This is my take as well. I was opposed to Biden dropping out because skipping the primary means you go into the general election without the real pulse of the

This is my take as well. I was opposed to Biden dropping out because skipping the primary means you go into the general election without the real pulse of the voters in your party. I think Democrats in general are putting far too much weight on survey based polls, and not enough on ballet box polls. I wouldn't even rule out 2020 like you're doing - I think Biden is actually a very compelling candidate for a lot of folks that don't get much mention in typical democratic discussion circles. Religious, relatively socially conservative but economically left (traditional union left, not neo-liberal), white, male. While people complained about it not being Sanders online - Sanders and Biden were fairly similar platforms in a lot of respects, with the difference being that corporate money was less hostile to Biden - and it's telling that they were the only two to take any significant percentage of the primary vote (no other candidate broke 3mm votes) --- Basically - I think there's a solid chance that despite the polling news around the first debate, Biden might have actually performed more strongly on election night. As an extra note - As someone who was initially very critical of Biden... I have a lurking suspicion that he's going to be considered an excellent president in a historical context because he managed to invest heavily in infrastructure.