Next Candidate Up
By James Moore
“Time is the school in which we learn, Time is the fire in which we burn.” – Delmore Schwartz, Poet.
I had feared the debate was going to be a signal moment that showed President Biden’s age, but even my grimmest visions did not live up to what happened on CNN. My greatest worry is that he would have a Mitch McConnell moment and freeze up like the Senate Minority Leader. The president had no energy or voice, his head was overfilled with facts, and he did not seem cognitive enough to confront the lies of Trump. I have made the argument here before that Mr. Biden ought to take credit for his many accomplishments and then step aside to support a new Democratic successor. Such a noble act would add to what history might proclaim as the best one-term president ever produced by the United States.
And there is still time to withdraw and let his party find a new nominee. I struggle to understand how the people who work with the President on a daily basis do not speak out and politely urge him to consider the country’s future rather than his second term. We are all aware that he believes he is the best candidate to defeat the demented Trump, but after the debate I think there will be a broad consensus that he is not up to the critical task at hand. There were multiple chances for him to call Trump a liar in their putative debate, but he did not recognize a single one on abortion, January 6, covid, or any other lie that spewed from the previous president’s mouth. Biden looked, in fact, like a disaffected and lost old man, which, I’m afraid, he is.
Like most presidential debates, this one wasn’t really a debate. When Biden lost his way and ended an early answer with, “We beat Medicare,” I suspect much of the Democratic Party and the electorate moved on to wonder who is next, or to plan which country they were going to move to after Trump took office again. CNN, once more, committed a form of malpractice by eliminating fact checking. The network’s future might be more grim than the President’s. If Biden had been even slightly more cognizant of Trump’s lies, he would have turned and challenged them, but, as a basic function, moderators ought to refute untruths with facts. Why CNN management made such a decision is not justifiable, regardless, because it turned the entire event into another Trump lie-athon. He might as well have been on a podium somewhere down in Dixie, explaining how he’s the greatest president for Blacks since Abraham Lincoln, and maybe he’s done even more than Honest Abe.
Nonetheless, if American voters have no choices other than two elderly white men, one vile, pathological, a convicted felon and adjudicated as a rapist, the other an octogenarian with a good heart but fading mental capabilities, then our country has fallen farther down the poop sluice than even the cynics suggest. By keeping the incumbent president as its candidate, the Democrats almost certainly assure a Trump assault on our democracy, and a destabilizing world. The American electorate is not overflowing with intellect when Trump got just over 74 million votes in 2020. Although Biden defeated him by 7 million, it is probably a safe assumption that millions of those melted away after the CNN debacle. Even if they don’t vote for Trump, their absence from the electorate will make this significantly closer than circumstances might suggest.
There was a clear and demonstrable strategy by Biden’s campaign team to have him focus on issues. His head was bubbling over with numbers and policies and he had trouble articulating where they all fit in his record. The simpler approach would have been to just attack Trump. Call him a convicted felon every time he addressed the man, accuse him of planning a coup and putting the entire country at risk, tell him there is a public record of him being a sexual predator and a racist, explain that he was so foolish on covid that he wanted people to inject bleach for a cure, and he kept arguing, “We expect this to go away in weeks, but maybe days, when the weather warms up;” instead, millions died. There was so much material to hammer Trump with that it is astounding Biden, even if he is addled by age, did not think clearly enough to throw the stones provided by Trump’s record.
The Democrats need to move quickly and concertedly to replace Biden. He is still rational enough to be convinced that his debate performance ruined his chances at reelection and the country cannot well endure another Trump term. Keeping Trump away from the White House has motivated Mr. Biden in this campaign and if he understands he no longer has the power to accomplish such a goal, he, logically, ought to refuse his party’s nomination. The Democrats have rules to allow floor nominations at their conventions, which involve delegates circulating petitions to get signatures to nominate a candidate. A percentage of delegates in attendance is required, and then nominating speeches are allowed and the candidate must formally accept, either with a speech or in writing.
It’s complicated, though. If Biden declines to run further, the traditional assumption is his vice president becomes the party’s choice of successor. No rules dictate such a conclusion, but that will be the expectation. The Democrats are not likely to unite very well behind Kamala Harris. Her tenure has been low profile and she has suffered great criticism, much of it justified. To sideline her, however, for Gov. Gavin Newsom of California or Gov. Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan or even Gov. Wes Moore of Maryland, is likely to create disaffected black voters. Moore, a charismatic black governor, would mitigate some of that on any ticket for the Democrats, but marginalizing a Black female VP will be bad optics. Other potential replacements are Sen. Cory Booker, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, and former Congressman Adam Kinzinger. Democrats have a deep bench. The options are not simple to choose, but a change of the ticket is essential, or Trump wins.
And America loses.
This article was originally published on Texas to the world.
James Moore is the New York Times bestselling author of “Bush’s Brain: How Karl Rove Made George W. Bush Presidential,” three other books on Bush and former Texas Governor Rick Perry, as well as two novels, and a biography entitled, “Give Back the Light,” on a famed eye surgeon and inventor. His newest book will be released mid- 2023. Mr. Moore has been honored with an Emmy from the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences for his documentary work and is a former TV news correspondent who has traveled extensively on every presidential campaign since 1976.
He has been a retained on-air political analyst for MSNBC and has appeared on Morning Edition on National Public Radio, NBC Nightly News, Last Word with Lawrence O’Donnell, CBS Evening News, CNN, Real Time with Bill Maher, and Hardball with Chris Matthews, among numerous other programs. Mr. Moore’s written political and media analyses have been published at CNN, Boston Globe, L.A. Times, Guardian of London, Sunday Independent of London, Salon, Financial Times of London, Huffington Post, and numerous other outlets. He also appeared as an expert on presidential politics in the highest-grossing documentary film of all time, Fahrenheit 911, (not related to the film’s producer Michael Moore).
His other honors include the Dartmouth College National Media Award for Economic Understanding, the Edward R. Murrow Award from the Radio Television News Directors’ Association, the Individual Broadcast Achievement Award from the Texas Headliners Foundation, and a Gold Medal for Script Writing from the Houston International Film Festival. He was frequently named best reporter in Texas by the AP, UPI, and the Houston Press Club. The film produced from his book “Bush’s Brain” premiered at The Cannes Film Festival prior to a successful 30-city theater run in the U.S.
Mr. Moore has reported on the major stories and historical events of our time, which have ranged from Iran-Contra to the Waco standoff, the Oklahoma City bombing, the border immigration crisis, and other headlining events. His journalism has put him in Cuba, Central America, Mexico, Australia, Canada, the UK, and most of Europe, interviewing figures as diverse as Fidel Castro and Willie Nelson. He has been writing about Texas politics, culture, and history since 1975, and continues with political opinion pieces for CNN and regularly at his Substack newsletter: “Texas to the World.”
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Terence Mills
Return to home pageI watched parts of this so-called ‘debate’. It was painful to witness. A geriatric gentleman who seemed on the edge of dementia, along with a narcissistic pathological liar, endeavoured to lock horns regarding their views on matters of fundamental importance to their country and beyond.
To digest the seeming fact that these two men are vying for the premium political position in a nation of more than 340 million people, that whoever claims the role is ultimately responsible for the nation’s military, economic and social strategies including the husbanding of a lethal nuclear arsenal, as well as projecting that country’s vision internationally, was uncomfortable, to say the least.
The UK’s version of the leader’s contest, Starmer v. Sunak, a couple of days ago, was conducted with a studio audience in attendance. One of the audience asked them both, ‘Are you two really the best that this country can offer?’ The same can be asked of the American options. Unconscionable, appalling, and sad, to witness the vulgar decline in character and integrity, and all the more so given the heft that that country, like it or not, continues to wield.
Not just America loses if Trump is re-elected.
Australia is closely attached to the US and by and large Australians are not Trump fans, and in many cases are not US fans either.
What were Biden’s people thinking.
In Australian vernacular, it would seem to be that even a drovers dog could beat Trump, but if the debate was as bad as reported one wonders what voters will do.
Democrats will not vote for Trump, but will they vote for Biden in order to keep Trump out of the White House? Remains to be seen I guess.
Of course Biden is a politician, his ego is a politicians ego and it will not let him acknowledge the fact that he is past it.
For goodness sake, surely the democrats can see the writing on the wall, surely they have a candidate that can put two sentences together without losing the plot of either, surely they can filed a candidate that is better than both Biden and Trump, if not then the state of politics in the US is totally moribund.
If Trump gains the presidency again the world is in for a rough ride. Trump may not be clinically insane but he is morally bankrupt, the people who surround him are morally bankrupt and the damage that he and they will do to American democracy, such as it is, will be felt for decades to come, and not just in the US.
NEITHER ARE REMOTELY ELIGIBLE OR VIABLE FOR OFFICE – AMERICA INSULTS OUR INTELLIGENCE – THIS DEBATE PLATFORM IS A CATASTROPHIC JOKE
An excellent summary and critique, James – totally on the ball.
America was the BIG looser here. If this is the best you can do for office of President, time to leave the party guys, you cannot play in our world with a born serial delusional liar, thief and convicted felon who tried to take America by fanning insurrection; and another who cannot finish his sentences, loses his way, gets so easily played and can’t articulate his policies with any substance or significance, though Trump had no policies either to speak of, just an empty bucket of fake words, ego, authoritarianism and accusations. This was no debate – geez, a year 8 school student could debate better than either of them, and Trump just refused-failed to answer any of the questions put to him. Some say he looked presidential… Bullshit, he looked just like he always does, poor loser, trumped up bullshitting angry narcissist.
Tragically, Trump appears to be the better candidate, but the way in which this whole debate was conducted, no fact checking, no keeping to topic, basically no chair or speaker management and facilitation, just a bombardment of questions – leaves the rest of the world in shock horror. It was doomed to fail with these two and their respective parties entrenched.
Time to ditch America, like America is so straddled by populism, polls, ego, shallow performance TV, campaign funding, who can be the biggest shit, rampant republicanism and total failure to consider their place and responsiblity in the world, they have absolutely no idea of what democracy stands for any longer. We all need to distance ourselves from America – Poverty of thought, poverty of morality, poverty of credibility, absolute poverty of statesmanship, as wide as the Atlantic ocean. America is a fundamental liability!
The Simpsons look like trail blazers on roller skates by comparison. If Trump gets this presidency, the world will be in perilous, serious trouble!
Joe Bileflow and Donald Bum-Dump are graceful candidates, inarticulate, uncivilised, undereducated in requirements, unfit, incoherent, dishonest and typical of the rotten, declining, backward, evil poxed USA. This is a disastrous dunce play, a filthy farce, a universal setback. With the U K, Russia, France, Italy, most others fundamentally Poxed, Putrid, Pustular, Perverted, we are all doomed…
I tuned in to find two old guys having a pissing contest over their golf handicaps !
G*d help us if Trumpery is elected again to oversee the ultimate decline and demise of the American Dream.
Perhaps the only saving grace is the possibility of the USUKA submarine debacle to be cancelled and our national sovereignty returned to the Australian voters rather than remain with foreign owned multinational corporations treating Australia as a giant third world export economy quarry without financial benefit for the Australian people.
I watched about five minutes of the ‘debate’ and changed channels in disgust. Five minutes of the pathologically mad wannabe dictator with the world’s worst hairdo ranting lie after lie while the walking corpse Biden, stood there without making any real efforts to attack back. Sadly in modern day Seppoland only loud abuse and lies seem to attract people’s attention in politics and it has become the norm. No one seems to take any notice of the issues they just want the entertainment factor of so-called reality TV. One can only hope that enough Americans get together to keep their convicted felon and traitor out of the big chair because if that ridiculous man gets there again the next four years will be all about him only and his petty revenge. If the 21st century has seen the decline of American might and power we will now witness it spiral in to chaos with a conman cheating everyone even more than he ever did before. He has no interest in the American people. His only interest in the presidency again is that is the only thing that will keep him out of prison be pardoning himself of any and all crimes he commits. Look out world. The next years ahead are looking very shakey!
Sad to say but USA could have not have chosen 2 better candidates to show the world what it is today.
Old, sordid, vaguely criminal, self obsessed, and out of touch with the folk it is there to represent.
If the ballot boxes are empty when it comes to the vote its because its government is of little concern to its constituents.
The best times are over for USA, and its now a series of unpleasant divorces.
There is a minimum age restriction for Presidents, there needs to be an upper age restriction too, as there needs to be for Senators and Representatives not just in the USA but here in Australia too.
i take a different perspective. I dont care if Biden is a bit slow…..I hate continuous lying. And Trump was just so over the top with BS and outright lies. We know what he said and history is an open book. He is shameless in his own stew of insanity.
Biden should never have gotten into a debate with Trump. You cannot beat a narcissist at his own game,,,,he has had a life time of experience crafting his game. Biden should have been clear, you cant debate against a person like trump. Let me ask you, can you have a debate with a six year old?
Such is the narrative of the media that you have to have a debate…….since when? Its a sham and should be called out…….please, its just waiting for the gotcha moment or the over all impression that one is smarter when clearly one had a big mouth and the other a bit slower to respond.
This is a direct attack on older people. Are we going to be cancelled too?
The time constraints were seen as a good thing years ago so the speaker wouldn’t ramble on in a time restrained shambolick debate. But i now question all the assumptions made about a “great” debate. The debate format just played into trumps narcissistic play…say what you want and biden has no time to put out the flames. Biden being a bit slower had no chance……was this done on purpose?
I now declare all mainstream media a toxic threat to humanity. Just question the assumptions we make to buy into a debate……me included.
“If Biden declines to run further, the traditional assumption is his vice president becomes the party’s choice of successor. No rules dictate such a conclusion, but that will be the expectation. The Democrats are not likely to unite very well behind Kamala Harris. Her tenure has been low profile and she has suffered great criticism, much of it justified.”
WTF is this ? A rewriting of history to justify a point? Sorry but Mr Moore is entitled to an opinion only. He isnt entitled to write history as he sees it.
Bert – totally agree. This is arguably the most powerful office in the world (unless you’re Kim Jong Un or Putin) and to have these elderly guys running is lunacy. Yesterday’s men.
Be that as it may, they HAVE these 2. So are Democrat voters seriously going to let this image of Biden swap to voting for Trump ? That’s patently absurd. Biden on his worst day could NEVER be as bad as the USA under a new Trump term. This is NOT just a USA problem, we are all in deep doodoo if Trump gets the White House back, and Ukraine is probably finished. Australia will need to consider its alliance very carefully.
May the gods help us all
If those two fading old white men are the best that US politics has to offer as presidential candidates then the US is well and truly fucked.
Biden had a cold; that’s why his voice was a bit weird and he was a bit slow. At least he tried to answer the questions, unlike the Trumpster who just unleashed his usual Gish Gallop of lies.
Does no-one here do any fact checking before unleashing their biile?
Slightly OT, but watching the 2024 three-part series God Save Texas, the third episode, La Frontera, which looks at the cities of El Paso (Texas) and Ciudad Juárez (Mexico), twinned cities divided by the Rio Grande, and the complexities of the cross border relationships; there comes a point where the documentarian discusses how close to 100 years ago, when the USA was encouraging Mexican labour from across the river to come and work in the fields, as they arrived they would be shunted through a quarantine zone, stripped naked, clothing put through a steam cleaner, and the border crossers – keeping in mind they were being asked to enter the USA and work as field labour – were then processed through a ‘gas room’ where they were fumigated with a product labelled Gift Gas, otherwise known as Zyklon B, the very same poison used to gas the Jews in the concentration camps in Europe some 10 years later.
They were also sprayed with DDT. More than 100,000 Mexicans were subjected to this vile, inhumane and degrading treatment.
Honestly, isn’t it time for the planet to take a rigorous reappraisal of what this pathological society’s impact on humanity is, and respond appropriately?
Quite a lot of commentary about the way Biden suddenly revived from his ponderous presentation at the debate to a fiery stump-speech in North Carolina on Friday.
Keep taking the meds. Joe they seem to be working (intermittently).
What really bugs me with this is that any perceived failure to achieve perfection (from Biden and hiis team) is magnified and pilloried by the media and most of the commentariat, while Trump’s obvious flaws are just blithely ignored. He seems to have gaslit most of the world into focusing on those of his opponents’ instead, including pretty well everyone here.
What on earth is going on?
leefe
Credit to CNN who convened and moderated the debate. They also catalogued and fact checked the lies and misleading statements by Trump : overall I think CNN did a much better job than FOX could ever do :
https://edition.cnn.com/2024/06/27/politics/fact-checking-the-cnn-presidential-debate/index.html