[I recognize that I’ve given away my plan for what should happen in the title. Just pretend that you didn’t read it until you get down to point #3.]
1. Don’t Pretend Biden Didn’t Screw Himself at the Debate
Note: This will become a separate post, because rewatching the entire Biden-Trump debate minute-by-minutes is draining even in the best of times. Maybe by this weekend? Basic story is that the timeline that everyone’s been repeating about Biden’s crash and burn in the debate is largely wrong, and the worst pictures from the beginning come from his reactions to Trump’s lying. And having once been a strong advocate of the “he had a bad cold” hypothesis, I’m now moving towards the view that he was essentially suffering from having the weight of the world on his shoulders crushing him when he made a terrible gaffe and Trumps capitalized on it. But we’ll get to that elsewhere.
2. We Live in Cruel, Unforgiving, Death-by-Meme-Ridicule Culture
Yeah, you’re going to love this one too — as I track the memes being used against Biden and the memes that (somewhat shockingly) are not being used — and we’ll get into a House of the Baskervilles discussion of “the meme that did not bark,” and explore why that is and what it portends. But it’s too much research to do for today’s piece. Stay tuned — this may also be its own piece, or may be conjoined to the first one above but for now we have to get to today’s feature. Here it comes!
3. Harris for President, Biden for VP: Honorable Semi-Retirement!
No one has ever served more than two terms as Vice President. Joe Biden is generally considered (by non-MAGA Republicans) to have done a strong job as Barack Obama’s Vice-President. He was a wise and supportive partner who gave his President the spotlight and the credit; Obama would not likely have been the President he was without Biden’s occasional guidance and unwavering support.
He did that for Obama; he can still do it once more for Harris. And people are not going to give a feathered damn about how old the Vice-President is — especially when he had had the best Democratic term since LBJ. but without all that messy Vietnam War stuff. Harris-Biden would not be a “co-Presidency”– the President would still be in charge — but it marshals each of their strengths and joins their appeals to different demographics. Blacks and women will largely be thrilled; the elderly will be happy about the father-daughter vibe that they’ll have as he beams at her accomplishments; and she is so well positioned to address Donald Trump as “you rapist” that I doubt he’ll agree to a debate. And she will be well-placed to emasculate him with a smile, calling him a chicken as well as a felon.
We’ve already seen what Trump can do with a female opponent. But Hillary, whatever her positives, was not a good wholesale campaigner and was completely unprepared for this (admitted unprecedented in the Televised Debates era) era. Kamala can shake her pretty head and laugh at him — and people will get the joke. It’s unfair that relative youth and beauty are as big of an advantage as they are — but Democrats might as well take advantage of it!
Kamala — who has been studying under Biden for four years now — will also be better and calling him a felon and rubbing his bronzed nose into his own copious feces. She would not have the “old man shouts as cloud” mien that Biden had — even when he was absolutely right — but Harris will be well-placed to play the dozens with the stinking old fart monster.
Trump does not like this prospective match-up, which is evident on the nastiest memes not appearing yet (they’re likely saving them until after Labor Day) and some Republicans actually arguing that the Democrats would be positively disrespectful by dumping Biden. And, indeed, if Biden were completely off of the ticket, there might be a problem. But with his being Vice-President — essentially “President Emeritus” — Biden will not only have a great time but also be visibly thrilled with pride as his “daughter” following in his footsteps.
I haven’t heard anyone talking about this possibility in the past week — and I actually came up with this and started writing friends about it by Saturday — but I think that its charms readily become apparent. And I also think that Biden, with the pressure off, will be able to clean J.D. Vance’s (or whoever’s) clock on the VP debate. And if Trump counterprograms by choosing a female VP — well, I’m sure that Joe and Kamala with both have a lot of pointed questions for them.
If you disagree — everyone but Neshanian, who’s benched on this one — you’re welcome to comment. If you agree, spread the word, including on social media!
P.S. Yes, there’s still the Israel-Palestine problem that may well cost this ticket Michigan. But my hope is that the more Trump climbs into Netanyahu’s pocket, the more young people, Muslims, and Palestine supporters will realize that it will be easier to bring their views to Harris than to would-be-King Trump.
This is the comment I posted with this story on Facebook:
As I think about it more, one thing that I really like is that it preserves Biden’s dignity and recognizes his accomplishments. Dissing Biden is going to sit poorly with his (still many) fans; having him move into an Emeritus President role can take advantage of his many good qualities (which unfortunately don’t include the ability to avoid ill-timed age-related brain farts) and his ability to attract attention anywhere he goes. It will be very tough for Trump to campaign against a President and a Presidential candidate at the same time: no one he picks will be able to attract crowds like he does (to the extent that he still does, or even ever did.) It frees Joe Biden to be himself and do what he likes with the burden of the entire world on his shoulders. It’s a dignified semi-retirement, one in which he gets to travel the world and build support — which is a really good role for him, with Europe tumbling towards fascism!
I’m trying not to think about 2014 when Galloway begged me to talk Tom Tait into switching places with her so she could run for Mayor while he ran for Council. Of course that was Galloway, not Kamala.
Kamala will not push for this, even a micron. She knows that that would be completely disrespectful to Biden — and she simply won’t do that.
It has to be his decision, but I think that this makes his decision to step aside easy than any other possible one. He’d truly love being her Veep.
Galloway is a real piece of work. But we already knew that.
Harris is no Galloway.
The DPOC elders were always worried that Kamala would run for President and get ahead of her frenemy Gavin, whom they adored. That’s why they recruited Loretta to give up (tragically!) her safe seat to try to knock her off. I’ve written about how I, as her County Coordinator, tried hard to get them to follow the path that the rest of the state had laid out — but they were intransigent. Loretta would have stood down in favor of Gavin if they had wanted her too; when it came to Kamala, Biden gave them no refuge.
I still smile about the smacking Loretta took at that convention, not because I wanted to see something bad happen to her, but because of her sponsors.
Hey, maybe some of them will chime in here!
One other thing it does is to show respect for Biden’s choice of who he chose to lead the party after he’s gone. But now he could lead it with her while he’s only semi-gone. It gives him a legacy denied to Obama, to Clinton, and to LBJ.
As I said on Facebook. I don’t think Biden would consider a demotion less humiliating than full retirement.
I think that you underestimate him. He does no one any good by going “full Ginsburg” and putting his interests above the country’s. But part of his legacy will be how he grooms and helps the protege he has chosen. How well Harris does is a reflection in him, and he’d be perfect in a position where he can give her maximal aid. I don’t see it as a demotion at all; I see it as a chance to fulfill his own goals that are currently endangered due to his debate performance. It’s his chance to step down into a desirable role within his capabilities before voters do it for him.
This is a good article looking at the chances we have of beating Trump under four different scenarios – and the author gives a 65% chance that the Party will stick stubbornly with Biden, leaving a 65% chance Trump gets elected:
1. We keep Biden, Trump gets elected: 50%
2. We keep Biden, he beats Trump: 15%
3. We replace Biden with another (unnamed) Democrat, they beat Trump: 20%
4. Trump beats this unnamed Democrat: 15%
https://leedrutman.substack.com/p/the-many-uncertainties-of-saying
I understand that replacing Biden with anyone but Kamala would be very complicated, AND divisive.
And I’m watching these fucking talking heads on MSNBC, who just refuse to get it. They keep bitching about us Democrats bitching about Biden’s debate and chances, because WHY DON’T WE WORRY MORE ABOUT THE DANGERS OF CRIMINAL PRESIDENT TRUMP AND HIS PROJECT 2025? Duh. That is EXACTLY why we’re worried about Biden, we don’t think he can beat Trump.
And “why are Democrat voters so upset about Biden’s debate performance, when Republicans are foursquare behind Trump no matter what fucked up shit he does?” Duh, 1. because we are not MAGA Cult Republicans, and 2. we are worried he can’t beat Trump.
And it’s not just his debate performance, his debate performance was final proof of what had been rumored for years – Biden’s not always sharp or lucid, and the whole nation saw it! And we all know that won’t get better over the next 4 years. And his handlers have been keeping him hidden and under their control for… since before 2020 actually!
Change the ticket NOW.
Anyone notice Biden’s spokeswoman this morning passing on a glowing review her boss got from Bibi Netanyahu? Bibi who everyone knows wants Trump to win?
We’re being gaslit big-time.
That’s some pretty good evidence right there. Bibi is as treacherous as Trump. I’m disappointed in his spokesperson, but I guess that’s her job. Is this the Black woman who once worked for Bernie?
Karina Jean-Pierre or something.
Please show me any polling where Kamala or anyone else does better than Biden against trump. If not, changing horses when you’re behind makes no sense.
“Bases are loaded and Casey’s at bat
Playin’ it play by play
Time to change the batter”
Joe Walsh, Rocky Mountain Way.
Makes me puke to say this . . .
Draft Gavin.
That’s the best shot to beat Trump in November.
Now I gotta go take a shower.
All things being equal, Gavin would beat Trump the hardest. But all the infrastructure is there for Kamala, voters have already chosen her twice for VP, this IS where a VP steps in, there are SO MANY QUALIFIED DEMOCRAT GOVERNORS it would be a shitshow watching them all fight with each other, and it’s not a good idea to skip over a black female who’s well-qualified and the obvious choice in so many ways.
And she could ALSO slaughter Trump. 60% of the nation is LOOKING for an inspiring alternative.
She loses both the popular (by at least 5) and electoral college.
Pshaw! Pshaw, I say!
I’ve written elsewhere on this site about how if Gavin wanted to run for President he should have never (1) cheated on his wife with, (2) left his wife for, and (3) married the human bullhorn Kimberly Guilfoyle, who is now engaged to Don Junior. The Trump campaign would make the most of her, and there’s a lot there to make.
If you missed it, Ryan, it’s at this link; scroll down to the top-level comment. If we’re going to go with a governor, it would make sense to get someone from one of the WMP states — Wisconsin, Michigan, or Pennsylvania. Unfortunately, they would likely all mean skipping over Kamala or, in the case of Gretchen Whitmer, excluding her from the ticket. And only she gets to use all of the money the Biden ticket has collected.
Our friend Abigail Disney has become one of the latest big Democrat donors to refuse to give any more to the Party until Biden is replaced on the ticket. Abigail is the heiress & niece of Walt, a member of “Patriotic Millionaires,” and if you remember she came to Anaheim to show her documentary “The American Dream and Other Fairy Tales” at the Ponderosa Community Center.
“Biden is a good man and has served his country admirably, but the stakes are far too high,” Disney, a longtime Democratic donor, told the outlet. “If Biden does not step down, the Democrats will lose. Of that, I am absolutely certain. The consequences for the loss will be genuinely dire.”
Abigail is supporting Kamala Harris to replace him, as do I – any other alternative would be unworkably complicated and divisive, and Kamala could beat the hell out of Trump. “We have an excellent vice president. If Democrats would tolerate any of her perceived shortcomings even one-tenth as much as they have tolerated Biden’s — and let’s not kid ourselves about where race and gender figure in that inequity — and if Democrats can find a way to stop quibbling and rally around her, we can win this election by a lot,” she said.
https://www.businessinsider.com/disney-heiress-ends-democratic-party-donations-until-biden-exits-race-2024-7
Joe gotta go.
With concern for the Republic, I dissent. I wrote in Bernie and consider Biden complicit in genocide but a drooling Joe beats fascist trump anytime. Biden beat him last time and per polling, is most likely to do it again. This all plays into the evil one’s hands,
But a drooling Biden doesn’t beat Trump.
The interview didn’t help. Hopefully he will exit by the end of the month.
Didn’t watch it. What’s your recap?
He swore he wasn’t leaving unless the Good Lord came down and told him to. He practically called all the bad polls and press fake news, sounding like Trump. Worst of all he said that if Trump beats him he’ll at least be satisfied that he did his best – all about him again.
The whole time he had this stiff grin, and a REALLY hoarse voice. Stephanopoulos was tough.
Well that really restores my face in … I can’t even find a way to finish that attempted joke, it’s so not funny.
I can’t recall whether I wrote “face” instead of “faith” intentionally, but I guess it could work either way.
What I want to point out now is that the leadership of Democratic Party and its associated punditocracy is now largely divided into three affiliations: the Clinton Democrats, the Obama Democrats, and the smaller group of Sanders Democrats whom the other two agree should never be allowed into power unless it’s avoidable. Clinton and Obama Democrats struggle against each other about the past — who did a better job, who had a harder task before them, who deserves more credit and blame for anything good or bad happening today, etc. — and what it portends for the future.
Carville and Stephanopoulos– for whom the documentary The War Room is akin to a copy of their high school yearbooks times a billion crossed with R-rated porn — are from the Clinton camp. Biden and many other names I won’t mention are from the Obama camp. So regardless of whether I think that either Carville or Stephanopoulos are correct in their assessment of Biden, I have to weight their opinions as close to zero. If Hillary were in the exact same situation right now, seeming to fritz out at an advanced age as she ran for her second term, they would be defending her just as vehemently as Team Biden is defending him now.
It’s sort of like Teams Trump and Bush for Republicans.
The pettiness of the consultant class (even after they leave to other jobs) competing for future contracts and influence is hard to overstate. Biden, incidently, knows this — and why he’d agree to an interview with the #2 Clintonian figure (among those not themselves named Clinton) eludes me. OF COURSE he was going to be tough!
Then there was this.
Stephanopoulos: Well, what I’m try—what I want to get at is, what were you experiencing as you were going through the debate? Did you know how badly it was going?
Biden: Yeah, look. The whole way I prepared, nobody’s fault, mine. Nobody’s fault but mine. I, uh—I prepared what I usually would do sittin’ down as I did come back with foreign leaders or National Security Council for explicit detail. And I realized —bout part way through that, you know, all — I get quoted the New York Times had me down at ten points before the debate, nine now, or whatever the hell it is. The fact of the matter is, what I looked at is that he also lied 28 times. I couldn’t— I mean the way the debate ran, not — my fault, one else’s fault, no one else’s fault.
It’s heartbreaking.
And this morning he made it much much worse. New post coming out on that soon.
*We go with the Dark Horse…..Grechen Witmer creates the Battle of the Sexes Ticket.
Blow their doors off….Revolutionary. Grechen is saying no…..but we are begging her
to change her mind. “The Evil fog will soon evaporate with Sunshine everywhere!”
As people are saying now, simply, she prosecuted criminals; he *is* one.
And the Biden-Harris “father-daughter vibe” was apparent at Harris’s first speech at her new campaign headquarters when Biden said, “I’m watching you, kid. I love you.”
“Kamala can shake her pretty head and laugh at him — and people will get the joke. It’s unfair that relative youth and beauty are as big of an advantage as they are — but Democrats might as well take advantage of it!”
Yep! People will get the joke, like they did on SNL:
Maya Rudolph as Kamala Harris: “But I’m speaking. (audience laughter) [Beck Bennett as Mike Pence tries to interject again.] Yeah, yeah, but I’m speaking. See, I’m speaking right now. Estoy hablando, Nevada, Arizona, some parts of Texas. I’m speaking. (audience laughter)”
Very interesting, all good points you made, Greg.
Can Buttigieg be VP?
He had a good interview with NYT’s (formerly NPR’s) Lulu Garcia-Navarro. He is lucid and well-spoken as slick as a greased pig.
I unlocked it to share here, for the benefit of those without NYT subscriptions. It’s on both audio and text.
That hyperlink to the NYT website doesn’t unlock their paywall. :-/ But I can “watch” the interview on YouTube (https://youtu.be/PK87A_M9A0k) or listen to the podcast version elsewhere. Thanks, Greg!