Ezra Klein of the New York Times is a native of Irvine and he posts his observations on the debate in the Democratic Party of whether President Joe Biden moved forward or not on X.com (formerly Twitter); here’s what he has to say:
Where things stand:
1. Top Dems who believed even a week ago Biden would stay now believe he’ll go.
2. House and Senate Dems have lost faith in his ability to win and there’s no way to win them back. His calls and interviews have hurt him badly. Confirmed debate wasn’t a one-off.
3. Donors are also gone. Biden may well not have the money to run a real campaign against Trump if he stays in. Money will go downballot.
4. Biden is thinking things over in a way he wasn’t before and the view is he needs time to process and consider.
5. If Biden digs in after the weekend, public pressure from Dems will increase. Ugly in a way no one wants. But a lot of grim determination. Also a growing sense that if Biden stays in, this will come to be seen as the kind of political catastrophe you don’t want to later be seen as silent in.
6. The moment Biden bows out, he will be treated as a hero among Democrats — a statesman who made the kind of country and party-first decision that Trump never would. People get that this is hard. He’s being asked to do something very few leaders do.
7. Uniting around Kamala Harris feels a lot likelier than an open convention, much as I’ve supported the latter. This is grueling enough. Few Democrats have the stomach for another hard thing. And time is very short now.
8. Many thought RNC would help Biden by changing the subject. Instead, seeing a united Republican Party has focused Dems. They’ve realized they can’t rely on Trump just to lose this.
9. Democratic Party is acting like an…actual party? Quite a thing to watch.
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