Biden won Michigan, Missouri, and Mississippi by 7:30 PM.  By midnight Biden added Idaho to his total. Bernie won North Dakota, but Washington is still outstanding with a .2% difference between the two front runners.  The commentators anticipated a five state sweep for Biden by night’s end. Biden’s wins were decisive as he far exceeded Clinton’s performance in 2016. And the total number of voters were up for Biden. Remember that it was Bernie who promised to drive up the youth vote and bring in people who never voted before. 

At 7:50 PM PST Biden gave a speech in Philadelphia to a small group proclaiming another consecutive victory. Where was Bernie Sanders?  Back in Vermont. I presume reconsidering whether to drop off of the race with his path becoming more narrow by the hour. Each additional vote counted in the states today add more delegates to Biden’s seemingly insurmountable lead. 

Biden graciously acknowledged Sanders’ supporters and their enthusiasm.  Always the statesman. The leader who is most needed in this our country’s darkest hour of disarray and confusion from the present occupant in the White House.  Biden isn’t yelling, he isn’t confused, he isn’t lying. He was surreptitiously co-opting Bernie’s agenda about healthcare, guns, and a middle class populism. 

His speech reaffirmed America’s international standing while he reclaimed the mantle of America’s leadership on the globe. In Biden’s speech last night he confidently moved from primary to general election candidate with the mandate given to him from the Democratic party. Overwhelmingly I might add. 

With his wife standing by his side he reached towards the future. And left in the wake of his inspirational words was the shadow of the dystopia that Trump has bestowed on an unsuspecting electorate.  Biden has captured whites with no college degree, whites with a college degree, African Americans, and a plurality of Latinos. Trump’s last grasp to power is an ever shrinking group of white men. Ironic that Biden belongs to this same group. But Biden’s campaign of addition is riding a wave that is far more powerful than Trump’s ripple of subtraction.

Bernie Sanders’ campaign was brave. It was valiant. He was brazen enough to challenge our preconceptions about what we believe. He forced us to redefine the possible. He asked us to believe that miracles still exist.  That’s why it’s time for Bernie to step aside. Sometimes one has to concede that the message is more important than the messenger. Thank you Bernie for inspiring us. Now finish your life’s work and help the Democratic party defeat Trump this November.