Let me explain my concern about the Democratic decision over the presidential ticket.
Joe Biden's been excellent, with great accomplishments against Republican efforts to block anything that would make him look good – pure selfish politics. Democrats have many other excellent candidates, but what happens to the Democratic coalition if Joe Biden is replaced? Only Biden got more than a fraction of the party in 2020, despite a roster of strong competing candidates.
Winning tickets require coalitions. Vice President Kamala Harris has many strengths and a lot to recommend her. Her participation also signals to a significant segment of the party its commitment to include and take care of them too. If people are thinking of substituting another white male for President Biden, that by itself may be kissing this election goodbye if it leads many African Americans to stay home. Similarly for every other possible nominee, the question is who would come out to vote and who wouldn't bother to show up? Democrats Corey Booker and Raphael Warnock are very popular Black Senators and Democrats also have several white senators and governors who are very popular but how would any of them fare nationally? You can't peel away parts of a coalition and expect victory. Politics requires standing together.
The politician's job is to bring us together. That's important, honorable and essential to victory, without which we get nothing. Coming together is also essential to governing well. You can't just give orders to three hundred million people. In different ways, both Biden and Obama at their best brought people together. Legislation is a difficult job that requires understanding other lawmakers and the people they represent in order to figure out how to get to yes. Biden got to bipartisan yesses in the Senate on important legislation but Trump blocked it, adamantly cutting out half the population from any consideration in governing. That's a serious fault. In a democratic society, it's unethical.
Compromise invites mistakes, some worse than others. For public servants, The Art of the Deal must be about public service, not just personal advantage, as Trump would have it. Executives and representatives have to keep in mind what will best serve the general welfare in the real world where people have conflicting demands and desires.
Trump's strategy has been to try to win by tearing us apart, by making us a house divided by hatred. By contrast President Biden deserves our respect and appreciation for his ability to pull us together. Any decision the Democrats make on the ticket must be done in that spirit.
But there's no process now for measuring candidates comparable to the primary we didn't have. Primary laws turn primary voters into parties. Without primaries, the rest of us are guessing what the voters will do.
To keep us together, I'd prefer public discussions among all candidates, including Biden, organized like cabinet meetings. We could compare candidates as they speak up without teleprompters. Having Joe preside would put everyone in the position of advising rather than attacking him, with Joe responding with his conclusions. That would give voters time to react and adjust.
By contrast, a private process to choose someone who instills widespread confidence would be difficult to do well without the guardrails that public discussion or primaries offer.
I wish we could just have four more years with Joe.
— If you think I'm on target, please pass it on. For the podcast, please click here. This commentary was scheduled for broadcast on WAMC Northeast Report, on July 2, 2024.
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