Joe Biden is Hillary Clinton, and Bernie Sanders is playing himself. The dramatic differences between the early stages of the two primaries have now faded, and as this year’s contest moves past Super Tuesday, it is taking on a familiar feel.

For some Democrats, it’s still hard to believe. Following three years of President Donald Trump, the midterms and a presidential race that at one time involved more than 20 contenders, the party remains haunted by its immediate past.

“These two, late-70 [year-old] men battling between each other — one of them just had a heart attack,” said Mathew Littman, a Democratic strategist and former Biden speechwriter. “It sounds insane, actually. But this is where the party is.”…

“Biden is following a very similar trajectory to Hillary, which was that Iowa and New Hampshire and Nevada, frankly, are just massively exotic contests that are not at all really representative of America,” one Democratic strategist said. “They’re ideological, left wing, and you have to muddle through them. And then you start winning in South Carolina and Super Tuesday. And Biden had to follow that same path.”