Joe Biden (D) is Interviewed about his Campaign
HILL: We just heard from former Vice President Joe Biden making his case as voters head to the polls in South Carolina tomorrow. And then, of course, Super Tuesday, three days later. Let's get "The Bottom Line" now with CNN political analyst David Gregory. David, good morning. So one of the things -- you know John tried hard to get a number out of him, and he said, you know, Mr. Vice President, how big does your margin need to be in South Carolina? He would not give a specific number. But, David, he did say, he really believes South Carolina will be a launching pad for him. What does he need to make it a successful launching pad?</s>DAVID GREGORY, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Well, because if it's not, then it -- then there's no success --</s>HILL: Well, then, yes, there's that.</s>GREGORY: And he's got a pretty short road ahead. Yes, he's not going to commit to a number. I think it's obvious he needs a big margin. There's a couple of reasons. One of the reasons is, he'd like it to be an early night in South Carolina. So there's plenty of time, if it's called early, he's got a big margin of victory, then a lot of people on TV can be talking about how, hey, you know, don't count out Joe Biden. Maybe this race is changing. Maybe he's going to be the one to really confront Bernie Sanders. And then he can start earning some money. He's got a very short window between tomorrow and Super Tuesday to try to build momentum and get some money in the coffers. I still think Biden's got a lot to prove. I mean I think the sound you played from Van Jones is still on target in terms of his strength as a candidate, the strength of his ideas in the marketplace of the Democratic voters. But one thing, you know, when we're going through coronavirus and a financial market collapse, I think Biden benefits because you look at him in the interview with him, John, you can imagine him doing the job. You can imagine him doing the job with competence. That matters to people. That matters to voters.</s>BERMAN: This is a moment for him. There's no question that this is -- this is the moment. He has to do really well in South Carolina. The coronavirus thing, David, I think is the perfect framing, I think, for his candidacy. And this, in some ways, is the referendum on Joe Biden. And we will know, I think, within 36 hours the -- you know, the fate of the candidacy one way or the other.</s>GREGORY: Yes, I agree with that. And I think -- but I think it's bigger than just Biden, although, you know, not for him. I mean the question of his candidacy, right. But I think the bigger point is, the marketplace of ideas. There needs -- the Democratic Party is fighting about what are the most important ideas? And so one part of it is, who can beat Trump? What can beat Trump? And the other part is, what is the future of the Democratic Party actually look like? And I think it would behoove the party to have a moderate versus a more progressive voice, to have that debate as we move forward to see who's going to be the nominee. And, therefore, the complication is, let's say Biden does well. Then you go into Super Tuesday, everybody's going to wait out Super Tuesday. But here's Mike Bloomberg who gets in the race because Biden looked like he was collapsing. If he's resurgent, now it's Bloomberg who's very much standing in the way.</s>HILL: It's interesting, too, you say, you know, that they needs to get to the point where they're sort of -- really where the party's figuring out who it is because Joe Biden, in one of his answers to you, in talking about some of his rivals, were saying, well, they're not Democrat Democrats. But the reality is, today, you know, who and what is a Democrat? And that has not been established as you move forward into 2020. Just picking up on coronavirus, too. You were saying, you know, Joe Biden is really a good messenger and sort of a reminder. How heavily is coronavirus, in your mind at this point, David, starting to weigh on 2020?</s>GREGORY: I -- you know, I don't know. Maybe the entrance polls will give us some indication of that. But I feel very strongly, and John and I know, having covered President Bush, I think what hurt him so badly at the end of the administration was the overhang from Iraq and Katrina because it became a question, not just of credibility, but of competence. Can the government handle something that only the government can take care of? A global pandemic is only something that the federal government has the scale to be able to address. And I'm very concerned. You know, as a parent and as a citizen, I get concerned about how politicized it gets, especially in an election year. I don't think we ought to amplify it. We should be careful in the media not to amplify the political infighting over this to support an administration that needs to put health and science first in its response. But I think this is a bare bones thing. This is the one thing the government does. You look to the leaders. Are they competent for the job?</s>BERMAN: David Gregory, we appreciate you being with us. Mentioning the impact of an early night tomorrow night, so we can all, you know, go to sleep -- go to sleep early potentially.</s>HILL: There's that.</s>BERMAN: I appreciate it. No, but it's a great point you bring up about that as well. David, thanks so much for being with us.</s>GREGORY: Thanks. Appreciate it.</s>BERMAN: So there are concerns now. The WHO raising specific concerns that the coronavirus situation could turn into a pandemic. The stock market futures have been down all morning long. Down -- oh, wow, actually, that's taken a decided turn for the worse over the last few minutes, down now 376 points. Market open in just a half an hour. CNN, our coverage continues right after this.