Another dark day for Americans

Who knows?

President Joe Biden was considered a weak candidate heading into the election. Several high ranking Democrats have asked him not to run. He has said he will stay in the race. Will he change his mind?

Last week was a terrible week for Democrats. If you were a Biden Democrat, someone who has defended his viability and ability to defeat Trump, it was even worse. How could Biden prioritize his own ego over what was good for the country? It’s not only his debate performance.

Biden today is not the Biden of four years ago, summed up South San Francisco James Coleman, who is a Biden delegate to the National Democratic Convention.

Coleman at first thought it would be pretty simple. But now he is very worried. He doesn’t know what independent voters in swing states will do. He doesn’t know what the path forward will be if Biden doesn’t win the nomination. He doesn’t have favorites but he thinks Vice President Kamala Harris would make the most sense. Then there is Governor Gavin Newsom and Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer. But for now he is a committed Biden delegate and that won’t change unless Biden steps down.

But he is very excited about attending the convention in Chicago this August. It won’t be his first. He was a Bernie Sanders delegate in 2016.

Just a few weeks ago no leading Democrat wanted to be the first to be publicly disloyal. But that has changed as more public officials have come forward.

There are a lot of people who would like for Biden to step aside, but they are reluctant to say it. That has changed too.

That has allowed Biden to portray the opposition to his candidacy as the purview of elites, even though nearly three-quarters of voters believe he is too old to be effective. Some Democrats are speaking out, reluctantly and carefully. They are hoping Nancy Pelosi’s weak defense of Biden, compared to South Carolina Congressman James Clyburn’s vigorous defense, will provide them some political cover. Popular actor George Clooney, a major Biden donor, was braver. He said his good friend should step down.

David Remnick, editor of the New Yorker wrote; “….watching last Thursday’s debate, observing Biden wander into senselessness onstage, was an agonizing experience, and it is bound to obliterate forever all those vague and qualified descriptions from White House insiders about good days and bad days. You watched it, and, on the most basic human level, you could only feel pity for the man and, more, fear for the country.”

But it’s not only the national press and columnists speaking out. San Mateo Daily Journal political columnists, John Horgan and Mark Simon, who usually stay away from national affairs, have had their say. I have been talking up Biden to members of my family, especially the younger ones who were never supporters. I became a fan when I saw and heard Biden give a speech at the Democratic National Convention in 2008 when Barack Obama was first nominated. Biden told of how his stuttering made him stronger. As a young boy he was beaten up by bullies because of his speech. His mother told him to dry his tears and get back out there. Then he pointed to his mother who was sitting with other dignitaries. The Bidens received a long and teary standing ovation.

I am still a fan. No other presidential candidate has the depth of knowledge about foreign policy as Biden. Foreign policy today is just as, if not more important than domestic policy when the U.S. faces Russia and China. 

But can Biden beat Trump?

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I visited the small store at the Facebook Oculus headquarters in Burlingame. Not to purchase but out of curiosity. They were selling two kinds of glasses. The big ones for 3D watching. I tried on what looked like a regular set of sunglasses. It has a tiny button on the top of one of the frames. When you press down you hear music. Much safer than the big plugs which runners have in their ears where they can’t hear anything but the music.

Sue Lempert is the former mayor of San Mateo. Her column runs Mondays. She can be reached at sue@smdailyjournal.com.