In the coming days, it may well be that President Biden will decide that for the sake of having a chance at another Democratic White House, for the sake of down-ballot Democratic races, for the sake of democracy itself, it’s time to walk away. For many of us, I suspect, this seemed the best outcome following his famously disastrous debate performance on June 27th in Georgia. Though, if he goes, it will not be because he had one bad debate; it will be because everything he did after the debate to prove he was still capable proved just the opposite.
He may surprise us by refusing to heed calls from some of the most important voices in the Democratic Party, though I can’t see how anyone would even want to run after such public rejection by so many of his supposed allies. More than that, how could he run a successful campaign when the leadership in his own party is telling him, and announcing publicly, that he is no longer able to do the job? And for those who think that that is not precisely what is being said, if he is incapable of running a credible campaign, he is incapable of serving another four years.
Those who are speaking personally to Biden about leaving, and those who are conspicuously absent in their defence of the President are clearly part of a well-coordinated campaign. The difficult step they have taken, the conspiracy they have engaged in, is to ensure he cannot win as a way to convince him he should not run.
I agree that President Biden should step down and make way for a candidate better able to represent the Democratic Party in the November. The stakes are too high. I also agree it does not appear he was willing to take a hint about stepping down even when it became clear for anyone with eyes and ears that he should.
If Kamala Harris is the candidate or someone else there will be no avoiding that ugly politicking was behind it. Maybe that’s always the case in one way or another and maybe Democrats will hold hands and sing together when they have to.
Even if the outcome is what I think is for the best, I’m not feeling great about this.
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