It's Time to Move On

 

by Pa Rock

Democratic Voter

It becomes clearer with each passing day, with each freshly released poll, and with every public appearance by President Biden, that he will not prevail in the November election, and that he poses a very real risk of taking the House and Senate down with him - not to mention governorships and even many local offices.  Everyone sees that except for Biden's family, a certain zealous segment of his supporters, and Old Joe himself.  The situation is dire and would be difficult for a fresh candidate to come in and fix, and unless Biden accidentally falls into a vat of some miracle rejuvenation potion, the aging process will continue to show itself in a more pronounced manner, hour-by-hour and day-by-day.

Joe Biden is elderly, and he is in a normal and expected cognitive and physical decline that befalls most of us shaky senior citizens.  But he is also the President of the United States, so he does not take many of his lunches at the local senior center nor spend his afternoons putting together jigsaw puzzles. His work life is mentally strenuous and very demanding.

Joe has had a very good four years as President and could leave the country in better shape than he found it, but Joe wants to roll the dice and serve four more years when his aging and health are clearly telling him otherwise.  Now, thanks to our almost comical nominating process, Biden has a lock on enough delegates to be nominated to run for that second four-year term that he so desperately wants.  The nomination is his, and only he, or the "Lord Almighty" can change that reality.

I find myself in the camp of people who believe that Joe Biden will eventually bend to reality and exit the race.  That may not happen, but at this point when changing horses is still possible, I find comfort in speculating that it will.

And that speculating opens the door to an even wider array of speculation: who will be on the replacement Democratic ticket?

A favorite cousin and I were speculating via email a few evenings ago and found that we both agree that Vice President Kamala Harris is beginning to be seen as a logical replacement for the head of the ticket.  She has been a steadfast member of the Biden team, and she is honest, bright, personable, and almost two decades younger than Donald Trump.  She would also apparently have advantages when it comes to taking over the Biden campaign organization and fund-raising apparatus.  Harris's elevation to the top spot on the ticket would be almost a natural political progression on the order of a vice-president replacing a president, something that diverse elements of the party should be able to accept.

So if Harris became the party's nominee, who should be her running mate?  

There was an article at CNN.com three days ago which explored possibilities for a running mate for Kamala Harris.  The piece was entitled "Democrats start moving to Harris as Biden digs in," and it was written by Edward Isaac Dovere.  In it, as well as in some other political spiels that  have been meandering through cyber space looking at the same issue, there seems to be an emphasis on balancing the ticket with a white, male governor from a more conservative environment than Harris's California.

The two names that the CNN columnist promoted most prominently were Roy Cooper (67) of North Carolina and Andy Beshear (46) of Kentucky. Both of those men are in their second terms as governors of essentially Republican states, and both could presumably continue to attract crossover voters from the opposition party in a nationwide election.

My cousin and I each expressed a preference for Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg as Kamala's running mate, but his political background  was being mayor of South Bend, Indiana, with no experience at the state level.  To his credit, Secretary Pete possesses one of the sharpest minds in contemporary politics and is a fierce debater.  He would probably establish a permanent residence under Donald Trump's very thin skin!

There are several very good options and combinations out there who could win, and this Democrat would happily support any of them.  Joe Biden is a very nice man who has served his country exceptionally well, but he is no longer pumped nor able to win the big race.   I hope that he can park his ego and make room for someone else to carry the Democratic Party's torch into the general election.

Release those delegates, Joe.    Do it for your health and peace of mind, do it for your legacy, and most of all, do it for your country!

It's time to move on.