June 28, President Joe Biden delivers arguably the worst performance in presidential debate history. July 13, former President Donald Trump survives an assassination attempt. There’s nothing normal unfolding as the presidential race enters this last critical stretch.
Arguably it never has been normal these past months. To begin, the American electorate have been feeling discontented with either choice, Trump or Biden, for different reasons. One is a former president, impeached twice and criminally charged. The other’s mental feebleness has been kept hidden until his condition was finally exposed for all to see in a national debate. Don’t believe your lying eyes and ears, handlers are still telling voters, insisting that it was a one-off night.
Whether Biden is up for the job or not is arguably not as consequential as perception; and Biden’s diminishing mental acuity perception will not go away. Just look at the polling in the last months.
Forget national polling, the battleground states are where it matters
Biden has been behind Trump in the battleground states (where elections are won) not just after June 28, but prior to it. Furthermore, his approval rating has been under 40% and historians say no incumbent president seeking reelection with an approval rating of under 40% with only a few months left in an election year has ever won.
On top of Biden’s dismal polling numbers in critical swing states at this very moment, no one knows how it could drop further after Trump’s assassination attempt. Picture the juxtaposition. You have a searing image of a candidate narrowly escaping death, blood dripping down his face from a bullet wound, pump-fisting “Fight” like a warrior in the MCU. Then contrast that with the other candidate, walking like he’s balancing on a tightrope, mistakenly calling Putin for Zelensky for and Trump for Harris among other embarrassing gaffes, then admitting that he needs to be gone to bed earlier and not schedule anything after 8 p.m. How can this new, searing juxtaposition does not widen the gap in Trump’s favor.
Let’s not lose perspective of what the Office of the Presidency really is. It’s not just a figurehead job.
It’s worth emphasizing over and over that the presidency of the U.S. is the most demanding and consequential job. This is why mental and physical fitness is an issue that will not go away for Biden. The holder of the Office of the Presidency is responsible for not just the most powerful nation in the world, but the U.S. President’s actions also have global impact. Yet, because of politics, perhaps compassion even for the elderly, we are in a situation of lowering our qualification standards as if the job for presidency is any low-level executive position to fill. This cannot be the attitude to take.
Most politicians in the Congress are already veterans in politics, having come from state assemblies and legislatures previously before making the vertical leap to the highest levels of government. They believe from their experience much of the work is done by those who they select as staff and the various supporting governmental agencies and departments.
This is why, in part, establishment Democrats can in good conscious (but will not say publicly) support Biden. This is why Schumer, Jeffries, Pelosi and Obama can in good conscious endorse Biden even now. But they are wrong to assume the president can be just a figurehead as perhaps it is in lower offices. And most Americans are right to demand more than just a figurehead.
Democratic in-fighting is still fine up until the Democratic National Convention
Unique situations demand unique problem-solving. It’s for the good of the Democratic Party that they engage in a healthy debate this late in the election. Remember there is historical precedence for an open convention for a new candidate to step in. There is already a mechanism in place for it.
It’s clear Democrats seeking the opportunity to front a new candidate – one who could have a better chance at beating Trump – will not suddenly abandon their fight in a week or two.
After the Democratic National Convention, however, it is at that moment when party infighting must end, and Democrats must stand united. We are not there yet.
In-fighting is a natural and innate feature of the Democratic Party because it’s a broad and diverse coalition. Until that time when delegates officially make their vote, it’s in the best interest for the party that Democrats on both sides be allowed to speak freely without suppression. Healthy debates must and should be encouraged.
What establishment Democrats and the Democratic National Committee did wrong was thwart real competition. The Primary should have been a rigorous and robust process with multiple candidates stepping forward. That did not happen so Democrats are in this 11th hour divided on a candidate.
Biden deserves due respect, bow out now and that would be your legacy
Certainly, President Biden has achieved accomplishments in his long career serving our nation. He deserves respect and gratitude for his decades of service. The most honorable thing to do is for him to step down and enjoy his legacy. One among them, is that he was the man who saved our country from Trump winning a second term.
Biden should be reminded that there are other accomplished presidents who did not seek a second term like President Lyndon B. Johnson who arguably had a far more accomplished record in his first term than Biden in terms of legislative achievements. LBJ signed the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and boosted Medicare and Medicaid.
But if Biden continues his denial of the polls and risks his legacy leading to a second Trump victory – history will not be kind to Biden, to say the least, especially if as most are predicting, Trump tears down many of the fundamental pillars most Americans hold close to their heart.
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