Dem
51
GOP
49
Things are very chaotic now, a bad omen. Yesterday all 23 of the Democratic state governors met with Joe Biden, either in person or by video conferencing. They were not likely to be discussing Biden's plans for what he will do in his second term, but something a tad more pressing. Some of them are potential presidential candidates if Biden decides to drop out.
In public all them support Biden. In private, they were probably a bit more open. They all realize that unless Biden manages to recover very fast, he's toast and King Donald I is going to become a dictator. But they also realize that too many white men will not vote for a Black woman, so just handing Kamala Harris the torch is also not a simple solution. Also, if Biden just anoints her without the voters or delegates involved, even people who (sort of) like her will be annoyed. Finally, holding an open convention could result in a free-for-all and endless "Democrats are in disarray" stories. If the convention ends up with a ticket with both Gavin Newsom and Gretchen Whitmer on it, Black women will be very upset, although having the presidential candidate say that Harris will be the attorney general so she can fight for racial justice might help. There is no easy answer. Maybe if Biden aces his interview with George Stephanopoulos tomorrow, that will calm people down. A lot is riding on it.
After the meeting with the governors, three of them, Gov. Kathy Hochul (D-NY), Wes Moore (D-MD), and Tim Walz (DFL-MN) talked to the media. Hochul said: "I'm here to tell you today: President Joe Biden is in it to win it. And all of us said we pledged our support to him because the stakes could not be higher." Walz said Biden is "fit for office." Moore was a bit more candid. He said the meeting was "honest" and "candid." This means the governors told them that they were very worried after his debate performance, but are still with him. They know that openly saying he should drop out would only make things worse. Donald Trump would then start running ads saying that even Democratic governors think Biden has lost it.
One thing Biden has not done and probably should do is make a point that the U.S. is not the U.K. There is no Question Time. The president does not have to go to the House of Representatives every day or every week or even every month to think on his feet and answer questions. Virtually all of his job requires carefully thinking of policies and programs, discussing them with cabinet members and leaders of Congress, getting funding, and then executing them. He could argue he is good at that, as evidenced by his many legislative successes. In other words, being good at debating really isn't part of the job description of being president, but successfully getting laws through Congress is, and he is really good at that. (V)