By Michael F. Duggan
Anyone who is not stupid, a delusional loyalist, or otherwise in denial, knows that last week’s debate was the death knell of the Biden presidency, regardless of whether he runs or not. It appears that one of those in denial is the president himself.
There is a rapidly closing window to replace Biden. The problem is that he has worked his whole life for this job and will likely not give it up voluntarily. I suspect that Vice President Harris, whose numbers are not impressive, is another who will not go quietly, even for the good of the country. The Democratic leadership must therefore launch the metaphorical equivalent of a coup—they must present a united front backed by numbers in order to force him to leave. Call it an intervention.
The only way to do this is to show that millions of Americans who were inclined to vote for him before the debate, will now either stay home or vote the other way. National support for Biden is hemorrhaging independents. He must be shown unambiguously that he cannot win and that the reason is something that is fundamental—a problem that cannot be hidden or fixed. As others have suggested, the Democratic heads must approach him through his wife, Jill.
The argument to Biden: You defeated Trump in 2020, but there is no way for you to win this time. If you stay in the race, you will squander your historical legacy and will be remembered as the man who gave the presidency, and the future of the nation, back to Trump when an alternative was possible. You will be seen as a tragic figure who wanted to do good, but whose flawed judgment led to catastrophe. The only possible way to avoid a Democratic defeat is to step down as the hero of 2020-24 and turn the race over to someone who might be able to win.
If he does not step down, the Democrats are screwed, even down-ticket.