Where do Democrats go from here?
And will Biden go with them?
For better or worse (mostly worse), the debate is in the books. Since Thursday night, Democrats and Never Trumpers have been involved in a megafreakout and the conventional wisdom is that Biden’s campaign is dead. Is Trump merely awaiting a coronation at this point? Is Biden done for? Will Democrats replace their standard bearer?
Tune in soon for the answers to these and other questions! Same Bat Time! Same Bat Channel!
Seriously, we really don’t have good answers to these questions yet, but we do have some hints. First, we know that President Biden is not voluntarily stepping down from the ticket.
“You’ll have to carry me out feet-first, you dog-faced pony soldier!'“ the president was reported to have said.
No, I made that up. But it is true that Biden has refused to step down in a speech that was much more clear than his debate performance.
The big question on everyone’s mind is, “What happened during the debate?”
Was Thursday night an accurate depiction of Biden’s mental and physical state or was it a one-off, a bad night? Following on the heels of that question, we can wonder, if Thursday night was normal for Biden, why would his staff put him on the debate stage? Remember that Biden challenged Trump to the debate. He didn’t have to do that.
I think there is at least a chance that Thursday night was an aberration. I say that for a couple of reasons. First, we’ve seen Biden in other settings recently and the debate was atypically bad. As I noted last week, even at the post-debate party, he seemed like a different person. Biden gave a rousing speech in North Carolina the day after the debate, and he showed none of the voice problems or slowness evident on Thursday night.
Second, Biden’s performance in the debate was made worse by the optics. If you listened and could understand what he was saying, he made sense except for losing his train of thought a time or two. Similar to the infamous Kennedy-Nixon debate, the visuals made a big difference. In this case, the transcript reveals a much different debate than the one we watched because we were all concentrating on Biden’s voice and why his mouth was agape. Biden did okay if you listened to the words.
If this was the case, then Team Biden needs to get their candidate front and center and put him on display. He needs to be seen interacting with people and speaking. At this point, they can’t play it safe and have him hide in the basement.
The downside to this strategy is obvious. If Biden has a similar episode, it won’t be recoverable.
But at least we’ll know. And if there is a similar episode there will be a much better case for removing him from the ticket. And removing Biden would almost certainly need Biden’s cooperation unless he becomes incapacitated. The only other alternative might be to create an entirely new party and ban Joe from it the way the Stonecutters became the Ancient Mystic Society of No Homers on the “Simpsons.”
But what if Thursday night was not an aberration? Why would Biden’s staff send him out to the wolves? I can only think of one good reason: Biden’s staff could see what Biden can’t or won’t see. Maybe Biden’s aides threw him into the lion’s den because they know he’s not fit to lead for another four years and they needed to shake Biden up to get him to see the truth.
Which possibility is the real deal? Everyone has an opinion, but I don’t think that anyone knows for sure except the people who are in close contact with the president on a day-to-day basis. And most of those seem to be standing by their man, at least publicly.
There are reports that Mr. Biden is meeting with his family today. If there are real cognitive and/or physical problems, they should be honest with him. And Biden should do the right thing for his party and his country by stepping aside (unlike some other presidential candidates I could mention who seem to care only about what is good for themselves).
It wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world for Biden to spend his remaining days enjoying life at home with his family while going down in history as the man who saved the country from Trumpism twice, once by stepping up and once by stepping down.
If Joe Biden stays on the ticket, will I still vote for him? Absolutely. Given the choice between a guy who is a bit slow but who helped the country recover from COVID and is a strong defender of the free world versus a who hurt the economy by launching unnecessary trade wars, cozies up to Putin, has been legally held liable for sexual assault, and who goaded his supporters into attacking Congress, I’ll take Biden any day.
And if anyone could lose to a man in cognitive decline, it’s Donald Trump.
This race ain’t over.
THE RACKET NEWS IS NOW ON THREADS: Our scheduling software now supports Threads so we are opening a page on that site. We also have an Instagram account that has been pretty inactive, but you may see us doing more there as well. Check us out at: https://www.threads.net/@theracketnews
I've been saying this for a couple of days now; it doesn't matter what any of us think. Team Biden and those at the top of the democratic party will make that decision with Joe and family. All of the pressure following the debate helped move the needle. We just don't know to where?
I wrote something similar this morning on the Bulwark, i will say it here as well. I had to look for the dates, but the Dem convention isn't until August 19-22. That's a long 7 weeks off. Things change as we get closer and one of the oddities is that in the first poll since the debate, Biden's numbers went up a point. Don't ask me, i'm not a poll guy.
After 75 years of kicking around this planet, i am a huge fan of having a Plan B. Shit happens and when it does, having options is critical. Everyone is saying "it's up to Joe." Which is in fact right. It will be his choice. Frankly, i would wait till the week of the convention. By then the fallout from the debate debacle is over and the races/polling will be more clear.
I also said, though i am no speech writer, i could craft a speech where Biden declines the nomination, rather than accepting it. and leave his supporters weeping in the aisles with love and joy in their hearts. I can easily hear the words "for the good of the country" i am electing to step aside because there is nothing more important right now than defeating donald trump.
It would be the biggest moment in convention history. It would capture and potentially garner the most profound sense of rallying around the election as anything witnessed in recent memory. Imagine, Joe putting country ahead of ego and ahead of legacy. The stage could be filled with dems, independents and true conservatives who want their party back from maga.
I'm not advocating he do that. I am advocating those around him get real and have a come-to-Jesus meeting. By then we'll have a better grasp of where we are; where Joe is. I have zero doubt that if push came to shove and it looked like election is lost, Joe would do the right thing.
On the other hand...can you imagine trump putting country ahead of his own selfish wishes/needs?
I suppose if you don't really give a crap about who is in charge, your approach to the issue is OK. The 25th Amendment is as useless a threat as impeachment.