Larry Hogan made a big mistake when he said he’d support Trump for President in 2024. There go his Independent and moderate Democrat possible voters. He should have said nothing. And regardless of what a Republican partisan hack wrote,( that was not edited by Merrick Garland who should have known better) Joe Biden is still a perfectly acceptable Democratic candidate for the presidency. And compared to the alternative, Biden is Marcus Tullius Cicero combined with Albert Einstein and Mother Teresa.
It’s been too late for Biden to step aside for weeks (if not months). I can’t even remember when I asked you about this, but it was at least two months ago. It would have to be Kamala stepping in, and I’m sure there would be ballot access issues (among other challenges). It’s extremely unfortunate, but we Democrats must accept that barring something very dire, Biden will be the candidate. A lot of time and money had better be spent educating disaffected Democratic voters on why they absolutely, positively cannot vote for RFK, Jr., Jill Stein, etc.
It is not too late for Joe to step aside. There are several very able and electable Ds in the wings: eg, Whitmer, Klobuchar, Beshear, Shapiro.( By the way, can you imagine how women would rally around a woman candidate in the year of Dobbs.) There would be plenty of people ready to write checks, and Biden could roll over his funds. No, Kamala would not need to be the replacement. We lose perspective. It's incredibly early in the cycle to know who the candidates are. There have been only a few primaries. But Joe seems stubbornly to believe he is the only one who can beat Trump when he might be the only one who can lose to him. Beating Trump is the essential goal, and I will absolutely vote for Joe if he stays in.
You think a white woman (or even worse, a white man) would try to make the case that they are more qualified than a sitting Vice President who is the first woman (of color, no less) to hold the position? I wholeheartedly disagree. Maybe a primary in 2028. I’m all for Whitmer/Booker.
Yes, that's a concern, but it's also possible Harris wouldn't run. The VP doesn't just step up . If she did run, so be it. I have no problem with her. I think Harris is quite good. But there would be no problem running against her. Bernie had no trouble running against HRC.
Obviously, I’m aware. I’m not questioning her qualifications (or Bernie’s right to challenge her). I’m just saying that it’s not equivalent to a situation where Biden drops out and someone has to step up.
Yes, that's a difference, but not a dispositive one. People have run in primaries against sitting VPs. I don't think Harris's racial identity renders that inappropriate. And as I said, if Harris decides to run , so be it. She is a fully qualified candidate.
Disagree. Newsom can’t win (perceived as too liberal and California is a shit show), and he has too big an ego to be VP. Plus, the VP needs to have relationships on The Hill to help execute POTUS’ agenda. Hence my preference for someone well liked like Booker.
Can we please stop all these unnecessary speculations about Biden stepping down just because a partisan hack disguising as Special Counsel said Biden is old and has memory issues. How about Trump facing 91 counts of indictments. Can someone tell him to step down too. Biden is not going to step down, Michele Obama is not going to replace Biden. Biden has done a great job in the last 3 years and he will do more in the next FIVE years.
I admire your passionate support for Joe , but it's not credible and not fair to describe Robert Hur as a "partisan hack." He has excellent credentials and a solid reputation. That's why he was appointed by Garland. You obviously hate what he wrote, but he didn't make up the facts. Resorting to personal attacks is no substitute for dealing with the merits.
Again Robert Hur is a partisan hack. He's an alumni if the discredited Trump Presidency. SeasonEd prosecutors have come out to say his reference to Biden's age and memory was unnecessary. He was picked because Garland wanted to show the country that he is not being pushed around by Biden but Rober Hur betrayed him a d the trust Garland reposed in Jim. And that has always been the problem with Democrats. They take sticks to battles with Republicans and the Republicans bring Huns to the same fight.Trump's DOJ appointed a Republicans to investigate Hunter Biden and Biden left in place. Do you think Trump would done that.
🤣....If Hur was as professional as you claim, then the unnecessary and off subject remarks--which WERE partisan shots--would not have been made and if Garland were as professional as you claim he would never have let that report--which violates official DoJ policy btw--be publicized without editing those subjective remarks out.
I think Bidens's biggest mistake was appointing Republican Mole Garland as Attorney General. Garland is a Federalist member and donor...is he taking direction from Leonard Leo, by chance???
As with the prior comment, you are using personal attacks as a weak substitute for substance, and yours has a flavor of right wing style conspiracy thinking. You're depicting Garland as a right wing mole? The guy Obama picked for SCOTUS ? The guy all in the legal community praised as a brilliant jurist? The guy the Rs shot down? You may not be objective. To be sure, Garland has not been perfect. He waited too long to appoint Smith , for example. But the fact that you hate Hur’s report isn’t grounds for character attacks. As far as the substance of the report, I understand the view that the comments re memory were gratuitous . It's also arguable that the way a potential defendant would present to a jury is relevant to the report. Beyond that, Hur didn't fabricate Biden's memory problems. That's the substance and that issue is a concern.
I'm not even going to answer your accusation that I used a personal attack. It is a matter of record that Obama choose Garland because he was a moderate Republican who should have sailed through the nominating process if it had not been for McConnell. But Garland is still a Republican and (look it up) a donor and member of the Federalist Society. Up until now he has seemed far more concerned with the reputation of the DoJ than in anything else. Feel free to explain why he dragged his feet for so long befor finally, finally appointing Jack Smith.
Instead of answering my "accusation that [you] used a personal attack," you continued to do so. According to the info I have,Garland is a registered independent. He clerked for two liberal Judges: Friendly and Brennan. He served in the Clinton admin. So no, he is not the person you pejoratively described as a "Republican Mole." As far as the Federalist Society, it appears he has moderated some of their panels but is not a member. I already said he made a serious error in delaying the appointment of Smith.
Thank you, Dr. Abubakar Ibrahim. Dems do NOT need all these naysayers. They all seem to think that setting up a national campaign can be done at the snap of fingers; that Biden should step down...blah, blah, yada, yada. This is all nonsense. Biden is a remarkable, experienced politician. I find it amazing that the R's have constantly disparaged his mental acuity and yet credit him with the most Machiavellian moves (including playing the Senate Republican into pledging publicly that they would not mess with SS or Medicare in his SotU address last year--how soon they all forget) How short are the memories of centrist journalists and attention-deficit democrats??? Pretty dang short, seemingly.
Shut up and support President Biden with every molecule that can be mustered into the effort and CRUSH the weak-ass, demented, raging toddler with a blue tsunami. It's the only way we'll ever get another chance to vote in another election.
I was very unhappy to see Hogan run. He may get elected , and he alone would be a reasonable senator. But he'd help give the lunatic Rs a majority, and , thus, poses a real danger. I wish he'd reject his party and put the country over his personal ambitions.
Being stubborn and refusing to accept the reality of the situation is not a good look for JB.
If he stays in and shuffles and bumbles his way to a landslide election loss. . and leaves us with a psychotic despot as president...we will ALL have to pay the price.
Further, re his legacy, history will only remember that Biden refused to step down when another candidate could have defeated Trump and saved our Republic.
I get that President Biden is vulnerable. He is. But I do not think the Democrats have a better choice.
1) He is the president. Maybe incumbency isn't what it used to be, but it's still potent.
2) The alternatives are all risky. Before 2008, how many sitting senators won the presidency (A: Warren Harding, Barack Obama, and John Kennedy) and for every governor who won (Bush, Clinton, Reagan, Carter) who won, there is a JEB! Bush, Scott Walker, DeSantis, Hickenlooper, Rick Perry, and Michael Dukakis who flamed out badly. I agree that the Democrats have a during potential bench, but none of the bench has been tested nationally.
3) How many sitting presidents have not run for reelection? In my lifetime, it's Johnson. Heck, even President Hoover ran for reelection and, not for nothing, Biden looks world's better than Hoover.
Tough week. Hopefully the Biden Bad Day fades and Trump’s foibles once again take center stage. I don’t really see how we can’t Go With Joe. We are all in *sigh*
Cillizza, you wrote this week about all of the things the media, including you, got wrong about covering Trump, I urge you to consider how you are covering Biden. You and all of the media. How did you all turn Biden’s exoneration into speculation that he might or should step down? Where is his victory? He was cleared!
While you’re at it telling us how incredible it is that the VP wannabes are anti -constitution also keep hammering home that the candidate who is considering them is anti-constitution, anti-government and anti- America and pro Putin.
The GOP candidate is so lacking of capabilities he needs to plagiarize Hitler in his speeches. He is senile and a likely traitor who stole classified documents and refused to return them. His only response to indictments is to delay instead of going to court to defend himself. Is there a more guilty acting person than one who looks for legal technicalities instead of a trial?
While I do think Biden’s age is a point of conversation, I highly disagree that he has LOST it. Do you follow Heather Cox Richardson? Her letter today was enlightening, factual and succinct. Also I agree with Dr. Ibrahim, there are MORE important issues out there that the Democratic Party and the rest of us who support democracy should be focused on and being LOUDER about. Thanks Chris, your letters are always a good conversation starter. Your styles are different and i get a lot out of reading you both.
I personally think Hogan still loses, Im wondering about Vermont however if Bernie Sanders retires. I personally think Bernie runs again but if he calls it a career, should we expect popular GOP Governor Phil Scott to enter that race last minute just like Hogan did today? Im skeptical of Scott running either way but you never know so it could be worth keeping an eye on.
Larry Hogan made a big mistake when he said he’d support Trump for President in 2024. There go his Independent and moderate Democrat possible voters. He should have said nothing. And regardless of what a Republican partisan hack wrote,( that was not edited by Merrick Garland who should have known better) Joe Biden is still a perfectly acceptable Democratic candidate for the presidency. And compared to the alternative, Biden is Marcus Tullius Cicero combined with Albert Einstein and Mother Teresa.
It’s been too late for Biden to step aside for weeks (if not months). I can’t even remember when I asked you about this, but it was at least two months ago. It would have to be Kamala stepping in, and I’m sure there would be ballot access issues (among other challenges). It’s extremely unfortunate, but we Democrats must accept that barring something very dire, Biden will be the candidate. A lot of time and money had better be spent educating disaffected Democratic voters on why they absolutely, positively cannot vote for RFK, Jr., Jill Stein, etc.
It is not too late for Joe to step aside. There are several very able and electable Ds in the wings: eg, Whitmer, Klobuchar, Beshear, Shapiro.( By the way, can you imagine how women would rally around a woman candidate in the year of Dobbs.) There would be plenty of people ready to write checks, and Biden could roll over his funds. No, Kamala would not need to be the replacement. We lose perspective. It's incredibly early in the cycle to know who the candidates are. There have been only a few primaries. But Joe seems stubbornly to believe he is the only one who can beat Trump when he might be the only one who can lose to him. Beating Trump is the essential goal, and I will absolutely vote for Joe if he stays in.
You think a white woman (or even worse, a white man) would try to make the case that they are more qualified than a sitting Vice President who is the first woman (of color, no less) to hold the position? I wholeheartedly disagree. Maybe a primary in 2028. I’m all for Whitmer/Booker.
Yes, that's a concern, but it's also possible Harris wouldn't run. The VP doesn't just step up . If she did run, so be it. I have no problem with her. I think Harris is quite good. But there would be no problem running against her. Bernie had no trouble running against HRC.
The situations are not equivalent at all. Two senators.
Btw, HRC had been Sec’y of State when Bernie challenged her in 15-16
Obviously, I’m aware. I’m not questioning her qualifications (or Bernie’s right to challenge her). I’m just saying that it’s not equivalent to a situation where Biden drops out and someone has to step up.
Yes, that's a difference, but not a dispositive one. People have run in primaries against sitting VPs. I don't think Harris's racial identity renders that inappropriate. And as I said, if Harris decides to run , so be it. She is a fully qualified candidate.
Better Newsom/ Whitmer or Whitmer/ Newsom in 2028
Disagree. Newsom can’t win (perceived as too liberal and California is a shit show), and he has too big an ego to be VP. Plus, the VP needs to have relationships on The Hill to help execute POTUS’ agenda. Hence my preference for someone well liked like Booker.
Can we please stop all these unnecessary speculations about Biden stepping down just because a partisan hack disguising as Special Counsel said Biden is old and has memory issues. How about Trump facing 91 counts of indictments. Can someone tell him to step down too. Biden is not going to step down, Michele Obama is not going to replace Biden. Biden has done a great job in the last 3 years and he will do more in the next FIVE years.
I admire your passionate support for Joe , but it's not credible and not fair to describe Robert Hur as a "partisan hack." He has excellent credentials and a solid reputation. That's why he was appointed by Garland. You obviously hate what he wrote, but he didn't make up the facts. Resorting to personal attacks is no substitute for dealing with the merits.
Again Robert Hur is a partisan hack. He's an alumni if the discredited Trump Presidency. SeasonEd prosecutors have come out to say his reference to Biden's age and memory was unnecessary. He was picked because Garland wanted to show the country that he is not being pushed around by Biden but Rober Hur betrayed him a d the trust Garland reposed in Jim. And that has always been the problem with Democrats. They take sticks to battles with Republicans and the Republicans bring Huns to the same fight.Trump's DOJ appointed a Republicans to investigate Hunter Biden and Biden left in place. Do you think Trump would done that.
Well, you’ve got consistency going for you, Dr. Have a good night
You too. Have a blessed ome!!
😡
🤣....If Hur was as professional as you claim, then the unnecessary and off subject remarks--which WERE partisan shots--would not have been made and if Garland were as professional as you claim he would never have let that report--which violates official DoJ policy btw--be publicized without editing those subjective remarks out.
I think Bidens's biggest mistake was appointing Republican Mole Garland as Attorney General. Garland is a Federalist member and donor...is he taking direction from Leonard Leo, by chance???
As with the prior comment, you are using personal attacks as a weak substitute for substance, and yours has a flavor of right wing style conspiracy thinking. You're depicting Garland as a right wing mole? The guy Obama picked for SCOTUS ? The guy all in the legal community praised as a brilliant jurist? The guy the Rs shot down? You may not be objective. To be sure, Garland has not been perfect. He waited too long to appoint Smith , for example. But the fact that you hate Hur’s report isn’t grounds for character attacks. As far as the substance of the report, I understand the view that the comments re memory were gratuitous . It's also arguable that the way a potential defendant would present to a jury is relevant to the report. Beyond that, Hur didn't fabricate Biden's memory problems. That's the substance and that issue is a concern.
I'm not even going to answer your accusation that I used a personal attack. It is a matter of record that Obama choose Garland because he was a moderate Republican who should have sailed through the nominating process if it had not been for McConnell. But Garland is still a Republican and (look it up) a donor and member of the Federalist Society. Up until now he has seemed far more concerned with the reputation of the DoJ than in anything else. Feel free to explain why he dragged his feet for so long befor finally, finally appointing Jack Smith.
Instead of answering my "accusation that [you] used a personal attack," you continued to do so. According to the info I have,Garland is a registered independent. He clerked for two liberal Judges: Friendly and Brennan. He served in the Clinton admin. So no, he is not the person you pejoratively described as a "Republican Mole." As far as the Federalist Society, it appears he has moderated some of their panels but is not a member. I already said he made a serious error in delaying the appointment of Smith.
Thank you, Dr. Abubakar Ibrahim. Dems do NOT need all these naysayers. They all seem to think that setting up a national campaign can be done at the snap of fingers; that Biden should step down...blah, blah, yada, yada. This is all nonsense. Biden is a remarkable, experienced politician. I find it amazing that the R's have constantly disparaged his mental acuity and yet credit him with the most Machiavellian moves (including playing the Senate Republican into pledging publicly that they would not mess with SS or Medicare in his SotU address last year--how soon they all forget) How short are the memories of centrist journalists and attention-deficit democrats??? Pretty dang short, seemingly.
Shut up and support President Biden with every molecule that can be mustered into the effort and CRUSH the weak-ass, demented, raging toddler with a blue tsunami. It's the only way we'll ever get another chance to vote in another election.
I was very unhappy to see Hogan run. He may get elected , and he alone would be a reasonable senator. But he'd help give the lunatic Rs a majority, and , thus, poses a real danger. I wish he'd reject his party and put the country over his personal ambitions.
Being stubborn and refusing to accept the reality of the situation is not a good look for JB.
If he stays in and shuffles and bumbles his way to a landslide election loss. . and leaves us with a psychotic despot as president...we will ALL have to pay the price.
Further, re his legacy, history will only remember that Biden refused to step down when another candidate could have defeated Trump and saved our Republic.
Exactly right.
I get that President Biden is vulnerable. He is. But I do not think the Democrats have a better choice.
1) He is the president. Maybe incumbency isn't what it used to be, but it's still potent.
2) The alternatives are all risky. Before 2008, how many sitting senators won the presidency (A: Warren Harding, Barack Obama, and John Kennedy) and for every governor who won (Bush, Clinton, Reagan, Carter) who won, there is a JEB! Bush, Scott Walker, DeSantis, Hickenlooper, Rick Perry, and Michael Dukakis who flamed out badly. I agree that the Democrats have a during potential bench, but none of the bench has been tested nationally.
3) How many sitting presidents have not run for reelection? In my lifetime, it's Johnson. Heck, even President Hoover ran for reelection and, not for nothing, Biden looks world's better than Hoover.
Tough week. Hopefully the Biden Bad Day fades and Trump’s foibles once again take center stage. I don’t really see how we can’t Go With Joe. We are all in *sigh*
Every day, I become more despondent that Trump will win in November. Yesterday was the worst day yet.
Cillizza, you wrote this week about all of the things the media, including you, got wrong about covering Trump, I urge you to consider how you are covering Biden. You and all of the media. How did you all turn Biden’s exoneration into speculation that he might or should step down? Where is his victory? He was cleared!
This week was particularly abhorrent.
While you’re at it telling us how incredible it is that the VP wannabes are anti -constitution also keep hammering home that the candidate who is considering them is anti-constitution, anti-government and anti- America and pro Putin.
The GOP candidate is so lacking of capabilities he needs to plagiarize Hitler in his speeches. He is senile and a likely traitor who stole classified documents and refused to return them. His only response to indictments is to delay instead of going to court to defend himself. Is there a more guilty acting person than one who looks for legal technicalities instead of a trial?
While I do think Biden’s age is a point of conversation, I highly disagree that he has LOST it. Do you follow Heather Cox Richardson? Her letter today was enlightening, factual and succinct. Also I agree with Dr. Ibrahim, there are MORE important issues out there that the Democratic Party and the rest of us who support democracy should be focused on and being LOUDER about. Thanks Chris, your letters are always a good conversation starter. Your styles are different and i get a lot out of reading you both.
I personally think Hogan still loses, Im wondering about Vermont however if Bernie Sanders retires. I personally think Bernie runs again but if he calls it a career, should we expect popular GOP Governor Phil Scott to enter that race last minute just like Hogan did today? Im skeptical of Scott running either way but you never know so it could be worth keeping an eye on.
Love today's music recommendation! Wow!!
::sees the price of a Super Bowl commercial::
So we're not getting an ad for the substack on Sunday? Could be a way to boost subscribers...