FROM OUR CORRESPONDENT
NEW YORK – The disastrous performance of Joe Biden in the first presidential debate has rekindled the concerns of the Democrats. During the debate, while the president appeared tired and confused, the party leaders exchanged worried messages, wondering what to do in view of the elections of November 5.
“He seemed disoriented,” political consultant David Axelrod, the man who helped elect Barack Obama, said a few minutes after the end of the debate. “There will be a lot of discussion about whether to let it continue.” And if Democrats continue to publicly support Biden’s candidacy, they privately wonder what to do.
It has never happened that a candidate has given up at this point in the campaign, there is a good chance that it will be a failure. If it were to be necessary, Biden would remain in office until the end of his term as happened to Lyndon Johnson in 1968, but the delegates he won during the primaries – 95% of the total 4,000 – would be back up for grabs. The replacement would then be chosen during the convention in August in Chicago, while if Biden were to withdraw after the convention it would be up to the party to choose the successor.
There are not many names ready to jump on the presidential bandwagon, and they should battle to win the vote of the delegates left by Biden. The most concrete hypothesis is the vice president Kamala Harris, even though party rules give her no advantage should Biden decide to withdraw. She would not automatically receive delegates, but the president could try to influence the process by giving her his endorsement.
The most quoted is instead the governor of California Gavin Newsom: relatively young, good looking, with a national profile, even if he has been touched by some scandal. Newsom was in Atlanta and reiterated to reporters that the party remains united with the president.
The third name is that of the governor of Michigan Gretchen Whitmerbest known for skillfully standing up to Donald Trump during Covid as he fueled protests against the restrictions he had imposed, and then for the attempted kidnapping of him by a militia, which ended with nine convictions.
Then there are some names in the second row: the governor of Pennsylvania Josh Shapirothat of Illinois J.B Pritzkerthe California congressman Ro Khanna.
Finally, there is the eternal suggestion of Michelle Obamarelaunched by many but rejected – more than once – by the former first lady herself who claims to have no intention of returning to the White House.
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