A2 WEDNESDAY, MARCH 18, 2020 LATIMES.COM
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Joe Biden
took another
step toward
locking up the
Democratic
nomination
on Tuesday.
His lead in
delegates has
begun to look
insurmountable.
But now the presidential
race enters uncharted terri-
tory due to the coronavirus
crisis. Tuesday’s three pri-
maries may be the last large
campaign gatherings for a
month or more; at least five
other states are postponing
their primaries.
The normal rituals of a
campaign — giant rallies,
town meetings, barnstorm-
ing tours — have been can-
celed. The Democratic and
Republican political con-
ventions, scheduled for July
and August, may be next.
So what should Biden
do? Here’s my advice.
One: Be presidential.
Biden is best when
he contrasts himself with
President Trump. His
strong suit is his eight years
as President Obama’s vice
president — but he has to
answer for old votes from his
36 years in the Senate before
that.
His strongest moment in
his one-on-one debate with
Bernie Sanders on Sunday
was his crisp answer on how
he would address the coro-
navirus crisis as president.
“First of all, I have to take
care of those who, in fact,
are exposed or likely to be
exposed to the virus, and
that means we have to do
testing,” he said. “Secondly,
I would make sure that
every state in the union had
at least 10 places where they
had drive-through testing
arrangements.
“I would also, at this
point, deal with the need to
begin to plan for the need
for additional hospital
beds.... But we have to deal
with the economic fallout
quickly, and that means
making sure the people who
in fact lose their job, don’t
get a paycheck, can’t pay
their mortgage, are able to
pay it.”
David Axelrod, Obama’s
former political strategist,
has often been critical of
Biden’s campaign, but he
pronounced that answer
“sensational.”
“He sounded like a guy
who knew how to handle it,”
Axelrod said.
In the weeks ahead,
expect Biden to praise the
Trump administration’s
actions to stem the epidem-
ic when they work, but draw
clear differences on Trump’s
economic response.
Two: Reach out to Sand-ers and his voters.
The race for the nomina-
tion isn’t over unless Sand-
ers drops out. The Vermont
senator has every right to
compete for votes, espe-
cially with primaries on hold
in New York, Ohio, Georgia
and other states.
But that shouldn’t stop
Biden and Sanders from
reconciling. In Sunday’s
debate, Sanders was un-
characteristically re-
strained in his critiques of
Biden’s positions. At one
point, he even said Biden’s
“heart is in the right place.”
Biden, on the other
hand, criticized Sanders’
“Medicare for all” health-
care plan and pointed out
that a single-payer system
in Italy hasn’t coped well
with the coronavirus epi-
demic.
He might have been
better served by emphasiz-
ing what he and Sanders
have in common — a com-
mitment to universal
healthcare, for example.
Biden’s aides argue that
even though he’s a moder-
ate Democrat, his platform
is more progressive than
any previous Democratic
nominees, including Obama
and Hillary Clinton.
Like Sanders, Bidenwants to impose big tax
increases on the wealthy —
although not as big. Like
Sanders, he wants to make
college tuition-free for most
families, although Biden’s
plan has an income cap of
$125,000.
Sanders’ healthcare plan
would go further than Bid-
en’s by abolishing private
insurance. Biden would
allow private plans to con-
tinue, but launch a federal
plan that anyone could join.
Those differences are
deep, but not unbridgeable.
Each candidate has said he
will support whomever wins
the nomination.
Three: Even without
rallies, a candidate can
make news.
In Sunday’s debate,
Biden grabbed headlines by
promising to choose a wom-
an as his running mate.
The betting among polit-
ical strategists is that Biden
is most likely to choose Sen.
Amy Klobuchar of Minne-
sota, who ran strongly in
New Hampshire, dropped
out of the race after South
Carolina, and endorsed the
former vice president quick-
ly enough to help him win in
Minnesota. Her positions
are close to Biden’s, and
she’s thought to have someappeal to white voters in the
swing states of the Upper
Midwest.
Finally, get plenty of rest.
This year’s campaign has
produced the mystery of the
two Joe Bidens.
He’s long been a gaffe
machine, prone to stumble
over his words or make an
impolitic remark. He’s been
especially tongue-tied in
debates with lots of candi-
dates shouting to be heard
— but there won’t be any
more of those.
But he also can be force-
ful and crisp. He can even be
eloquent, as he was in his
victory speeches after South
Carolina and Super Tues-
day. He rarely stumbles in
interviews or impromptu
exchanges with reporters —
as I found when I watched
him campaign in Iowa.
At 77, he’s undeniably
lost a step from the Biden
who first ran for president in
1988 or for vice president in- But claims by Trump
and his supporters that
Biden suffers from some
form of dementia are ma-
licious and don’t stand up.
And any voter who
watches a highlight reel of
Biden’s flubs should com-
pare it with Trump’s stum-
bles and lies, which are at
least as alarming — and the
president is only 74.
Besides, Biden readily
admits that he’s gaffe-
prone. “As long as they
compare me to Donald
Trump, it’s a good thing,” he
said in Iowa.
Still, any candidate in his
70s should know his limits.
In 1984, President Reagan,
then 73, trimmed his reelec-
tion campaign appearances
to one a day, and mostly
read set-piece speeches.
Reagan won 49 states.
McManus’ column appears
on Sunday and Wednesday.How Biden must campaign
in this uncharted territory
Pointers for the Democratic front-runner during the coronavirus crisis
DOYLE McMANUSLETTER FROM WASHINGTON
JOE BIDEN,speaking last week in Wilmington, Del., about the coronavirus out-
break, will have to reach voters without the benefit of big rallies and town halls.Drew AngererGetty ImagesPRESIDENT REAGANmanaged to campaign effec-
tively at age 73 by making just one appearance a day.Michael EvansWhite HouseWorkers churn out masks in Mumbai, India, on Tuesday. Indian authorities said Tuesday that they would
not widen testing for the novel coronavirus, as most affected nations are doing, despite criticism that lim-
ited testing could conceal COVID-19 cases in the second-most populous country. The World Health Or-
ganization has urged countries to test as many people as possible to curb the pandemic, but India has been
testing only those who have traveled from affected countries or come in contact with a confirmed case and
shown symptoms after two weeks of quarantine. On Tuesday it added to the list healthcare workers with
symptoms who are treating respiratory patients. Indian officials said the WHO guidance didn’t apply in
their country, which had 142 cases and three deaths as of Tuesday. Balram Bharghava of the Indian Coun-
cil of Medical Research called the guidance “premature” for India, where community transmission hadn’t
yet been detected. “Therefore it creates more fear, more paranoia and more hype,” he said.1,000 WORDS: MUMBAI, India
Rafiq MaqboolAssociated PressMASK MAKERS