Many Democrats this morning a breathing a sigh of relief over the fact that Joe Biden, for the first time in the presidential race, sounded relatively lucid last night. Sure, he had a couple of “moments.” One came when in rapid succession he called the coronavirus “SARS,” the H1N1 the “N1H1, and forgot the name “Ebola” altogether, referring to it as ““what happened in Africa.” Watch:
Sleepy Joe is SO CONFUSED. Joe has…
– Called the coronavirus “SARS”
– Called the coronavirus the “swine flu”
– Called the H1N1 virus the "N1H1"
– Forgot the name of the Ebola virus, describing it as “what happened in Africa”
Joe is SO LOST!pic.twitter.com/nDKvztN6yf
— Kayleigh McEnany (@kayleighmcenany) March 16, 2020
But on balance, he sounded better prepared and in control of his usually wayward tongue. That’s the good news for Democrats.
Will this presidential election be the most important in American history?
The bad news is that the former vice president sounded farther left at times than Sen. Bernie Sanders, his lone competition at Sunday night’s debate:
The two-term vice president announced Sunday he now supported Sanders’s proposal to make public colleges and universities free for students from families whose combined income is below $125,000. He also adopted [Sen. Elizabeth] Warren’s bankruptcy plan.
On the subject of energy and the environment, Biden declared there would be “no more subsidies for fossil fuel industry, no more drilling on federal lands, no more drilling, including offshore, no ability for the oil industry to continue to drill. Period. Ends.”
Joe Biden: “no ability for the oil industry to continue to drill, period, ends” #DemDebate pic.twitter.com/STbBrh8DLg
— Steve Guest (@SteveGuest) March 16, 2020
He also threatened to take “tens of millions of automobiles off the road.”
President Trump: "If you like automobiles, how can you vote for a Democrat who all want to get rid of cars"?
Media: That's false!
Joe Biden: I support "taking millions of automobiles off the road." #DemDebate pic.twitter.com/YeG6BBdnFF
— Trump War Room (@TrumpWarRoom) March 16, 2020
On the subjects of equality and inclusiveness, he vowed to appoint a black woman to the Supreme Court and vowed to have a female running mate.
George Washington University Law Professor Jonathan Turley commented on the first of these promises, which he wrote “is saying that there will be a race and gender prerequisite for appointments to the Court.”
Biden's promise to appoint a black female to the Court is a remarkable moment for the presidency. It is saying that there will be a race and gender prerequisite for appointments to the Court. This follows the pledge in the earlier debate to impose a litmus test on nominees.
— Jonathan Turley (@JonathanTurley) March 16, 2020
With Biden leading Donald Trump by 50.7 to 44.3 in the RealClear Politics averages, it appears almost suicidal for him to thrown off the mantel of liberal, especially with the race being virtually his to lose.
