What's really disturbing about the debate fiasco is there's no way to be confident that Biden has it in him to pull off the near-flawless execution he'll need to win at this point.
At a minimum, the Bidens owe us a real conversation about that.
My take:
newrepublic.com/article/1832...
CNN let down the country with their awful debate format. The no-fact-checking ended up making Trump's endless lies sound plausible.
Two things can be true: This was a total disaster from a journalistic point of view, and Biden blew a big opportunity.
newrepublic.com/article/1832...
Unlike many others On Here, I don't think there's a way for Biden to bow out without it leading to extreme risks of a very different kind. We need more of an acknowledgment from the replace-Biden camp that this is not a remotely easy dilemma.
newrepublic.com/article/1832...
Deeply stupid to pretend an imaginary candidate can parachute in to lead the party better the actual leader of the party, who besides Israel policy has seen virtually no dissension within his caucus for 4 years
Who is polling better than Biden there? Is the lead substantial enough to fend off the onslaught of attacks and voter turn-off that comes when a politician actually seeks office?
His approval rating is below 40 percent.
He’s behind in every key swing state poll.
The #1 concern about his leadership is his age.
He just glaringly reinforced this concern in the single greatest opportunity he had to change the trajectory of the race.
Ergo, he can’t win.
By contrast, another candidate could confront Trump’s lies, lawlessness, and authoritarianism directly and coherently. There’s only one way to do this with a bully.
An organized, open process in the coming weeks would create a new media environment to change the trajectory of the race.
A convention nomination would give a replacement the audience only a debate would otherwise provide.
A replacement also allows the ticket to reset a key issue that’s depressing approval: Israel and Gaza.
I could cite all of the other races at this juncture and point to the infinitesimal chances he has of winning at this juncture, but there’s no point for two other reasons:
The "presidential debates" are shitshow. The media are to blame as they keep coming up with this crap year in and year out for the sole purpose of making money. The candidates are to blame because they accept it. The audience is to blame because by watching, it starts the cycle all over again.
Very well put about what the Bidens owe everyone now. The risks of a messy convention/nomination outweigh those of Biden staying on, which to ALL of my never-Trump Republican neighbors in Indiana will be a de facto Harris presidency anyway. There are risks, but the current ticket is a certain loss.
