Maybe, just maybe the reason VP Biden is ahead

[Peacetrain]

is because people are looking at the various proposals, and his are doable.. and just not a starting point, but something that can actually be achieved..its past Labor Day and everyone knows the top 8 of the party..

[Demsrule86]

1. I think that it is it exactly.

K&R

[maxsolomon]

2. They recognize his name

and they are old and answer the phone

[Cha]

22. uh huh

[emmaverybo]

28. They recognize that Biden is the most job-specific qualified, experienced, knowledgeable candidate,

has an impressive track record as VP, and unlike any other in the running, has foreign policy cred. They may also have been inspired by his message.

Biden is one of America’s most beloved and respected politicians. So, yes, his name is recognized.

[maxsolomon]

35. you give the average american poll responder a lot of credit.

perhaps too much.

[emmaverybo]

38. I do. And as a senior, I do care what seniors have to say. They will be voting in numbers. Even have

cell phones now and as members of the generation that spearheaded the civil rights, women’s, gay, and anti-war movement in America, stay engaged. We are also a reliable voting constituency.

Some of us are very liberal and prefer Warren or Sanders.

Would think their poll participation would not be disparaged. On the other hand, many are familiar with Joe, and as a result, favor him.

[maxsolomon]

39. "many are familiar with Joe, and as a result, favor him."

that's essentially what i said.

DU skews "senior" (yes it does), and I believe polling does too. if you had a poll that was evenly distributed across age groups, i'm not sure biden would come out on top. or at least by such a margin.

many young female voters are openly hostile to biden's candidacy, and it's not purely ageism. warren and harris are more popular with younger people, and that should be a consideration in GOTV against president sociopath.

[floppyboo]

43. Even though DU skews older, Biden is not the favorite here. nt

[emmaverybo]

44. No. Many older, passionate liberals here whom I thank for being a part of the revolution that

started much social and political change in America, stopped the war by an estimated three years, and which is still informing liberal thought and action.

I don’t expect Biden to be seen as a standard-bearer for younger or older progressives.

[Thekaspervote]

32. Indeed they do recognize his name same as they recognize sanders and warren

And they recognize he’s the best one not only to beat the dotard but lead us out of this mess

[hlthe2b]

3. Honestly, even those who want a more rapid ambitious course must realize it is going to take

time just to get us back on course--repair our international relationships, reinstill some trust, put all our Federal agencies back on track while bringing back those who have left to try to identify the damage and put it right, revisit every damned executive order and put new, rational policies in place at every agency. Put the economy back on track with rational trade policies. Halt our racist, horrific immigration policies and work to get a rational comprehensive bill in place.

Get our country back on track in fighting climate change and make as many necessary adjustments to ACA as possible to stanch the damage and to try to get us to a place where a full overhaul is possible.

If he could do all that (or any other candidate could do just that), all things would be possible again for future administrations.

The need to focus on this the next four years is really obvious to me, no matter how impressed I am with some of the more progressive ideas for the future

[emmaverybo]

29. They don't seem to recognize any of this. Neither do their candidates. I have heard only Joe

bring up the vast damage that must be addressed in order to move forward. It is as though other candidates have no idea of what being president is about and what Trump has wrought.

[calguy]

4. That's why I support him

Call me moderate, call me anything you want. I've seen enough elections in my life to know voters don't usually support ground breaking out of this world proposals when they vote for a president. Add to that Joe's down to earth personality and wealth of actual experience, there's no doubt in y mind why he's ahead and should continue to stay ahead.

[SCVDem]

5. Joe will finish the ACA

Not trash it.

[honest.abe]

6. I think its more about believing that Joe can win and can also successfully govern.

Democrats fear a repeat of 2016 and think Joe is the best person to beat Trump and once he wins will be able to fix the mess we are now in.

[More_Cowbell]

8. I agree: Biden was the last to come out with substantive proposals

But he came out with an immediate lead that he hasn't lost. It's name recognition, with him, in my opinion. Which is why he hasn't also gained as he's come out with proposals.

[OregonBlue]

7. Or maybe they just like him because they think he's a good guy.

Plus he has experience.

[RockRaven]

9. Most voters are rather low-information. Biden's got the most familiarity/name recognition.

Most people are not looking at the feasibility or details of the candidates' proposals. Heck, most people don't even know which candidates have proposals to look at, and which ones don't.

It isn't anything to be embarrassed about that Biden has a lead because people already know him, but let's not ignore how big of a factor that is and tell ourselves some other just-so story.

[LanternWaste]

19. I think Sanders has a huge amount of name recognition as well. As does Warren.

If there are measurable differences in the degrees of familiarity, I'd love to see the data. Otherwise, I'm left to believe that those differences are too small to make such a huge difference. A book of matches sitting with a thousand other books of matches in a match-factory fire.

Sanders himself has had his name in the national spotlight since he announced his first candidacy in 2015. I'd think ignoring that is as well telling "ourselves some other just-so story."

[Thekaspervote]

33. As does EW having been a big mover during the Obama administration

[Otto Lidenbrock]

21. Sanders has just as much name recognition

Sanders was on the ballot for Democrats last time. He may have been new in 2015-16 but certainly not new to the voters now. Not to mention for a little over two years Biden has been in private life watching on from the sidelines as Sanders and others were in the action in DC.

[crazytown]

10. I don't think it's policy

although the fact that there are no landmines like M4A or decriminalizing the border is obviously a plus.

It is the depth of respect and goodwill people have for Biden, based soundly on his long record of public service. Ultimately people imagine Joe up against trump and have no difficulty seeing the majority voting for decency. It's as simple as that IMO.

[redstatebluegirl]

11. I think there is also a strong need for someone with a steady hand.

Yes he is older, but that is also a reason I find him attractive right now. We need someone experienced in governing, who can begin to put the pieces back together. I don't want anything that is so far to the left we will need to go through this uncertainty for another 4 years. The majority of the country is not far right or far left. I tend to be more left than most, but not as far as Bernie. I would easily vote for Warren if she were the nominee. I will of course vote for our nominee no matter who they are, but my preference would be Biden, with a younger running mate.

I would just like a few days of normality, with some serious work on the environment and guns.

[Ninga]

12. Nope. Man on the street knows nothing about proposals only Joe's high name recognition and

being Obama’s awesome VP.

The simple answer is the most logical.

[LanternWaste]

20. The simple answer also lacks data or objective evidence to support it as the defacto reason

[maxsolomon]

37. So do the assumptions of the OP.

It's all conjecture.

[Demsrule86]

25. Warren is well known...so I don't buy that...and a presidential election is rarely about policy.

I like warren but she won't be the nominee.

[JI7]

36. Sanders has name recognition also

[peggysue2]

13. It may come down to simple trust

Trust that Joe Biden has worked through and with various governmental branches; knows what governance is at the national level, how it works, what it can do (and what it can't do) and conjures up that unflappable belief in the future. The phrase 'We Can Do This' is simple, to the point and is something we can all grab onto, yearn to grab onto because the alternative is unthinkable. Joe Biden brings the breadth of experience and the network of professional relationships we'll need to put the pieces back together after Trump's whirlwind circus ride.

People trust he can do that while moving forward with the most pressing issues of the day. I trust he can do that, too.

[emmaverybo]

30. +10000

[Thekaspervote]

34. You nailed it!

[Joe941]

14. Are you actually suggesting people are using their brain and coming to a reasonable decision?

[NYMinute]

15. Biden is not a giveaway candidate

Biden's programs are sensible and don't turn off the middle class

[Scurrilous]

16. ...

[IronLionZion]

17. Pollsters should ask people what they know about his proposals

And see how many can answer.

The general public doesn't do as much research as DUers.

[Gothmog]

18. Washington Post-Opinion: Democrats want to beat Trump. Biden wants to be the one to do it.

Link to tweet

“As president,” asked a young boy in gray jeans and matching T-shirt, “how will you fix the damage Donald Trump has caused?” The gym exploded, as if the Clinton College Golden Bears basketball team had scored a buzzer beater in a championship game. And Biden relished the moment to remind the gathered, “It’s time we lift our heads up and remember who we are. … I refuse to postpone the opportunity” to change the direction of the country.

As a raft of polls have shown, Biden is the front-runner for the Democratic nomination for president. Still, I couldn’t shake the impression that the passion on that basketball court was more about defeating Trump than supporting anyone specifically. When I sat down with Biden for an interview on my Cape Up podcast last week, I asked him whether my impression was right; that what Democrats want most is to send Trump packing. They don’t care who it is as long as they are convinced that “who” will succeed.

“There is a real passion for getting rid of Donald Trump,” Biden told me. “But I think there is a lot of passion for electing somebody who they think can, in fact, repair the damage that Trump has done, and to actually bring the country back together and unite the country on the basic fundamental things that make America America.” Sure, Biden thinks he is that person, and that’s why he’s leading the crowded Democratic field. “That’s why I think you see the response to the soul-of-America argument I’m making,” he continued, “because they know how deeply I feel it.”....

Eugene Robinson got it right. “Voters are making up their own minds about what’s important in Biden’s performance and what’s not,” Robinson wrote in his Monday column. “I think they’re looking for ‘electability,’ whatever that means; they’re looking for a fighter who won’t back down; and they’re looking for leadership.

[Voltaire2]

23. everyone is at zero delegates.

[Demsrule86]

27. For now.

[oasis]

24. Joe knows "pie in the sky" solutions just won't cut it. He'd rather

look voters straight in the eye and tell them what will work.

[Watchfoxheadexplodes]

26. When Joe asks "how do you pay for that"

Look for a lot to ftfo

[SMC22307]

31. Name recognition, in government for decades, and Obama's VP.

Let's not make more out of this than it is. Hell, I remember Biden from the Robert Bork and Clarence Thomas days.

[LongtimeAZDem]

40. It's not name recognition, it's substance recognition

[LAS14]

41. And maybe, just maybe, Warren is steadily moving up because....

... people realize that it's too late to focus on the clearly do-able. The planet depends on our thinking very big.

[Gothmog]

42. Here is why I like Joe

Link to tweet

[Gothmog]

45. We all have a responsibility to stand up and speak out when we see abuse of power

Link to tweet