Thank you for this post. Nate Cohn and Ezra Klein are driving me crazy with their polling and “suggestions”. Joe is sharp and knows the ropes. He doesn’t “speechify” as the other one does but he gets policy done ✅ that actually benefits the regular citizens. And a President Harris is not “scary” to most Dems, just mostly the Republicans.
The problem with Ezra Klein is that someone paid too much for his education, and it made him arrogant in his youth to think that he has any insight into Joe Biden's age, or anything else having to do with this presidential election. He looks pretty young to me. Closer to my 18-year-old daughter in age, who by the way is not directly paying for her college education because she is going to uni in Germany, and that already shows she is a more critical thinker than Klein. She is not worried about Biden's age, and she is a Gen-Zer. What she is worried about is Trump winning. While Biden might not win, it won't be because of his age, but because of idiots like Klein who think he is "too old" in years is equated with his biological age. At 43 the doctor told me I had the fertility of a 20 year old. So, knock 23 years off my age biologically. It is not surprising. My maternal grandma lived to be 99.5, my mom is pushing 90, and my paternal great-grandmother lived to be 109. I know a lot of people in their 90s because of my mom. The other day, a group of 5 in their 90s up to 97 were sitting at the table next to us, fit as you please. The men were starting to sing as they downed a bottle of wine with their 3 women companions for dinner, but also bent down to pick up something the waitress dropped while walking spryly around the room and stopping to converse with different friends at other tables. The conversations were all lucid. So if we knew everyone's biological age, not their age in that years, I imagine Joe Biden would be younger. No one is questioning Warren Buffett, who is still running the multinational company Berkshire Hathaway at 92. The USA is a national company with international outreach, and Biden is doing an excellent job running it at 81. He has a wife who can keep an eye on his health, and in Harris, a vice president who not only brings her own wisdom to the job, but also has excellent tutelage under a master statesman for 4+ years. Ezra Klein looks too young to understand age, unless he has aging parents who are not aging as well as Biden. If they are, then shame on him. They need to tell him off. I am in Germany and in my art group is a woman fit as a fiddle who is 91. She looks like she is around 70. She is sharp, creative, and talented, and has an incisive discussion on art, politics and life. She lives independently and gets around on bike, public and her car when she is transporting bigger things to our workshop. Americans need to understand age in a biological context, and stop worrying about Biden and start worrying about Trump. He is a Russian asset who has corrupted his entire party to serve an enemy of our Nation. Let's reserve our speculation on who can replace Biden for in 3 years when we look at the next election cycle.
It’s intellectually lazy of Klein to go on about how great a brokered dem convention would be without reading/researching what happened the last time. In 1968. And how that chaos on live tv solidified Nixon’s win. I swear, people who act like this want trump to be elected because his chaos & cruelty is good for clicks which is good for their bottom line.
Why is Klein’s piece getting so much attention? It’s ill-considered and brings nothing new that pundits haven’t been saying for months. Perhaps his fanboy excitement over a brokered convention in Chicago of all places (Lawrence O’Donnell was brilliant on this point) was new, but it’s the kind of thought you’d expect to see excoriated rather than promoted. Why has this become a focus point for Democrats?
None of these pundits know a thing about Newsom. He will not stand up to any scrutiny. When he was mayor of San Francisco he was married to Kimberly Guillfoyle, which gives you an idea of his judgment and the party going on in City Hall. Klein and others who think he could win a presidential campaign are gambling with the future of democracy.
"...the general election campaign hasn’t really started and most voters aren’t paying attention yet." An important point to remember but the Republicans are getting their message through - national abortion ban, no IVF, women suffering in anti-abortion red states, Trump found liable for rape, FBI informant found to have lied and being a front for Russians, and more and more. It's also important to remember that the function of a critic is to point out flaws, which is not difficult because everyone and everything has flaws; a critic does not create. Those calling for Biden to step aside are also such a small number that they are statistically irrelevant. I do read many of these articles because they help me to think about the issues and clarify my own thinking. But, I don't decide to see or skip a movie because of the opinion of a critic. I also don't decide to vote for someone, or not vote for them based on what a critic says. I actually think for myself. Since Biden has done such a good job to date, far from perfect but good, this leaves some in the media in search of something to write that'll get attention. I agree that everyone should watch Lawrence O'Donnell's monologue. Lawrence also talks about the Chicago Democratic Convention of 1968, the one with riots outside and chaos inside. If you don't remember, Democrats lost that election. Lawrence wrote a book about it, Playing with Fire.
No one is replacing Joe Biden because Joe Biden hasn't taught anyone to replace him. There's no real system in place for apprenticing new politicians, new potential candidates—in his career, why has Joe Biden (or Nancy Pelosi, or Dianne Feinstein, or even folks on the right like Mitch McConnell, or…or…or…) never taken anyone under his wing and taught them how to politic the way he does and then given them his backing for candidacy of a position he was leaving, and made that apprenticship a leading reason for why I should vote for that candidate? What are our leaders doing to actively raise up the next generation of leaders?
At some point, we just gotta call it straight up, Biden is in a very difficult spot. If he loses, his entire legacy is going to be bringing back Trump. I think that’s the likely scenario. Biden forestalled fascism but couldn’t kill it. Biden is going to lose because of disenchantment and apathy not because Trump has some overwhelming coalition of support. I cannot believe progressives shrug at another Trump term but simply cannot abide by a second Biden one.
Another point I've heard discussed is that jettisoning Kamala Harris, the actual VP, would alienate a lot of core Dem voters, including Black women. This seems hugely problematic to me.
I listened to both Ezra Klein's podcasts on this. The 2nd was Ezra digging in after all the waves he made promoting ( essentially) the jitters about Biden. It seemed to me that his case had holes in it- first promoting chaos and the jitters, into the unknown, without knowing who would or could end up with the nomination AFTER the primaries yet. If Biden emerged after all he would be wounded by the process. And what is more democratic about such an "open convention" (by, as Berlatsky says, party regulars) than primary voting? People should get off their A's and vote in the primaries! That would be a good thing!Klein unnerved me doubling down on pushing the jitters about Biden. This could be a Greek tragedy- running so hard away from what you fear you actually CAUSE it. I don't think Klein is benign here. But then again this is part of the democratic openness and discussion. We do not salute. We consider the alternatives and the possibilities.
By the way- every name so far mentioned in place of Biden I cannot see appealing to the country well enough for one reason or another, not the least of which is that they are unknown by most, regional and, yes, female!! I would add Sheldon Whitehouse, Elizabeth Warren, Jay Inslee- there are so many more doing the great work they do. Going for the presidency is an AWESOME step to take. People just shout names out! I can too.
As well.. the worst that can happen with Biden (health failing, age related forgetfulness, and Harris taking over) is not the SURE things that will happen with Trump and we don't even know who HIS VP would be--that malicious opportunist Stefanik??).
Thank you for saying this! Joe Biden has been a very good president and the country is better off under his leadership.
Ezra and Nate and all the other naysayers need to pull their heads out of their rear-ends and recognize that Biden is the best nominee we have for the upcoming election.
The biggest threat to Trump or Biden is a younger candidate. The RNC and DNC smugly assert "No problem - we choose the candidates." However, neither party has any control over the physical or mental health of their frail elderly candidates. Either candidate could be forced to drop out due to poor health or injury. As the average life expectancy of an American Male us under 78, either candidate could just drop dead. At 77, several of my prep school pals recently did just that - here today and gone tomorrow. If either candidate is replaced, the new younger candidate will have a huge edge with voters, most of whom are well under age 75.
Thank you for this post. Nate Cohn and Ezra Klein are driving me crazy with their polling and “suggestions”. Joe is sharp and knows the ropes. He doesn’t “speechify” as the other one does but he gets policy done ✅ that actually benefits the regular citizens. And a President Harris is not “scary” to most Dems, just mostly the Republicans.
The problem with Ezra Klein is that someone paid too much for his education, and it made him arrogant in his youth to think that he has any insight into Joe Biden's age, or anything else having to do with this presidential election. He looks pretty young to me. Closer to my 18-year-old daughter in age, who by the way is not directly paying for her college education because she is going to uni in Germany, and that already shows she is a more critical thinker than Klein. She is not worried about Biden's age, and she is a Gen-Zer. What she is worried about is Trump winning. While Biden might not win, it won't be because of his age, but because of idiots like Klein who think he is "too old" in years is equated with his biological age. At 43 the doctor told me I had the fertility of a 20 year old. So, knock 23 years off my age biologically. It is not surprising. My maternal grandma lived to be 99.5, my mom is pushing 90, and my paternal great-grandmother lived to be 109. I know a lot of people in their 90s because of my mom. The other day, a group of 5 in their 90s up to 97 were sitting at the table next to us, fit as you please. The men were starting to sing as they downed a bottle of wine with their 3 women companions for dinner, but also bent down to pick up something the waitress dropped while walking spryly around the room and stopping to converse with different friends at other tables. The conversations were all lucid. So if we knew everyone's biological age, not their age in that years, I imagine Joe Biden would be younger. No one is questioning Warren Buffett, who is still running the multinational company Berkshire Hathaway at 92. The USA is a national company with international outreach, and Biden is doing an excellent job running it at 81. He has a wife who can keep an eye on his health, and in Harris, a vice president who not only brings her own wisdom to the job, but also has excellent tutelage under a master statesman for 4+ years. Ezra Klein looks too young to understand age, unless he has aging parents who are not aging as well as Biden. If they are, then shame on him. They need to tell him off. I am in Germany and in my art group is a woman fit as a fiddle who is 91. She looks like she is around 70. She is sharp, creative, and talented, and has an incisive discussion on art, politics and life. She lives independently and gets around on bike, public and her car when she is transporting bigger things to our workshop. Americans need to understand age in a biological context, and stop worrying about Biden and start worrying about Trump. He is a Russian asset who has corrupted his entire party to serve an enemy of our Nation. Let's reserve our speculation on who can replace Biden for in 3 years when we look at the next election cycle.
It’s intellectually lazy of Klein to go on about how great a brokered dem convention would be without reading/researching what happened the last time. In 1968. And how that chaos on live tv solidified Nixon’s win. I swear, people who act like this want trump to be elected because his chaos & cruelty is good for clicks which is good for their bottom line.
As for me and my house, we will vote for good ol' Brandon.
Why is Klein’s piece getting so much attention? It’s ill-considered and brings nothing new that pundits haven’t been saying for months. Perhaps his fanboy excitement over a brokered convention in Chicago of all places (Lawrence O’Donnell was brilliant on this point) was new, but it’s the kind of thought you’d expect to see excoriated rather than promoted. Why has this become a focus point for Democrats?
None of these pundits know a thing about Newsom. He will not stand up to any scrutiny. When he was mayor of San Francisco he was married to Kimberly Guillfoyle, which gives you an idea of his judgment and the party going on in City Hall. Klein and others who think he could win a presidential campaign are gambling with the future of democracy.
"...the general election campaign hasn’t really started and most voters aren’t paying attention yet." An important point to remember but the Republicans are getting their message through - national abortion ban, no IVF, women suffering in anti-abortion red states, Trump found liable for rape, FBI informant found to have lied and being a front for Russians, and more and more. It's also important to remember that the function of a critic is to point out flaws, which is not difficult because everyone and everything has flaws; a critic does not create. Those calling for Biden to step aside are also such a small number that they are statistically irrelevant. I do read many of these articles because they help me to think about the issues and clarify my own thinking. But, I don't decide to see or skip a movie because of the opinion of a critic. I also don't decide to vote for someone, or not vote for them based on what a critic says. I actually think for myself. Since Biden has done such a good job to date, far from perfect but good, this leaves some in the media in search of something to write that'll get attention. I agree that everyone should watch Lawrence O'Donnell's monologue. Lawrence also talks about the Chicago Democratic Convention of 1968, the one with riots outside and chaos inside. If you don't remember, Democrats lost that election. Lawrence wrote a book about it, Playing with Fire.
I had a choice, and I voted early in Virginia's Democratic primary. Biden all the way. Klein, Reich and others need to shut up and fight MAGA. Period.
No one is replacing Joe Biden because Joe Biden hasn't taught anyone to replace him. There's no real system in place for apprenticing new politicians, new potential candidates—in his career, why has Joe Biden (or Nancy Pelosi, or Dianne Feinstein, or even folks on the right like Mitch McConnell, or…or…or…) never taken anyone under his wing and taught them how to politic the way he does and then given them his backing for candidacy of a position he was leaving, and made that apprenticship a leading reason for why I should vote for that candidate? What are our leaders doing to actively raise up the next generation of leaders?
At some point, we just gotta call it straight up, Biden is in a very difficult spot. If he loses, his entire legacy is going to be bringing back Trump. I think that’s the likely scenario. Biden forestalled fascism but couldn’t kill it. Biden is going to lose because of disenchantment and apathy not because Trump has some overwhelming coalition of support. I cannot believe progressives shrug at another Trump term but simply cannot abide by a second Biden one.
Thanks for reminding me why I no longer subscribe to the NYT or WaPo.
Another point I've heard discussed is that jettisoning Kamala Harris, the actual VP, would alienate a lot of core Dem voters, including Black women. This seems hugely problematic to me.
I listened to both Ezra Klein's podcasts on this. The 2nd was Ezra digging in after all the waves he made promoting ( essentially) the jitters about Biden. It seemed to me that his case had holes in it- first promoting chaos and the jitters, into the unknown, without knowing who would or could end up with the nomination AFTER the primaries yet. If Biden emerged after all he would be wounded by the process. And what is more democratic about such an "open convention" (by, as Berlatsky says, party regulars) than primary voting? People should get off their A's and vote in the primaries! That would be a good thing!Klein unnerved me doubling down on pushing the jitters about Biden. This could be a Greek tragedy- running so hard away from what you fear you actually CAUSE it. I don't think Klein is benign here. But then again this is part of the democratic openness and discussion. We do not salute. We consider the alternatives and the possibilities.
By the way- every name so far mentioned in place of Biden I cannot see appealing to the country well enough for one reason or another, not the least of which is that they are unknown by most, regional and, yes, female!! I would add Sheldon Whitehouse, Elizabeth Warren, Jay Inslee- there are so many more doing the great work they do. Going for the presidency is an AWESOME step to take. People just shout names out! I can too.
As well.. the worst that can happen with Biden (health failing, age related forgetfulness, and Harris taking over) is not the SURE things that will happen with Trump and we don't even know who HIS VP would be--that malicious opportunist Stefanik??).
Thank you for saying this! Joe Biden has been a very good president and the country is better off under his leadership.
Ezra and Nate and all the other naysayers need to pull their heads out of their rear-ends and recognize that Biden is the best nominee we have for the upcoming election.
The biggest threat to Trump or Biden is a younger candidate. The RNC and DNC smugly assert "No problem - we choose the candidates." However, neither party has any control over the physical or mental health of their frail elderly candidates. Either candidate could be forced to drop out due to poor health or injury. As the average life expectancy of an American Male us under 78, either candidate could just drop dead. At 77, several of my prep school pals recently did just that - here today and gone tomorrow. If either candidate is replaced, the new younger candidate will have a huge edge with voters, most of whom are well under age 75.
Absolutely excellent!!