"And enterprises of great pith and moment,
With this regard, their currents turn awry,
And lose the name of action."Hamlet's soliloquy on being and action
Joe Biden is Hamlet.
Remember: Hamlet is a tragedy. He dies in the end and he brings others down with him.
Weak people dither. They avoid facing reality and shuffle forward into doom. Strong people take action. Sometimes they face doom, too, but they are active, not passive.
We are in a waiting period. President Biden is stuck. I expect a resolution shortly.
Today's Guest Post posits a path. Biden should not get pushed out of the 2024 election by doubting-Democrats and bad polls. He should take action.
Rick Millward is a songwriter, musician, and music producer, formerly from Nashville, now living in southern Oregon. His most recent production is Loveland, a collection of songs on themes of romantic love. He performs frequently at local wine venues.
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Guest Post by Rick Millward
Speculation is rampant, and at this point it appears to be “When, not if”.
Joe Biden is 81. A somewhat diminished 81. He looks it, he sounds like it. If we look back to the last year or so it’s obvious that he’s been struggling. This is hard to admit, but true nevertheless. It has led us to this moment, when an ill-advised debate performance revealed our worst fears and suspicions were not unwarranted.
Older people have “good days and bad days”. We celebrate the good days and endure the bad ones, until inevitably all the days aren’t so great anymore. It is heartbreaking to watch President Biden go through this while in the most high profile position in our society.
One milestone that’s often used is “taking the keys”, when a elder is judged to be a danger behind the wheel. It’s often a fight when they can’t accept they must give up significant autonomy. We are at that moment with the Office of the Presidency.
President Biden must resign.
When Kamala Harris was selected to be the Vice President Biden deemed her to be qualified and able to take over the office should he become incapacitated. We voted for both of them, and celebrated the selection of a formidable woman, and a political asset. She has served admirably and inherent in this choice was the idea of succession. Many of us believed that Biden would serve just one term and then endorse his Vice President in 2024. We waited. It didn’t happen. There may have been a rationale for this at the time, but it has proven to be disastrous and the issue of his age is overshadowing everything. Now, if he merely suspends his campaign it won’t be enough to end the controversy and it will be an ongoing distraction.
President Biden needs to resign and Vice President Harris needs to be sworn in, something that could happen at the Democratic National Convention. It would be mesmerizing political theater. As President she will command the respect of the office and run as an incumbent in November. Her strengths as a candidate will no doubt energize a demoralized Democratic base and beyond. I think it’s a sure win, perhaps a landslide.
Will Democrats do this? There is some talk in the commentariat, but to do anything otherwise, an open convention, seems to me would only weaken further a precarious position. Democrats are in disarray over Biden’s situation, and the most orderly way to resolve this is to promote the Vice President, leaving the party to work out who will be VP, also something that could be done at the convention.
In a comment I posted here in two years ago I thought I was predicting this, thinking it would happen after the 2022 midterms. When it didn’t happen, I accepted that smart people were making the right calculation, and I supported that, though begrudgingly.
Now? Better late than never, I guess.
[Note: In that guest post published July, 2022, "Kind Words for Joe Biden", Millward praised Biden for his accomplishments, and urged Democrats to stop criticizing him. It was beating a lame-duck horse, he said. "President Biden will not be running for a second term. Anyone who believes otherwise is living on another planet."]
[Note: To get daily delivery of this blog to your emai go to: https://petersage.substack.com. Subscribe. Don't pay. The blog is free and always will be.]
17 comments:
President Biden has accomplished a lot, but now projects the image of being frail elderly. To end such a long and distinguished career by refusing to recognize when it’s time to go is sad. If it results in Trump’s election, it would be tragic.
It seems inconceivable that Americans would be crazy enough to elect a psychopath who tried to overthrow the government, but many obviously are. In fact, Trump is leading Biden by 3.2 points. But if Democrats are going to replace Biden, they need to do it yesterday. People aren’t going to vote for someone they just heard about.
I saw a brief news clip of Biden walking down stairs from an airplane and he looked frail and weak. If I was a friend I would walk next to him to make sure he didn’t fall. He can deny losing any cognition, but that image is damaging enough. I wouldn’t vote for him if a choice existed. I doubt his life expectancy is more than 4 years. The elderly fall and then they die from complications as what happened to my 88 year old healthy uncle who fell and then died 2 months later.
Please Joe, say you won’t seek re-election.
So, we all get to blame Biden if Trump wins in November?
I won't.
Instead, I blame the Democratic Party for the effort to litigate against Trump, rather than selecting a winning party platform and candidate that could move the country forward.
Follow closely, as both parties are in disarray.
Kamala Harris was a terrible presidential candidate in the 2020 primaries. She flamed out and was gone before the first primary in Iowa. She played the race card against Biden, but even that didn’t help her.
There were other candidates that year who survived in the primaries and gave Biden a run for his money. They displayed a lot more political competence, and Biden could have picked one of them. But he picked Harris instead, for identity politics reasons.
Kamala Harris is an example of what you get when you prioritize identity over competence. And at this point, Democrats may be stuck with her. They could learn a lesson from this, but I doubt they will.
Kamala Harris would make a great president. I wo wish I thought she could win over trump. I so wish...
Disagree.
If Harrris is elevated to POTUS, both houses of Congress must approve the nominated VP. Do you think the republican-controlled House will nominate someone who can break a tie iin the Senate in the Democrats favor?
The House would leave the VP slot vacant and Speaker Johnson (R) is #2 in the line of succession. A double win for the GOpee and a double loss for the US.
If Biden-Harris lose the election I could understand Biden resigning and Harris becomes a lame duck POTUS. Not great but symbolic in getting the first female POTUS.
Best that Harris replace Biden only on the ballot, and select aa a running mate a young White male from a swing state with a Democratic governor. Senator Mark Kelly from AZ fits that. I don't know if he wants it though.
I agree, but he will get my vote if he does not.
He's the ONLY candidate with plans to help us ordinary (non-billionaire) Americans.
I forgot to add that I'd love to see Harris debate TFG and Kelly debate Vance.
If Biden drops out Harris will be the nominee.
Joe beat the Orange One. That was enough to secure his legacy. He has done a fine job without much help from the legislature or the courts. His final act is to relax and step down to insure his accomplishments are secure. And let someone else make it an Orange Crush.
So, M2inFLA says that if Trump wins in November, he’ll be blaming the Democrats for having the gall to hold him accountable for his crimes, as if the law applied Trump.
In fact, if Trump wins in November, it will be the fault of all the whack jobs crazy enough to vote for him in spite of, or because of, his criminality, racism, and all the hatred and lies he spews.
Good point. It didn't occur to me that the Republicans would be that craven, but it's entirely possible which is just another example of the corruption of the Republican party and I don't thing swing voters will like it. I can't think of anything more undemocratic, not to mention the national security implications.
If the House blocks the VP pick it could be political suicide and guarantee a Democratic win.
If the House blocks the VP pick it could be political suicide and guarantee a Democratic win.
It would depend who she picked for vice president. If it was, say, Ilhan Omar or Rashida Tlaib or AOC, blocking the pick might be a popular move.
The Democrats have a platform, policies and team that helps Americans.
If you aren't aware of it stop watching FAUX.
Her credentials are incredible.
That she has republicans scared is a bonus.
Your side does not want to see her debate TFG; it will be a bloodbath.
Rick, we know republicans have no honor and no desire to tend to America's needs.
Look at how they scuttled an Obama SCOTUS nomination, and recently torpedoed immigration reform because TFG said not to allow Biden any success before the election. And their downplaying of January 6.
The republican party is one of domestic terrorists. It needs to be treated as such.
Michael, stopping democracy is what the republicans do. It's all they know.
This country would be better if the republicans got out of the way and let the Democrats, the adults, govern. The republicans would have more time to spend with Putin.
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