“But that we loved our country and especially protecting our democracy from the whims of an authoritarian sociopath more.” — James Mason‘s Brutus in Joseph L. Mankiewicz‘s Julius Caesar (’53).
Olbermann: “I am suggesting that the events of the last 24 hours” — particularly Puck’s Peter Hamby reporting that a confidential OpenLabs “polling memo” spells a electoral disaster for Biden — “may have made Joe Biden’s withdrawal from the ticket inevitable.
“This in turns makes tangible the second half of what might happen next, [which is the very real possibility] that this seemingly dire outcome [might in fact be] far better than it seems.
“If the President were to [accept] the idea that he has to retire from the ticket, it is not a great leap from that point to realizing the extraordinary value of attaching the title of incumbent to Kamala Harris‘s name….of [Joe] retiring from the Presidency, and letting Kamala become, as Lincoln said, clothed in immense power well before the election.
“It is inarguable that if you [believe] Joe will not be up to the responsibilities of the Oval Office days or weeks or months from now…if that’s true he’s probably also not up to the duties of the office right now.
“His retirement from the Presidency would not, I think, be seen as a defeat nor the result oF unseemly desperate pressure. It would be an ennobling act that would resonate in this country.
“To be a President who leaves the office that he has spent his [whole] life trying to reach, solely to ensure that Trump is [kept from taking beastly power]…would enshrine Joe Biden, I believe, among the immortal presidents. Selfless, historic, admirable.”
Staunch mainstream older-guy sensible Democrat friendo (minutes ago): “I am totally off the ‘keep Joe’ bandwagon. They haven’t handled it well, and I am more concerned about where he might be going FORWARD over four years. Therefore I am ALL IN on Kamala Harris taking over the ticket, and doing it soon! A younger female candidate against Trump would be powerful, and we have to win back the Black and Latino groups who have been dwindling alarmingly.”
