Fading...

It’s too early to know where this Democratic story is headed in the fight to unseat Donald Trump. But some things are already clear.

The first is that Joe Biden’s campaign is on life support.  After two crushing defeats, there’s no doubt about the prognosis: the former vice-president is fading fast.

Back in 2008 and 2016, Hillary Clinton ran two versions of the argument that voters wanted a mix of experience and change: of looking back and looking forward. That argument failed among Democrats the first time, and won the national popular vote the second time around by a large margin.

But it has resoundingly failed amid the wreckage of Donald Trump’s presidency, just as it did amid the carnage of George W Bush’s. Democratic voters want more change, not less change. 

Biden likes to say that we should compare him to the alternative, not the almighty. Sadly the voters have made the comparison and found him wanting against both.

New Hampshire buried not one but three campaigns besides Biden’s. Elizabeth Warren had built a brilliant campaign around her many policy proposals until she ran into the brick wall of trying to make sense of Bernie Sanders’ signature idea: Medicare for All.

Who knew it would be so hard to make the math work to avoid taxing everybody while also massively expanding government healthcare? It’s much easier to keep people excited about abolishing private insurance if you don’t talk about taxes.