Frank Luntz is a well-known Republican pollster. You can count on him to slant his findings to fit his partisan views. Last night, after the CNN Presidential debate, Luntz asked his \u201cfocus group\u201d the following questions. \u201cHow many think that Trump won the debate?\u201d. No one in the group raised their hand. \u201cHow many think Biden lost?\u201d All hands went up in agreement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Much as I dislike Luntz, in this one case, he\u2019s right.\u00a0\u00a0President Joe Biden had \u201cone job\u201d last night, show America that he was up to the task of defeating Donald Trump in the 2024 Presidential election.\u00a0\u00a0We hoped, we believed; that the President would show that even at eighty-one years old, he still has the \u201cjuice\u201d to do the \u201cone job\u201d.\u00a0\u00a0He failed miserably. His performance was as bad as I\u2019ve seen from any candidate for the highest office in the land.\u00a0\u00a0In more than a half-century of Presidential debates, the only thing that comes close was in 1992, when Admiral James Stockdale, running as Vice President for third party candidate Ross Perot, could only utter one-word answers \u2013 notably the term \u201cgridlock\u201d.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Trump lied, over and over again. The CNN moderators determined not to try to fact-check his lies, another job that then fell to President Biden. No excuses: Biden looked like a confused \u201cold man\u201d on the debate stage. He struggled to put a coherent thought together. The sheer volume of falsehoods seemed to overwhelm him, throw him off message, and sent him searching for responses. But all that does not \u201cexcuse\u201d Biden\u2019s failure. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
What is America left with? A President who lies so much, there\u2019s no time left to correct him. A President who made it very clear that he is running to get his \u201cretribution\u201d against his enemies, who demonizes immigrants and cozies up to our enemies. A President who is a factual felon, a criminal? Or do we elect an \u201cold man\u201d, who seems to be able to govern, but struggles to put it together enough to lead. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
California\u2019s Governor, Gavin Newsom, is a Democrat who appears to be running for President in 2028. He is a Biden \u201csurrogate\u201d, going around the Nation in support of the President. Last night, Newsom made it clear where he stands in 2024: \u201cYou dance with the one who \u2018brung\u2019 you.\u201d Joe Biden had a horrible night, a terrible public failure. But that one night shouldn\u2019t wipe out his decades of service, his obvious leadership in achieving one of the best legislative histories of an American President, his universal concern for the American people. Newsom said; \u201cJoe Biden\u2019s had our back, now it\u2019s time for us to have his\u201d. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Biden walked off of the debate stage onto a rally stage \u2013 and looked, acted, spoke, completely normal. He was a \u201cHappy Warrior\u201d in front of the crowd, joking and laughing and making important points clearly. The choice of what happens next rests solely with him. If he decides to resign from the job of \u201crunning for President\u201d and release his convention delegates, then the Democratic Party has a crazy month ahead of it. There hasn\u2019t been that kind of \u201copen\u201d convention since the 1920\u2019s. It would have to unite behind another candidate, one who can lead the existential fight to defeat Trump and MAGA\u2019ism: Vice President Harris, Governor Newsom, Governor Whitmer, Secretary Buttigieg \u2013 who knows.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Or Biden can soldier on, now with one more huge hurdle to clear.\u00a0\u00a0He must convince the American people that he is \u201cup\u201d for both jobs:\u00a0\u00a0defeating Trump and running the Nation.\u00a0\u00a0No amount of reassurance from staff, friends, surrogates, or media will solve that problem.\u00a0\u00a0Biden must \u201cshow us\u201d.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It\u2019s June, four months before the Presidential election. A lot will happen before November. Donald Trump, will be sentenced for thirty-four felony convictions in July 11th<\/sup>. There will be conventions, there will be daily speeches and interactions, plenty of opportunities for Biden and Trump to show who they are.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I was a coach. One of the hardest decisions I had to make was when a \u201cstar\u201d failed. Was it time to change, to pull him from the lineup? Or was it time to \u201chave his back\u201d, depending on him to regain his \u201cmojo\u201d and help our team win? That decision is far more difficult, when ultimately the \u201ccoach\u201d in this situation is also the \u201cstar\u201d. But we\u2019ve trusted Joe Biden with the Presidency, and with the role of saving the Nation from MAGA\u2019ism. Failure in that task, is not an option, and he knows it better than anyone. I guess, (and if that sounds shaky, it is), we need to trust him this one more time. It\u2019s his decision, it\u2019s Jill\u2019s decision, it\u2019s his closest advisors decision. I\u2019ve got his back, either way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But they better get it right.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"