In the race to become Dem party standard bearer in November, Bernie Sanders leads rival aspirants — despite Biden now close behind in delegate count after his Saturday South Carolina primary win.

Do Dem party bosses consider Sanders not safe enough to assure dirty business as usual?

Israel clearly prefers Trump over any Dem rival for his unprecedented Jewish state support, dismissive of Palestinian rights, his agenda leaving no doubt about where he stands.

Israel’s Ambassador to the UN Danny Danon in his AIPAC conference address, ripped Sanders for calling Netanyahu a “reactionary racist,” saying:

“We don’t want (him) at AIPAC. We don’t want him in Israel. Anyone who calls our prime minister a ‘racist’ is either a liar, an ignorant fool or both.”

According to critics, Danon’s extremism makes hardline Netanyahu look almost moderate by comparison.

Hours later, Sanders responded to Danon saying:

“I am not anti-Israel…but what we need in this country is a foreign policy that not only protects Israel but deals with the suffering of the Palestinian people as well.”

A Netanyahu source said Danon’s AIPAC remarks “were not coordinated with the prime minister.”

Former Israeli diplomat/expert on Jewish state relations with the US Nadav Tamir slammed Danon, saying:

His remarks are “a clear and frustrating example (of) the difference between a diplomat and a politician.”

“Whoever is willing to deepen the rift between Israel and the vast majority of the (Dem) party, to weaken the bipartisan basis of Israel’s special relationship with the US and to alienate the vast majority of US Jewry in order to gain popularity within his party, should not be allowed to serve as a diplomat.”

Over the weekend, AIPAC head Howard Kohr also denounced Sanders, saying:

“Any leader who energizes their political movement by demonizing Israel is not a friend of Israel.”

Sanders declined to address the AIPAC conference, days earlier saying:

“I remain concerned about the platform AIPAC provides for leaders who express bigotry and oppose basic Palestinian rights.”

“For that reason I will not attend their conference. As president, I will support the rights of both Israelis and Palestinians and do everything possible to bring peace and security to the region.”

Bloomberg is the only Dem aspirant addressing the conference in person. Biden and Klobuchar delivered video messages.

Ahead of March 3 Super Tuesday primaries in 14 states, including California and Texas, with 1,357 of 3,979 delegates at stake (excluding 771 unelected superdelegate that could decide the race), Pete Buttigieg suspended his candidacy — despite appearing to have legs following his Iowa caucuses showing.

Was his withdrawal based on doing poorly in South Carolina, finishing a distant 4th with singe-digit support?

Or knowing he lacks enough support to be Dem nominee, did he time his announcement ahead of Super Tuesday with 34% of elected delegates at stake — aimed at helping Biden at the expense of Sanders?

According to Real Clear Politics, an average of polls conducted from February 22 – 29 shows Sanders way ahead of Biden in California by a 33.7% – 15.3% margin — followed by Warren with 14.7% support, Bloomberg with 13.3%, and Buttigieg trailing way behind with 7.7% backing.

In Texas, Sanders has an 8.9% lead over Biden in second place. He’s ahead in Virginia, Massachusetts, Maine, Colorado, Utah, and Vermont, his home state.

He trails Biden narrowly in North Carolina, trails Klobuchar in Minnesota by six points, her home state.

Biden is ahead in Oklahoma by one point over Bloomberg, Sanders 8 points behind.

In Arkansas, Bloomberg leads Biden by one point, Sanders by 4 points.

Will Biden’s South Carolina win and Buttigieg dropping out Sunday gain support for the former vice president on Super Tuesday?

Or is support for Sanders in most Super Tuesday states likely to hold one day before voters go to the polls?

An average of national polls conducted from February 19 – 27 shows Sanders leading Biden by 10.8 points, Bloomberg by 13 points, other Dem aspirants way behind — according to Real Clear Politics.

Sanders has strong support among young and working-class voters as well as Latinos, why he’s way ahead in California and Texas polls — Biden an establishment favorite.

If he stays close to Sanders in upcoming primaries over the next few months, superdelegates could assure his nomination as Dem standard bearer — even though Sanders may have a better chance to defeat Trump in November.

With Buttigieg out of the race, Dem party bosses are lining up behind Biden’s candidacy, aiming to boost him over Sanders ahead of Super Tuesday and what follows.

If the Vermont senator makes a strong showing Tuesday as polls indicate, he’ll regain momentum lost over the weekend with many more primaries to go before the July nominating convention.

One of more candidates doing poorly on Tuesday could drop out the race.

If Warren bows out, her supporters could shift to Sanders. Support for Bloomberg and Klobuchar could swing to Biden if they drop out ahead.

It’s still early in the race. Much can happen between now and the July nominating convention.

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Award-winning author Stephen Lendman lives in Chicago. He can be reached at [email protected]. He is a Research Associate of the Centre for Research on Globalization (CRG)

His new book as editor and contributor is titled “Flashpoint in Ukraine: US Drive for Hegemony Risks WW III.”

http://www.claritypress.com/LendmanIII.html

Visit his blog site at sjlendman.blogspot.com.