WEBVTT 00:01.400 --> 00:03.400 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% JUDY WOODRUFF: And that brings us to Politics Monday. 00:03.400 --> 00:07.700 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% To help us dive further into the Democratic primary, I'm joined by Amy Walter of The Cook 00:07.700 --> 00:12.700 align:left position:20% line:71% size:70% Political Report and public radio's "Politics With Amy Walter," and Tamara Keith of NPR, 00:14.566 --> 00:18.400 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70% co-host of the "NPR Politics Podcast." 00:18.400 --> 00:19.833 align:left position:20% line:89% size:70% Hello to both of you. 00:19.833 --> 00:22.500 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70% It's almost here, just hours on you way. 00:22.500 --> 00:27.500 align:left position:20% line:71% size:70% So, Amy, Joe Biden said it himself, we heard in our reporting earlier. A few days ago, 00:29.566 --> 00:31.566 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% the pundits were writing him off, asking why was he still in the race. Was he going to 00:31.566 --> 00:33.700 align:left position:40% line:89% size:50% get out? 00:33.700 --> 00:36.866 align:left position:20% line:71% size:70% Today, he is -- they are announcing endorsements practically by the hour every few minutes. 00:36.866 --> 00:38.566 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% AMY WALTER, The Cook Political Report: That's right. 00:38.566 --> 00:39.400 align:left position:20% line:77% size:70% JUDY WOODRUFF: What happened? We know South Carolina. What happened? 00:39.400 --> 00:41.466 align:left position:20% line:89% size:70% AMY WALTER: Right. 00:41.466 --> 00:43.900 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% South Carolina happened. And for the very first time in this race, the one thing that 00:43.900 --> 00:48.866 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% has happened which hadn't before, which is the race finally narrowing and coalescing 00:50.833 --> 00:54.133 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% around a candidate who has been talking about electability and his ability to be the most 00:55.166 --> 00:57.766 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80% electable of all the candidates. 00:57.766 --> 01:02.733 align:left position:10% line:71% size:80% And it's funny. As we have gone through this process, we have seen momentum become so important, 01:04.800 --> 01:07.833 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% because, again, electability has been on the forefront of voters' minds. And Joe Biden 01:07.833 --> 01:12.833 align:left position:10% line:71% size:80% electability sure didn't look that set when he was losing in Iowa and Nevada and New Hampshire. 01:15.833 --> 01:20.833 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% But to come back so resoundingly in South Carolina, at a time when the rest of the voters 01:22.700 --> 01:26.800 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% who don't want to support Bernie Sanders, Democratic voters who don't want to support 01:26.800 --> 01:31.133 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% Bernie Sanders, are desperate to find someone to rally around, it was actually the perfect 01:31.133 --> 01:32.600 align:left position:40% line:89% size:50% timing. 01:32.600 --> 01:34.700 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% JUDY WOODRUFF: One state did this for Joe Biden, Tam? 01:34.700 --> 01:38.900 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% TAMARA KEITH, National Public Radio: And with one state, he surpassed the delegates that 01:40.300 --> 01:44.966 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% Amy Klobuchar and Pete Buttigieg and Elizabeth Warren had. 01:46.933 --> 01:50.433 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% He's right behind Bernie Sanders. Now, of course, Joe Biden hasn't had the money. He 01:52.366 --> 01:56.400 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% has not had the infrastructure. And so you have Bernie Sanders preparing to compete in 01:58.366 --> 02:00.900 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% all of these Super Tuesday states, spending a lot of money, all of this. 02:00.900 --> 02:05.866 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% And what Joe Biden has is free media. And his campaign had kind of been betting on this. 02:07.333 --> 02:10.600 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% And a lot of us were like, really, this is your plan? 02:10.600 --> 02:15.600 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% But -- right. So they figured, if he wins big in South Carolina, that will give him 02:17.633 --> 02:20.800 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% a boost. People will be talking about him. Now they're keeping it going with these endorsements 02:20.800 --> 02:25.800 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% rolling in, trying to create this air of inevitability, like he's the one. 02:27.766 --> 02:29.833 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% There's the Bernie Sanders' lane, and then there's Joe Biden. And that's particularly 02:29.833 --> 02:34.766 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% important in trying to convince people who are maybe considering voting for Michael Bloomberg 02:36.300 --> 02:38.766 align:left position:20% line:77% size:70% to say, OK, let's just consolidate this. Let's go for Joe Biden. 02:38.766 --> 02:42.933 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% Now, of course, as we also saw, a lot of people have voted already. 02:42.933 --> 02:47.933 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% JUDY WOODRUFF: So, but, Amy, again, Tom Steyer, dropped out, then Pete Buttigieg, and then 02:48.700 --> 02:50.700 align:left position:20% line:89% size:70% today Amy Klobuchar. 02:50.700 --> 02:52.733 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% All their votes, do they absolutely go to Joe Biden? I mean, what happens? 02:52.733 --> 02:54.866 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% AMY WALTER: Absolutely not. And that's -- right. We can't assume that. 02:54.866 --> 02:56.900 align:left position:30% line:89% size:60% (LAUGHTER) 02:56.900 --> 03:00.600 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% AMY WALTER: But we do know that those folks, Tom Steyer aside, that, especially with Pete 03:00.600 --> 03:05.533 align:left position:10% line:71% size:80% Buttigieg and Amy Klobuchar, they're in this part of the party, or they represented a part 03:05.533 --> 03:08.433 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% of the party that really was focused on this electability. 03:08.433 --> 03:11.866 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% Who's a candidate that we can support who we think is going to beat Donald Trump who's 03:11.866 --> 03:16.866 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% not named Bernie Sanders? We're not interested in supporting somebody like Bernie Sanders. 03:18.766 --> 03:20.133 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% So that support could also go to Elizabeth Warren. So, there's not... 03:20.133 --> 03:21.400 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70% JUDY WOODRUFF: Who is still in the race. 03:21.400 --> 03:23.533 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70% AMY WALTER: Who is still in the race. 03:23.533 --> 03:25.600 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% And Tam makes this point about Michael Bloomberg. And I think that's really important as we 03:25.600 --> 03:29.233 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% go into Super Tuesday. The biggest hurdles still for Joe Biden, the early vote that we 03:29.233 --> 03:33.666 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% have talked about and that Amna talked about in California, and then Michael Bloomberg. 03:33.666 --> 03:38.666 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% He is still -- he's spent a ton of money. He's still on the ballot, obviously, in states 03:40.266 --> 03:43.666 align:left position:20% line:77% size:70% like California, Texas, North Carolina that have a lot of delegates. 03:43.666 --> 03:48.433 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% And every delegate he pulls, he's pulling from Joe Biden. He does especially well or 03:48.433 --> 03:53.433 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% has been in the polling among African-American voters. That is obviously what got Joe Biden 03:54.766 --> 03:56.900 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80% his success in South Carolina. 03:56.900 --> 04:01.366 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% So -- but Michael Bloomberg needs to do less well than he was doing in the polls before 04:03.366 --> 04:07.066 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% South Carolina in order for Biden to really get the sort of coalescing that he wants to 04:08.866 --> 04:11.300 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% show with this endorsement by Amy Klobuchar and Pete Buttigieg. 04:11.300 --> 04:15.200 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% TAMARA KEITH: And I think an important thing to say about polling right now is that polls 04:15.200 --> 04:20.200 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% are a snapshot of a moment in time, and things are changing very quickly right now. 04:20.933 --> 04:22.933 align:left position:20% line:89% size:70% JUDY WOODRUFF: They are. 04:22.933 --> 04:26.000 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% TAMARA KEITH: For so long, this race felt like it wasn't moving very quickly, that there 04:26.000 --> 04:28.133 align:left position:20% line:89% size:70% were so many candidates. 04:28.133 --> 04:32.000 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% All of a sudden, there are not so many candidates, and a poll that was done a week ago or 48 04:33.733 --> 04:36.866 align:left position:20% line:77% size:70% hours ago is not going to reflect the reality on the ground now. 04:36.866 --> 04:41.866 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% JUDY WOODRUFF: And so people -- voters -- you heard it in both of these reports, but with 04:43.866 --> 04:45.566 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% Amna especially in California, where voters who are wrestling with this, now the moment 04:45.566 --> 04:46.566 align:left position:30% line:89% size:60% has come. 04:46.566 --> 04:47.766 align:left position:20% line:89% size:70% AMY WALTER: Right. 04:47.766 --> 04:49.766 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70% JUDY WOODRUFF: They have to make a decision. 04:49.766 --> 04:51.200 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% AMY WALTER: They have been desperate for so long. They have been saying to us for so long, 04:51.200 --> 04:53.366 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% just tell me which candidate can beat Donald Trump. 04:53.366 --> 04:58.366 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% And, in fact, I think we got to this place where we are today because Democrats, Democratic 05:00.400 --> 05:03.200 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% voters, Democratic candidates who weren't named Bernie Sanders were so obsessed with 05:03.200 --> 05:08.200 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% this question of electability, that voters themselves got wrapped around this, right? 05:10.266 --> 05:12.533 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% How many voters did you talk to who said, I mean, I like this candidate, but can they 05:12.533 --> 05:16.866 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% win in Wisconsin? And do you think they will do well in enough battleground states? 05:16.866 --> 05:18.966 align:left position:20% line:89% size:70% JUDY WOODRUFF: Exactly. 05:18.966 --> 05:20.933 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% AMY WALTER: And I don't know against Trump. I saw them on the debate stage. 05:20.933 --> 05:24.766 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% And so that issue became so -- it was -- it became paralyzing for so many voters. 05:25.500 --> 05:27.600 align:left position:20% line:89% size:70% JUDY WOODRUFF: For sure. 05:27.600 --> 05:30.000 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% AMY WALTER: And so they were dispersing their votes among a whole bunch of people, instead 05:30.000 --> 05:33.700 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% of just focusing on, here's the candidate we think is the most electable. I may not 05:33.700 --> 05:36.400 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70% love this person, but they can win. 05:36.400 --> 05:39.533 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% JUDY WOODRUFF: I was still hearing it from Virginia voters in Virginia. I was out able 05:39.533 --> 05:42.600 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70% to talk to some of them over the weekend, Tam. 05:42.600 --> 05:47.600 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% But just quickly, on Mike Bloomberg -- and I did see him Saturday morning in Virginia. 05:50.100 --> 05:53.666 align:left position:10% line:71% size:80% Some of the rationale, if not the main rationale, for his candidacy was, Joe Biden may not make 05:53.666 --> 05:54.666 align:left position:40% line:89% size:50% it. 05:54.666 --> 05:55.666 align:left position:20% line:89% size:70% AMY WALTER: Right. 05:55.666 --> 05:57.333 align:left position:20% line:89% size:70% TAMARA KEITH: Right. 05:57.333 --> 05:58.800 align:left position:20% line:77% size:70% JUDY WOODRUFF: And so now, with Biden having momentum, what happens? 05:58.800 --> 06:00.900 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% TAMARA KEITH: It's a big, giant, open question. 06:00.900 --> 06:05.533 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% You know, he -- Michael Bloomberg has spent more money than God. I mean, he has spent 06:05.533 --> 06:10.533 align:left position:10% line:71% size:80% - - he has spent more money certainly than Barack Obama spent in his entire 2012 reelection. 06:12.466 --> 06:16.666 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% And it's not clear yet what it's going to buy. Is he going to be like a Tom Steyer, 06:16.666 --> 06:21.133 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% who people seem interested in, and then the support actually melts away when it comes 06:21.133 --> 06:24.833 align:left position:20% line:77% size:70% time to voting, or is he going to get a certain amount of support? 06:24.833 --> 06:29.233 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% Will he be viable in some states? But, like, the thing is, do you spend that much money, 06:29.233 --> 06:34.133 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% do you run that hard, do you -- is your whole strategy, I'm going to go out on Super Tuesday 06:34.133 --> 06:39.133 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% and show them? Does that become -- like, what if you only are just viable in a few states 06:40.000 --> 06:40.933 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80% and you aren't winning states? 06:40.933 --> 06:43.000 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80% How long can you maintain that? 06:43.000 --> 06:46.766 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% JUDY WOODRUFF: And there is Bernie Sanders, Amy, who has a very loyal -- and, again, I 06:46.766 --> 06:47.833 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70% was able to see him over the weekend. 06:47.833 --> 06:49.866 align:left position:30% line:89% size:60% AMY WALTER: Yes. 06:49.866 --> 06:52.933 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% JUDY WOODRUFF: Talk about an enthusiastic crowd. Thousands were out, Springfield, Virginia. 06:52.933 --> 06:53.933 align:left position:20% line:89% size:70% It doesn't get any... 06:53.933 --> 06:55.133 align:left position:30% line:89% size:60% (CROSSTALK) 06:55.133 --> 06:57.233 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70% AMY WALTER: That's what been fascinating. 06:57.233 --> 06:59.166 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% As I said, with this focus on -- so much of the field, so many of the voters focused on 06:59.166 --> 07:03.900 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% electability, what so many candidates were doing was running not to lose, not to lose 07:04.500 --> 07:06.600 align:left position:30% line:89% size:60% to Donald Trump. 07:06.600 --> 07:10.200 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% Bernie Sanders I saw as the only candidate who was running to win, right? He didn't care 07:12.233 --> 07:15.100 align:left position:20% line:71% size:70% about all these other things that people were wrapping themselves around. He has been very 07:15.100 --> 07:20.100 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% committed to his message, to his ideology, to his narrative throughout this campaign. 07:21.300 --> 07:23.400 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70% It hasn't budged. It hasn't changed. 07:23.400 --> 07:27.700 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% So there is an attractiveness to that. That's what a lot of voters are attracted to. And 07:27.700 --> 07:32.500 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% he was able to coalesce those voters. He hasn't lost them, in the way that the ones who were 07:32.500 --> 07:34.866 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% focused on electability have been diverse - - dispersed. 07:34.866 --> 07:35.866 align:left position:30% line:89% size:60% (CROSSTALK) 07:35.866 --> 07:38.000 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80% JUDY WOODRUFF: Excuse me. 07:38.000 --> 07:40.433 align:left position:20% line:71% size:70% As we have been saying, Tam, he does seem - - appear to be ahead in the polls in California. 07:40.433 --> 07:41.833 align:left position:20% line:89% size:70% TAMARA KEITH: Way ahead. 07:41.833 --> 07:43.900 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% JUDY WOODRUFF: He's supposed to do well in Texas. 07:43.900 --> 07:47.800 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% That's one reason Joe Biden is having this mega-event tonight with endorsements. 07:47.800 --> 07:48.800 align:left position:30% line:89% size:60% AMY WALTER: Yes. 07:48.800 --> 07:51.400 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80% TAMARA KEITH: Mega-rally. 07:51.400 --> 07:54.800 align:left position:10% line:71% size:80% JUDY WOODRUFF: But he could end up doing -- I mean, he could either end up cleaning up tomorrow 07:55.666 --> 07:59.033 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80% or looking less than inevitable. 07:59.033 --> 08:04.033 align:left position:10% line:71% size:80% TAMARA KEITH: Absolutely. Those are the options. And there's some muddle in between that could 08:04.500 --> 08:05.433 align:left position:40% line:89% size:50% happen. 08:05.433 --> 08:07.966 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80% JUDY WOODRUFF: In between. 08:07.966 --> 08:10.000 align:left position:10% line:71% size:80% AMY WALTER: But one of the things that I will be looking to see is, will some of these states 08:10.000 --> 08:14.900 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% be more like Nevada, where he won super handily, won -- he won African-American voters, he 08:16.833 --> 08:21.400 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% won Latino voters especially -- or will some of these states be more like South Carolina, 08:21.400 --> 08:24.766 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% where Joe Biden was able to really consolidate the African-American support? 08:24.766 --> 08:29.766 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% The question is, Bernie Sanders has been able to expand his base well beyond what it was 08:31.366 --> 08:35.033 align:left position:20% line:77% size:70% in 2016. Does that hold up in every state or only some of the states? 08:35.033 --> 08:39.833 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% AMY WALTER: Right. And Nevada, of course, was a caucus. The rest of these are primaries. 08:39.833 --> 08:44.833 align:left position:10% line:71% size:80% Joe Biden, yes, did very well among African-American voters and among white voters in South Carolina, 08:46.766 --> 08:50.366 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% but South Carolina doesn't look even, as you well know, like North Carolina or Virginia. 08:50.366 --> 08:52.333 align:left position:20% line:89% size:70% TAMARA KEITH: Right. 08:52.333 --> 08:55.233 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% AMY WALTER: The African-American population that votes in South Carolina is bigger than 08:55.233 --> 08:59.833 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% any other state that's going to vote on Super Tuesday, maybe with the exception of Alabama. 08:59.833 --> 09:04.833 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% But the -- California and Texas, the two states with the most delegates, they also have a 09:06.800 --> 09:11.333 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% tremendously large Latino population. That's where Bernie Sanders has also done very well, 09:12.066 --> 09:13.166 align:left position:20% line:89% size:70% Joe Biden not so well. 09:13.166 --> 09:14.100 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70% JUDY WOODRUFF: Targeting those voters. 09:14.100 --> 09:16.133 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80% AMY WALTER: That's right. 09:16.133 --> 09:18.200 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% JUDY WOODRUFF: Well, we can't wait. The voters get their say, a lot of them -- what is it, 09:18.200 --> 09:21.566 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% a third of the delegates being chosen by tomorrow. 09:21.566 --> 09:22.566 align:left position:30% line:89% size:60% (CROSSTALK) 09:22.566 --> 09:23.733 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80% JUDY WOODRUFF: We can't wait. 09:23.733 --> 09:24.666 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70% Tamara Keith, Amy Walter, thank you both. 09:24.666 --> 09:25.866 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80% TAMARA KEITH: You're welcome. 09:25.866 --> 09:26.000 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70% AMY WALTER: You're welcome, Judy.