1. Is the Debate Problem a real one worth consideration, or is it overblown?
Of course, if overblown, we push it aside and go on, easy as that.
But given the spontaneous cries of alarm across the Democratic universe (even before the GOP weighed in), let’s assume it’s real, worthy of consideration.
2. A) Is the Problem within the party ticket or outside of the ticket?
Worth asking, because challenges arise outside of our purview/control and then we can’t complain, just dig in and keep fighting. But this one is obviously, a “within” situation.
B) Is it something that even has a possible remedies?
Some Pundits claim it’s no use haggling, we’re committed and no turning back.
Others claim we have a chance (although in short time frame) to reconsider another candidate/ or that Biden himself can adjust and overcome. Which bring us to the next step:
3. Is the problem a once-in-while intermittent one, or part of a developing pattern?
Pro Biden pundits claim the former, and so don’t fret over one bad night. He’ll bounce right back. Just look at 2020 and all of his great years of accomplishment.
The retire-Biden group claims a) that we’ve seen increasing evidence of frailty/ dimness over the past few years and this makes for poor optics in the least, …. and
b) age/frailty only worsens once someone hits that point, so even looking at four years ago may be no longer valid. He’s changed since then, they say; the overall graph is only going one way.
4. If the problem is real , does the candidate (Joe) bring other compensating strengths or skills to the table. Are these skills that are relevant to what moves voters NOW? (not a few cycles ago.)
Okay. Here we may need to make competing lists. The upside might include: Biden’s
character and reputation for honesty, his great legislative track record, his warm folksy manner some voters still love, kind sincerity, focus on the country and not on himself, ability to work across the aisle, the respect of international leaders, his real detailed knowledge of the nuances of political issues, etc…. so Joe is truly a likable guy. And oh yeah, he preserves the democracy.
On the other side: he’s not a political opportunist. Example: when Trump brazenly blew up the border bill in January (put forth by his own GOP) — punishing the country to sustain his campaign — Biden didn’t make hay of it. And that would need packaging into sound bites, but does he grasp the power of repeated messages that the GOP does? Also, is the public sufficiently sold on his accomplishments to date? Even playing with a full deck, Biden is not considered to be an ace communicator/messenger/political animal attuned to TODAY’s methods. Does that matter?
5. CRUCIAL> What are the all-important swing / independent/ youth potential voters saying?
How would they respond to the questions above?
These may determine the election more than our “base” of course. And yes, sometimes voters say one thing with their mouths and do another in the voting booth, so nothing is for sure. These voters choose for THEIR reasons and not ours. We may respect integrity, democracy and truth, whereas some (who voted for Joe last time) are now prone to the shallow optics of showmanship and postures of strength. To what extent will they be able to push aside the superficial and choose Biden again for his deeper qualities?
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One parting thought (thanks for reading this far) — there is no “safe” path. If we stick with Biden: will he sustain enough (even if declining at times) to win in November? If we bring in another (who will need their own laundry list of qualities) — that could re energize the party overnight, or within weeks maybe bring ourselves back to square one. One thing for certain: none of us knows for sure, especially not the experts. There’s no precedent here; not with Mr. Bat-crazy and an aging Biden on the scene. We can only make our best educated guess.
If I missed any points or steps, please let me know.
If I get enough responses, I’ll say more about what I think and why. Thanks.