Joe Biden, Sarah Palin and a Bridge to Nowhere

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/02/24/opinion/joe-biden-democratic-primary.html

(“It’s Not as Easy as Just Getting Biden to Drop Out”)

What does the possibility of selecting a Democratic choice for President at the party’s convention bring to mind? Sarah Palin. And desperation.

In August of 2008 John McCain's candidacy was leaking oil. The presumptive Republican nominee was facing the serious prospect of losing the election to a much younger relative newcomer to the scene, a man who would bring a new wave of voters to the polls.

When Mr. McCain announced Sarah Palin as his running mate it initially brought renewed currency to his campaign. But soon enough the bloom was off the rose and Ms. Palin's warts became all too self evident. Mr. McCain’s rushed choice became nothing more than an anchor, weighing down and then sinking his chances. Desperation is, in the final analysis, definitely not a good look.

Joe Biden makes every Democrat with a pulse very nervous. He is like a product that has been sitting on the shelf too long, his sell by date having expired. Trying to package him into another four years is an exhausting undertaking. No matter how we try to hide it, dressing Mr. Biden up feels (I apologize in advance for the rest of this sentence) sometimes akin to putting lipstick on a pig. We all know his best days are in the rear view mirror.

So why not rip off the band-aid now? Sure it will hurt for an instant. And certainly it will give the Republican party reason to crow that the Dems are now nothing but a pool of tears.

But there is almost 9 months to election day, more than enough time for a new baby to be hatched, to grow from chaos to clarity, from replacement to remarkable.

If this choice were to be made only in a rush, a huff and a puff at the convention we would very likely have more to fear than fear itself. There would be scant breath to turn the anointed one from straw into gold. It would seem a disaster deferred not dismissed. A party in disarray. An election to be dreaded.

Let 2024 not be the year of Palin lite on the Dem's side. If Joe must go, let it not happen when images of a bridge to nowhere are dancing in our heads.