Be bold. Joe Biden will not give up the Democratic presidential nomination without a fight, and he is fighting mightily.
His delusional stubbornness could be fatal for the Democrats’ November fate. The president is not getting out, he says. So, he must be pushed out.
Most Democratic elected officials, among the leadership and regulars, are hemming and hawing. The so-called elites are hanging tight to a tarnished brass ring.
Time is running out. The Democratic National Convention in Chicago is five weeks away. There is no more propitious time to be bold.
The party’s base can be moved. African American voters and officials have been his staunchest defenders, but we will get over it. A new nominee could get the 20-somethings to start paying attention again, as long as the new nominee is not 50 or 60 years older than them. Many Latinos have no great affinity for Biden.
So, roll the dice and change the frame. Hand-wringing aside, this president is too old. Perhaps other 81-year-old presidents can serve another four years. Not Biden, and everyone knows it. Not former President Donald Trump, in my view. But will the dread of another Trump presidency overwhelm concern over Biden’s enfeebled state? Don’t count on it. Americans elect the president, not a placeholder.
The enthusiasm level for a Biden reelection is in minus territory.
In a poll of American adults taken after Biden’s debate debacle, 67% said he should step aside as the Democratic Party’s presumptive nominees, according to the latest ABC News/Washington Post/Ipsos survey.
Hovering in suspended animation is a worn-out husk of a presidential candidate. Biden is a good man, but his time has passed.
If Biden is on the ticket, Trump will stroll back into the White House, smug and overconfident. He will pretend now that he defeated the Biden “juggernaut.” If Biden stays in the race, he will defeat himself. That defeat will mean not only the end of the Biden agenda, but also of democracy itself.
So, be bold. When you have a bad poker hand, you keep your ace. That would be Kamala Harris. The polls show her faring better than Biden. The vice president may not be the perfect nominee, but she has proved herself, particularly since the debate, as she has come out strong and skillfully to rescue Biden. She did what she had to do. That’s what a president does.
Editorial: On Monday, Joe Biden killed off any possibility of a graceful exit
This entire exercise depends on Biden. He must acknowledge the need for him to step away. His allies must convince him that if he does not, his legacy will be destroyed. So, he must be pushed.
If Biden can’t be persuaded, it’s all over, folks. He knows the last four years were his last as president. This is the last hurrah.
If he can be convinced to drop out, the next phase is utterly uncharted territory. In the United States, a presumptive presidential nominee has never dropped out this late in the campaign game. The closest example is when Lyndon Johnson decided to decline the nomination in March 1968. As now, those times were historically turbulent. The nation was waging an unwinnable war and grappling with assassinations, riots and political chaos.
If Trump is elected, that turmoil would be just the beginning. A Trump repeat is frightening. What about an out-of-it octogenarian in the White House?
The Dems must turn the corner. It is well past time for younger candidates and a new generation of leadership. The fresh faces have been keeping their powder dry, aiming for the next presidential cycle in 2028. If Trump is elected, there may be no next cycle.
The Supreme Court has moved far right. Its next move — to rule you can’t even criticize a president, much less call out his criminality.
In Thailand, if you insult the king, you can be charged with a crime. King Trump awaits.
There is no doubt that the potential field of candidates to replace Biden is real and possible. None of them can publicly seek the mantle just yet, but believe me, their political machines are plotting as they wait in the wings. It’s time for them to emerge from their cautious cocoons and challenge Biden for the nomination. In 2024.
The Democratic Party must unite behind one goal — convincing this president, his family and his apologizers that he can’t be nominated next month in Chicago, much less win in November.
It’s time to don the kid gloves and give Biden the big shove. Then bring out the brass knuckles for Trump.
Laura Washington is a political commentator and longtime Chicago journalist. Her columns appear in the Tribune each Monday. Write to her at LauraLauraWashington@gmail.com.
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