From polls, about the only worse choice Biden could have made was to continue running. Nearly any of the frequently named competitors would be expected to do better against Trump.
But it all makes perfect sense to me, as I consider the Democratic Party to be not so much Democratic as a kind of controlled opposition which ought to be called the "Sit Down and Shut Up Party."
There was barely anything that qualified as a Primary Season. Biden was officially running, and no true blue Democrats could say a word against him. Not even Bernie Sanders, who ran against the party's "leading" candidate twice, but capitulated graciously at the first sign of losing (something his supporters remain angry about) and enthusiastically backed both Clinton and Biden. Recently he's been among those fiercely defending Biden's running recently. It's for that reason I think the Party Establishment should see fit to make Bernie the candidate at last. He's popular, and he's been good to the party, he's not a renegade but a party loyalist after all. But they won't, they will still see him as a renegade, for ever even challenging the DNC (which should be called the SDASUNC) anointed candidate(s) to any kind of substantive debate on policies, because Sit Down and Shut Up.
I don't even want to get into the shenanigans that was played on both Bernie campaigns by the SDASUNC, but it was clearly another example of Sit Down and Shut Up.
From late last year onwards, with all this pressure from leading politicians and party operators, hardly any candidates even dared to run against Biden. There were no debates with Biden either, to examine possible issues in Biden policies. Because Sit Down and Shut Up.
The need to simply fall into line with Biden was reinforced by the Manichean struggle between Good and Evil represented by the contest with the other party (which I would prefer to characterize as the struggle between Evil and Even More Evil). Never mind that different policy suggestions or ways of moving forwards on them or perceptions of being more committed to them might be key for any Democratic candidate to actually win the election. Because Sit Down and Shut Up.
So the usual mass market ads paid with by plutocrat money on Super Tuesday made sure even those who dared question Biden policies wouldn't stay in the race any longer. Because Sit Down and Shut up.
Biden had promised not to even run for a second term. But after sweeping all the other candidates off the board, he continued to insist on running, despite many stories of his growing senility. Strangely, a pre-convention debate was scheduled, and while the Biden campaign requested an unprecidented 45 second delay, ABC refused and stuck with the usual 7 second delay. Media personalities immediately afterwards attacked Biden's performance, and many Party elders and wise men began demanding that Biden step down. Biden defiantly refused. Later becoming ill, and stumbling again, Biden finally capitulated on the day before the Convention, annointed his Vice President as successor, and allowed Big Donors to switch their checks. Leaving the convention with the fait accompli of an anointed new President. Because Sit Down and Shut Up.
I'm not clairvoyant, but I think the future is pretty clear on what is expected here. Harris will lose to Trump. That, too, was part of the Deep State plan to dump responsibility for the old wars and crises and start some new ones to take their place, the reason why the Deep State cycles between parties. Other reasons are to inflate the economy slightly under Democrats (who have a much better track record on 'the economy'), and then the re-strangulate ordinary people all over again. Meanwhile, at least until George W, wars generally worked the other way, Democrats would start the big wars (say, LBJ, Truman, Johnson) and Republicans would settle them (Eisenhower, Nixon/Ford). That works now too, because under Biden's watch we've become involved in one giant proxy war in Ukraine and a smaller but more globally contentious war in Israel/Palestine. Things are not looking good for either one, but as usual the President remains defiant. So this is the perfect time for the Deep State to make a switch, and they do it by giving us a non-choice between a publicity magnet and a boring keeper of the status quo mantle. Because Sit Down and Shut Up, but in this case, it's not merely the SDASUNC, it's the entire "Establishment."
I'm going to suspend my fears about civll war over the Trump election (my prediction is that it won't happen, but there will be an endless hue and cry over everything except the President's war policies with Russia being excessive) and roll on to the politics of the next election, 2028, presuming it happens, etc.
In that election, the loss in 2024 will be blamed on leftists (as usual) and people who strayed from the fold to criticize Biden. Biden/Harris policies will, as usual, not be subject for debate. Harris will run again, and win, because the deep state will have decided on another cycle after war with China under Trump didn't look so easy, it will be back to war with Russia under Democrats. Because Sit Down and Shut Up.
