Super Tuesday: Sanders in the lead
Today is "Super Tuesday" in the US, the most important day in the Democratic primaries with elections in 14 states. If one candidate secures a substantial lead against the rest his nomination becomes more likely. Bernie Sanders is currently ahead in the primaries and national polls, followed by Joe Biden and Michael Bloomberg. What would victory for Sanders mean?
No happy ending with the revolutionary
Bernie Sanders just isn't the right candidate, Dagens Nyheter sighs:
“Joe Biden is certainly not flawless. ... But he can be likeable, and he would let both the public institutions and the private companies do their jobs. There won't be a revolution, and indeed, the desire for one is less strong than Sanders thinks. In the presidential race it is Biden who has the best chances of bringing together the broad coalition that the Democrats need: workers, middle class, entrepreneurs, women, men, blacks, Hispanics. The drama will continue even after Super Tuesday. But if the Democrats put their money on Bernie Sanders there will be no happy ending.”
Like Gorbachev, but better
If Sanders were elected president it would mark a turning point in history, Pascal Boniface of the Paris-based Institute for International and Strategic Relations (Iris) writes on his blog with Mediapart:
“It would simply be the end of the US's imperial and aggressive foreign policy. ... It would usher in a global strategic revolution, much like when Gorbachev took power in the Soviet Union. Except that Gorbachev failed to complete his reforms. He put an end to the Cold War but lost power. And after 1991, the new world order he dreamed of never saw the light of day because of America's drive to establish a unipolar world. But if he failed it was because he couldn't put his money where his mouth was. Bernie Sanders can.”
Bernie would be the tougher opponent
Eldiario.es looks at which of Trump's opponents could cause him the most difficulties:
“As regards Biden, Trump would merely need to use the same strategy that already worked against Clinton, framing his campaign as the fight against the traditional elites that dominated Washington for decades. A duel with Sanders would be much more complicated. Tío Bernie [Uncle Bernie], as his numerous Hispanic followers call him, has a discourse charged with plenty of emotion and a good deal of populism, and is therefore better equipped to compete with Trump's politically incorrect language.”
Old white men are an anachronism
Zeit Online finds it hard to believe that the next US presidency will be decided between old white men:
“Nothing against age, but in a country as fast-changing as the US, white men who are approaching 80 are an anachronism. The proportion of white Americans in the population is shrinking, and by 2045 at the latest it will be less than 50 percent. … With the Republicans, a white man like Trump is all you can expect; there are hardly any representatives of the changing America in their ranks. But what about the Democratic Party, which wants to embody the demographic and socio-political changes in society?”