Such was the anguished cry of one of my younger relatives last night, before the election results began coming in. And I sympathize. It would seem a logical move for the Democrats to choose someone young and charismatic -- representing a new generation of political leadership -- to run against the guy who is not only white, male, and septuagenarian, but seemingly addle-brained as well.
And we had many attractive, likely candidates to choose from: Beto O'Rourke, Amy Klobuchar, Pete Buttigieg, Elizabeth Warren. Good speakers, good ideas, attractive personalities.
The first problem was that there were too many of them; they split the "moderate" vote, leaving Bernie Sanders as the potential winner of primary after primary, but never with the support of the majority of the Democratic voters.
The second problem was that each of the younger candidates had peculiar characteristics that prevented him or her from obtaining consistently large votes in a number of primaries,, and thus gaining momentum.
They had some good ideas. Bernie Sanders has some good ideas. The problem is that in this election, the great majority of voters seem to value great ideas less than usual. Their overriding concern is saving the Republic from what is viewed as an existential threat -- the potential dictatorship of Donald Trump.
Great ideas invite debate and dispute among party members. Voters sensed that what was needed was party unity. Joe Biden has some good ideas, but he soft-pedals them. His emphasis is on (1) defeating Trump, and (2) returning the country to an atmosphere where positions can be debated without pitting neighbor against neighbor, Democrat against Republican, racial group against racial group. Where disputes over policy are conducted within a framework of certain traditions of civility and adherence to Constitutional norms.
Biden isn't an exciting candidate. The Super Tuesday results suggest that the voters in most states don't demand an exciting candidate. They aren't indifferent to the problems of disadvantaged groups, or to the need to adopt progressive new programs -- if they were indifferent, they would be Republicans, not Democrats.
But before we debate Bernie's programs, or the specific programs of any other candidate, they know we need to get rid of Trump and we need to return to a certain "normalcy" in our political life. Biden is bland, but he has good instincts. His speeches aren't works of art, but they demonstrate a need to cool down the political temperature to the point where we can analyze the advisability of changes, not simply yell as each other.
I've joked on Facebook about how I've supported almost every candidate this year at some point or another. My state's primary, using mail-in voting, is next Tuesday. I marked my ballot for Biden and mailed it in on Monday, immediately after learning that both Klobuchar and Buttigieg were withdrawing from the race.
I think he will make a good Democratic nominee -- not a great nominee, but this year "good" will be good enough -- and can beat Trump. If Sanders does win the nomination, which now seems less likely, I'd certainly support him. I hope his supporters rally behind Biden if he ends up the ultimate choice of Democratic voters.
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