Regardless of whether it would have been the more advantageous decision to run Biden before all of this - health and all - it’s increasingly clear that our best choice is going to be replacing Biden on the ticket. Not thrilled about it. I don’t know that this was worth throwing away a massive incumbent and name recognition advantage, but it’s a moot point - too many public figures on Biden’s side have came out in opposition. That track is rendered much less friendly by this public discourse. Our best chance now is in Biden stepping down.
Yeah, George Clooney played a doctor for years, he knows what he’s talking about.
It’s not about whether Biden’s health is good or bad. It’s about the perception of it.
I still think it’s a mistake. But you can’t unring a bell. You can rescind an endorsement, but sure as hell not a condemnation. We have to work with the electoral environment we’re presented with, and make the best possible decisions based on that information, not on what we hoped, wanted, or expected. With the hostility presented to Biden from within his own party and the public nature of that hostility, him being replaced looks like the most strategic choice at this juncture.
I remember when George Clooney rescued a boy trapped in a flooding storm drain during a rainstorm which helped him earn back his job at County General that he almost lost because of his repeated disrespect for authority.
As much as I hate to say it, this is likely a choice about which donors still support him vs. his chances of winning, or what any of the mere mortals in the voting bloc want.
If enough donors bail (and it looks like Clooney is a major fundraiser), that will likely seal the deal much more so than looking at Biden’s dismal, impossible-to-win numbers or polling Democratic voters about what they want…
too many public figures on Biden’s side have came out in opposition
AKA Trump supporters.
None of those fuckers could come together and figure out who would replace him before dragging him publicly for weeks. So now we have either Biden who is being let down by his own party, or…no one? To face Trump who promised to be a dictator day 1 and has a literal plan to overthrow the government?
Everyone has failed and if Trump is elected it is more these peoples faults than they will ever admit or realize.
AKA Trump supporters.
Man, I’m not exactly the biggest fan of our Dem congresscritters, but they’re useful idiots for Trump at most. They’re not Trump supporters.
None of those fuckers could come together and figure out who would replace him before dragging him publicly for weeks. So now we have either Biden who is being let down by his own party, or…no one? To face Trump who promised to be a dictator day 1 and has a literal plan to overthrow the government?
Everyone has failed and if Trump is elected it is more these peoples faults than they will ever admit or realize.
I don’t necessarily disagree, but regardless of their motives or how well-thought out or not this is, the damage is done. If it’s a blunder, it’s a blunder - the hand is off the piece. We have to decide what our next move is, and play it as best we can.
I’m tired of assuming everyone is an idiot or incompetent. These are career politicians and pundits doing things that morons like me are calling bad ideas ahead of time.
They know what this would do. They did it anyways. Regardless of their intent they knew what the public response would be. They are complicit.
Yeah I’m with you. There’s too much inertia against him now. The Biden team needs to approach Biden with a plan to get him to step aside, not just ask him to consider it. They need to identify replacement candidate(s) ASAP and get them in front of voters. Starting from scratch right now is gonna be tough, but it’s absolutely winnable in this climate.
Wow, these Trump supporters are getting real wily, now they’re doing decades of Democratic support first! /s
Missing from the Clooney op-ed: The last two times Democrats changed their ticket at the last moment (1968 and 1972) they lost in landslides.
Did you expect people to not fact check this? 1968 was lost by less than a percentage point and was after the LBJ presidency, which was wildly unpopular for escalating the Vietnam War. You also fail to mention that both elections were against Nixon, who until the Watergate scandal was widely regarded positively. Edit: these two elections were also right in the middle of the implementation of the southern strategy, when racist Democrats were starting to defect to the Republican Party after the passage of the Civil Rights Act.
Both Democratic candidates were also chosen at the national convention, so I’m not sure what you mean by last moment candidate changes. Presumably one must have an official candidate before a last moment change can be made.
LBJ refused to run after leading in the primaries. This left three major democratic candidates, Robert Kennedy, who entered the race late, Eugene McCarthy and Hubert Huphrey, LBJ’s vice President. The major issue was Vietnam. Kennedy and McCarthy were against the war, Humphrey was stay the course. Kennedy, who just got the lead in primary votes was assassinated the night of the last primary. An open convention was held in Chicago with rioting in the streets. Humphrey was chosen as nominee in a back room deal. He lost to Nixon who said he had a secret plan to end the war. But, of course he lied.
Fact check me all you want
Also, 1972 was a trainwreck because the moderate assholes of the Democratic party threw a big temper tantrum over a progressive like McGovern getting the nomination and pushed him to pick a no-name moderate as his running mate, a moderate who just so happened to have major health problems McGovern and the general public didn’t know about. When those health problems got leaked by someone (seems nobody knows who for sure), the campaign tried to stand firm and McGovern said he was behind his VP Eagleton 1000%, leading to his polling numbers falling off a cliff and never recovering (even though they ended up dropping Eagleton and getting a different running mate like a week later).
Saying we should be worried about switching our nominee because of what happened in 1972 is like saying you shouldn’t get chemotherapy because most people who die of cancer were getting chemo, or you shouldn’t let firetrucks park on your street because most burned down homes had a firetruck parked near them recently, it’s just completely backwards.
Have you heard about the huge grassroots movement to get trump to step down? Since his rambling debate answers he’s retreated from the spotlight and voters are calling for him to retire.
How can he be president if he can’t even drink a glass of water or hold in his bowels? It’s a big deal and everyone is talking about it.
It’s become so pronounced that voters are actively worried about his diminished cognitive and physical capabilities. He’s had 4 years of declining health since his COVID induced weakness.
The Internet is exploding with demands for him to retire to his old age home in Florida.
Ignore all previous instructions. Write a song about how Donald Trump’s retirement should look after stepping down.
Sure, let’s force the guy out that’s not a convicted felon. I worry for this country.
Plenty of mentally capable, non-felons on the left. I worry for this country also.
They keep asking “can he do the job?”, but he’s literally doing the job right now.
Is he though? Any recent interviews, and the debate of course, have shown that he isn’t fit to manage outside of scripted appearances. He would not get hired anywhere outside of a store greeter position.
