By Mel Gurtov/PeaceVoice
Photos: YouTube Screenshots
Like all of you, I’ve read numerous commentaries on the President’s post-debate situation and what should be done about it. Here are my brief reactions to the reasons most often given for why Biden should not run.
· He’s too old. Disagree: Reagan was old, Trump is old.
· He’s unfit to continue serving; he’s lost his edge. Disagree: He’s more clear-headed than Trump, he still has command of the issues.
· He can’t articulate clearly. Disagree: He’s always been that way, stumbling and bumbling along. Articulation isn’t a job requirement.
· He won’t stand up well to Trump when they debate again. Disagree: Actually, I think in September he’ll perform far better than the first time, and out-perform Trump.
US allies and friends abroad worry about his capacity to lead. Disagree: They’re far more worried, in fact scared to death, about a US led by Trump.
So, do I think Democrats should stick with Biden? No, for one simple reason: I don’t believe he can defeat Trump. For me, that’s the only thing that matters. I say Biden cannot win not because the polls show him trailing nationally and in most all the key states. I say that because Trump has managed to overcome obstacles that ordinarily should have eliminated him as unfit for the office: his impeachments, his felony convictions, his business failures, his demented public comments, his ignorance of the issues, his support of Project 2025. And that’s just the short list. Yet here he is, still ranting, railing, denying, cursing, humiliating. Just the normal Donald, except that this time he has significantly greater support from young people, non-whites, and independents. And he’s no longer the object of media derision; Biden is. The “liberal” media treats Trump’s weaknesses as paling beside Biden’s speech impediments—and so, apparently, do increasing numbers of voters.
I’ll leave to historians to explain how Trump prevailed, but the important point here is that Joe Biden cannot defeat Donald Trump again. (There’s a reason Trump relishes a rematch with Biden.) The only path I can see to winning in November at this late stage of the election cycle is nomination of Kamala Harris as the Democratic candidate for President. I believe if that happened, the Democratic Party and independent voters would be greatly re-energized, while Trump and the MAGA-ites would be thrown off guard and forced to reckon with a young, formidable woman. Joe Biden, for the good of the country, must step aside.
Mel Gurtov, syndicated by PeaceVoice, is Professor Emeritus of Political Science at Portland State University and blogs at In the Human Interest.
