The Washington Post - 05.03.2020

THURSDAy, MARCH 5 , 2020. THE WASHINGTON POST eZ re A25

“E

nlightened statesmen,” wrote James Madison, “will not always be at the helm.” His genius ex- tended to understatement, and until Tuesday it was approaching probable that by midnight of November’s first Tuesday, sensible Americans would be elated and distraught — elated because someone grotesquely unsuit- ed to the presidency would have been denied that office, but distraught because such a person had won it. To gether, Bernie Sanders and Don- ald Trump would constitute the most repulsive presidential choice in U.S. history. The Democratic Party, how- ever, is not the world’s oldest party because it fecklessly allows its presidential nomination to be grasped by someone who — let us plainly state the most important fact about Sand- ers — dislikes this nation. Joe Biden has little to say that is remarkable and he says it in a re- markably meandering manner, but grant his request: Don’t compare him with the Almighty, compare him with the alternative. The florid Sanders, with his relentless, a rm-waving, high- decibel depiction of America’s history and present as a sordid story of injustices, resembles the woman in the Anthony Trollope novel who scolded “frightfully, loudly, scornfully, and worse than all, continually.” Hav- ing called this country a “hellhole,” President Trump’s first presidential words lamented “American carnage.” Michelangelo could see a statue in a stone. Sanders and Trump, those temperamental twins, see failure in a republic that multitudes risk death to reach. Whether Biden or Trump is inaugurated next Jan. 20 depends on whether Democratic primary voters complete the task of using warm patriotism and cold arithmetic to extinguish Sanders’s fantasies. Oliver Wendell Holmes, who noted Theodore Roosevelt’s “strenuous vagueness,” would have marveled at Sanders’s pixie-dust calculations. Trump’s congressional accomplices will solemnly lecture that Sanders portends fiscal recklessness, but a nation snoozing through trillion- d ollar deficits might shrug about Sanders’s indifference to multi- t rillion-dollar details about his agen- da. “Yeah, but I won’t be here” was Trump’s r esponse w hen someone p os- sessing the patience of Job explained to him the unsustainable trajectory of entitlement programs. Sanders’s re- sponse probably would be similarly breezy were he informed that confis- cating every dime of every billionaire would not come close to paying for his Tinkertoy approach to government: Pull apart and reassemble entire sectors of society (e.g., health care’s one-sixth of the economy). Gulliver in his travels met someone

like Sanders working on “a project for extracting sunbeams out of cucum- bers.” If Sanders is not nominated, his seething core supporters, for whom indignation is as delicious as bacon (or the vegan equivalent), will not use their indoor voices or play nicely with a nominee who won fewer delegates than Sanders won before the convention. Sanders, who is nonjudgmental about Cuba’s “different value system,” has said — stay tuned — it is a high moral imperative that the convention jettison the rule that the nominee must have a majority, not a plurality, of delegates. A second convention ballot would create a second convention by infusing 771 superdelegates — elected officials and other party leaders — into the process. Excluding them from this year’s first ballot advanced the century-old progressive goal of reducing conventions to rati- fying rather than deliberative bodies. The convention will act on something made obvious by Sanders’s most telling shellackings Tuesday, in the swing states Virginia and North Carolina: With Sanders atop every ticket, down-ballot carnage probably would engulf many state legislature candidates in this census year — before 2022, some state legislatures will redraw congressional districts — which would enable Republican- c ontrolled legislatures to disadvan- tage Democratic congressional candidates for a decade. After To m Steyer spent about $400 for each of his 61,048 South Carolina votes, Mike Bloomberg’s approxi- mately $500 million bought this pearl beyond price: the affection of Ameri- can Samoa. These redundant refuta- tions of the theory that money can make vanity candidacies viable should calm those campaign “reform- ers” whose superstition is that the power of political money is such that government should regulate it (and by doing so stipulate the permissible quantity of political speech it can finance). Sanders’s prodigious fundraising can keep him campaigning but cannot fend off the failure that certainly awaits him now that Bloomberg, by his withdrawal, has underscored Democrats’ determination to let nothing interfere with defeating Trump. So, the country soon can turn to considering this: Biden has twice experienced an agony that has become relatively rare but until recently in the human story was commonplace, that of a parent burying a child. This might be related to his approach to politics as an arena of transactions, not of ever- i mpending tragedies. Such emotional maturity is a prerequisite for restor- ing national equilibrium. [email protected]

GEORGE F. WILL

Americans might be

saved from dismay

W

hen critics of President Trump argue that he is a threat to democracy, his supporters tell us to relax. No o ne is being exiled to Alaska or locked up for criticizing the supreme leader. The courts, Congress and the media all continue to function. Elections aren’t being canceled. All true, but it offers scant comfort given the historical experience of how other countries have lost their freedom. There is seldom a moment of clarity, at least not early on, when a dictator an- nounces that democracy has been abol- ished. Much more common is for aspiring autocrats to chip away a t the foundations of liberal democracy — judicial indepen- dence, freedom of the press, minority rights, an apolitical civil service and so on — while maintaining its facade. Unfortunately, this type of democratic erosion is now the norm across the world. The “Freedom in the World 2020” s urvey, released Wednesday by Freedom House, reports that 2019 saw the 14th year in a row of political deterioration, with 64 countries experiencing a loss of liber- ties, while only 37 experienced improve- ments. Some of the worst repression is occurring in China as a result of what the report rightly describes as “the Chinese Communist Party’s ongoing campaign of cultural annihilation in Xinjiang.” But you expect repression from a communist regime. What is truly disheartening is to read that during the past year, “25 of the world’s 41 established democracies experienced net losses” of freedom. The worst offender is the world’s larg- est democracy, India. The recent anti- Muslim pogroms in New Delhi — which killed 46 people and were carried out with the connivance of senior police officers — are sadly indicative of the country’s illiberal direction under Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Hindu nationalist party, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). As Freedom House notes: “While India continues to earn a Free rating and held successful elections last spring, the BJP has distanced itself from the country’s founding commitments to pluralism and individual rights, without which democracy cannot long survive.” Less dramatic but nevertheless de- pressing is the erosion of U.S. democracy. Since 2009, the United States has fallen eight points on Freedom House’s 100- point scale. With a score of 86, we are now ranked behind countries such as Greece, Slovakia, Italy and Mauritius. Freedom House points out some alarming trends of late, which include “an ongoing de- cline in fair and equal treatment of refu- gees and asylum seekers,” Trump’s declaration of “a national emergency in order to redirect Defense Department funds to the construction of a wall along the southern border,” his attempt to “extract a personal political favor from Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky,” and his orders to “current and former officials to defy a ll congressional subpoenas for doc- ument and testimony about the matter.” These are only a small part of Trump’s efforts to undermine checks and balanc- es, which include an ongoing purge of officials deemed traitors to Trumpism, blatant political interference with the administration of justice, and frivolous libel suits against The Post and the New York Times intended to silence critics. Similar erosion is occurring in one of the United States’ closest allies, Israel, where Prime Minister Benjamin Netan- yahu has emerged from the latest election on Monday in a strong position to form a new government despite his in- dictment on corruption charges. Free- dom House notes that “Netanyahu has taken increasingly drastic steps to main- tain the loyalty of far-right groups, en- trenching and expanding West Bank set- tlements at the expense of the moribund Palestinian peace process, banning for- eign activists based on their opposition to such policies, and enacting a discrimina- tory law that reserved the right of self- d etermination in Israel to the Jewish people.” There is a real danger that countries such as India, the United States and Israel may now be going down the same road that Hungary and Poland have already traveled. Under Prime Minister Viktor Orban, Hungary has lost 20 points in the “Freedom in the World” survey over the past decade and become the first Europe- an Union member to be classified as only “Partly Free.” Under the Law and Justice party, meanwhile, Poland’s f reedom score has fallen nine points since 2015. The good news is that, just as there is nothing inevitable about democracy’s tri- umph, so, too, there is nothing inevitable about its demise. As Freedom House notes: “The mass protests that emerged or persisted in 2019 in every region of the world are a reminder that the universal yearning for equality, justice and freedom from oppression can never be extin- guished.” To prevent further erosion of freedom, it is imperative to remove anti- democratic leaders from power. While that requires a revolution in China, here it only requires high voter turnout. The United States, which has joined the retreat from democratic ideals in the past three years, can now take the lead in renewing democracy by voting Trump out of office. If we fail to seize this opportunity, t he erosion o f our d emocra- cy will only accelerate. Twitter: @MaxBoot

MAX BOOT

Freedom

is declining —

including here

O

ne of the many things we learned on Super Tuesday is this: The perception that the Democratic Party has lurched to the left is greatly exaggerated. The results of what amounted to a nationwide primary were an endorsement of gradualism over revolution, and pragmatism above both of them. This, more than anything else we’ve seen lately, should scare President Trump’s campaign. And it obviously does, as evidenced by the increasingly desperate and pathetic efforts by Trump and his team to shill for Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), a democratic socialist. The president has been filling his Twitter feed with laments that Sanders is being mistreated and faux concerns that the race is being rigged against him. No doubt Russian bots are adding to the chorus as well. But then, what would you expect? Trump is apparently so terrified of former vice president Joe Biden that he felt compelled to commit an abuse of power that led to his impeachment. The campaign for the 2020 Democrat- ic nomination has taken more than its share of seemingly impossible turns, and there may well be more to come. The velocity with which expectations have formed and then exploded has been unlike anything in memory. But at least for now, the party has returned to its original theory of the case, which is that the man who served as No. 2 during Barack Obama’s presidency is the Democrats’ safest bet to bring an end to Trump’s. Exit polls indicated that, with only a handful of exceptions, Democratic voters in the 14 states that cast their ballots Tuesday would prefer a president who would return to Obama’s policies over one who would chart a more liberal direction. Biden dominated among conservative and moderate primary voters, which was not exactly a surprise. But he also did well among the large share who called themselves somewhat liberal, especially those who live in Southern states. In the early going of this primary season, Biden’s shaky performance raised understandable doubts about his capability as a candidate to carry the party across the finish line. In debates and on the stump, he often seemed to be missing a step. Biden finished miserably in Iowa and New Hampshire, and ran a distant second to Sanders in Nevada. It began to

appear that in a large field in which the moderate vote would be split among a handful of credible candidates, the Ver- mont senator would win pluralities in enough states to forge ahead in the race for convention delegates. That prospect horrified many who believed that picking Sanders would guarantee a second term for Trump, possibly by a landslide. So on Tuesday, voters across the Democratic coalition — taking their lead from the African Ameri- cans in South Carolina who lifted him to a resounding victory three days before — decided to hoist Biden on their own shoulders. It helped that much of the party establishment, including several of Biden’s former rivals who had left the race, scrambled aboard his effort. This was a show of collective purpose that Republicans had been unable to muster in 2016, when they were desperate to stop Trump’s hostile takeover of their party. On Wednesday, former New York may- or Mike Bloomberg, whose campaign of financial shock-and-awe failed to do either on Tuesday, gave up his own bid and threw his backing (and presumably, tens of millions of dollars to come) to Biden. The once-robust candidacy of Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), who was humiliated when she placed third in a state that has elected her twice, is also near its end. There is no path forward for her. The only question now is whether Warren will endorse Sanders or Biden, or decide that she will remain more rele- vant if she doesn’t. Sanders h as what he needs — i ntense- ly loyal supporters and a seemingly bottomless supply of contributions — to continue in the race right up to the party convention this summer in Milwaukee. But the results so far do not back up his claim that he can bring an army of new voters with him and beyond to Novem- ber. On Tuesday, t he states that showed the biggest primary turnout gains over 2016 — among them, Virginia, North Carolina and Te xas — were all won by Biden. (California, where Sanders is ahead, was still counting ballots as I wrote this.) Democrats should not fear what lies ahead, even if it is a long and robust battle between the only two people who still have a shot. At the end of it, the country will have a far clearer idea of what the party stands for — and so will the Democrats themselves. [email protected]

KAREN TUMULTY

The Super Tuesday results

should scare Trump

H

arry S. Truman was a politician whose career was coming to an abrupt end. Three years earlier, the former Missouri senator had assumed the presidency after Franklin Roosevelt’s death. Despite visionary leadership that created the postwar world in which we still live, Truman was plagued by low approval ratings and mocked unmercifully even by members of his own party, who joined in chants of “To err is Truman” and “We’re just mild about Harry.” When the embattled incumbent went to bed on election night in the fall of 1948, national commentators were de- claring that Republican New Yo rk Gov. Thomas Dewey would be the next president of the United States. And by the time Truman awoke the next morn- ing, the Chicago Daily Tribune was blasting out the bold headline “Dewey Defeats Truman.” Except, of course, he didn’t. In a matter of hours, the American people disproved pretty much every- thing commentators and pollsters had been predicting for months. The political world shifted suddenly on its axis, and no one saw it coming. Seventy-two years would pass before another presidential candidate’s for- tu nes would shift as abruptly as Tru- man’s did in the 1948 presidential election. And that vertiginous change just happened over the past 72 hours. Joe Biden’s Super Tuesday resurrec- tion was even more surprising than Donald Trump’s upset 2016 victory over Hillary Clinton. That campaign’s final 10 days were so thrown into chaos by then-FBI Director James B. Comey’s letter telling Congress the Clinton email probe had been reopened that an air of uncertainty hung over election night. But last week, there was no question that Biden’s presidential run was dead in the water. His campaign was out of money; his political organization a joke; his support among black voters collaps- ing. The former vice president’s path to victory was cluttered by a talented group of moderate candidates trying to elbow him aside, and he once again was being mocked as a man running for president since 1987 who had never won a single primary contest. The echoes of past gaffes and the fear of future failures hung heavy over Biden’s campaign headquar- ters. And then South Carolina and Super Tuesday happened. Suddenly, Biden was invincible, rolling up stunning victories in Te xas, Massachusetts and Maine and

routing all challengers in Virginia, Ala- bama and Minnesota. Super Tuesday brought even better news for Democrats focused on remov- ing Trump from the presidency, with turnout skyrocketing in states such as Virginia. By the end of Super Tuesday, t he rising Biden vote count from a coalition of suburban moderates, pragmatic white liberals and black voters of all back- grounds seemed to build a political wall strong enough to block Trump’s reelection bid. That assumes, of course, that Biden will continue to improve on the campaign trail. He has been plagued by uneven debate performances this year, and there’s that pattern of gaffes and misstatements stretching back decades. Add to those concerns the withering criticism his campaign has received from party insiders, most prominently Rep. James E. Clyburn, the South Caroli- na kingmaker whose endorsement may have single-handedly turned the tide in Biden’s favor. But Biden’s brand may finally tran- scend the occasional missteps. He is a trusted and tested national political figure known for his empathy, decency and, above all, ability to come back from the hardest blows. In a week, he proved his declaration to the New York Times editorial board — “I ain’t dead. I’m not going to die” — to be nothing less than political prophecy. Tuesday night’s results will only reinforce voters’ belief that when he gets knocked down, Jean Biden’s son climbs back to his feet, brushes himself off and walks back into the fight. The question now facing Biden is whether someone so accustomed to running presidential campaigns as an un- derdog can thrive as a front-runner. After all, he has already had and lost that role once this cycle. How Biden handles this latest challenge will determine whether he can win key upcoming primary con- tests in Mississippi, Michigan and Flori- da. If he does, then Trump will soon be forced to reckon with something he clearly fears more than any special coun- sel investigation or impeachment pro- ceeding — a reelection campaign against Joe Biden. Trump was so desperate to avoid that matchup that he got himself impeached. Now, the only person who can stop it from happening this fall is Biden himself. But if the past week proved anything, it is that as with Truman so many years ago, history’s wind is finally at Joe Biden’s back. [email protected]

JOE SCARBOROUGH

Joe Biden is back in business.

But can he hold his lead?

MelIna Mara/tHe WasHIngton Post Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden during a Super Tuesday election-night party at Baldwin Hills Recreation Center in Los Angeles.

CHRISTINE EMBA

excerpted from washingtonpost.com/people/christine-emba

Jill Biden’s star turn The most awe-inspiring event this Super Tuesday wasn’t Joe Biden’s tidal wave of wins. It w as Jill B iden’s b lock and tackle. While Biden, Mister, was celebrating in Los Angeles on Tuesday night, protesters rushed the podium. M rs. Biden j umped to interpose her body between her husband and the first sign-waving vegan. With lightning speed, she then swung around and stiff-armed a second. Jill was then joined by Symone D. Sanders, a senior campaign adviser, who helped wrestle the protester o ffstage. Joe Biden looked on in alarm. After his wife emerged from the scrum (“We’re okay!” she said, patting him on the arm), he went back to addressing his crowd. In a way, the moment w as a microcosm of the entire Democratic primary season: energetic younger women protecting fragile older men as the latter stand around in an egocentric daze. Jill, 68 to Joe’s 77, was only the most physical manifestation of this phenome- non. In the past few debates, a sharp and sprightly Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D- Mass.) bodied (there’s no other word for it) Mike Bloomberg to let Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) shine, sacrificing some of

her own likability in the p rocess. Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) weaponized her “Midwestern nice” a gainst Pete Buttigieg. She then dropped out of the race to help the party c oalesce around B iden. Non-candidates did their part, too. It was Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) and Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) who endorsed Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) in October after a heart attack (and ensuing loss of confidence) threatened to take the septuagenarian s enator o ut of the race. This is a common s tate of affairs. For all of our advances in gender equality, women are still expected to be the t eam players who fade without complaint into the background i n order for a man to seek the light. Women are rarely thanked for their contributions, but they are often pun- ished for stepping out o f the role. Jill Biden’s bodyguard transformation embodied the doggedness and devotion women are expected to show. The twist was that the physicality of her assistance made it too obvious to ignore. Once the initial shock was past, the cheering began. This time it was for Jill, too. Like many others, I loved s eeing f emale fortitude tumble into the spotlight. What I’d love even more is to see a female candidate finally get to stay t here.

The Washington Post - 05.03.2020

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