Intense weekend battle
So the important thing is Biden and his career and his everything – when it should be everyone else.
President Joe Biden waged an intense weekend battle to save his reelection bid following his disastrous debate performance but has been unable to dismiss existential questions about his candidacy that are more glaring than ever.
But maybe just maybe the important thing isn’t his career but the cliff we’re racing towards.
The Democratic damage control strategy of arguing that one bad night does not detract from Biden’s past successes ignores the critical question with which many voters have wrestled for months: Is Biden simply too physically and cognitively diminished to serve another four years?
That’ll be because the arrow of time moves in only one direction. His past successes are irrelevant if he’s crumbling now.
Since Biden is the presumptive nominee after dominating Democratic primaries, there’s no realistic way for the party to move on unless the president decides it’s time. Some party leaders fear a new nominating contest at this point would run the risk of setting off an internal civil war that could effectively hand Trump the presidency.
And letting Biden go ahead won’t?
How Biden ever made it to POTUS is amazing in its own right. Still, he would not be the first leader to take his entire following down with him as he goes.
I’d like to see Biden endorse a specific candidate to replace him, and then campaign alongside that person for the rest of the run, to keep infighting down and to signal a smooth transition. People who want Biden because of his familiarity will be guided to vote for his designated successor. People who don’t want Biden because of his age will be satisfied, too.