Here's my take on the voters who decided late and then broke for Joe.

[griffi94]

After Iowa and New Hampshire when there wasn't a clear front runner and
Joe didn't seem to be getting any traction, it made a lot of people nervous.
For whatever reasons, Pete, Amy, and Liz also made them nervous. Bernie won Nevada
and started to look like our serious front runner and voters started preparing themselves
to support Bernie, even if he wasn't their preferred choice. Who among us wasn't anxious at the thought
of a long and drawn out bruising primary? But after Joe buried Bernie in South Carolina and Pete and Amy
dropped out and got behind Joe, all those voters who were soft supporters of Bernies had an eleventh hour change
of heart. Polls have consistently shown that Bernie tops out around 30%.
So, thank you to all the voters who waited until the eleventh hour to decide. I think we avoided
making a catastrophic mistake.

[msongs]

1. bernie has not increased his coalition in 4 years. nt

[griffi94]

3. Bernie does have One Man Band Syndrome

I've wondered if that's why his staffers are so polarizing.
He has to take them because they're all he can get

[genxlib]

2. This describes me on a 6 month delay

I predicted this way back in the fall.

My wife was fretting about the size of the field and asked for my opinion since I am obsessive about politics.

I told her then that I preferred Booker as a known factor and was intrigued by Warren, Pete and Inslee.

HOWEVER, I said that we would likely have to fall back on Biden to keep from getting Bernie.

Biden was somewhere around my 5-7 choice but I am gladly supporting him now.

[griffi94]

4. Biden wasn't high on my list either.

I'm glad that he's going to be our candidate tho.
Biden is likable and his message is positive. A lot of people find that attractive.
I'll happily support Joe.

[genxlib]

5. I agree that he is likable and positive

Which is important now.

I know it can be taboo but I don't like the age. It isn't about whether he is capable now. It is about viability over a 10 year window which is how long it takes to win and serve two terms.

[griffi94]

6. I agree

I hope he goes with a young VP choice. I like Kamala Harris.

[madinmaryland]

7. I agree. He needs to pick someone 20 years his junior...

I’m fine with Kamala Harris. I’ll be fine with any senator as long as they are not in a state with a Republican governor.

Don’t Massachusetts and Minnesota have repub governors? That would eliminate Warren and Klobechar. It would also eliminate Sherron Brown.

Other than those, there would be Pete Buttigeig.

[griffi94]

8. Or Cory Booker

[madinmaryland]

11. I agree. He's been out of the mix for several months and I had forgotten about him.

I’m sorry.

[griffi94]

13. He hasn't been very visible lately

I'm still hoping Kamala Harris is his VP pick.
She would be perfect to run again when Joe's term is finished.

[JCMach1]

9. It's the virus... Completely changed the narrative

[griffi94]

10. Or Bernies support was always soft.

And after S. Carolina all of those soft supporters took another look at Joe.
A large number of the base just rejected Bernie.

[JCMach1]

12. The importance of the virus is in the exit polling

But the pundits are still jabbering about horse race...

When 3/4 of people are majorly concerned about the virus over anything else, Maslow's hierarchy of needs kicks in and any narrative about ideology is going to fall flat even it were 100% correct.

Biden's association with Obama's ability to manage crises, in that scenario, makes him the comfort food candidate.

And unless there is another radical shift that is unforseen Biden will win the nomination outright.

It was all over early last week when the first cases hit.

[griffi94]

14. Except the turnout was high.

So the pandemic wasn't enough to suppress turnout but it was scary enough
that voters who actually preferred Bernie suddenly felt compelled to vote
for Joe instead?
Wow. That doesn't really inspire confidence in Bernie.
I think the voters just rejected Bernie because they prefer Joe.

[JCMach1]

15. Didn't suppress turnout... It completely

Changed the playing field that had previously been dominated by policy squabbling over health care and the economy