There’s no putting the genie back. The debate (and actually, the Biden team response) flipped me from a Biden apologist to a Harris enthusiast. I don’t believe the polls showing 75% of the public thinks he’s too old — the first complaint I hear from any Normal Person — are wrong or can change.
I think focusing on "fixing" this problem has a lot of presupposition that it won't be replaced with a new connivance that will have some validity like this. I think he's competent, and they invent shit to disqualify Dems. And I don't think anything changes that.
It’s a problem that we’ve been trying to explain away for more than 3 years, leading to a situation where the incumbent, having just confirmed everyone’s worst fears, is on track to lose to a lunatic fascist despite a strong economy and falling crime. I think we have to acknowledge that and move on.
do you think the nyt is suddenly going to focus on how sharp harris appears against all the various old age things going on with trump? or focus on what the supreme court is doing?
or are all the various stories about harris being sidelined, having issues with aides, etc...going to reappear?
i like harris a lot. she was my first choice in 2020. i don't think she's going to get one iota of the benefit of the doubt from the media while trump continues to do everything biden's been accused of and more.
But in running against Trump would head cop really hurt her? I mean among normal voters not the BS you see online? She can throw back at Donald what he threw at Hil ie You belong in jail.
I don’t think they’d focus on Trump, but I think all of the “Harris taking over” stuff would get pretty much uninterrupted coverage that would build her up, and that it would take awhile for them to find an angle like “too old”.
And by move on you mean support biden with every fiber of our beings, through every action we are capable of taking and by voting for him in huge numbers.
Only if it is truly impossible to do the right thing and replace him. If he becomes the nominee at the convention then we have to support him. Before that, it is our duty to work as hard as possible for a replacement.
If he doesn’t, cue the NYTIMES, et al “democrats in disarray “. Also see hubert humphrey in 1968 when LBJ dropped out. Riots, chaos and then a total loss to effing richard nixon.
It's not rational to think that 1968 is what always happens whenever a party replaces a candidate for any reason, even the incapacity of the candidate. That is quite insane, I'm sorry. No offense.
The thing here is, you’re rolling the dice that it won’t when history says it WILL. And guess what? Not if but when it results in a Democrat loss, that means all aid to Ukraine is lost. I thought you could see the big picture but clearly I was wrong.
The data shows that we have several candidates with a better chance of defeating Trump. Biden was already losing before the debate, and it moved him at least three points lower.
It is because the opponent is a lunatic fascist that our champion, defender of America and Democracy, has to be very smart and strong, so that we win against the fascism.
Arguably, with polling this early, he's also on track to win handily.
Biden and Obama also had first debate slumps in 2020 and 2012 respectively, and came back to win it.
People had younger options. They chose not to take them. Repeatedly.