Biden’s Stuck Between Barack and a Hard Place

For all of the agonizing within Joe Biden’s inner circle over how to cure what ails the former vice president’s anemic presidential run – fourth place in Iowa, fifth place in New Hampshire, presumably another setback in Nevada this weekend – there’s an obvious fix: roll out Barack Obama’s endorsement post haste.

Finally, the 2016 election. Obama spent the last week of that contest campaigning in Florida, North Carolina and Ohio. Hillary Clinton lost all three states. On the night before the vote, Obama appeared alongside Mrs. Clinton at a rally in Philadelphia. That state also went red the following evening. Pennsylvania’s a good example of the Obama paradox. He received 2.864 million votes there in 2012 (though he did lose 55 of 67 counties). In 2016, despite the Democratic president’s very personal plea to elect Mrs. Clinton and thus protect his legacy, the Democratic ticket added only 62,000 more votes from the previous presidential election, while an additional 390,000 Pennsylvanians turned out to vote for the Republican who vowed to repeal and replace Obamacare.

Why is Biden a risky bet? Because, unlike former South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg and Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar, he hasn’t overperformed in February’s votes. Unlike former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Biden doesn’t have the resources to spam March and April primary states with media buys.

The safer bet for Obama? Wait for an unsettled contest to run its course to Milwaukee, then volunteer to mediate the party’s search for a consensus nominee (if such a unicorn exists). By which time, Joe Biden might be an afterthought.