If it were a bet, I would put my money on Bernie. He may be old but he's really got his shit together, enough so to motivate the youngest generation of voters. There's no doubt in my mind that if Bernie would have been the democratic nominee last time around, he would be president right now.
The debates will really help sort things out. If Bernie shines there and brings a message that really resonated with people as he did last time, he's gonna squash Trump. The only reason Trump won is because there was such a bad reaction to Hillary being the dem candidate. She turned off a lot of dem voters and inspired a lot of repubs who otherwise might have sat on the couch to go out and vote against her.
Bernie will be helped by a contingency of voters coming out of the woodwork who want to ensure that we won't get Trump again. I doubt Biden fans would sit the election out if Bernie became the nominee, however, if Biden is the nominee a lot of Bernie fans will probably sit it out. Biden is too crusty and establishment-entrenched. He's a turnoff to anybody who is inspired by the thought of "real change".
As we can see with Obama and now Trump, there is no "real change," only the illusion of change. But Biden doesn't even carry the illusion.
Bernie all the way.
Bonus points if he picks Tulsi Gabbard as his running mate. Think about it:
- first Jewish president
- first female vice president
That combo has to inspire a lot of people. The people who find it uninspiring would probably vote Republican anyway.
I agree Nutildah that Bernie Sanders and Tulsi Gabbard would be a dream team, and would have the best shot for the democrats to win the election. Bernie's age doesn't detract from his appeal and in fact might help. He has a lot of energy and he's crystal clear about what he stands for. I think if anybody can reach the republican working class, he can. He's so passionate about the working class and gets people fired up with some hope and enthusiasm.
Tulsi would add the perfect touch to the dem. ticket. She' a intelligent, bright, attractive, and comes across relaxed and graceful. She doesn't appear to have any of that excessive confrontational snarkiness, so I don't think she would be ridiculed as Palin was.
And she hasn't been around long enough to be as polarizing, and hated as Hilary was. Plus Amerca can more likely handle a female Vice President, first.. Baby steps.
Also Tulsi, with a Samoan/European, raised in Samoa, a practicing Hindu, and an Iraq war veteran, to boot, is huge plus for a diverse cross-section of voters. Hindus and Vets that are Trump supporters might be persuaded to switch and support her. So I agree this would be an excellent democratic ticket. And I will be excited and have hope for a victory.
I'm not sure the Dems would be that daring. But I Hope so! If they wake up and smell the coffee instead of trying to play it too safe with Biden, or one of the other lackluster candidate. I don't have anything against them but I don't think they would win against Trump either.