Well I know it’s definitely a thing to use a throw-away when running against an incumbent, because incumbents almost always win the presidency. Also from Biden’s perspective this is probably his last chance to win.

Biden is a centrist Democrat who can draw votes from staunch Democrats, left-leaning independents, and even Republicans of the non-cultish variety.
He is the best choice the Democrats could have made for Nov2020. I am most pleased with his running mate. My guess is she will be president BEFORE the 2024 election.

That's a good point. It's like burning a throw away card on a round when you anticipate that your opponent has something you probably won't beat.

Biden has throw away card vibes oozing out of his pores

Biden was the logical choice. Everyone that ran against Biden in the primaries were not really known well by the majority of Americans. Biden will have no real surprises. We know who he is. America has had enough surprises with Rump. They were not ready to gamble again. No Republican who had their eye on the Presidency was going to run against Clinton. The only person in my lifetime to run for that office and lose and then run later and win was Nixon. It is not who the party picks. It is who the people vote for in the booth or mail. Bernie had three things going against him. 1...He is not a registered Democrat. Parties like their own. 2...It is still too soon to run around calling yourself a socialist in this country. too many people hear communist when they hear the word. 3...The angry old man shtick seldom sells well (see Bob Dole). The leberal Dems running this time would not likely get the support Biden is getting from the moderate Repulicans, which will be one reason Biden will most likely win. IMO

‘Both parties’ may have an idea who is most likely to win their primary, once the contenders announce. This year, only one knew for sure - because they allowed no contenders!

Dole was simply next in line. The Republican’s were like that, back then, very hierarchical, militaristic. Kinda like when Mondale went up against Reagan, he was simply in line … not our best candidate, but the best person in the final race..

The mistake you’re making is, for example, Biden wasn’t ‘put on the ticket.’ Biden chose not to run against HRC, because she was the obvious choice. This time, there was no ‘obvious choice.’ Sanders was the ‘front runner’ … and better known age-appropriate candidates stood back.. The void filled with.. ..too many inexperienced not-quite-ready-for primetime players

Another mistake you make, though perpetrated by seemingly all disgruntled, is the Democratic Party is not some ‘deep state’ apparatus. It’s a conglomeration of procedural oriented folks from ‘State Central Committees,’ the stuff most duck out of local meetings for fear of being nominated! They can organize candidates, schedule primaries across the nation, but lack the authority or ability to ‘choose candidates.’ The People, via primaries do that.

Your “paranoid conspiracy theory” ends in more of a question than a statement. Biden stepped up because no others would. Sanders support had faded, and for a while, primary voters were scrambling. They went with a familiar, proven, stable leader of both the US Senate and eight years in the White House. All above board.

The ‘sacrifice’ here is that of Joe Biden spending his last years in the hot seat. He’s sacrificed himself - for the best interest of our nation, and planet. The Republican propaganda machine is locked & loaded, as usual. But they gave the nation nothing - not even a choice. Now, we have one. To question him is not only too little, too late ...it’s wrong.

I've had similar questions myself. More likely we're just being tag teamed by the 2 party system.

If Biden is such a bad candidate, why did Trump try to invent a scandal with the aid of Ukraine to destroy him? Name who would be a stronger Democrat as far as electability. Maybe Andrew Cuomo. He's not running. You've been exposed to all those toothless white people down in the armpit of America. There are 50 states in the country and unfortunately Alabama is one of them.