Hi, Delaney. As always, I enjoyed your perceptive essay. But I somewhat differ in my conclusions. While I love Bernie and agree with everything he says, I do not see a majority of American voters ever casting their ballot for an avowed socialist. There are far too many voters left in my generation — OUR generation — who were raised in the Cold War years and bred on the premise that socialism = communism and that communism is the devil incarnate, the polar opposite, of all that is righteous and American. While folks like you and I started questioning this received wisdom in the 60s and 70s, a vast number of our peers and their children did not. So even if they are disgusted with Trump and his vile antics, the undecided voters might well vote for Trump to avoid having a Socialist (horrors!) in the White House. And of course the Corporate Elite would pool all their vast wealth to saturate the airwaves with raising the spectre of “Socialism” and smearing Bernie every chance they get.

Biden might seem like a safe choice, but he is an old-school corporate Democrat through and through. His genial, conflict-averse, and aging, vulnerable personality would make him a perfect victim for a vicious thug like Trump, who would eat him alive and spit him out. A TV debate would be like placing a fawn in a cage with a hyena.

Buttigieg — well — nice and bright though he be, what are the odds of an overwhelmingly Christian electorate ever putting a gay man in the White House?

I know little about Amy Klobuchar, but that fact alone testifies to her insignificance, since I follow politics quite closely. But this is not a time for “moderation” in the face of active Republican viciousness and subversion of democracy at every turn. We need to be tough.

So for me, there is no other viable choice than Elizabeth. She is tough, resilient, smart as a whip, personable, and good-hearted. She may scare some, but not as much or as vehemently as they would be scared of Bernie. And in the Senate, she has proven to be far more agile than he in the actual work of legislation — forging consensus among people with different views and interests in ordet to get good bills through (like the Consumer Finance Protection Act). And she has a strong personality (unlike Biden who seems quite fragile), so I’m quite sure she would not wither in the face of Trump’s sneering or mockery — she would give as good as — or better than — she got. After all, she is a mother, and knows how to handle obnoxious adolescents!