Time for Kamala Harris instead?

I know the title of this column will tick off some Democrats. Some are in full defense of President Joe Biden and don’t want to entertain the thought of him stepping aside after his disastrous performance in the presidential debate on June 27th. They think this entire debate since the debate is disrespectful, damaging and ridiculous.

(Flashback pic: November 23, 2019 in Des Moines’ East Village.)

However….

As I write this, there are seven Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives who expressed publicly that someone else should be the party’s presidential nominee. And Tuesday night, Colorado Senator Michael Bennet said that Biden might lose in a “landslide” to Trump.

There was a letter from Biden to House Democrats Monday to let them know that he wasn’t dropping out.

Here’s the letter.

Missing in that letter was anything from Biden directly assuring the Democratic representatives (and the American people) that he is in no way mentally/cognitively diminished.

Did his interview with ABC’s George Stephanopolous do anything to reassure the doubters? Likely not.

Why doesn’t the president talk to the media more frequently — 1 on 1’s, news conferences…whatever? Could that help him reassure people that debate night was a fluke?

There is a reason that he doesn’t do this often. What do you think that it is?

Poll Position — Polls post-debate are not good for Biden. Not the national polls. Not the battleground polls. Real Clear Politics shows that of the past 13 national polls over 10 days, Trump leads in 12. He is tied with Biden in the other.

Of RCP’s seven listed battleground state polls this week, Trump wins all seven. Polls can change. But the numbers don’t look promising for Biden right now. Although, we have to keep in mind — no matter whether you think Biden should stay in the race or drop out — there are still nearly four months until the general election.

Why not the Veep? So, why not step aside and let Vice President Kamala Harris take over as the nominee during the Democratic National Convention in Chicago in August?

She turns 60 this October and won’t face the same questions as Biden about whether her cognitive ability has declined. She offers the potential to spark the campaign with another historic push…the chance to elect the nation’s first female president (she already made history as the first woman to become VP).

• Does she offer the party a better chance to turn out higher numbers of Black voters in a way that Biden can’t this time around?

• Will she provide a stronger voice on abortion rights to win over Democrats, Independents and moderate Republicans? A more obvious contrast going up against Trump?

• As a former attorney general, can she better make the case that Trump’s criminal convictions, various other investigations and January 6th actions make him unfit to serve the country as its next president?

The Challenges — Harris, no doubt, has challenges to overcome. How does she articulate what her role has been as Biden’s vice-president? What did she help him accomplish? What progress did she make in her time as his lead person on immigration?

These are hurdles.

But if Biden can’t find a way to change people’s minds soon on whether he can handle the job until he is 86 years old, shouldn’t he retire knowing that he got Trump out of the White House once and see if the person he previously chose as his running mate can keep Trump out again?

Here are the results of last week’s poll:

Tough Times — Hundreds of Iowans are losing their jobs this summer as companies that rely on agricultural successes are making cuts. It’s the focus of the latest “Inside Iowa Politics” with some expert analysis from Dr. Chad Hart at Iowa State University (and fellow Cardinals fan!). Watch that here.

Making Changes — Tractor Supply Company is dumping its DEI efforts and some of its environmental priorities after backlash from some on the far right. I wrote about that as part of the latest American Farmland Owner newsletter, along with a conversation with a leader at an Iowa company about a new effort that attracted some help from D.C. Check that out here.

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