And now to the Democrats.  As the campaign winds on, several things are becoming clearer.  First, Joe Biden has serious fundraising problems.  There was always a question regarding his ability to raise money, but in the brave new world of grassroots funding and eschewing of bundlers, his problems are worse.  He raised less money than the Mayor of South Bend, Indiana, and has a national campaign to pay for.  Many of his donors have maxed out and even though he gets some sympathy money from the Trump attack, it will in all probability dry up sooner rather than later.

Meanwhile, Bernie Sanders did Elizabeth Warren a huge favor when he pointed out the differences they have on her being a capitalist to the bone while he is not. He also pointed out that he has a healthcare plan, Medicare for all, and she does not.  What this, of course, does is it allows her to separate herself from the more extreme and incoherent rants of Sanders while maintaining her progressive credentials.  There has been a tendency to lump the two of them together and, while it may cause some short term angst among those on the left, for the long term, it makes her a more viable candidate.

It will be interesting to see how Mayor Pete spends his campaign money.  I think his problem in attracting African American votes is not easily solved.  Andrew Yang is not going away after raising 10 million dollars last quarter; more than anyone except the top candidates.  While Cory Booker has 80 relatives in Iowa, he needs to raise more money to have the resources to compete.  The same is true for Klobachar, Beto, and Harris.  Harris raised slightly more than Yang, but her spending rate is also much higher.  She is above the field except for Pete, Biden, Bernie and Warren, but she has no traction. I heard someone describe her as a great messenger in search a message.

And finally, let’s be clear about a couple of things.  Hunter Biden got his lucrative positions because his father was Vice President.  It doesn’t mean Joe Biden did anything wrong and he probably didn’t.  However, to act like it doesn’t have a whiff of impropriety is to be disingenuous.  And, in case you were worried about the quid pro quo involving our President, Ambassador Gordon Sondland will tell Congress not to worry because the President told him there wasn’t one.  What a relief.  After all, the President never heard of Stormy Daniels either.