating a new arms control agreement with Russia and China , according to congressional sources and former officials .
The proposed special negotiator , Marshall Billingslea , is currently the under-secretary for terrorist financing at the US Treasury .
His nomination last year for a top human rights job at the state department was stalled by controversy over the extent of his involvement in the torture programme established by the George W Bush administration , in which he oversaw the conditions of detainees @ @ @ @ @ @ @ department nor the treasury responded to a request for comment , but congressional staffers and former officials said Billingslea had accepted the post .
The Trump administration has been trying to recruit a high-level arms control negotiator for several months , but several former Republican officials with significant experience in the field turned down the offer .
Billingslea , who has a long record as a hawk on nuclear weapons issues , faces a daunting task .
Donald Trump wants to negotiate a new agreement to reduce the vast nuclear weapons arsenals of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ New Start deal with Russia agreed by Barack Obama .
Trump wants China to be included in a new agreement but Beijing has so far refused on the grounds that the Chinese arsenal is a small fraction ( estimated at about a 20th ) of its US and Russian counterparts .
Trump has accepted an invitation from Vladimir Putin to take part in talks on nuclear arms control and other strategic issues at a summit meeting of the five permanent members of the UN security council , most likely at the time of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ One of Billingslea ’ s tasks would be to prepare for the summit , but in the absence of a major shift by China , he would have to advise Trump on whether or not to extend the New Start deal – the last nuclear arms control agreement to have survived the Trump era – as an interim measure .
That is something the president is highly reluctant to do , because the 2010 agreement is part of the Obama legacy Trump has been eager to expunge .
Billingslea is a former aide @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , who was a fervent opponent of arms control efforts during the cold war , for example blocking US ratification of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty , and campaigning for the US withdrawal from the Anti Ballistic Missile treaty .
“ No special envoy , especially one like Marshall Billingslea who has a record of dismantling or blocking effective nuclear arms control , can hope to accomplish very much toward the goal of a wholly new multilateral nuclear arms control agreement through a one-day heads of state summit , ” said Daryl Kimball @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Association .
“ But a decision by Trump and Putin to extend the New Start agreement would surely help prevent a new arms race and create more favorable conditions for more ambitious nuclear arms talks with Russia and China.
” Alexandra Bell , senior policy director at the Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation , said : “ Now that he has been selected , Mr Billingslea has no time to lose .
In less than a year , we could lose the last major treaty constraining the world ’ s two largest @ @ @ @

The Trump administration has chosen a special envoy for nuclear talks, with the principal task of negotiating a new arms control agreement with Russia and China, according to congressional sources and former officials.
The proposed special negotiator, Marshall Billingslea, is currently the under-secretary for terrorist financing at the US Treasury. His nomination last year for a top human rights job at the state department was stalled by controversy over the extent of his involvement in the torture programme established by the George W Bush administration, in which he oversaw the conditions of detainees in Guantánamo Bay.
Neither the state department nor the treasury responded to a request for comment, but congressional staffers and former officials said Billingslea had accepted the post.
The Trump administration has been trying to recruit a high-level arms control negotiator for several months, but several former Republican officials with significant experience in the field turned down the offer.
Billingslea, who has a long record as a hawk on nuclear weapons issues, faces a daunting task. Donald Trump wants to negotiate a new agreement to reduce the vast nuclear weapons arsenals of the major powers, to replace the New Start deal with Russia agreed by Barack Obama.
Trump wants China to be included in a new agreement but Beijing has so far refused on the grounds that the Chinese arsenal is a small fraction (estimated at about a 20th) of its US and Russian counterparts.
Trump has accepted an invitation from Vladimir Putin to take part in talks on nuclear arms control and other strategic issues at a summit meeting of the five permanent members of the UN security council, most likely at the time of the UN general assembly in September.
One of Billingslea’s tasks would be to prepare for the summit, but in the absence of a major shift by China, he would have to advise Trump on whether or not to extend the New Start deal – the last nuclear arms control agreement to have survived the Trump era – as an interim measure. That is something the president is highly reluctant to do, because the 2010 agreement is part of the Obama legacy Trump has been eager to expunge.
Billingslea is a former aide to the late Republican senator Jesse Helms, who was a fervent opponent of arms control efforts during the cold war, for example blocking US ratification of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty, and campaigning for the US withdrawal from the Anti Ballistic Missile treaty.
“No special envoy, especially one like Marshall Billingslea who has a record of dismantling or blocking effective nuclear arms control, can hope to accomplish very much toward the goal of a wholly new multilateral nuclear arms control agreement through a one-day heads of state summit,” said Daryl Kimball, executive director of the Arms Control Association. “But a decision by Trump and Putin to extend the New Start agreement would surely help prevent a new arms race and create more favorable conditions for more ambitious nuclear arms talks with Russia and China.”
Alexandra Bell, senior policy director at the Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation, said: “Now that he has been selected, Mr Billingslea has no time to lose. In less than a year, we could lose the last major treaty constraining the world’s two largest nuclear arsenals.”


theguardian--2020-03-04--What Bloomberg's $500m could have bought instead

There wasn ’ t much good news on Super Tuesday for the more progressive wing of the Democratic party , save for one lesson : money on its own , mercifully , can not , as of yet , buy an entire election .
That ’ s the lesson many drew from the failure of billionaire Mike Bloomberg , who had hoped spending a half billion sliver of his massive fortune on an ad buy and staffing a national campaign might make inroads against former vice-president Joe Biden for the battle of the centrists .
But Bloomberg ’ s announcement @ @ @ @ @ @ @ means the more than $ 500m he spent was wasted on nothing .
Unless you count his sole win in American Samoa .
Wasted is a relative term of course , because for a man reportedly worth over $ 60b , $ 500m to him is practically nothing .
For everyone else it ’ s still , well , $ 500m , and that has prompted some to wonder what good that kind of money could have done spent elsewhere .
Here are some places he might have better spent the cash dump @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a group who purchases medical debt in bulk , every $ 100 donated can alleviate $ 10,000 in oppressive medical bills .
66 % of all US bankruptcies are tied to medical debt issues they say .
So far they ’ ve eliminated around $ 1.3bn in medical debt , but doing some quick math , if Bloomberg had chipped in what he spent on the campaign that might have alleviated … $ 500bn in debt .
Sadly and sickeningly that ’ s not enough to clear everyone ’ s tab in America @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , and good enough to change hundreds of thousands of lives over night .
Alas .
For around 1/10 of what he spent on getting embarrassed in front of the world , Bloomberg also could have replaced all of the old lead pipes in Flint , Michigan , then had hundreds of millions left over to pull every citizen there – or in many other cities – out of poverty .
It ’ s a point that many made when the campaign complained about their headquarters there being lightly vandalized last month .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ in the bucket of the $ 1.4tn owed in student loan debt in America , with an average outstanding loan of around $ 37,000 , that ’ s roughly 150,000 people whose lives the former New York City mayor could have transformed for the better .
Think about all the good all those people unshackled at once from their predatory student loans might go on to do .
With a reported 60,000-80,000 people living unhoused in New York City , his hometown , Bloomberg certainly would have had to lay out a bit @ @ @ @ @ @ @ all homes , certainly in one of the most expensive cities in the country , but with an average home price across the US of about $ 226,000 that ’ s well over 2,200 people he could have simply purchased a home for .
Just like that .
Here ’ s a house .
It ’ s all yours now .
He ’ d barely even notice the money was gone .
As an ardent believer in democracy , Bloomberg is no doubt aggrieved by Florida Republicans ’ efforts to reverse engineer a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ voters , making it harder for felons to vote .
Bloomberg could make a huge dent in the hundreds of millions outstanding , restoring the right to vote to thousands , or alternatively , he might have funded any number of campaigns against Republicans in the state actively working to disenfranchise its own citizens .
His call , really !

There wasn’t much good news on Super Tuesday for the more progressive wing of the Democratic party, save for one lesson: money on its own, mercifully, cannot, as of yet, buy an entire election.
That’s the lesson many drew from the failure of billionaire Mike Bloomberg, who had hoped spending a half billion sliver of his massive fortune on an ad buy and staffing a national campaign might make inroads against former vice-president Joe Biden for the battle of the centrists.
But Bloomberg’s announcement today that he will be dropping out means the more than $500m he spent was wasted on nothing. Unless you count his sole win in American Samoa.
Wasted is a relative term of course, because for a man reportedly worth over $60b, $500m to him is practically nothing. For everyone else it’s still, well, $500m, and that has prompted some to wonder what good that kind of money could have done spent elsewhere.
Here are some places he might have better spent the cash dump:
Clearing medical debt
According to RIP Medical Debt, a group who purchases medical debt in bulk, every $100 donated can alleviate $10,000 in oppressive medical bills. 66% of all US bankruptcies are tied to medical debt issues they say. So far they’ve eliminated around $1.3bn in medical debt, but doing some quick math, if Bloomberg had chipped in what he spent on the campaign that might have alleviated … $50bn in debt. Sadly and sickeningly that’s not enough to clear everyone’s tab in America, but it’s pretty close, and good enough to change hundreds of thousands of lives over night. Alas.
Cleaning up Flint
For around 1/10 of what he spent on getting embarrassed in front of the world, Bloomberg also could have replaced all of the old lead pipes in Flint, Michigan, then had hundreds of millions left over to pull every citizen there – or in many other cities – out of poverty. It’s a point that many made when the campaign complained about their headquarters there being lightly vandalized last month.
Pay off student debt
While $500m might be a drop in the bucket of the $1.4tn owed in student loan debt in America, with an average outstanding loan of around $37,000, that’s roughly 150,000 people whose lives the former New York City mayor could have transformed for the better. Think about all the good all those people unshackled at once from their predatory student loans might go on to do.
House the homeless
With a reported 60,000-80,000 people living unhoused in New York City, his hometown, Bloomberg certainly would have had to lay out a bit more than $500m to give them all homes, certainly in one of the most expensive cities in the country, but with an average home price across the US of about $226,000 that’s well over 2,200 people he could have simply purchased a home for. Just like that. Here’s a house. It’s all yours now. He’d barely even notice the money was gone.
Restore voting rights to felons
As an ardent believer in democracy, Bloomberg is no doubt aggrieved by Florida Republicans’ efforts to reverse engineer a poll tax against the will of the voters, making it harder for felons to vote. Bloomberg could make a huge dent in the hundreds of millions outstanding, restoring the right to vote to thousands, or alternatively, he might have funded any number of campaigns against Republicans in the state actively working to disenfranchise its own citizens. His call, really!
03:49 Mike Bloomberg: four issues that hindered his presidential hopes – video