After her loss, Democrats across the party, including Biden, dwelled on a perception that she focused too much on Trump’s character and aligning him with the alt-right, at the expense of a sharper economic message that would have better fit the climate. Biden’s early stump speech hits on several themes. In between talking about the soul of the nation and unity, he spends considerable time on the “dignity of work” and how to rebuild the middle class.

The events in Charlottesville, of course, combined with the response from a president who has employed nationalists like Steve Bannon, rendered much of what Clinton said true. And Biden, a 76-year-old former vice president who is uniquely positioned to adopt a posture as the adult in a field of 21 candidates, is moving ahead confidently with an anti-Trump focus in a primary where voters are most concerned about nominating the person most qualified to defeat the president…

All of this is early evidence that the message could resonate for him in a way it didn’t for Clinton. Democrats have varying theories as to why, and some boil down to a simple judgment: It was the singer, not the song.