theres a reason biden is at the top of most major polls.

theres a reason biden gets some of his highest approval numbers in the rust belt ('middle class joe').

theres a reason why biden is 2nd only to obama in approval among black voters in most polls (even higher than booker and harris).

theres a reason why biden is the *only* national dem that can go stump for conor lamb in a red district in pa. and doug jones in red alabama. and heidi heitkamp in north dakota. and stacey abrams in georgia.

hes literally the only major dem party figure that can be deployed anywhere in the country and not be a liability.

these are real people out here reacting to him. and still viewing him favorably. across the entire country.

there are some key senate seats in play 2020 (some in red states). a dem prez is gonna need to carry those dem senate candidates across the finish line in order to pick up a dem senate majority (a repub senate will completely obstruct a dem administration on judges and key department appointments). so the dem candidate is gonna have to appeal to a *wide* swath of voters. not just the typical blue electoral college majority states.

those rust belt states that swung back to dems in 2018? they love biden.

those college educated suburbs that swung from romney to clinton and did the majority of the legwork for dems 40 seat house victory? they love biden.

those moderates (crossover repubs) and independents who handed dems red state arizona? they love biden.

black people who turnout and vote for dems at a 90% rate? they love biden.

which is why i think the vulnerabilities you/i brought up are a bit overstated. especially since trump is (much more) vulnerable on them too and cant attack biden.

like people criticize bidens handling of the anita hill hearings but never mention he still ended up voting against thomas. and biden was one of the leading drivers for the violence against women act.

as far as the outsider thing...people didnt just vote for obama for change. they voted for him because he was a great fucking campaigner/candidate. people didnt just vote for trump for change. he actually represented regression to an antiquated status quo.

and trump actually soured the *left* on much of that outsider talk now (see the reaction to oprah). it seems like the dem base moreso wants normalcy than change. which is why the base overwhelmingly backed pelosi (even progressives) and basically formed a united front against moderate/conservative anti-pelosi dems.

a lot of times...we think the entire country views things the same way we do. but the majority of *voters* are 50+ and/or dont watch or read political news 24/7 and/or are center/center-right.

fresh perspective is definitely important/necessary. but we have to be careful not to completely ignore the fundamentals.