It was the great nineteenth-century American poet, Ralph Waldo Emerson, who gave this advice to would-be literary upstarts: “Never strike a king unless you are sure that you can kill him.”In presidential debates, Emerson’s truism might be expressed as, “Never strike a frontrunner unless you are sure you can dethrone him.” Thursday night, two California Democrats went after Joe Biden: Eric Swalwell, a little-known, 38-year-old congressman, and Senator Kamala Harris, long seen as a major challenger who had been left frustrated on the sidelines as first, Pete Buttigieg and then Elizabeth Warren surged.Swalwell failed in his bold and unexpected attempt. …read more
Source: The New Republic
