Is Joe Biden the New Jeb Bush?

Joe Biden, who had been polling as high as 38% in mid June, is losing support. The elder statesman, who occupies the ideological center of his party, is now polling at 23% according to the latest Economist/YouGov poll. While he still leads, Biden has been steadily leaking support for over a month now.

A disappointing debate performance spurred a number of his political adversaries to take aim at his electability. His fundraising haul of $22 million for the cycle is solid, but he still trails Buttigieg, Sanders, Warren, and Harris in this regard.

Biden also faces an enthusiasm gap. Over half of those polled believe that Warren or Sanders will “fight a great deal” for them, while that number is only 38% for Biden. Additionally, when asked which candidate was the most passionate, a mere 14% of Democratic voters chose Biden.

Is “Sleepy Joe” the new “Low Energy Jeb?”

CNN political commentator Ana Navarro set the twittersphere ablaze when she noted that Biden was giving her “Jeb Bush acid reflux” back in June.

The Biden and Bush campaigns may be more alike than you would initially suspect. Both campaigns started with widespread name recognition, high polling numbers, and robust war chests. Courting conservatives, Bush reminisced over his brother’s presidency, while Biden often evokes the…