r/thebulwark • u/grumpyliberal FFS • 2d ago

If Biden plans to step aside, he should do it now.

If Biden is even considering stepping aside for the election, he should do so now to allow the country to see Harris as President. It will make the country and the world much more comfortable with what to expect. She will be much more effective against Trump. Clyburn has already said he would support Harris as the nominee, so that means there will be a demoralizing internal battle if the nomination is thrown open. The reality is that Harris is in the zone, even if some don’t like it.

34 Upvotes
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85% Upvoted

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26

u/derrickcat 2d ago

I didn't think he was going to - I didn't even want him to. And now, just something in the air has shifted. I think it's going to happen within the week.

I feel so incredibly sad that this is how his tenure ends. He has been the best president of my lifetime - for real. And I am not a kid. I feel like he's been stripped of his dignity, and all of us are in a terrible limbo. I hope he gets his dignity back - and we get some sense that there might still be a future for this country.

7

u/CunningWizard 2d ago

Agreed that something changed big time. I was ardently pro Biden before the debate. I thought the age thing was overblown. Boy was I wrong.

I think if he steps aside he’ll be remembered as an amazing president who beat Trump, got lots of legislation passed, and then recognized when it was time to go.

Literally can’t think of a more honorable way to do it than that.

Though if Trump wins that’ll sully it, but we probably won’t have history books if that happens so who cares.

5

u/CrossCycling 2d ago

I think if Biden stepped down from the ticket and Dems got a real ticket out of it, Biden would be a Democratic hero.

17

u/Shr3kk_Wpg 2d ago

I feel bad for President Biden, but he chose to run for re-election. It can be hard to be self-aware of the extent of one's own diminished capacity, but he has to know that he has done way less unscripted events than usual for a President. Looking back, it's clear the team around him has been hiding him. No Super Bowl interview. No NYT interview. He is good when he has a teleprompter, but that's not good enough

6

u/anothermatt8 2d ago

Yeah this feels like how they coalesced around Biden in the span of about a week in 2020, only in reverse. I’d be more surprised if he runs than not at this point.

The dam broke.

2

u/derrickcat 2d ago

you're right - that's exactly how it feels. like a terrible, inevitable bookend.

3

u/anothermatt8 2d ago

Yeah it’s happening. It’s starting to move at record speed. Dems have 1 chance not to fuck it up.

3

u/ozymandiasjuice 2d ago

There’s a pretty easy speech he could give to preserve his dignity and hand off to the next person. ‘I promised in my first campaign that I would be a bridge. I also promised that I would defend our democracy, and that I would only run if I were the best chance to beat Donald Trump.’

And so on…

6

u/TheDuckOnQuack 2d ago

I feel like he's been stripped of his dignity

This phrasing is too passive. I might say it like this if he suffered an acute health issue that suddenly compromised his mental faculties during the election, like John Fetterman having a stroke.

Biden isn’t being stripped of his dignity, he threw it away and is doubling down on it. If he announced his decision to not run for reelection a year ago, he’d be 6 months away from retirement and most of the pressure to win the 2024 election would be out of his hands. Within a few years of retiring, I’m sure we’d hear about some health issues on his side, and the usual Republican ghouls would laugh, but he’d at least go out with the respect (if not the political approval) of most of the country.

3

u/FarthestLight 2d ago

I blame Jill Biden.

9

u/Alternative_Smile528 2d ago

Wait until after the holiday weekend. Let’s see some polls and game theory Kamala or an open convention.

Let folks enjoy their fireworks, ball games and concerts.

If the polls are bad Monday and Tuesday, pray Biden does the noble thing late next week.

9

u/Temporary_Train_3372 2d ago

Harris is within 1 point on the latest Ipsos poll and 2 points in the CNN poll. That’s well within the margin of error. Harris should be the nominee and it should happen extremely soon. Why wait?

6

u/ballmermurland 2d ago

It’s actually an amazing plan and will breathe life into the base.

Joe refusing will make me question if he was ever actually the good guy and not just another selfish politician

1

u/JoanneMG822 2d ago

There's no way Biden makes it through a second term, so we're voting for Kamala Harris anyway. Put her in to lead the ticket now. We need someone with strength and emotion to fight back. I'd like to see Trump debate her. He couldn't handle it.

2

u/bcasper1 2d ago

I feel like pollsters hitting up the fireworks watching crowds would be very fruitful and efficient.

1

u/anothermatt8 2d ago

This is rational and sensible and what I think will happen. The holiday weekend gives everyone a chance to tread water for a few days while things get gameplanned out in the background.

5

u/throwaway_boulder 2d ago

I think Kamala could do fine. Have Joe do the nomination speech at the convention. Get her a good VP pick and then go on the attack by reminding everyone the real issues are abortion and Donald Trump.

1

u/grumpyliberal FFS 2d ago

time to go on this

4

u/Waste_Curve994 2d ago

Go nuts with his newly granted executive power for a week on the way out.

2

u/grumpyliberal FFS 2d ago

There's that. Also, tee Harris up to scorch Trump.

1

u/Waste_Curve994 2d ago

Yep! Have fun with this. They won’t, but we can dream.

4

u/N0T8g81n FFS 2d ago

His family seems to have told him to keep going.

Part of me asks whether Dr Jill is a wannabe Edith Wilson.

2

u/grumpyliberal FFS 2d ago

Of course his family told him that. They know how long Biden wanted this job and how much he has enjoyed it. But the presidency ages even the most vigorous and able. Biden came in great shape for a man his age; now he looks like a man his age plus some. There is a serious neurological situation going on. God love him, he needs to step down now, or the cabinet needs to look at the 25th Amendment.

5

u/MirthMannor 2d ago

Biden has been beating long odds and running for office when everyone told him to stop for a long time now. First campaign, right after the car wreck, 2020, and now.

And he remembers the one time that he listened to them — 2016, when he didn’t challenge Clinton.

1

u/grumpyliberal FFS 2d ago

You’re neglecting the other runs in 1998 ( when he was the front runner and had to bow out after it was revealed he plagiarized a speech) and 2008 when he wound up with Obama. Look, I love Joe Biden. I thought he was a great senator and an excellent president. I’m certain history will put him among the top 10 for what he accomplished as VP and as President. But this is not a race he should want to win. God love him, he’s suffering. If he loses, it will kill him. I don’t doubt that a minute.

3

u/Ainvb 2d ago

Yep agree whole heartedly. If he steps aside and we stomp the autocratic forces (for now), he will go down as one of the great heroes in the last half century.

There is no way that Thursday was not an aberration. Why else did his team reject a Super Bowl invite? Why else have we not seen him on a bike (knowing full well it would be everywhere if he was able). Why was everyone already on such an edge even before the debate?

1

u/Agile-Music-2295 2d ago

I need to know. In all honesty.

Who was actually surprised by Thursdays debate?

Maybe because I’m in a Republican area, but my neighbours thought Biden would do worse than he did. They don’t get the fuss.

3

u/pollingquestion 2d ago

I was. I didn’t expect Biden to look that bad and make only a handful of coherent statements. Plus he landed zero counter punches on Trump. Zero. His performance was worse than I imagined, probably because I really love Biden.

2

u/Shoddy-War1764 1d ago

Same partly because I actually don't watch that much TV since I got rid of cable and when I do watch it's not news. So while I'm very engaged in the politics of it all, I haven't really LOOKED at the president except for still photos for quite some time. 

So I was really pretty shocked.

2

u/grumpyliberal FFS 2d ago

Because they already had his "age" factored into the equation? Because they were going to vote for Trump anyway? This is seriously not a good thing. I supported Biden from the very start. I thought he was the only one who cold beat Trump in 2020 and I thought he was the only one up to the job of repairing some of the damage because he had long experience in government. I started getting pushback from many long term loyal Democrats on Biden last year. They just thought he was too old. This was from some Dems who saw him up close in DC over a number of months. I was resistant and thought ti was all resolved until the debate. Biden is suffering from some neurological disorder. There are drugs that could help his situation but that would require a diagnosis and medications on his record. Hiding from this is not the answer and the longer we delay the worse it gets.

2

u/WanderBell 1d ago

I was actually surprised by Thursday’s debate.

I had fully bought into the notion that any such talk about Biden was right wing disinformation. He killed it at the state of the union speech. He did that recent interview with Howard Stern.

Then, Thursday night, he acted like my grandmother who was progressively engulfed by frailty in her mid 80s back in the 1980s. I was shocked beyond words at what I saw. As every third person in every news talk segment says, you can’t unsee it.

1

u/therobotisjames 2d ago

Truly wish him and Kamala would just say they are sitting out this election. Kamala should ask and get a cabinet position, literally anyone she wants. Maybe even Biden too. They can both still be in the show. And they should just let us pick from a new generation.

2

u/mrtwidlywinks 2d ago

That’s just not realistic. Kamala is the obvious choice, skipping over her will dishearten a lot of voters. It’s just a matter of how many people will she turn off vs how many will be energized

1

u/Imaginary-Row-1250 2d ago

Biden is not stepping down. Why do I think so? Fundraising was to the Biden Harris campaign there is still a Harris some of that money goes to her.

1

u/485sunrise 2d ago

7/7/2024

1

u/Objective_Cod1410 2d ago

If he literally resigned the GOP house is not going to confirm a VP nom. That would leave Mike Johnson as 2nd in line.

1

u/ballmermurland 2d ago

So? Even if Harris dies by October he’ll be potus for a few months.

1

u/bearrosaurus 2d ago

I don’t think the Republican house would hold up a VP choice while the country is reeling. It would look insane. I’m assuming it’s Beshear anyways so it would look doubly stupid.

2

u/Objective_Cod1410 2d ago

You are far more optimistic than I

2

u/bcasper1 2d ago

Would it not be Pete Buttigieg? He's already in the cabinet and is polling beat in lot. I feel like if you go kamala Pete would feel like a natural balance.

1

u/pollingquestion 2d ago

Could it be Shapiro to try to lock-in PA?

1

u/pollingquestion 2d ago

I would add Whitmer to that question but they stay away from an all women ticket.

0

u/grumpyliberal FFS 2d ago

Biden could assign the duties to her without actually resigning. Hakeem could leverage a motion to vacate if Johnson won't play ball.

1

u/ScarlettStandsUp 2d ago

Won't happen. And, Harris can't beat Donald Trump.

-3

u/Material-Crab-633 2d ago

Harris won’t win

5

u/greenflash1775 2d ago

She’ll do better than Biden and be competent in the face of crazy. The whole election will be a referendum on Trump’s crazy. I think any number of Dems can fill this role.

1

u/pollingquestion 2d ago

That’s my hope too!

1

u/Material-Crab-633 1d ago

Sue can’t win, period

6

u/Shoddy-War1764 2d ago

I think she could. She could certainly prosecute the case against Trump better than Biden is able to do right now.

Also, I like the idea of Pete Buttigieg as VP.

1

u/Material-Crab-633 2d ago

No she isn’t liked - it’s like Hillary all over again. The only person besides Biden that could win is Newsome

6

u/Agile-Music-2295 2d ago

Have you seen the republicans plan for Newsome? It’s all about Tax increases, mass homelessness.

They will destroy him in two weeks.

3

u/bcasper1 2d ago

Newsome is a great politician and policy wonk, but he has baggage. He's pelosies nephew for one thing. I would vote for him but he's not perceived as centrist enough for indopendants.

1

u/Material-Crab-633 2d ago

Nah he’s slick

1

u/Agile-Music-2295 2d ago

Fine but you have to volunteer for him if he gets nominated.

2

u/Material-Crab-633 2d ago

I’m happy to

1

u/grumpyliberal FFS 2d ago

It's too late to enter a new field of possibles at this point. Whether we like it or not, we have chosen our horses and opening up the filed will surely result in a Trump win. Dems will look either desperate or totally disorganized.

3

u/throwaway_boulder 2d ago

A lot of voters just hate anything from California on principle.

1

u/ballmermurland 2d ago

At this point I’d kill for a 48.1% pop vote result so let’s do it

3

u/JToeps Center Left 2d ago

maybe but Biden won't either. I can get excited about Harris, that's more than I can say after thursday. (again, my heart is broken)

3

u/grumpyliberal FFS 2d ago

We need time to get excited about Harris. She needs to be the President now.

0

u/Material-Crab-633 2d ago

He’s done it before - at least he has that going for him. She has done nothing of any consequence and don’t forget, people are racist and sexist

3

u/grumpyliberal FFS 2d ago

I hope they're also aware of what Trump will do. We can survive four years of Harris. Not sure we can susrive even the first day of Trump.

2

u/JToeps Center Left 2d ago

oh I can't downvote the racist and sexist concerns. they are real but I figure most of the true jerks are already deep into red-hat territory.

0

u/Material-Crab-633 2d ago

Y’all can downvote me but she wouldn’t win - people don’t like her

0

u/Agile-Music-2295 2d ago

We have listened to the focus group podcasts, we know women hate her. That’s not what matters. Supporting the best president ever is.

3

u/Material-Crab-633 2d ago

Um, ya that matters! We aren’t trying to get the solid Dem vote, we are trying to get the undecided vote

3

u/N0T8g81n FFS 2d ago

In the ideal world in which you live, didn't your Supreme Court rule that Trump couldn't be on the ballot?

Voters SHOULD try to learn something about the issues AND SHOULD make candidates' characters an important consideration. In the less than ideal world in which I live, I figure fewer than half bother with that type of time-consuming civic duty.

0

u/timtaliaferro 1d ago

You know who appears to have read Biden right? Robert Hur. A well meaning but forgetful old man. Pretty spot on.

1

u/grumpyliberal FFS 1d ago

Bullshit. He was talking about how Biden would present to a jury. Don’t give that weasel any credit for being anything other than a political hack.