The Note: Sanders balances tactics as Biden's delegate edge takes hold

The TAKE with Rick Klein

Can Sen. Bernie Sanders like former Vice President Joe Biden, but hate the kind of politics he stands for? Can he run on praise from former President Barack Obama, yet use the Democratic establishment as a foil?

Surrendering front-runner status and a delegate lead has consequences. For Sanders, it brings new campaign contortions as campaign attention turns to Michigan, Florida and beyond -- with Biden seeing more opportunities to run up the score than Sanders.

A new Florida ad features Obama heaping praise on Sanders. Biden, former Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Sen. Elizabeth Warren have run roughly similar ads -- except that the Sanders camp is simultaneously suggesting that Obama and his former aides are trying to rally the Democratic Party against him.

Sanders is also taking on Biden in paid TV ads. On Wednesday, he called Biden a "decent guy" but suggested that his backing in the "corporate world" would prevent him from helping working families.

Sanders summed up the primary campaign from here: "Which side are you on?"

Bloomberg has chosen his side, while Warren is -- so far -- staying on her own side. For Sanders, the framing from here will be as tricky as the math.

The RUNDOWN with MaryAlice Parks

While Tuesday's primary contests and results have dominated the headlines this week, the U.S. Supreme Court was hearing oral arguments on a landmark abortion case that will have profound repercussions for health care in America and the political landscape going into the summer and fall this election year.

The case, June Medical Services v. Gee, involves a Louisiana law which requires state abortion providers to have admitting privileges at a hospital within 30 miles of the clinic. The providers say if the law takes effect, all but one clinic in Louisiana providing abortion care will close because only two reproductive health doctors in the state have been able to get privileges.

The case is the second time in four years that the court has taken up the issue, but the first time the court's new conservative majority will weigh in.

ABC News Senior Washington Reporter Devin Dwyer reported from the court Wednesday that Chief Justice John Roberts was the man in the middle. He held his cards close and worked to look undecided in the moment. Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg led the liberal justices in an aggressive attack on the Louisiana law.

The debate sparked protests and even cross words from Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer, which Roberts rebuked as crossing the line.

Planned Parenthood Action Fund launched nationwide online ads targeting President Donald Trump and a number of Republican senators up for re-election this year. Their hope to is energize health care voters, a tactic that has often worked for Democrats. The case will be decided by the end of June.

The TIP with Kendall Karson

Biden's campaign revival may have begun in South Carolina, but it was solidified when he swept through southern states on Tuesday night where he needed to -- Alabama, North Carolina, Virginia -- and earned wins across the northeast and Midwest, where he wasn't expected to - Texas, Minnesota and Massachusetts.

His unlikely political rebound, boosted by African Americans, moderates and late-deciders breaking strongly in his favor, put him ahead in the overall delegate hunt, 433-388. But Biden's successful Super Tuesday was also, in part, helped by young voters, or the lack thereof, in the electorate. In some of the more delegate-rich states that saw larger turnout this cycle compared to 2016, like Massachusetts, Virginia, North Carolina and Texas, the smallest share of the vote, so far, came from young voters, considered the core of his chief rival's base.

Sanders, who currently trails Biden in the popular vote, 35% to 29% of the nearly 14 million ballots cast, conceded Wednesday that he has struggled to lift turnout among some of the least reliable voters, telling reporters, "This is a campaign which is trying to bring -- and it is not easy -- people who have not been involved in the political process, so if you might want to ask me, maybe as a follow-up question. Have we been as successful as I would hope in bringing young people in? And the answer is no."

Super Tuesday may have shaped the race ahead, but next week brings another test for both Biden and Sanders to claim the mantle of electability, as the diverse general election battleground of Michigan, and five other states, weigh in on the near two-person primary.

THE PLAYLIST

ABC News' "Start Here" podcast. Thursday morning's episode features ABC News Chief White House correspondent Jonathan Karl, who examines the financial impact of Michael Bloomberg suspending his campaign on the 2020 race. Then, ABC News' Anne Flaherty brings us the latest on COVID-19 testing measures from the CDC. http://apple.co/2HPocUL

ABC News' "Powerhouse Politics" podcast. After Joe Biden's big night on Super Tuesday, David Plouffe, President Barack Obama's former campaign manager, tells ABC News Political Director Rick Klein and ABC News Political Deputy Director MaryAlice Parks that the former vice president is the race's "clear front-runner." https://bit.ly/2VGEhBM

The FiveThirtyEight Politics Podcast. In a late-night installment of the FiveThirtyEight Politics podcast, the crew reacts to former Vice President Joe Biden's strong performance in the Super Tuesday states. They also ask what comes next and whether Biden is running away with the nomination. The answer is: "not quite." https://53eig.ht/2PMfXun

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW TODAY

Download the ABC News app and select "The Note" as an item of interest to receive the day's sharpest political analysis.

The Note is a daily ABC News feature that highlights the key political moments of the day ahead. Please check back tomorrow for the latest.