Should (Will?) President Joe Biden Drop Out of the 2024 Presidential Race? Poll & Editorials

[Suranis]

The article - which I did not quote in its entirety - stated that a half dozen participants tweeted that Biden had done a good job. What I did quote above stated that THREE participants were concerned about Biden's rambling and his appearing to get lost while talking.

Yea, Mea Culpa I missed it was three people.

re: passing the torch:

Please some speculation that if Joe Biden were to step down now and Kamela Harris takes over, what would her chances be for reelection in November?

The press owners wouldn't be pushing for Biden to get out if they thought Harris had a chance in hell.

[Res Ipsa]

Please some speculation that if Joe Biden were to step down now and Kamela Harris takes over, what would her chances be for reelection in November?

You mean step down as president, or simply step down as candidate?

Because, again, if the alternative is to run Harris as the candidate, I don't see the point. If he steps down as president at some later date, she will be the president anyway.

So if the point is that he is qualified to be president at this time, but will not be qualified to be president at some indefinite point in time in the next term, then Ms. Harris becomes the president without having to go through these gyrations.

[Uninformed]

“Biden suffering Covid infection, White House says”:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cv2gj8314nqo

“Joe Biden has tested positive for Covid-19 and is suffering mild symptoms, the White House has said.
Karine Jean-Pierre, his press secretary, said the president is vaccinated and boosted. He has had Covid twice before.
Mr Biden, 81, was seen earlier on Wednesday visiting supporters in Las Vegas and speaking at an event. He has cancelled a campaign speech in the city tonight.
The illness comes as he faces increasing pressure to step aside because of his age following a poor debate performance at the end of June.
This is a developing story.”

[neonzx]

Annie Linskey
@AnnieLinskey
From Biden's doctor: "The President presented this afternoon with upper respiratory symptoms, to include rhinorhea (runny nose) and non-productive cough, with general malaise."
6:22 PM · Jul 17, 2024
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Biden plans to return from his trip to Nevada and "self-isolate" in Delaware, per the White House.

[Luke]

I haven’t been watching the GOP Convention, but I did catch JD's speech tonight. It was well-constructed but rather generic, especially considering his rich story. His delivery was flat, and it’s clear the impeached felon has neutered him on all his policy positions (to be fair, as all VP's are), which won’t be missed except by the MAGA crowd.

But gosh -- seeing that Nancy Pelosi is alleged to be lowering the boom along with Schumer and Jeffries could be game-changing. They have access to far more data than we do. Pelosi's office is playing it down, but Rachel Bade is a well-respected reporter.

President Biden just can't catch a break—this is his third time catching COVID. My parents around his age were significantly affected by just one bout of it.

I have immense love and respect for President Biden; he's been a hugely consequential president. Similarly, I believe Nancy Pelosi has been the most consequential Speaker in US history.

I do think that having this happen this week is a wash; this is GOP week and it's always a fallacy that an opposing party can get traction during a party convention. However, this issue needs to be resolved quickly. With Black women as a cornerstone of the Democratic Party, any notion of skipping over the first Black VP for a nominee seems both suicidal and impractical. If President Biden steps down by choice, I can see the enthusiasm and upsides for VP Harris, if nothing else, for stability and bringing "new" energy.

We all know how important it is to win this election. I'd like President BIden to stay in the race, but it's been three weeks and we've gotten nowhere. If money is drying up as reported, it's a huge problem. Sigh.

As Foggy would say:

Pelosi told Biden: You’re dragging down Democrats
An ally of the former House speaker said she would do “everything in her power” to get Biden off the Democratic ticket.
By RACHAEL BADE 07/17/2024 11:56 PM EDT

Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi told President Joe Biden last week that she and other Democratic lawmakers worry that he’s dragging down the party, in an extraordinarily candid confrontation that came amid mounting pressure on Biden to end his reelection campaign. Pelosi also warned Biden that some Democratic lawmakers would start to grow louder in their griping about his political weaknesses, according to two people close to Pelosi. She urged the president to make a decision about stepping down soon.

One Pelosi ally said it was possible she would press Biden publicly to give up his spot atop the Democratic ticket. “The speaker does not want to call on him to resign, but she will do everything in her power to make sure it happens,” this person said, referring to Biden quitting the race. A second Pelosi ally put her calculus in blunt terms. “There’s nothing subtle about Nancy,” this person said. “She starts with the question: ‘What’s it take to win?’ Then works backwards.”

The exchange between Biden and Pelosi underscores a new and increasingly public phase of the push to remove Biden from the Democratic ticket. Senior Democrats had hoped to address this matter privately — Pelosi, herself, certainly advised members to try to do so, at least for a time.

So far, Biden and his inner circle have refused to yield. Now, they’re facing leaks left and right that keep the president on the defensive. News of Pelosi’s conversation with Biden was first reported by CNN. It emerged hours after ABC News reported that Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries told Biden, in two separate conversations, that it would be best for the country for him to end his campaign. POLITICO reported Wednesday evening that both Schumer and Jeffries had conveyed to Biden that they were deeply concerned about his effect on Democrats’ ability to win control of Congress.

Pelosi’s office in a statement said she had not spoken to Biden since returning to California on Friday — and questioned the reporting about her conversation with the president. “These sources are not good sources,” her spokesperson said. White House spokesperson Andrew Bates merely said: “Biden is the nominee of the party… plans to win, and looks forward to working with congressional Democrats to pass his 100 days agenda to help working families.”

https://www.politico.com/news/2024/07/1 ... s-00169317