The Chinese Virus might do more than delay the Democratic National Convention. It might force it into cyberspace.
The presumptive Democrat nominee for president, Joe Biden, suggested a virtual convention yesterday on ABC’s This Week, which means Democrats could give Biden the nod from remote locations if the tide of the Asiatic pathogen does not ebb long before August 17, the day the convention starts.
Even so, the outcome won’t likely change. Biden is almost certain to win, as his remaining opponent, socialist Bernie Sanders, readily admits.
There Will Be a Convention
Biden suggested an Internet convention to This Week host George Stephanopoulos, the former legman for Bill Clinton — and a sure Biden voter himself.
“Well, we’re going to have to do a convention,” Biden said. “We may have to do a virtual convention. I think we should be thinking about that right now. The idea of holding the convention is going to be necessary.”
The problem, of course, is that the Democrats can’t pack tens of thousands of angry leftists into a convention where they would spread or contract the dreaded virus from Wuhan, China. Nearly 350,000 Americans have tested positive for the virus, which has killed more than 70,000 people worldwide.
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“We may not be able to put 10, 20, 30,000 people in one place and that’s very possible,” the former veep said. “Again let’s see where it is — and what we do between now and then is going to dictate a lot of that as well. But my point is that I think you just got to follow the science.”
Last week, as The New American reported, Democrats shifted the convention from mid July to August. They also said the convention will be scaled back so Americans don’t see Democrats staging a wild bash in the middle of a major health and economic crisis.
For Biden, the virus is particularly bad news on two counts. He can’t campaign and is trapped at home thanks to Delaware Governor John Carney’s stay-at-home diktat.
But more importantly, though Biden said he’ll wear a mask in public because “it’s important to follow the science” and “listen to the experts” and “do what they tell you,” the former veep is in a very high-risk group as fatalities go.
In mid-March, the Centers for Disease Control reported that 80 percent were 65 years and older.
Biden, 77, is the age at which most Americans are retired, if not considering a move to a retirement community or even assisted living. A significant number face multiple health issues. If elected president, Biden will be older than Ronald Reagan was when the Gipper finished his second term.
Be that as it may, Biden might never get a first if he catches the Wuhan Flu.
Veep Selection Moving Ahead
After predictably criticizing Trump’s handling of the Chinese Virus pandemic, Biden turned the topic to Sanders. Biden spoke to the elderly socialist about moving ahead to pick a running mate.
“I was apologizing to him by saying ‘Bernie, I don’t want in any way — it’s not in any way to demean your effort — but if we don’t start now we’re not going to be able to get there,’ and he was very gracious, he said that he understood,” Biden said. “It wasn’t about asking him for recommendations of who he or I would pick.”
Added Biden, “if we don’t start now or shortly in the month of April, it’s gonna be hard to get it done. So I was basically apologizing and making it clear I wasn’t trying to be presumptuous in any way … and [Sanders] said he appreciated that.”
A few weeks ago, Biden announced that he would pick a woman. Among the top choices apparently is Stacey Abrams, the failed gubernatorial candidate in Georgia in 2018 who refused to concede the election.
A progressive group published a report last month that claimed Abrams is the best among a list that includes Senators Kamala Harris, Elizabeth Warren, and Amy Klochubar, all former candidates for the nomination.
Biden has said that whoever he picks must be younger and ready for the presidency at a moment’s notice.
That would seem to exclude Abrams, but in any event, Biden has the nomination all but locked.
As TNA reported last week, the latest Real Clear Politics Average of voter polls has Biden 20.5 points ahead of Sanders.
Biden also leads Sanders in the delegate count 1,217-914, and will likely expand it in tomorrow’s primary in Wisconsin, where 84 delegates are at stake.
Image: screenshot from YouTube video
R. Cort Kirkwood is a long-time contributor to The New American and a former newspaper editor.
