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The Silence of the Joe
The candidate who is not only leading, but currently lapping, the field said virtually nothing all week. Wisely.
The last few days — at least in the commentariat — have been dominated by Robert Mueller, William Barr, President Trump and all things related. With Mueller making his first, and he insists only, public statement regarding his special counsel investigation there was a rash of coverage, and many of two-dozen Democratic presidential candidates took the chance to find microphones and call for impeachment. The strategy is clear enough; all those running who are mired in single-digit polling need something, anything, to try and get some attention. Calling for Trump’s political head has the dual purpose of doing that, and keeping the donor base fired up and writing checks.
But tellingly, the candidate who is not only leading, but currently lapping, the field said virtually nothing all week.
Joe Biden’s polling bounce has leveled off a bit, as is expected, but even if it settles somewhere in the 35–40% range he has a commanding lead at the moment. So much so, that no other candidate has improved their name recognition by more than 3 points, a sobering metric for the gaggle of also-rans hoping to last past the summer. Much like the waiting times at the top of Mt. Everest that is tragically killing climbers, there just isn’t enough air (or in this…