In Brief: The Mess Democrats Have Made
Imagine if Biden had chosen a vice president for competence rather than identity politics.
Millions of Americans saw Joe Biden’s disastrous debate implosion last week. Millions of Americans want someone other than Joe Biden to be the Democrat nominee for president, though as long as Jill Biden is calling the shots, that won’t happen. The Wall Street Journal editorial board opines on Biden’s unfitness and the ridiculous bid by the Left to cover it up for so long.
Eventually, the editors get to the point: Kamala Harris is no fit substitute.
The path out of this nightmare might be easier if not for another problem the press refused to recognize — that Kamala Harris wasn’t remotely qualified to be Vice President when Mr. Biden chose her. He had promised to pick a woman as his Vice President, and Mr. Biden selected Ms. Harris because she was a woman of color, not because of her qualifications.
Ms. Harris had bombed as a presidential candidate, washing out after she couldn’t defend her own Medicare plan at a primary debate. She had risen to the Senate based on patronage. Yet she was hailed by Democrats and the press as the first woman of color on a national ticket, as if this were more important than someone who could do the job. Criticism of her failures on immigration, or of her frequent word salads, was said to be racist or sexist.
Imagine if the Vice President now were someone like Gerald Ford, a pair of safe hands as President after Richard Nixon’s resignation in 1974. The press is now reporting that one reason Mr. Biden chose to run for re-election was fear that Ms. Harris couldn’t defeat Mr. Trump.
It’s an apt worry. But if Mr. Biden had bowed out last year, Democrats could have had a normal primary fight for the nomination. Ms. Harris would have had to show she deserved it in her own right by defeating competitors. Now Democrats run the risk of appearing to bypass the first minority woman Vice President in a backroom coup. This is what happens when a party puts identity politics above governing experience and political skill.
A Biden withdrawal and an open August convention are still desirable — in the best interests of the country as much as those of the Democratic Party. Mr. Biden’s frailties are an invitation to adversaries to exploit in a second term, and Ms. Harris doesn’t appear up to the job. An open convention carries risks, but it’s the best way Democrats and their media allies can clean up the mess they’ve made.
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