What Does Joe Biden Need to Do Now?

[MineralMan]

Well, just what he's doing. He's showing up in various places and giving some encouraging speeches. He's raising money. He's talking to people. That's what he needs to do.

He doesn't need to compare himself to other Democratic candidates at all. He does need to keep poking at Donald Trump. After all, he is the Anti-Trump, and that's working great for him.

As he goes here and there, he can take up one important issue at a time and say what he plans to do about that issue, in general terms. He doesn't need to describe his intentions in great detail, though. For example, when he talks about climate change, he can point to his early support for measures to fight that and promise that he'll keep right on working on that issue. He can also point at Trump and talk about how Trump's denialism is making things worse.

Similarly, on health care, he can point to his support for ACA and his continuing support of a public option that ensures that nobody goes without health care. He can point at Donald Trump and the Republicans and point out that they have no plan at all, except for junk insurance that covers nothing and costs people enormous amounts in deductibles, while returning to the days of existing condition limitations.

On the cost of higher education, he can continue to call for tuition-free public college and university education and measures that make it easier for people to get our from under massive student loan debt, including forgiveness programs for those who are hopelessly locked into an impossible repayment cycle.

He can call on his long-time support for labor unions and attack Trump for his reckless policies with tariffs and tax cuts only for the wealthy. He is a true friend of the middle class, not a fake rich man who promises things but never delivers.

For every issue, he can have a strong position that reflects his past support and future plans.

What he can do right now is build confidence in his strong, capable leadership, honed by decades of service, and point out the false promises made by Trump that turned out to be outright lies. He can safely ignore the rest of the Democratic candidates and focus on himself as the leader that can return the country to pride and respect around the world, instead of the panic and disorder Trump has generated.

That's what he can do and needs to do. That's all he needs to do. He'll continue to move up in the polls and stride into the nomination and general election campaign. He should focus on his own history and capabilities and on Trumps weakness and mistakes.

Simple.

[PatSeg]

1. Joe the "Anti-Trump"

I like that, sounds like a great bumper ticker.

[Funtatlaguy]

2. Deflect Anita Hill questions & don't praise any Republicans.

[MineralMan]

4. He can redirect Anita Hill questions to

the makeup of the Supreme Court and the risk that causes. It all began with the Justice the Anita Hill situation was connected with. He can express his disappointment about what happened and move on to remind people about Garland's appointment and the Republican blocking of his consideration. Then, he can talk about Trump's appointments and how they have unbalanced the court in ways that affect everyone.

[Funtatlaguy]

6. Sounds good to me.

[comradebillyboy]

3. Obama is gone. I want to know what Biden's vision for the future is.

I need more than good feelings.

[MineralMan]

5. That's what you need. You have one vote in the primary elections.

He'll tell you his vision, but might not tell you the details of achieving it right now. Then, he'll ask for your vote in November of 2020, because what the alternative is is unacceptable.

Right now, his campaign will be a broad one. He'll get to the details, but not right now. Right now, he's building toward the primary elections and getting the nomination. Your one vote is offset by millions of votes from people who care about all sorts of different things. Get used to it.

[comradebillyboy]

9. I'll vote for the party nominee in the general but right now

I want to compare the candidates and I'd like to know where they want to take us. My one sad little vote is all I have so I'll cast it as I see fit in the primaries. Obama's third term is looking back not looking forward.

[LongtimeAZDem]

7. Biden knows better than to get into specifics right now

[comradebillyboy]

10. Don't really need too many specifics, but maybe a bit of the vision thing

would be good.

[LongtimeAZDem]

12. Absolutely no need yet; his numbers are high, and strong, and we're over a month to the first debate

For right now, he just needs to look presidential

[MineralMan]

13. Oh, he'll be doing that, I guarantee.

Not everyone will think his vision goes far enough, of course, but that's OK. He just needs to win the nomination, not get 100% of the vote.

[LakeArenal]

8. I think whatever he is doing is working.

Appear in WI MI and Ohio.

Involve young people.

[MineralMan]

14. Oh, I'm sure he'll do that.

And in many other places, too. I expect to see him in Minnesota before too long, as well.

There's time. We have all Spring, Summer, and Fall for the primary races, even before the first caucus is held. He'll be making the rounds, stopping in and speaking about his plans for the future and against the Trump administration's excesses. But, there's time, yet, for him to go on the stump. He's good at that sort of thing.

[Peacetrain]

11. VP Biden has made all the right decisions so far..

Very impressed with his campaign and staff... we went to one meet up in Iowa City.. and they did a great job.. what is that old chestnut... "how a candidate runs their campaign shows how they will govern"... so far so good

[MineralMan]

15. He just needs to keep smiling and telling people he'll fix what

Trump has broken and then get on with building the US back up and improving it.

People will eat that up, I guarantee.

[Peacetrain]

16. Yep!!!!

[Skya Rhen]

18. Yes, Joe is what you call "an experienced, seasoned politician" and I adore him. He's got this...

[MineralMan]

20. He is that, for sure. As long as he holds steady and shows up

in the important states a few times, he'll do fine. He's going to let the other candidates duke it out, but won't take any part in that. He's smart about things like that.

Every time someone like Sanders tries to hit below the belt, Biden will just smile a little more and change the subject to a strong point in his favor. What will happen is that Sanders will lose some voters, and Biden will add some. Sanders doesn't really know how to do a national primary campaign with a large field of candidates in it.

[tonedevil]

17. He needs to be still in the running...

come February when primary voting starts. This is still very early days the number of things between now and then that can make or break his candidacy are greater than the number of grains of sand on a beach. He needs to be careful he is a good man and he has proven to be a capable politician in the past, but he is also very capable of committing grievous unforced errors and there is lingering ill will in some corners due to votes, positions, and actions in the past.

[MineralMan]

19. He will be. In fact, he'll be the front-runner, because there are

so many candidates in the primary race. Right now, he's polling at about 40%. The rest is divided up among about 10 or 12 other candidates. Each of them has a loyal following. Sanders is dropping a little, but the others seem to be holding onto their percentages so far.

Biden's going to be careful not to commit some sort of gaffe that hurts him. He knows what he's doing, I think. He's not going to grandstand or do any such thing. He's going to be that solid, experienced guy who has things under control and has ideas for the future, which he'll tell you about in broader terms than you might like.

He's not going to directly go after supporters of other candidates. He doesn't need to do that. Not even Sanders supporters. He's just going to stay steady and on-track. By doing that, he'll keep his supporters and pick up others along the way. By January 1, 2020, I expect his polling to be at least at 50% and probably higher than that.

After the March 3 Super Tuesday elections, he'll clearly be on track for the nomination, and a lot of the minor candidates will be forced to drop out as their money dries up. He'll pick up their voters at about the same percentage as his polling indicates. They'll put him over the top. I think that after March 4, the field will wind down to about four candidates. Biden, Sanders, Warren, Harris, and Beto or Mayor Joe. I believe this is not going to be a frantic primary season any longer, beginning about then.

[tonedevil]

21. I agree...

he is off to a strong start and at this point the contest seems his to lose. There is a lot of time untill voting starts. I'm not ready to even bet on let alone go all-in on any candidate.

[Cha]

22. KR!