As we churn closer to the next presidential election, national polling continues to indicate that Joe Biden is in trouble. While one survey showing him trailing Donald Trump by 10 points appears to be what the left-leaning pundits in denial are calling an “outlier,” it has a large number of Democratic strategists (and me) freaking out.
It is contrary to all logic that an incumbent who has accomplished a lot in office could only be neck-and-neck with an evil, criminal clown. This is a man who recently: (1) bragged that he defeated Barack Obama in 2016; (2) warned that Biden could lead us into “World War Two;” (3) claimed one needs a government-issued ID to buy bread; (4) inveighed against President Jeb Bush for getting the U.S. involved in Middle East wars; and said the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff should be executed. And people worry about Joe Biden’s cognitive decline!
Aside: We are still waiting for the first congressional Republican to condemn Trump’s statement about General Milley. Tells you all you need to know about these spineless weenies.
However, it is clear that Biden has lost some of the spring in his step as he moves into his ninth decade. The perception among a large majority of voters that Biden’s age is an issue is clearly a major and growing problem for Democratic aspirations to hold onto the White House, despite the fact that Trump’s steep mental decline is so obvious.
When he ran in 2020, Biden promised to serve only one term. The time is getting very short for his party to hold him to that promise. His argument for seeking a second term is that he is the Democrat best able to defeat Trump, an increasingly questionable proposition. A younger candidate would be a stark contrast to the lunacy that is clearly consuming Trump in his dotage. Unfortunately, no one other than Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., a 69-year old, anti-vaxxer and leading conspiracy theorist, has come forward to challenge Biden for the nomination.
For Democrats to salvage an increasingly dire situation, two things would need to happen:
Time is getting short. Filing deadlines for state primary elections are imminent. Biden’s poll numbers are underwater due to the age issue and the fact that the administration’s economic successes have not yet positively affected voters. Instead, when they fill up their tanks and grocery baskets, they become upset with high prices and blame the president.
It is possible that in the 13½ months between the present and the election, prices could moderate. However, Joe Biden is not going to get any younger.
For reasons unfathomable to me, the voting public does not appear particularly revolted by the idea of a lying fraudster crook who has been officially declared a sexual aggressor as a potential president.
The first Trump term came dangerously close to destroying our largely successful, almost two-and-a-half century experiment in democracy. Are we willing to risk a repeat?
Dick Hermann
October 1, 2023
It is contrary to all logic that an incumbent who has accomplished a lot in office could only be neck-and-neck with an evil, criminal clown. This is a man who recently: (1) bragged that he defeated Barack Obama in 2016; (2) warned that Biden could lead us into “World War Two;” (3) claimed one needs a government-issued ID to buy bread; (4) inveighed against President Jeb Bush for getting the U.S. involved in Middle East wars; and said the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff should be executed. And people worry about Joe Biden’s cognitive decline!
Aside: We are still waiting for the first congressional Republican to condemn Trump’s statement about General Milley. Tells you all you need to know about these spineless weenies.
However, it is clear that Biden has lost some of the spring in his step as he moves into his ninth decade. The perception among a large majority of voters that Biden’s age is an issue is clearly a major and growing problem for Democratic aspirations to hold onto the White House, despite the fact that Trump’s steep mental decline is so obvious.
When he ran in 2020, Biden promised to serve only one term. The time is getting very short for his party to hold him to that promise. His argument for seeking a second term is that he is the Democrat best able to defeat Trump, an increasingly questionable proposition. A younger candidate would be a stark contrast to the lunacy that is clearly consuming Trump in his dotage. Unfortunately, no one other than Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., a 69-year old, anti-vaxxer and leading conspiracy theorist, has come forward to challenge Biden for the nomination.
For Democrats to salvage an increasingly dire situation, two things would need to happen:
- A group of Democratic elder statesmen and women (preferably including Nancy Pelosi) would have to go to the White House and tell Biden that, for the good of the party and the country, he needs to rest on his many laurels and retire to the Delaware beaches; and
- The younger members of a very strong Democratic bench would need to step quickly forward and offer themselves to the voters. Attractive possibilities include: Amy Klobuchar, Gretchen Whitmer, Gavin Newsom, Josh Shapiro, Gina Raimondo, Pete Buttigieg, Michelle Luhan Grisham, Raphael Warnock, Andy Beshear, Roy Cooper, Wes Moore, Jared Polis, J.B. Pritzker, Michael Bennet, Cory Booker, Jamie Raskin, and Mark Kelly, among others. Many of these would be strong candidates against Trump.
Time is getting short. Filing deadlines for state primary elections are imminent. Biden’s poll numbers are underwater due to the age issue and the fact that the administration’s economic successes have not yet positively affected voters. Instead, when they fill up their tanks and grocery baskets, they become upset with high prices and blame the president.
It is possible that in the 13½ months between the present and the election, prices could moderate. However, Joe Biden is not going to get any younger.
For reasons unfathomable to me, the voting public does not appear particularly revolted by the idea of a lying fraudster crook who has been officially declared a sexual aggressor as a potential president.
The first Trump term came dangerously close to destroying our largely successful, almost two-and-a-half century experiment in democracy. Are we willing to risk a repeat?
Dick Hermann
October 1, 2023
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