Democrats prefer power to fashion

And the secret to harnessing this power in 2020 is not freshness, glare or political pyrotechnics. It doesn't even have to be love. It's about connecting with familiar Democratic ridings and convincing them that, all things considered, the strengths of a candidate outweigh the flaws.

Joe Biden's victories by such large margins, in states so diverse that in his victory speech, he seemed surprised by his own sudden breadth of support was fueled by former Democratic constituencies, African-Americans and workers , as well as the suburbs newly energized by opposition to President Donald Trump.

The first part of the night highlighted the skepticism that many of these blocs have towards the self-proclaimed Democratic Socialist Bernie Sanders. But the latter part of the night, when California was called to Sanders when the polls closed, shows that he too has a solid understanding of the main democratic components of the young left, as well as of many Hispanic voters, among others who view Trump as more of a symptom than a cause of what is troubling the country and are seeking radical change.

Thus, in an electorate increasingly defined by diversity and youth, these two older white men, both born during the third mandate of the FDR, have for the moment the field formerly overcrowded effectively.

Colleagues in their seventies Mike Bloomberg and Elizabeth Warren have pledged, so far, to stay in the race, but nothing beyond a pinch of delegate victories in 14 states has lit a likely path to appointment. The only honest justification for their candidacies is probably, Who knows? Things happen.

It is true. The record of this competition shows how dangerous the summit was for Biden (way back to the start); for Warren (who withered in the fall after a strong summer); for Pete Buttigieg (who won Iowa and almost won New Hampshire, only to demonstrate that these states weren't as important in past years) to Sanders (who, he Just a few days ago, made a wave of comments which, based on comparisons with Trump in 2016, considered his appointment to be a high probability.)

This intelligent consensus seems a bit reckless at a time when certainties are so regularly broken. And Tuesday proved it. It's time to exhale and give up on the idea that this breed is about to be put to bed soon. It may still be unstable at the time of the National Democratic Convention in Milwaukee in July.

As impressive as Bidens' victories were 47 percentage points over Sanders in Alabama, a margin of 30 points in Virginia, surprising single-digit victories in Massachusetts and Minnesota, the size of California and Texas, where Biden Sanders narrowly led, leaving the evening delegate totals uncertain again Tuesday evening fading into Wednesday morning. To arrive in Milwaukee with a clear majority, Biden will have to repeat his big party several times in the coming weeks. It should also end Sanders' big state victory, as he was well on his way to California.

Despite this, Biden became something Tuesday that he had never before been for five decades in national politics: a phenomenon. Support jumped to someone who, just a week earlier, before his decisive victory in the South Carolina primary, had barely clung to the viability of the race.

Most notable is that this push did not involve the classic tools of politics. It was largely spent in most states by Sanders and massively spent by Bloomberg, which spent $ 500 million for its third place finish at a distance. Biden won in states where he had little publicity and even more organization.

The exit polls conducted on behalf of a consortium of news organizations by Edison Research told the story. More than 6 in 10 African American voters propelled Biden to victory in Alabama, North Carolina and Virginia, according to CNN. Older voters also supported it by wide margins.

Biden roars in suburban areas. In Fairfax County, the largest community in Virginia by far, Biden received just under 50% of the votes in this suburb of the national capital, results that are reflected elsewhere. In Virginia and Minnesota, half of voters decided who they were voting for in the past few days, according to exit polls, and in every state on Super Tuesday, voters said a candidate capable of beating Trump was more important to them that a candidate who is most in agreement with their opinions.

Minnesota and Massachusetts have shown the last-minute phenomenon in full effect. Sanders won Minnesota in 2016 and held a big rally in the Twin Cities on Monday. After getting approval from former candidate Amy Klobuchar in 2020, Biden carried the state by 9 points. Massachusetts until the last few days was considered a battle between Sanders and Warren. Biden surpassed the two with more than 33% of the vote, 13 points ahead of Warren, who finished third in his home country.

Biden, speaking in Los Angeles on Tuesday evening, showed deference to the voting blocks that pulled him above the line. Look, our campaign reflects the diversity of this party in this country, and that is how it should be, because we have to bring everyone with everyone.

He also noted that lately he has been living dangerously. Just a few days ago, the press and experts declared the campaign dead, then came to South Carolina and had something to say about it, applauded Biden. We were told: Well, when you get to Super Tuesday, it's over. Well, maybe it's over for the other guy. … so I'm here to report, we're very much alive.