This guy knows...
Posted on 08/30/2023 9:39:59 PM PDT by SeekAndFind
Whether they admit it or not, one big question has to be on the mind of pretty much every Democrat in the country: What happens if Joe Biden drops out of the 2024 race?
This is certainly a fair question. Earlier today, my colleague Nick Arama gave us another example of the President's ongoing deterioration. More examples of such are legion. But what really has to be troubling for Democrats is this: If Biden drops out, they have no good candidate to replace him. Just this morning, RealClearPolitics' Charles Lipson presented a great analysis of the problem Democrats face if this should happen.
The first part of the problem is the seeming lack of any activity in what should be an ongoing re-election campaign. The stage, in effect, is not being set.
Biden’s dismal poll numbers form a somber backdrop for his reelection campaign. That backdrop is even darker now that his health problems are so visible. These mounting problems may not prevent him from running, but they do lessen the chances. True, he keeps saying he is running. But, like all politicians, he may be deceiving the public or himself. The biggest “tell” is that Biden is avoiding the very things active candidates do. He’s not campaigning. He’s not attending a lot of small events with big donors. He’s not running ads. He’s not using the White House’s bully pulpit to address the nation on our challenges and his response to them.
But the second part of the problem should be much more concerning to Democrats, and that is the slate of candidates who might be able to, at this rather late date, enter the contest. Their prospects are, to indulge in a bit of understatement, pretty weak, and the one who may be weakest of all is President Biden's vice president.
The second consequence of a Biden withdrawal would be a fight over the future of Kamala Harris. She is the least popular vice president in polling history, and for good reason. Voters think she’s incompetent, inauthentic, and inarticulate, an empty-calorie word salad without any policy achievements. She’s the living embodiment of the “Peter Principle,” where people keep getting promoted until they reach their level of incompetence. She has reached that lofty level, just as Dan Quayle did during George H.W. Bush’s presidency.
It's important to point out that the reason voters think Kamala Harris is incompetent, inauthentic, and inarticulate is that Kamala Harris is incompetent, inauthentic, and inarticulate. She would be an utter disaster in a campaign, having only been chosen as Biden's running mate to check the "historical first" check-box; to put it bluntly, she was chosen due to her skin color and plumbing, with no other positive traits to recommend her.
So, who besides Kamala Harris can step into the race at this point?
California's Gavin Newsom has good national name recognition and apparently a pretty good war chest. But his track record as Governor of California is abysmal; it would be easy enough for any GOP candidate to hammer Newsom with California's budget shortfall and the flight of productive people out of California for greener pastures in places like Texas and Florida. While he would superficially appear to be the best candidate, he has a lot of weaknesses. While he doesn't seem to be taking any steps towards setting up a candidacy, his proposal to debate one-on-one with GOP hopeful Ron DeSantis has annoyed Democrats who see that as a way for Newsom to grab some of the national spotlight away from President Biden and his organization.
Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker is making noises about running, but his name recognition isn't all it might be, and Illinois' track record on economics and business success is little better than California's. Also, he is... somewhat lacking in the charisma and personal appeal departments.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is running, but a big part of his campaign seems to be throwing brickbats at his fellow Democrats, which won't endear him to the national organization.
There are a number of Democrat Governors who could run; Colorado's Jared Polis has been trying to cast himself as a moderate, which may appeal to some who object to the national party's steady leftward drift. Michigan's Gretchen Whitmer has some broad national name recognition, but mostly due to her botching of Michigan's COVID-19 program.
Who else do the Democrats have? Elizabeth Warren? Bernie Sanders? One of the shriekers from the Squad? None of them are viable candidates for the Presidency.
The Republican POTUS race has its own issues, given a pretty broad field contending with Donald Trump's seemingly insurmountable lead. But at this (early) juncture, the GOP candidates should draw a little comfort from the fact that the Democrats' best hope of holding the White House is to leave addled, dementia-ridden, inarticulate old Joe Biden right where he is.
Big Mikey boy comes in and does horribly is a possibility.
I am not implying that she's able to do the job, but just that she's already in the VP slot.
How could anyone even think that she'd be bypassed for someone else? My guess is that there will be at least one black person on every democrat presidential ticket from now on. Getting rid of her could only happen if there was a black person in the ticket.
This guy knows...
Democrats could run a pile of dog crap instead of Biden. VOTER FRAUD would guarantee that “whatever” the Democrats decide to “run” THE DEMOCRATS WILL WIN!!!
Big Mike
I used to think The Mooch was too lazy to want the job. SlowJoe greased the skids for her by being on vacation 186 days out of the year, only working from 10am til noon, and having weekends off.
Note: Biden just set a presidential record of 377 vacation days in 2.5 years
That looks more like the kind of no-show job The Mooch is used to.
EC
Trump should run as a dem this time- just to have libs jump off buildings. I would finally go to YouTube to watch the videos.
Yes, he is sorely missed.
Ads are 100% meaningless if the massive voter fraud is not stopped.
Yep.
does it matter?
i think biden proved that point
dems are just pulling the lever against Trump
“My personal guess is -— MICHELLE OBAMA !”
In October of 24 she will be the reluctant warrior. No debates, no interviews, nothing.
I’m thinking Alfred E. Newman.
I’d be more worried if they actually put up RFK Jr, but we ALL KNOW that isn’t going to happen!
They could just use a bust of Stalin all the democrat presidents are all the same anyway.
We know who its going to be - (1) A woman, (2) very smart, and (3) fully positioned to politically be a 4th Obama administration (Biden was the 3rd and just a card board cut out stand in while the Obama people behind him planned and did everything).
Biden has already “won” the election. Get over it and prepare accordin.
A friend who is Australian and a teacher of political science told me twenty years ago that it didn’t matter who I voted for because the globalists run the world.
We see it today with the Uniparty. People elected to congress who make a couple of hundred thousand a year retire as billionaires.
“But how do they get a black female Harris to leave?”
Nameless emissary: “OK, don’t forget, if we swear you in, you do what we say. If you don’t, you’ll get very sick from COVID. I’ve got a vial in the car. AND - you won’t even THINK about running... We’ve got snipers at every public appearance.”
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