Picture this scenario. Let's say we have an incumbent president William Butler (sounds presidential) who has put in a grueling four years and has made some major accomplishments. The country is stable and prosperous but there are still some foundational issues that need to be addressed. He's facing a right wing nutcase violent man with psychopathic tendencies who has a gift for bringing out the worst in voters.
President Butler has the nomination all sewn up when he gets a diagnosis that he has a terminal illness in an advanced stage. There is little doubt that he will not survive 4 more years.
For months, we have been watching a significant change in his physical appearance. He looks frail and tired. He's so exhausted at times that he forgets what he's saying. On good days, he's the president we know and love but the number of good days are dwindling and it's taking him longer to recover from the bad days.
Nevertheless, his staff and advisors have lied and said everything is fine. Then the voters see him without his entourage and they won't deny their lying eyes: it's clear that the president is dying. He could start a second term but one good infection or fainting spell could result in his hospitalization for an extended period of time.
Moreover, the opposition sees this too and is actively planting people in comment sections and on social media urging the party to not give up on President Butler because their candidate is a ruthless megalomaniac who would like nothing better than to be running against a man who will be in hospice in less than 2 years.
What should President Butler and his party do under these circumstances? What is the responsibility of other possible candidates? What should be the response of Butler's voters?
And why is the party and the White House running around like chickens with their heads cut off than calmly consulting the party faithful, voters and leaders to come to a solution? Why are they assuming chaos and turmoil when we went through a similar scenario 4 years ago when we gave up our personal favorites and agreed amicably on a consensus candidate who exceeded our expectations? Why is the party assuming that a brokered convention is going to turn out to be a good fight between children when they should have planned for this eventuality in advance?
And why do we assume that there is not a creative solution to the problem of dealing with a vice president who is a poor campaigner?
This *is* the scenario we are facing. There is no guarantee that Biden will live 4 more years and it is absolutely clear beyond a shadow of a doubt that his bad days are outnumbering his good days and that exhaustion will impair his ability to do his job.
Now, I don't want to hear anymore lame excuses from the party. We are not being disloyal. We are asking to help us solve this problem.
So, solve the effing problem THIS WEEK. Do not wait. We don't have time.
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