Sunday 13 November 2022

Biden now has to stand for reelection but do the Democrats want him?

The results of the midterm elections in the US have been surprisingly and unpredictably good for the Democrats and therefore for President Joe Biden. In fact by hanging onto the Senate and only losing the House by a small margin, Biden's face has lit up and he must have started writing the statement he will make in the next two or three months about standing for the White House for a second term in 2024. But here's the thing. There are going to be a lot of Democrats who while they like Joe and feel comfortable under his leadership they are not very happy at the thought of having a president who will be 86 by the time he completes his second term in 2028. Isn't that just too old, they will be wondering, especially in this super-pressured world with a major war seemingly in the offing from a number of quarters, possibly within the next five or six years? But after such a positive midterms election which inluded a big fat one in the eye for Donald Trump many of whose chosen candidates were defeated, how could anyone in the Democratic party even hint at the possibility that Biden shouldn't stand and should step aside for someone younger and more dynamic? And even if they could who would they be looking at take on the baton? There isn't anyone of such star quality that they would automatically step into Biden's shoes. Certainly not Kamala Harris who, though vice president, has done nothing to suggest she has either the calibre or the vision or leadership hutzpah to be the next president. Elizabeth Warren? I don't think so. Bernie Sanders? His time has come and gone. Gretchen Whitmer, governor of Michigan? She's good but hardly a household name. So it's Biden. It has to be Biden. If he after all decides against running then the Democratic party will have a major challenge on its hands.

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