Joe Got Dumped- The Messiness Of Democracy
Democracy is messy.
The civil war within the Democratic Party was the definition of the word. Politicians openly discussed the mental acuity of an 81 year old public servant, the incumbent chief executive, without pause for three weeks. In 2020, President Joe Biden achieved the most votes in a presidential election in our nation’s history, yet had to bow out 4 years later. The rapid change of fate reminds me of the aphorism: “What have you done for me lately?”
For Biden, dropping out was, is and will be beyond difficult. He’s a proud man who has delivered 50 years of public service through personal tragedies of losing his first wife and daughter and his son Beau. He wanted to “finish the job.” The last incumbent president who didn’t run for re-election was Lyndon Johnson in 1968, who governed during an equally, if not more, divisive period of American history. When I read Biden’s statement today, I wondered if he was thinking of Johnson, who began his political career just as the latter’s was ending.
The “Dump Biden” pressure campaign, born after the first presidential debate, was awkward and uncomfortable. Most don’t enjoy discussing the mental state of an elder politician. Yet, the circumstances required it. During most campaigns, Republicans and Democrats paint a grim picture of what will pass if their opponent wins. I remember this CollegeHumor (now Dropout) sketch from 2008 about the McCain-Obama race- each side depicts America as a dystopian hellhole if their opponent wins.
The 2024 Presidential campaign is somehow more hyperbolic than those days of yore, 15 years ago. Democrats insist that our democratic republic would be weakened or end with a 2nd Trump presidency. The fact that they felt Biden will lose and then pushed him out gives a sense of honesty, if exaggerated, to a campaign which isn’t always present. Republicans argue that Trump and Vance are the only people who can save our country, a sentiment that has been amplified since the failed assassination attempt on Trump.
The “Dump Biden” campaign proves some aspects of our political system still work. It appears now that Biden’s inner circle kept him under wraps in order to hide the extent of his decline. Biden hadn’t done a press conference in 2024 until the one after the NATO summit on July 11th. His last full cabinet meeting was on October 2, 2023. After the first presidential debate, people couldn’t deny what they witnessed. If people had known during the Democratic primaries what we know now, Biden might not have coasted to the nomination. It’s a medical fact that mental decline tends to get worse, not better, as one ages, so the Dump Biden campaign was as much about what we’ve already witness as what we might witness in the future.
Congressional Democrats in competitive districts were the loudest voices in the “Dump Biden” campaign, as he was having a negative effect on their races. They spoke with many constituents who supported the president dropping out. Recent polls indicated that 2/3 of Democratic voters thought Biden should drop out, confirming what the moderate Democrat reports. While party elites such as former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, current House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, along with big time donors such as actor George Clooney, delivered the final blows, there was plenty of public participation in the “Dump Biden” campaign.
Consider the same situation in Russia or China. If Putin or Xi were unable to rule, due to mental lapses or simple old age, the public would have zero say. Political elites behind closed doors would debate who the successor should be, if the Supreme Leader hadn’t already tapped someone. Any reporter who reported details of these meetings would be punished.
Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler banned certain pictures of himself. Forget discussing his mental acuity, despite his drug use- you couldn’t even have a laugh at a goofy moment of his. If the Nazis had come to power with our current tools, I shudder to think how deep their censorship would go.
As much as this debate over a sitting president’s mental fitness was, I prefer it over the alternative. Science fiction author Robert Heinlein sums up my feelings:
“Democracy is a poor system at best; the only thing that can be honestly be said in its favor is that it is about eight times as good as any other method the human race has ever tried. Democracy’s worst faults is that its leaders are likely to reflect the faults and virtues of their constituents- a depressingly low level, but what else can you expect?”
Senator Bernie Sanders said last Sunday that politics should be “kind of boring.” I used to object to that thinking, arguing that we should make politics exciting and relevant so the masses would participate. I dreamt of 90% voting rates, complete transparency at all levels and intelligent conversations at corner cafes, restaurants and other public places. Now, I’d give a kidney and a half to have a “boring” election again. I’m ok with a minority being aware of and interested in politics if it means we can turn the temperature down.
The thing is, democracy is messy. It can’t always be boring.
We’ve overcome messes before. We’ll overcome this one.
Brace yourself though: it’s gonna get messier before it gets better.