Joe Battenfeld writes for the Boston Herald about the “desperate” nature of the Democrats’ presidential nomination process.
The Democratic presidential battle is on the brink of being blown apart as more candidates join the fray and voters continue to search for someone who can defeat President Trump.
No one — including the top tier of Joe Biden, Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders — has been able to close the deal with Democrats.
Biden is too shaky and old, Warren and Sanders are too far left and South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg is too inexperienced.
That leaves a gaping opening for a newcomer like former Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick or potential candidate Michael Bloomberg or even Hillary Clinton.
Patrick’s 11th-hour entrance into the race buttressed the argument that the current lineup of candidates is weak and vulnerable.
He may not be the savior, but he could draw voters from Biden and Warren in New Hampshire and South Carolina and prevent them from claiming an early hold on the race.
Then there’s the looming presence of Clinton, who continues to tweet up a storm and make news as she contemplates a surprise return to the presidential fold and claims the mantle as the ultimate “comeback kid.”
Clinton may be deluded, but her recent interest shows just how volatile the current race has become. Polls continue to show that more than half of the voters are open to changing their minds less than three months before the first contests.
“The one thing that’s absolutely clear is the race is wide open,” one Democratic strategist said.
