Joe Biden continues to pick up significant endorsements in his bid for the presidency.
This week, before the latest round of Democratic primary contests between former Vice President Biden and U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, two more former presidential candidates got on board with Biden.
U.S. Sens. Kamala Harris of California and Cory Booker of New Jersey were the latest of Biden's former Democratic rivals to announce their endorsements of Biden.
Harris' nod came on Sunday but both she and Booker joined Biden on stage at a Detroit rally on Monday to boost his campaign.
It looked much like last week's pre-Super Tuesday rally in which the Biden campaign showcased endorsements from Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota, former South Bend, Ill., Mayor Pete Buttigieg and former U.S. Rep. Beto O'Rourke of Texas.
Just a day after Super Tuesday, when Biden emerged as the clear front-runner for the Democratic nomination, former New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg gave up his bid and announced he would back Biden.
The endorsements are stacking up like cordwood.
Not in that list, at least not yet, is another key rival for the Democratic nomination. U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, who last week abandoned her race for the presidency but declined, for the time being, to endorse either Biden or Sanders.
She might seem the more natural ally to Sanders, but don't make that assumption just yet.
Prognosticators have tried to read the tea leaves to determine which way she might be leaning, if any.
They're not having much luck. And Warren hasn't said one way or another. Nor has she indicated she wants a role in a Biden administration, if there is one.
This week's votes in six more states and next week's elections in several more could settle the primary question of whether it will be Biden or Sanders at the top of the ticket.
The nomination does seem to be Biden's to lose at this juncture, which only fans speculation on who might share that ticket.
The possibility that the liberal-leaning Sen. Warren would endorse Biden has definitely put her on the prognosticators' lists of potential vice presidential choices, should Biden be the nominee.
Also on various lists are Sens. Klobuchar and Harris, each of whom offers different geographical balance to a potential ticket led by Biden of Delaware.
Klobuchar and Harris come from the more moderate political lane, as does Biden, who reportedly wants a vice president who would be to him what Biden was to President Barack Obama.
Take all the prognostication for what it is. Biden may find his administrative partner from a much longer list of capable candidates.
There is reason to expect him to choose a woman and maybe even a woman of color. Whomever that might be would presumably have immediate front-runner status among Democrats trying to succeed a President Biden.
The one certain outcome of the 2020 election is that the president will be an aging white man.
Of the three senators and former rivals, only Harris is both a woman and a person of color. Yet the choice of Warren, seemingly the least likely, could go the farthest toward uniting the two wings of the Democratic Party in their common quest to defeat the old white man who is president now.
Warren also survived the longest in the primary race and has the strongest base of supporters, although all three of the senators are clearly competent and could handle the job of president. That is, of course, the most essential requirement for the next vice president.
To be sure, each of these women could serve in several different roles in a Biden administration. Or, they could return to continue their strong presence in the U.S. Senate, a role that will be enhanced if Democrats somehow seize control of the Senate. Each has two to four years remaining on her current term.
The ultimate decision will be up to the Democratic nominee, be it Biden or Sanders who gets the chance.
Importantly, every Democratic candidate for the nomination, whether still in the race or not, has pledged to support the eventual choice. The goal of all remains the defeat of President Donald Trump.
Yes, Biden and Sanders each say they will support the other, no matter who wins.
Nevertheless, this next phase of the campaign could sorely test the ability of each to do that.
Both must do all they can to bring their respective supporters to the cause and to harness the diversity that was the Democratic field.
Trump awaits.
Commentary on 03/11/2020