CERTIFIABLE OPPORTUNITY — The Weekly Opine

For some reason President Biden went all Trump on us for his ABC interview. Not by lying but wearing too much makeup to appear tanned and fit. (Photo credit ABC News screenshot)

Interviews proved it, now be bold

After watching President Biden’s interview on ABC last Friday and listening to his interview with Philadelphia radio station WURD, I offer this: Everyone still arguing that Biden should stay in the race might themselves consider visiting a neurologist.

A few days after the debate, Biden went on WURD’s “The Source” and said: “By the way, I am proud to be, as I said, the first vice president, the first Black woman to serve with a Black president, proud of the first Black woman in the Supreme Court.” Biden went on, “There’s just so much that we can do because together we - there’s nothing. Look, this is the United States of America.”

The final nail was delivered Friday during the president’s interview on ABC. When asked if he’d watched a replay of the debate, Biden said, “I don’t think I did, no.” The correct answer would have been “yes, I did” or “no, I did not.” Leading with “I don’t think I did” was the damning part, an unforgivable choice of words when precision was called for.

More than anything he said during the debate, Biden telling a primetime audience, just a week after his disastrous performance, that he couldn’t remember with surety if he’d watched a replay of the debate should seal the deal.

Get out of the race, Mr. President, while you still have some semblance of dignity.

Democrat’s winning hand: Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and Sen. Raphael Warnock. But do Dems get it? (Photos credit ABC News, Wall Street Journal)

Opportunity is knocking

Democrats have a chance to get real. And to avoid the contradictions and hypocrisy that bedevil the Party of Lucifer, a.k.a. Republicans.

I’m talking about who should replace Biden and Vice President Harris. And I’m gonna be blunt and strictly adhere to the last part of The Weekly Opine mantra, the “just real” part. (The full mantra is, “not left, not right, just real.”)

I’ve already stated my choice to replace Biden as Democrat’s presidential candidate is Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. The reasons are unassailable.

Whitmer is governor of a crucial swing state. She did not back down when tested by MAGA thugs who intended to kidnap and kill her. Whitmer is a coalition-builder and would connect with family values voters searching for a candidate, now that the Party of Lucifer flushed family values down the toilet. She would appeal to union members, many of whom are men. And Whitmer is among the younger group of Democrats whose time has come, e.g., Hakeem Jeffries, who is proving to be a stellar leader of House Democrats. (However, the Congressional Black Caucus display of sheer devotion to Biden remaining in the race is misguided.)

For Whitmer’s running mate, I say Georgia Sen. Raphael Warnock. An ordained minister who oozes manhood, Warnock would shore up support among those men who – irrationally – are stuck in the 20th Century, reluctant to vote for a woman for president. Warnock would also solidify the Black vote, which is somewhat unsteady supporting Biden and assumed to become more unsteady if Kamala Harris is passed over as Biden’s replacement. The combination of Whitmer and Warnock would also likely motivate more young voters to vote for Democrats. Warnock giving up his Senate seat is a bold risk worth taking to destroy Trump.

Who should run for Warnock’s seat as Georgia’s senator? First choice is Stacey Abrams. Yes, she lost running for governor. But, as a proven grassroots get-out-the-vote organizer, she would rally Georgia voters put off by Gov. Brian Kemp’s corrupt MAGA behavior. (And let’s keep it real. If buffoonish John Fetterman is in the Senate, well, then.) Abrams almost singlehandedly got Warnock and Jon Ossoff elected senators in Georgia. Think about that. Abrams was the key in getting a Black and a Jew elected as senators representing Georgia! Stacey Abrams has earned the opportunity to run for senator.

Regarding VP Harris, she should replace the wholly ineffective, borderline incompetent Attorney General Merrick Garland. Two wrongs don’t make right, and it was wrong (and felt like pandering) to name Harris as Biden’s veep in 2020. And it would be wrong to name Harris to step in as Biden’s replacement now.

While all are accomplished, Kamala Harris, Gavin Newsom, nor Pete Buttigieg should be the choice to replace Joe Biden at the top of the Democratic ticket. (Photos credit Twitter, Hoover Institute, The Advocate)

Harris would likely be angered by not replacing Biden. She could channel her rage by becoming a high-profile attorney general holding to account corrupt Republicans like convicted felon, still-under-indictment Trump, alleged sex abuse-enabler Jim Jordan, alleged teen girl predator Matt Gaetz, and other treasonous MAGA creeps like Marjorie Taylor Greene, who are intent on destroying democracy.

Simply by taking the oath as attorney general Harris would be doing as much as scaredy cat Merrick Garland has done in three years on the job.

The not replacements

As far as other names tossed around to replace Biden, no thanks.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom was totally unimpressive when he was bullied by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis during their debate last November. Newsom displays an annoying trait similar to Kamala Harris in that he laughs evasively when challenged about a policy position. While he has built up name recognition and a national profile, Newsom is a polarizing figure who stirs up negative passions among many progressives who view him as a liberal elite. He even faced a recall vote in 2021. And it’s a headscratcher that Newsom was once married to crazy MAGA Kimberly Guilfoyle, who is now engaged to Don Trump Jr.

Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg’s name always pops up. Average as mayor of South Bend, Indiana, Buttigieg was timid during a nationally televised town hall meeting with his constituents, after police unnecessarily killed a Black man. He rose to national recognition on the strength of town halls in friendly Iowa and solid debate performances. But his crisis responses have been weak. Buttigieg was tardy visiting East Palestine, Ohio, following the toxic train derailment crisis. And you think some Black voters are lukewarm about Biden? Buttigieg would struggle to garner more than single digit support from Blacks.

Back to Kamala Harris, when she ran for president during the 2020 primary, she dropped out before primary voting even began. But Dems, who didn’t want much to do with Harris during the 2020 primary, were somehow OK with her as Biden’s choice for VP. Obviously, Dems didn’t think it through, or maybe forgot, that the vice president ascends to the role if the president can no longer fulfill presidential duties.

Now, does anyone really believe Biden’s deteriorating cognitive ability will improve during the next four years? So, it’s highly likely that sometime during a Biden second term Democrats would get what they strongly rejected in 2020 – President Kamala Harris.

If Democrats wake up, they will realize their best ticket is Whitmer-Warnock, a modern combo that will lead to the Big W. Winning big in November, in the battle of good (democracy) versus evil (fascism), requires a bold, strategic reset.

Why can’t Democrats figure this out?