OPINION: Biden could win as centrist candidate

Joe Biden has now become a Presidential candidate, but that doesn’t mean he’ll be the ultimate Democratic frontrunner because the other declared Presidential candidates will relentlessly attack him.

Joe Biden is 77 years old, and is often viewed as a relic of the past, having cast votes as a U.S. Senator that are in conflict with the modern Democrat, many of whom are “progressive” and not intimately familiar with the Biden of old. His is not an outstanding record. Most of today’s Trump challengers are younger and ”progressive,” embracing impeachment, the Green New Deal, Medicare for All, free college tuition and other “progressive” ideas. But, most Americans, if one believes modern polling, do not embrace such programs, even if they want an undignified Mr. Trump replaced.

While Mr. Biden’s age, gender and race are used against him, the age of popular Presidential candidate and Vermont U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders, is not currently viewed as a detriment even though he is white, male and 76 years old. That shows Democrats’ hypocrisy. That’s why Biden will likely pick a younger female as his running mate, especially since all the other viable, white, male Democratic candidates have declared publicly that they’d choose a female as their running mate.

Make no mistake—all other Democratic presidential candidates are wildly ambitious, wanting to win the nomination. They’ll also take into account their many contributors, and won’t easily relinquish the nomination. They’re all anxious to take-on Mr. Trump, tough as he will be. The crowded field will likely guarantee a brokered Democratic Party convention in which the voting delegates will choose a candidate who is deemed capable of defeating President Trump, rather than an ideologue.

But, Mr. Trump won’t be easy to defeat. Many Americans, will choose between the cost of many “progressive” programs embraced by many Democratic candidates for President, and President Trump. He supports legal immigration, has enacted tax cuts, eliminated federal regulations and appointed quality federal judges. The voters will likely support the incumbent’s economic policies and reject the cost of modern Democratic programs espoused by Rep. Ilhan Omar and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. That’s why Mr. Biden may eventually emerge as a possible winning Democratic candidate even as he currently leads the pack in the latest polls that have been published. He’s at heart also a centrist.

Mr. Biden is vulnerable, though, as he’s unknown by many young voters, many of whom were not even born when he cast controversial Senate votes or served as President Obama’s Vice President. Civic learning students at the University of Denver are a good sample of college- aged voters who universally cannot abide Mr. Trump’s egomaniacal and undignified style. They desperately want to defeat him in 2020, perhaps more than they like the universally liberal philosophy that drives many college student political views.

Even though young voters may not show up to vote, they may join disaffected Republicans and independents who perceived a Hobson’s Choice in 2016, not wanting to vote for Mr. Trump, but not wanting to vote for Mrs. Clinton, or trusting her, either. As a result, many capitulated, voting for Mr. Trump or wrote-in their Presidential choice. Perhaps that’s why America is so politically polarized today—it’s not enough to disagree politically with a friend—now we dislike someone who disagrees with us politically.

Mr. Biden seeks to heal that wound and bridge the generation and philosophical gap. One recalls when President George W. Bush was a candidate—he routinely stated, to generous applause—that he wanted “to return dignity and honor to the White House.” It was a winning strategy for Mr. Bush, and Mr. Biden may want to resurrect a similar call, this time against a Republican President.

Mr. Biden’s greatest mistake will be to try to modernize his candidacy and to be as “progressive” as the current left-leaning Democratic Party, advocating for a socialistic economy and culture. Mr. Biden will undoubtedly be called upon to embrace “progressive” programs, including Medicare for All, the Green New Deal and other terribly expensive programs to the taxpayer. One doubts if the voting public will support such costs.

Mr. Biden, rejecting calls to embrace “progressive” policies and vowing to serve only one term, should leave such policies to his younger successor and to any Congress that feels compelled to enact such policies. He could therefore be ultimately victorious. If he stays himself, and offers the voter that which he is—a centrist candidate—he could win in 2020.

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George Nethercutt is a civics advocate who served in Congress from 1995 to 2005. Formerly from eastern Washington, Nethercutt has written two books and serves as chairman of the nonprofit Nethercutt Civics Foundation. He teaches a Contemporary Civics class at the University of Denver.