Biden needs to dump Harris

In view of President Biden’s appalling polling numbers, there are increasing calls from Democrats for him to step down. It is understandable. It seems that as the election grows nearer, Biden’s numbers continue to plummet. While Biden claims that he is the only candidate who can beat Trump – because he did it before – Democrats from senior leadership to grassroots voters are not convinced. Depending on the poll, the number of Democrats who say Biden is too old to serve another term runs between 55 and 65 percent.

At this point, the picture for Biden looks bleak, indeed. But there is one thing he could do to shake up the campaign and change the dynamics of the race – and arguably the trajectory of those polling numbers. At least it is a possibility.

Biden should dump Vice President Harris as his running mate for the 2024 election. You do not hear that a lot in public statements. Perhaps that is because there is no reason to publicly face down Biden on that issue. Or perhaps there is concern about a Black backlash. Any pressure has to be applied in private. The first public statement would come from Biden, himself – or from Harris who would be allowed to frame a face-saving rationale for walking the plank.

The most obvious reason for her to be booted from the ticket is that she is more unpopular with voters than is Biden –as unimaginable as that may seem. She is a drag on the ticket.

Harris is one of the reasons why Biden is not doing well, and why his age, mental acuity and long-term survivability are major concerns among voters — Democrats, Republicans and independents. If she remains on the ticket and Biden wins, most voters believe she will succeed to the presidency at some point in the second term. The fear that Harris could become President borders on apoplexy – even among Democrat voters.

Biden’s age – as in physical and mental acuity and basically survivability for the next four-plus years — is a problem on its own. But is an exponential problem when Harris is added to the equation.

By selecting a more popular Democrat – someone voters would accept as a future President — concern over succession diminishes significantly. The Democrat ticket would theoretically gain a stronger more credible voice to sell Democrat talking points. It is almost beyond refutation that Harris is a terrible campaigner. Between the cackles, the “word salads” and her condescending style, Harris is a disaster at the podium – even with a teleprompter.

And it is not just a matter of style. Her record on issues is best described as an incompetent failure. Biden assigned her to take on election reform (Democrat-style) and immigration. Not only did she not achieve anything, but she did not even appear to be working on it.

Some would argue that Harris is the lynchpin to the Black community. Maybe not. What little evidence there is suggests that she is not all that popular among Black voters. She may qualify as a person-of-color according to the new racist and divisive term, but a lot of Black folks do not see Harris as one of their own.

The only downside for Biden is who to pick as his new running mate. The obvious choice is California Governor Gavin Newsom. But the pressure would be to pick another woman of color. It would be hard to find such a qualified person on the Democrats’ long list, much less the short list – with the possible exception of Michelle Obama. While the former First Lady has made it very clear that she has no interest in running for President, the offer of a free boarding pass might be tempting. If I were doing the picking, I would consider the new young Black governor of , __.

I am not at all sure that Team Biden realizes what a drag Harris is on the ticket – and what a danger she poses to Biden’s reelection. If they did, I would expect to see a new person coming out of the National Democratic Convention as the vice presidential nominee.

That could be in the works. The most propitious time to make such an announcement is a few weeks before the Convention – after a period of “White House leaks.”

Replacing Harris makes so much political sense, I would be surprised if it did not happen.

So, there ‘tis.