So far I have not given much credence to the rumors that the Democrats have been planning to replace Joe Biden as their candidate for the 2024 presidential election. I thought that if there had been any plan to replace Biden, the Democrats would have encouraged other candidates to run against Biden. Instead, the Democrats strongly discouraged any competition in the primaries. If the opposition to Biden’s reelection campaign were strong enough, Biden would have announced that he was dropping out of the race last year, well before the first primary. It seemed that Joe Biden had been determined to run for another term, and no one within the Democratic party could gainsay him.
The disastrous first presidential debate changed matters.
It is obvious to everyone that Joe Biden is simply incapable of being president. In 2020, it was obvious to anyone paying attention that Biden was cognitively impaired due to his advanced age. That is why his handlers limited his public appearances using the excuse of the COVID pandemic. Yet, even in 2020, Joe Biden could perform the public, ceremonial duties of the presidency. His judgment may have been impaired, but Biden could make tightly controlled public appearances. Since the beginning of his term, Biden’s health has been declining at what appears to be an accelerating rate. It seems likely that by January 2025, Biden will be an invalid. If he is reelected, the United States will effectively have no president.
This would make it imperative that Joe Biden be replaced on the Democratic ticket. There are problems with this. It is my understanding that legal deadlines are coming up in some states. Soon, it may be impossible to simply replace Biden’s name with another candidate in every state. It is also unclear if money donated to Biden’s campaign can be transferred to another candidate.
Of course, the Democrats are not overly concerned about legality. They have switched out unfavorable candidates just before elections before. Still, a large number of people believe, with good reason, that the election of 2020 was rigged. Illegally replacing the candidate at the last minute will, not raise confidence in the legitimacy of our elections.
There is also the problem of who would replace Joe Biden. Kamila Harris is a DEI idiot. Hilary Clinton is completely unlikeable. Democratic governors like Gavin Newsom have mostly run their states into the ground. I do not think many. Michelle Obama has no experience that would qualify her for the presidency and doesn’t seem to want the job anyway. Anyone who did replace Biden would likely lose to Trump, which might damage their chance to win the election of 2028. An ambitious Democrat would be wise to avoid the mess of replacing Biden.
I don’t think the Republicans should crow about the mess the Democrats are in. Their candidate, Donald Trump, is 78 years old, just three years younger than Joe Biden. If elected, Trump will be the same age Biden was when he began his term. Granted, Trump is far more robust than Biden., both mentally and physically. In fact, Trump is more acute at his age than Biden was at forty. We cannot be certain this will be true in four years. If Trump begins to deteriorate, the decline is likely to progress rapidly. Trump might have served his country better by anointing a MAGA successor.
While many media outlets have been calling for Biden to drop out of the race, Biden’s family and inner circle seem firmly behind his campaign. Biden has shown no inclination to drop out. I would guess that unless Biden suffers a severe health crisis, he will be on the ballot in November.
David's Commonplace Book 