President Joe Biden had just one job on Thursday. He had only one job. It was to prove to America that, despite widespread questions about his age, he still had what it takes to be president. He didn't do that. Instead, he proved his worst critics.
This is a problem of his own making. This debate His idea. The rules are: His Rule. Those who try to excuse him are not doing anyone any favors. Does that mean Biden's debate prep team didn't know that Donald Trump would lie constantly?
Now Biden has to fix the problem, and it won't be as easy as being eliminated.
Now all the attention is on the Democrats. And that’s not a good kind of focus. There are just over four months until the election, and the center of that election should be Trump as an existential threat to the future of the country. And what happens if Biden resigns, as many experts suggest?
Some speculate that Vice President Kamala Harris will be anointed as the nominee, but she doesn't give the establishment much confidence. She ran a huge primary campaign in 2019 and 2020 (with some obvious, glaring mistakes, like letting her sister run it). The approval rating is in the early 30s. Her smartest campaign strategist and advisor, Ace Smith, is now connected to California Governor Gavin Newsom. Building an effective campaign infrastructure in a few months isn't difficult. It's likely impossible, and we can't even fit Harris into the Biden template. They are very different candidates with different strengths and weaknesses.
There are other ambitious potential candidates floating around besides Harris. Newsom, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg are all likely to be ready to jump in. The governors, in particular, are likely to be ready to deploy their campaign organizations. But leaving Harris aside would be cruel and certainly reeks of bitterness. And again, just months before she faces Trump in a crucial election.
And voting access laws require Democrats to put forward a candidate very quickly. The Democratic National Committee will formally nominate Biden before the convention in hopes of getting him on the ballot in Ohio before the Aug. 7 deadline. In other words, there isn't much time to resolve the drama.
Biden has said he won't be eliminated, which in itself isn't particularly notable. What else could he say? There will be a lot of reflection and opinion polling over the coming weeks. But for now, Biden sounds appropriately defiant.
The harsh reality is that the advantage of incumbency is real, and the chaos that would ensue if Biden drops out could be dangerously distracting and potentially ruinous within the party.
But Biden and his campaign created this mess. Their lack of preparation and Biden’s terrible performance are their fault. And it’s up to them to fix it.
The good news is that by all early indications, not much has changed in the race. People already thought Biden was old and believed the 'cognitive decline' narrative. The damage was in the following places: missed opportunity I'm trying to change that narrative. But the “Biden is old” and “Trump is lying” statements are already baked into the numbers. We'll see what the polls say in the coming weeks, but I don't think it'll change much. At least I hope so.
The challenge now is to shift attention away from Biden and back to Trump, and the sooner we do it, the better. There is too much at stake.
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