Los Angeles Times - 11.03.2020

A2 WEDNESDAY, MARCH 11, 2020 LATIMES.COM

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bipartisanship once Trump

was exorcised.

But after a series of

flirtations with newer, more

exciting candidates, most

Democratic voters appear

to be returning to the well-

worn, reassuring Biden.

One reason is that after a

series of decisive primaries

he has finally won the elect-

ability argument. A CNN

poll released this week

found that 66% of Demo-

cratic voters saw Biden as

the candidate with the best

chance of defeating Trump,

against 26% for Sanders.

The poll suggested that

some voters who prefer

Sanders’ policy positions

had decided to vote for

Biden instead, on grounds

of electability. (Call them

“Bernie-Biden voters.”)

The CNN poll also

showed a second reason for

Biden’s surge: Asked which

candidate “would best

handle a major crisis,” 65%

of Democrats named Biden,

23% Sanders.

That could be an impor-

tant factor in November.

Crisis management is on

voters’ minds and will re-

main there as long as the

coronavirus epidemic and

its impact on the economy

persist.

Trump’s response to the

crisis has been noisy, self-

congratulatory and confus-

ing.

“Our coronavirus team

has been doing a great job,”

he tweeted Tuesday.

“It will go away; just stay

calm,” he told reporters,

referring to the epidemic.

Biden has seized the

Will co-

ronavirus

make Joe

Biden presi-

dent?

When he

launched his

presidential

campaign 10

months ago,

Biden cast himself as a

sober, seasoned antidote to

the disruptive politics and

chaotic style of Donald

Trump.

Biden’s campaign has

relied on two underlying

messages: a claim that he’s

the Democrat best able to

defeat Trump and a prom-

ise to restore an older, more

conciliatory brand of poli-

tics.

“We need plain, basic

decency,” he says.

He has promised, in

effect, to Make America

Normal Again.

Biden deployed that

message not only against

President Trump, but also

to contrast with his strong-

est Democratic rival, Sen.

Bernie Sanders.

“Americans aren’t look-

ing for revolution,” Biden

said last month. “They’re

looking for a more practical

path.”

At first, it wasn’t clear

that those themes were

what Democratic voters

wanted. The rap against

Biden was that he was in-

curably nostalgic, anachro-

nistic, even out of touch —

as when he claimed Repub-

licans would experience “an

epiphany” and revert to

opportunity to renew his

role as the anti-Trump.

“I wish he would just be

quiet,” Biden said. “Just let

the experts speak.”

Trump didn’t take his

advice.

It’s too early, of course,

to know what effect the

coronavirus will have on an

election that’s almost eight

months away. (And as a

technical matter, Biden

doesn’t have his party’s

nomination yet.)

We don’t know how bad

the epidemic will be or how

long it will last. We don’t

know whether the economy

will recover quickly or slide

into recession.

We do know that voters

—all except the most parti-

san ones — often judge

presidents on how well they

manage crises. George W.

Bush’s public standing

tumbled after his adminis-

tration mismanaged relief

efforts in New Orleans after

Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

Barack Obama’s fortunes

sagged after the bungled

rollout of his healthcare

plan in 2013.

Trump doesn’t deserve

blame for the coronavirus,

or even for its entry into the

United States, which he

tried but failed to prevent.

But he surely deserves to

be held accountable for his

administration’s manage-

ment of the ensuing crisis,

as Bush and Obama were.

As the epidemic spreads,

voters are unlikely to forget

that Trump spent weeks

insisting he had it under

control. (He didn’t.) Or that

he insisted testing was

available for everyone who

needed it. (It isn’t.) Or that

he claimed the virus would

“magically” disappear in

April. (It may die down, but

it may also come back.)

And if the economy takes

a serious hit, voters will

likely hold that against him

too — just as they have given

him credit, deserved or not,

for the economy’s strength.

A president who trum-

peted stock market ad-

vances as evidence of his

brilliance may have a hard

time pinning responsibility

for a market slump on other

countries — although

Trump is trying.

Voters pay attention to a

president’s leadership in a

crisis — his grasp of the

issues, his steadiness, his

ability to manage unexpect-

ed circumstances. So far,

Trump is failing those tests.

Trump won the presi-

dency as an outsider who

promised to shake things

up. After three years of

disruption, voters may be

yearning for an insider who

can make things work.

Even if it’s Joe Biden,

who gives voters the option

of what investors call a flight

to safety — boring but safe.

If coronavirus has made

voters yearn for a respite

from disruption, Biden’s

chances of winning in No-

vember have improved.

He wasn’t every voter’s

first choice, to be sure. But

this may be a year when

voters consider “unexcit-

ing” a virtue.

McManus’ column appears

on Sunday and Wednesday.

LETTER FROM WASHINGTON

JOE BIDENcampaigned in Detroit on Monday with Kamala Harris, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and

Cory Booker, from left. The coronavirus may help Biden’s chances as voters look for steadier leadership.

Scott OlsonGetty Images

Coronavirus in his corner

Biden’s promise to restore normalcy comes amid growing crisis

DOYLE McMANUS

A Venezuelan demonstrator faces a phalanx of police officers during a march Tuesday in Caracas, the

capital. Security forces fired tear gas to repel the anti-government march led by opposition leader Juan

Guaido, who is struggling to reignite street protests to capitalize on mounting international pressure on

embattled socialist President Nicolas Maduro. Thousands gathered in a neighborhood of Caracas with the

goal of taking back the opposition-dominated National Assembly. Smaller protests took place in several

cities across the country. The assembly was seized more than two months ago by a splinter faction of the

opposition that claimed leadership of the legislature with the support of Maduro’s ruling socialist party.

1,000 WORDS:CARACAS, Venezuela

Matias DelacroixAssociated Press

HUMAN BARRICADE