Be Gentle With Each Other

 One thing I've noticed in the debate over Biden's age and status in the race is that we are starting to reach the absolute worst outcome: civil war. When you read posts like this, you see people who are terrified of Trump's return to power begin to take it out on people who are arguing that Biden might not, in fact, be toast. 

What's happening is that people are taking a position. "Biden will be responsible for the end of American democracy if he doesn't drop out." "I'm ridin' with Biden. I'm not going to let the Times destroy one of the most successful presidents of my lifetime." One of those positions will - by definition - lose the argument. 

The problem then becomes re-unifying the party around whatever turns out to be the final position. 

This is EXACTLY what we saw in 2016 at the Democratic Convention.

This is also EXACTLY why Ezra Klein's fantasies of an open convention would be a bigger disaster than simply keeping Biden on the ticket. You think the arguments are heated now? (They are.) Imagine what the convention would be like.

I am disgusted with the uneven treatment Biden and Trump are getting right now. Large majorities of voters think both men are too old and Trump is pretty clearly non compos mentis. As a campaign issue, the age of both men - the mental acuity of both men - should be a topic of debate. It is not, however, as Trump is largely getting a pass. Would Harris allow the coverage to come back into balance? I have very substantial doubts that it would.

Basically, I think the media is covering an important story but terribly. I think the Democratic Party needs to have this debate now, but it has to avoid creating entrenched divisions that will be hard to repair once the final decision is made. Hell, there are "people close to Biden" who are blaming Obama for things like George Clooney's op-ed. That sort of stuff is worse than his debate performance, in my opinion.

As Heather Cox Richardson points out, the test of whether Biden is up for the job is whether he can do the job. He is very much doing the job. He's a good president. We got good economic news again this morning. However, there seems to be real substantive questions about his ability to campaign.

Weirdly, Biden's argument for staying in is his "electability" as the calm old White Dude. The argument for him dropping out is his un-electability as a man in visible physical decline. How do you square that circle without tearing the party apart?