The blood is in the water. For Democrats ridding themselves of a losing presidential candidate has become the issue of the day. The big debate has exposed Joe Biden as a politician whose cognitive skills are in steep decline and who has lost his edge even when not having Mitch McConnell moments. But he is loathe to admit it. The frantic attempt of his family and staff and DNC loyalists (and a few journalists) to put Humpty Dumpty back together again is a sad spectacle. But make no mistake, this is a gift from the gods. That is if the beleaguered Democratic Party can seize this grand opportunity. With the right fresh new presidential candidate, the Demos can save us from a Supreme Court enabled wannabe dictator. Properly presented the entire November election could be reconfigured and energized.
The Demos and the centrist mainstream media, which more or less sets the parameters of 'respectable opinion', has now turned against Biden. After the debate disaster it was shockingly obvious that Joe Biden will be even easier prey for Donald Trump than previously feared. It was the sclerotic inept Democratic Party leadership, the DNC, who forced retread Joe Biden on us in the first place as they did in the 2016 election with Hillary Clinton. Recall the 2016 Democratic Party primary debates when we somehow ended up with Biden even as he had limped along near the rear of the pack as assessed by the NY Times opinion writers. It was Bernie Sanders who led by recognizing the widespread discord and proposed necessary drastic but popular solutions. And many voters in the hinterlands not yet MAGAtized by Trump were receptive. In later post election interviews many said they would have voted for Sanders had he been an option.
Yet Biden's first term has turned out better than expected. He presided over some solid un-appreciated domestic policy successes including the (falsely named) but hugely significant Inflation Reduction Act, which amounted to a badly needed major infrastructure rebuild. It had many elements of the 'Green New Deal' that the right wing had so successfully derided both in name and concept. And (also underappreciated), the inflation of the early Biden term more or less has receded. But the discord it created never abated, and Biden remained unpopular. Hence the gambit of The Debate which was envisioned to expose Trump for the lying scumbag and convicted criminal that he is.
Biden, being the oldest US president ever, had importantly promised to serve just one term. His was to be a 'bridge' administration, handing it off to another younger more energetic Democrat in 2024. Now here he stands, never appreciated, remaining unpopular (always polling in the mid 30's in popularity), saddled with two open-ended wars, and now blowing it bad in 'The Big Debate' . But he refuses to step down. The debate was supposed to re-inflate his campaign but instead it left it with four flat tires.
Most of the same centrist coalition that supported his 2020 run now recognizes the Biden 2024 campaign is doomed. And it this is a serious situation; the dark shadow of rising anti-democratic forces globally are upon us. Some label it Neofacism. If Biden loses the election it could affect House and Senate races. We could end up with all three branches of our government in the hands of hashly reactionary authoritarian forces. And we have no Supreme Court as a last resort anymore. The majority of them are leading the charge.
However we have a chance for the Democrats to reboot. Biden in his floundering performance is diamond in the rough. He just needs to be convinced that his presidency will be appreciated and he will go down in history as a heroic figure if he simply abides by his earlier agreement and steps down after his one very successful term. He he fights it to the bitter end as presently seems inclined to do and loses the election which the numbers indicate he will, he is opening the floodgates to God know what. One thing we do know the great calamity of our time, the Climate Crisis, will certainly be fatally ignored.
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