Inside the Beltway: Joe Biden needs a co-president

NEWS AND OPINION:

Some wonder if the one and only Joseph R. Biden needs some serious assistance in his quest for the White House.

“Joe Biden needs a co-president. Not just a running mate, not just a potential vice president, but someone who will be president-in-waiting should Biden win in November — the month he turns 78,” writes Daniel McCarthy, a contributor to the Spectator USA, and editor of Modern Age: A Conservative Review.

He has done all the math.

“The idea of Biden running for a second term in 2024 at the age of 81 is hard to take seriously. So far, this is something everybody knows but nobody is taking seriously enough. The question of Biden’s current mental acuity has become a campaign issue, but even Democrats who believe Biden is up to the job of being president in 2020 will have a tough time arguing that he’d be fit to serve a second term,” Mr. McCarthy says.

“Biden doesn’t need a running mate with experience. He needs someone who can plausibly represent the future of the Democratic party and who could be sworn in as president in January 2025 — or earlier, if the country’s oldest president should die or become incapacitated in office,” Mr. McCarthy adds.

“The question to be answered by his pick of running mate has to be: what vision does Biden’s Democratic party have of the future — if any?” he asks.

Mr. Biden’s choice of running mate continues to be a topic of interest as observers wonder if he can keep his promise to name a woman in the role. Meanwhile, a political action committee to draft Michelle Obama is already up and running, but the former first lady’s presence has been questioned by one analyst.

“The downfall for Biden in this potential scenario would be the continue reality of being outshined by his vice president. Michelle Obama is arguably bigger than Joe Biden in terms of her name recognition and global popularity. Biden would be playing second fiddle to yet another Obama even though his name would be at the top of the ticket,” advises Nate Ashworth, editor in chief of Election Central, a news site.

WHAT DID THEY KNOW?

“Get ready for ’Obamagate’ to become ’ObamaBidengate,” says Michael Goodwin, a columnist for The New York Post.

“One of Joe Biden’s strengths among Democrats is his eight-year stint as Barack Obama’s vice president. It was, the former veep often says proudly, the Obama-Biden administration,” writes Mr. Goodwin.

“Suddenly, Republicans are happy to agree as they probe the previous administration’s role in the false Russia-collusion charges and the phony Michael Flynn prosecution. Already, Iowa Sen. Chuck Grassley has included Biden in his version of the infamous question, asking: ’What did Obama and Biden know and when did they know it?’”

FOR THE LEXICON

“Socialist Boondoggle.”

This handy little phrase was coined by Bob Salera, deputy communications director of the National Republican Congressional Committee, who believes it is the perfect descriptor for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s very expensive, very expansive coronavirus aid package.

“House Democrats didn’t learn their lesson after getting dragged for trying to cram the last coronavirus relief bill full of socialist wish list items. The latest proposal from Nancy Pelosi and her minions comes with an astonishing $3 trillion price tag and includes a grab bag of far left ideas like stimulus checks for illegal immigrants and the early release of thousands of federal inmates,” Mr. Salera explains.

BERNIE HAS A MOMENT

He wants everybody to take a shot — for free.

Sen. Bernard Sanders has organized a public petition with a single demand. The Vermont independent and self-described democratic socialist wants the future coronavirus vaccine to be “free to all people” once it becomes available.

“This pandemic must not become another opportunity for the pharmaceutical companies to engage in profiteering and make billions,” Mr. Sanders declares.

THE PRICE IS RIGHT, OR MAYBE NOT

Yes, prices are skyrocketing at the grocery stores. Fresh from the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Consumer Price Index, here’s how much the price of your favorite foods have jumped in the last months:

Meat, poultry, fish and eggs are up by 4.3%; cereals and bakery products are up 2.9% as are non-alcoholic beverages; both dairy products plus fruits and vegetables have risen by 1.5%. All other “food in the home” has also gone up by 1.9%. It is of interest that “food outside the home” has only gone up by 0.1%. The price of alcoholic beverages has gone up by 0.3%.

CNBC analyst Thomas Franck consulted earlier government numbers to discover that this is the greatest increase in grocery prices in 46 years, according to government numbers.

But cheer up. The price of gas for your car is down by 20.4% while car insurance has dropped by 7.2% and airline fares are down by 15.2%. The cost of clothes, incidentally, are down by 4.7%.

FOXIFIED

Fox News has now marked 18 consecutive weeks as the most popular network among all cable TV offerings, last week drawing 3.5 million primetime viewers according to Nielsen.

MSNBC is in second place with 1.8 million viewers, followed by CNN (1.5 million), HGTV (1.3 million) and TLC (1.2 million).

Primetime hosts Sean Hannity and Tucker Carlson continue to be the ratings kings, with audiences of 4.3 million and 4.2 million, respectively. Fox News, in fact, aired 13 of the top 16 telecasts of the week. On the weekend, Judge Jeanine Pirro ruled the ratings, drawing 2.9 million viewers.

POLL DU JOUR

• 58% of registered U.S. voters say they are “extremely” or “very” enthusiastic about voting in the presidential, congressional and state elections this year; 70% of Republicans, 40% of independents and 60% of Democrats agree.

• 19% overall say they are “somewhat enthusiastic” about voting; 17% of Republicans, 22% of independents and 18% of Democrats agree.

• 12% are “not too enthusiastic” about voting; 9% of Republicans, 19% of independents and 10% of Democrats agree.

• 11% are “not at all enthusiastic”: 4% of Republicans, 18% of independents and 11% of Democrats agree.

Source: A Politico/Morning Consult poll of 1,994 registered U.S. voters conducted May 8-10.

• Kindly follow Jennifer Harper on Twitter @HarperBulletin.