Vermont senator, Bernie Sanders, has to win 62% of delegates available in each remaining primary if there is any way he can overcome the near-unstoppable Joe Biden in the Democratic primaries.
Sanders has only commanded victory by those margins in the Nevada and the Northern Mariana Islands caucuses. But the enormity of what lies ahead dwarfs the hopes of even the most optimistic Berniecrat.
After former Vice-President Biden won in Tuesday’s races in Arizona, Illinois and Florida, his victory speech spelled the intentions of a man who believes he is done with his challenger.
Biden called out to Sanders’ supporters urging them to understand that the battle from henceforth was against Donald Trump. It remains to be seen if Sanders will bow out of the primaries at this point. Many of his supporters want him to go all the way, an advice Sanders took in 2016 and for which Hillary Clinton holds the angriest grudge.
Biden, more than any other person, realizes the need for a coalition. His bid for the White House depends ironically on those who have doubted him and the Democratic Party.
Traditionally, the choice of a running mate is seen as an attempt at achieving complementarity. The party’s candidate has to be seen to be “reaching out” to those he needs.
This is where Michelle Obama could be of help to Biden. Biden himself has suggested he could have Mrs Obama on a ticket but that might have been him pandering.
Now that he looks almost certain to be the nominee, Biden should have good reasons to get serious about Mrs Obama as running mate.
