The vibes, they are a-shifting

Things are looking up - for now - for Joe Biden.

In case you’re wondering where I’ve been all week: I’m just getting back from a trip home to Newfoundland to visit family (I wrote my last Substack piece on the plane); I’m swamped with work even more than usual, as happens when you take a couple of days off; I’m tasked with looking after one of my kids while his mom is out of the province.

I still have a job. In your face, Keaton.

So posting might be lighter than usual for the next week or so. And the big story of the week - the pro-Hamas encampments at Columbia and other universities - have been covered elsewhere by people who’ve said everything I’d like to say, only with better prose and less swearing.

Members Only #207 - Columbia Breakdown: Next Stop Baader Meinhof?

The Groups Protesting on College Campuses Don't Think Israel Should Exist

These Kids At Columbia? They're Bad. How Bad? Almost 6,000 Words Bad.

Well, mostly less swearing.

But I did notice these results from the Pennsylvania Presidential primaries earlier this week, and felt I had to draw your attention to a few things:

First of all, the zombie candidacy of Nikki Haley continues to pick up a not-insignificant number of GOP primary voters. And it’s not just in Pennsylvania.

Oh, and before anyone says it’s because of Democrats and independents trying to game the system, Pennsylvania has a closed primary system. Only registered Republicans can vote in the Republican primary.

And many of them - not nearly enough of them, but at least double-digits’ percentage of voters - do not want Donald J. Trump as their party’s nominee in 2024.

By contrast, members of the Democratic Party, supposedly torn asunder and waging even more internal warfare than usual because of Israel-Gaza, are overwhelmingly united behind Joe Biden.

One more thing: there were many more voters in the Democratic primary than in the Republican one.