POLITICS & CAMPAIGNS: Former Vice President Joe Biden sparked an intra party bonfire Tuesday night when he tried to make a point about his early experience in the Senate working alongside politicians whose opposition to integration and support for segregation he is on record as rejecting. Biden's remarks at a New York fundraiser were covered by the news media, turning the former Delaware senator into an instant social media target. By Wednesday, fellow Democratic presidential candidates weighed in, seeing openings to rebuke the current front-runner. "I was in a caucus with James O. Eastland," Biden said on Tuesday, speaking of the Mississippi senator, a Democrat. "He never called me 'boy.' He always called me 'son.' " The late Sen. Herman Talmadge (D-Ga.) was "one of the meanest guys I ever knew," Biden added. "Well guess what? At least there was some civility. We got things done," he continued. "We didn't agree on much of anything. We got things done. We got it finished. But today, you look at the other side and you're the enemy. Not the opposition, the enemy. We don't talk to each other anymore." Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) said he respected Biden but called him "wrong," while Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) joined Booker in urging the former vice president to apologize. New York Mayor Bill de Blasio (D) said it was "past time for apologies or evolution" from Biden. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) said "it's never OK to celebrate segregationists," while Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) said Biden's discussion of Eastland and Talmadge concerned her "deeply" (The Hill). The former vice president bristled at Booker's call for an apology, telling a reporter on Wednesday, "Apologize for what? He knows better. There's not a racist bone in my body. I've been involved in civil rights my whole career. Period. Period. Period" (The Hill). "Vice President Biden shouldn't need this lesson," Booker said on CNN as the back-and-forth continued. "This is deeply disappointing." Biden campaign spokeswoman Symone Sanders argued on Twitter that the former vice president did not praise segregationists but "basically said sometimes in Congress, one has to work with terrible or downright racist folks to get things done. And then went on to say when you can't work with them, work around them" (The Hill). Bottom line: Biden wants to set himself apart from the progressive left of his party in a way that appeals to voters beyond the Democratic base. But he has to clear a primary field first, and his Democratic opponents saw a misstep and pounced. Expect some back-and-forth about segregation, racial reparations and racial discrimination in the justice system during next week's Democratic debates, to be held in Miami. The Atlanta-Journal Constitution's Political Insider: Parsing Biden's relationship with Southern history. Stephen Collinson: Biden gets in his own way on race. SE Cupp: Biden is stuck in the wrong century. David Leonhardt: Give Joe a break. Talking about compromise is smart. Elizabeth Bruenig: Why Biden can't take us back to normal. Sara Boboltz, Black Voices: Biden fondly recalls segregationist senators from a time of more `civility.' 
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> Warren is nipping at Sanders's heels in recent polls of likely Democratic voters, but advisers and allies who back the Vermont senator for the White House say they're confident his supporters will emerge when the sprawling field of primary candidates begins to winnow, reports Amie Parnes. Sanders took a swipe at Warren on Wednesday. > Twenty-one Democrats running for president were videotaped answering 18 questions posed by The New York Times. It's worth taking the time to watch their answers. Biden declined to participate. > In the wake of his reelection rally on Tuesday night, Trump's argument for four more years was tinged with grievance and anger about Democratic foes, witch hunts, corruption and deceit. Niall Stanage explores whether incumbent presidents can appeal to voters as outsiders once they lead the very system they pledged to fix. Perhaps part of the answer emerged on Wednesday morning when the Republican National Committee announced that Trump raised "a record breaking $24.8M in less than 24 hours for his reelection." Politico: Trump's plan for Democratic debates: Make it about him. > The Cook Political Report's David Wasserman tweeted a fascinating and detailed 2020 scenario in which Trump could conceivably win reelection by one Electoral College vote but lose the popular vote by as many as 5 million ballots. Read Wasserman's take HERE. > House GOP and 2020: Republicans are growing pessimistic about recapturing the House majority next year. Trump's approval ratings in key states put downward pressure on expectations, while the party's 2020 campaign strategy may be heading for the operating room (The Hill). The National Republican Congressional Committee, the campaign arm for House GOP candidates, is the subject of much agitation among conservatives who think Chairman Tom Emmer (R-Minn.) and his team need to step it up, and quickly. As one disgruntled GOP lawmaker put it, "His team is inept. They have no idea what they're doing, and their strategy is not putting Republicans in a good position to take back the House." (The Hill). > House Democrats and 2020: Democratic primary challengers in House races are poised to challenge incumbents, eager to shrink the ranks of moderate Democrats in Congress. What's a hot-button litmus test issue among progressives trying to take out moderate incumbents? You guessed it: Impeachment (The Hill). The Associated Press: Alabama's Roy Moore to announce U.S. Senate plans today. The Washington Post: Former Attorney General Jeff Sessions (R) hasn't ruled out a run for his old Senate seat from Alabama, says Sen. Richard Shelby (R-Ala.). | 
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