Dozens of Dem Congressmen to Call For Biden's Exit From the Race in the Next 48 Hours

Whatever hope Joe Biden harbored of flipping the script on his campaign died before his press conference on Thursday night even started.

A couple of hours before his critical press conference began, the news nets ran a clip of Biden at the NATO summit's concluding press conference.

“Now I want to hand it over to the president of Ukraine, who has as much courage as he has determination, ladies and gentlemen: President Putin,” Biden said. 

Biden tried to correct his error but all he did was reinforce the notion that he's a confused old man with no business running the affairs of a great nation.

Aside from a few gaffes at his make-or-break press conference ("Vice President Trump"), Biden did alright. But he needed a home run. What he got was a bloop double. And the Democrats watching his barely competent performance have drawn the inevitable conclusion. CBS News is reporting that "Four Democratic sources with knowledge tell CBS News that they expect dozens of Democratic lawmakers over the next 48 hours to issue statements calling for President Biden to step out of the race.' 

Now comes the hard part. How do you get Biden out of the race without blowing up the Democratic Party and giving Kamala Harris or whoever replaces him, a decent chance at winning in November?

House Democratic leadership has indicated to members that they should speak their minds, multiple sources told CBS News. One of those well-placed sources predicted that the next three to four days will be "brutal," and that it may become untenable by sometime next week for the president to continue in the race.

Congressional leaders aren't expected to publicly speak out themselves or to attempt a forced replacement of Mr. Biden, aiming to avoid a public break with the president out of respect. But there is also a recognition, as two sources put it, that public calls from leadership would trigger stubborn opposition from the president. 

It's not clear that any number of defections from Democrats will change the president's mind. So far, more than a dozen House Democrats and one Senate Democrat have publicly called on Mr. Biden to end his reelection bid.

Harris would not be acceptable to the Bernie Sanders/AOC wing of their party. Will they swallow their objections in the name of party unity? How bitter will the pro-Biden wing of the party be after their candidate is thrown under the bus? These questions argue against Biden withdrawing, no matter how many Democrats in Washington desert him.

Kamala Harris is not a uniter. She is a divider with no executive experience and has not shown a spark of creativity in her entire adult life. But she would inherit the entire Biden war chest if Biden withdraws. That's about the only thing recommending her candidacy.

So, it would appear that Democrats are stuck with Biden. The polls show a still tight race, but Democrats want to know whether the press conference moved the needle at all. 

As it stands now,  Biden is losing and is in danger of an electoral college wipeout, if not a popular vote landslide. 

That's the kind of result that would lead to a "wave" election where down-ballot Democrats would be swamped in the wake of a MAGA tsunami. The possibility grows every time Biden opens his mouth.