It's the mark of a great political pundit to declare the obvious with the absolute certainty that he or she must be the first person to have ever shared the bit of wisdom with the masses. David Brooks did just that on Thursday, doing New York Times readers a favor and explaining why Joe Biden is "still winning" the Democratic presidential primary:

"Almost everybody was bearish on Joe. But now look where we are, weeks from actual voting. If the polls are to be believed, Biden will win Iowa, he’ll come in second in New Hampshire, he will easily win Nevada, he will dominate in South Carolina. He’s now tied for the lead in California and he’s way ahead in Texas.



I don’t know if he’ll win the nomination (both he and Bernie Sanders look strong), but this is not where a lot of people six months ago thought we’d be."

By "a lot of people," Brooks must be referring to the editorial board of his paper because anyone who has looked at a poll, any poll, over the last six months could see that Biden has been virtually unshakable as the leader for the nomination.

People in the national media, like Brooks, apparently thought Biden needed to do something wild to win popular approval, though he came out of the gate with a lead of at least 20 points over every other candidate.

That lead has narrowed in recent weeks, but no one serious has ever said that Biden wasn't the most popular candidate and the likeliest to make it to the end.

Brooks nonetheless donned his academic robe to explain that Biden "seems normal and emotionally relatable" and that therein lies so much of his enduring appeal.

Aren't you glad Brooks was here to explain that to you?

Brooks said that he and others didn't understand Biden's charm with Democratic voters because they spend so much time on Twitter, which "detracts from your knowledge of American politics."

Okay, so get off of Twitter, Brooks. The rest of us out here were under no delusion that after Biden jumped in the race, the nomination remained up for just anyone's grab. But thanks for explaining!