Subject: Re: Bernie Sanders: Joe Biden for President
I saw that article. And noted what he didn't say. He didn't say that he had spoken with Biden and feels that concerns about his capabilities are unfounded. He didn't vouch that Biden will be able to meet the basic job requirements of a Presidential candidate. He didn't say that Biden's still got the skills needed by a Presidential nominee.

Instead, he assumed away the problem:

And with an effective campaign that speaks to the needs of working families, he will not only defeat Mr. Trump but beat him badly.

Yes! No one disagrees with that! What they disagree about is whether Biden can run an effective campaign, given his age. If you assume the effective campaign, then of course he can win! But he hasn't been winning, and faces a very high probability of not being able to win, in part because he might not have the communication skills necessary any more to reliably execute an effective campaign.^^

This wasn't an op-ed that defended Biden against the criticism being levied against him, but one that tried to change the subject. And that's bad! It means that Biden's team couldn't convince Bernie to stick his neck out and defend Biden's current capabilities, and instead could only get him to support his record and his policies (along with a few shots at Trump). Which, again, is not the issue that's currently dividing the party.

^^Some of the reason he's losing is due to things unrelated to his age - the same sort of stuff that's led voters to toss incumbents in lots of Western democracies, as well as voter unhappiness with some of his past job performance.