In 2020, there was only one reason Democrats nominated Joe Biden for the presidency: his perceived electability. Biden was the alleged centrist who was going to work across the aisle and be president for all Americans, yada, yada, yada. None of that actually happened. He embraced a far-left agenda, and as things stand right now, he's losing in the polls, both nationally and in battleground states.
Between his failed agenda and bipartisan concerns over advanced age and cognitive decline, Biden is struggling to make an effective case for four more years, and Democrats are getting concerned. Adding to the problem was the Hur report, which essentially declared him guilty of retaining, mishandling, and disclosing classified information, but too senile to stand trial. The report forced the issue into the national discussion after the media went to great lengths to avoid or minimize it.
Motivated out of fear that Donald Trump could get reelected, the media is still trying its best to cover for Biden and even attack Special Counsel Robert Hur for having the audacity to observe something everyone in the country has been observing almost daily for three years now. But they're already being realistic. Biden is old, cognitively impaired, and getting worse. The question is, what can the Democrats do about it.?
Well, over at Politico, senior politics editor Charlie Mahtesian and senior campaign and elections editor and chief polling analyst Steven Shepard assessed the Democrats' options, insisting that while Democrats "have vigorously avoided any discussion of a Plan B for their presidential nominee," the Hur report "may have forced their hand."
For sure, it is more likely that Joe Biden will stay on the ticket and Democrats will be forced to run him. But, what alternatives exist, and how would they play out?
Well, there aren't really many options, and none of them are that great for the Democrats.
For starters, Biden would have to voluntarily step aside or be "unable to stand for nomination" for any of the options to kick in. And it's quite clear that Biden isn't going voluntarily. On top of that, filing deadlines for most states will have all passed by the end of this month, making it impossible for a "white knight" candidate to mount any viable challenge.
Related: Did Kamala Harris Just Make Things Even Worse for Joe Biden?
According to Mahtesian and Shepard, one option Biden has to leave with dignity is to let the primary campaign run its course, secure all the delegates necessary to be the nominee, and then announce he won't accept the nomination. This would give Democrats just over two months for potential successors to make their case to the voters and tee up a battle at the convention. The problem with this is that a bitter convention is not ideal, and that would give the eventual victor just over two months to campaign. We've seen presidential primary campaigns start earlier and earlier in recent cycles, and that would put the candidate at a major disadvantage.
The other possibility is that Biden is nominated at the convention but it then unable to compete in the November election. According to Democratic convention rules, in the event of the “death, resignation or disability” of the nominee, party leaders would choose a nominee. It's reasonable to assume that if Biden were to pass before the election, Kamala Harris, as the de facto incumbent, would be a shoo-in to be picked because the party isn't about to snub a woman of color who ascends to the presidency. But, regardless of who might get the nod, the authors note that a "late Biden departure from the ticket would pose a logistical nightmare for the states." Depending on when such an event happens, it could come after the mailing out of overseas miltiary ballots and the start of early voting in some states, creating a very serious legal conundrum.
In short, while Democrats don't have much of a Plan B that doesn't hurt their chances even more than running with Biden.
From where I sit, Biden has put Democrats in the position where running with him is perhaps their best option.
