7 stories to know: Bad advice for Biden, better CPR, what's special about 37
“7 stories to know” is a new Monday series showcasing stories that may have been ignored in the crush of news over the past few weeks, and stories that have continued to evolve over the weekend. Expect to read coverage about health, science, and climate that frequently take second chair to what’s happening at the top of the page, plus information from local sources that the national media may have overlooked.
1. Politico offers President Joe Biden some hilariously bad advice
On Friday, Politico columnist Jonathan Martin chided the president for what he saw as a major strategic failure.
It has been well over two months since Christie dropped out of the Republican presidential primary. How has Biden not called Christie, whom he’s known since the former governor was in student government as a University of Delaware undergraduate, to ask for his support? Or, if he thought that too soon or too direct, he could at least have asked Christie to get together. But that ask has not been made.
How is it possible that Biden hasn’t begged for the endorsement of a man who placed behind Asa Hutchinson in the Iowa caucuses with 0.03% of the vote? Well, Christie has an approval rating of just 22.6%. That may not be Mitch McConnell bad, but it’s still bad.
Christie brings with him a constituency of exactly no one. He dropped from the race even before his peak 0.5% performance in New Hampshire. Not only is there absolutely nothing to be gained by having Biden put in a call to a guy who has no base, but that’s not how any of this works.
When NPR pondered where the vast hordes of Christie voters would go following his departure, there was one universal answer: former Gov. Nikki Haley.
Christie leaving the race is widely seen as a boon for Haley, who benefits from New Hampshire allowing undeclared voters to vote in the Republican primary. Olsen says his Christie-backing friends have largely shifted to Haley.
And guess what? Biden has been wooing Haley voters, who are a much larger group than Christie ever commanded. He’s been doing it not by calling Haley and begging for her endorsement, but by reaching out directly to her supporters and reminding them of why they didn’t fall into the Trump camp.
Biden calling Christie wouldn’t help anything except perhaps the former New Jersey governor’s ego. But of course, if Biden fails to win Iowa by less than the 35 votes (not 35%, just plain old 35) Christie earned in that state, Martin will look like a genius.
I think we can take that risk.