The Debate was an Epic Fail; Now What?

It's time to Break It Down!

 

There’s not much left to say. President Biden had one job. Get through the debate without imploding. Test failed. His opponent was putrid, in his own right. Fact checkers, a term Republicans have come to hate, ostensibly, because they refuse to be constrained by facts, determined that in the 90-minute contest, Mr. Trump told more than 30 lies, or at a rate greater than one every 3 minutes.

 

It didn’t matter. It didn’t matter because Mr. Biden was unable to effectively prosecute the case of his serial falsifying co-debater. In stark terms, that’s political malpractice.

 

If the abysmal debate were not enough to put Democrats on their heels, The Supreme Court (SCOTUS), in its final read out of case findings issued a determination that Presidents (in a ruling narrowly crafted to protect Donald Trump) have immunity for some conduct as president, and that Trump is covered by this immunity for part of his conduct in his federal election interference case, but possibly not for other actions.

 

The justices voted 6-3, along ideological lines, to reject Trump’s broad claim of total immunity, but did not dismiss the case, because they held, some actions closely related to his core duties as president, and as such, are off limits to prosecutors. Chief Justice Roberts, who wrote the opinion for the majority, said the case would be sent back to lower courts to determine what conduct Trump can be prosecuted for. Last week in this space, I wrote about SCOTUS running out the clock. It’s clearer than ever, the clock is ticking.

 

While Team Biden would ideally be focused on what the SCOTUS ruling means, both to the country, and to their re-election efforts, they have much more pressing concerns. In the near term, they must decide whether Mr. Biden will endeavor to ride out the storm of controversy generated by his lackluster debate performance, or to accede to the calls of an increasing number of Democratic partisans and donors, and from most Americans to step aside. So far, less than a handful of Democratic members of Congress have directly called for Biden to relinquish his hold on the nomination. This doesn’t mean the conversation has been avoided, or even muted. Party mavens have largely insisted, the decision is Biden’s to make.

 

However, the tough decisions for Biden and the Party don’t end there. In fact, while conquering his Irish stubbornness represents a major challenge, determining who would ascend to the position of presumptive nominee is certain to be at least as difficult to tie down. Based on Monday’s SCOTUS decision, one thing he shouldn’t have to worry about is being prosecuted by a new Trump administration; something Trump intimated he had every right to do.

 

In a perfect world, Vice President Harris would likely be slotted as next in line. That is literally one of the implicit roles of the Veep. Of course, no one ever seriously suggested that politics makes for the stuff of perfect worlds. In fact, the notion of Kamala Harris as President is a polarizing subject. On September 27, 2023, I wrote what may have been my shortest blog post ever. It was so short I’ll place it here in its entirety:

 

“Political Jeopardy: Kamala Harris for $1000 Alex

What is the real reason so many people are concerned about Joe Biden’s age? Fear of a second Black/First Female President; yeah, I said it! “Political Jeopardy: Kamala Harris for $1,000, Alex!””

 

Suffice it to say, Trump and the GOP are reveling at their own streak of good fortune, and the Dem’s concurrent turmoil. Who could blame them.

 

For now, President Biden is battling to maintain his placement at the top of the proverbial food chain. He has made several low-key appearances, has spoken with donors and advisors, and he has a TV interview scheduled for Sunday. Will it be enough? 

 

Time will tell…but not too much time. “The Debate was an Epic Fail; Now What?”

I’m done; holla back!

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