The Fix Is In
By
Leonard Zwelling
Americans don’t like games that are rigged. Surely that is why so many agreed with Mr. Trump’s claims that both the 2016 and 2020 presidential elections were unfair—even though he won the first one with less than a majority of the votes. Many could not believe that Mr. Trump could lose in a fair election even though he lost the popular vote in both contests. It must have been rigged, right? Heck, he said so.
Perhaps that will be why so many Americans and many Democrats will be infuriated by the Democratic National Committee’s latest nonsense, altering the primary schedule in 2024. No longer will the season be led by the Iowa caucuses and the New Hampshire primary. Now South Carolina, a Biden stronghold, will go first. Talk about a rigged game.
It is the contention of this blogger that no one should be President of the United States who is older than he is. Both Mr. Biden and Mr. Trump are way too old to lead this country in an ever-changing world of global competition and constant danger. This is not ageism. It is expecting people who purport to be leaders to be aware enough of their surroundings and internal workings to admit they are not what they used to be physically or intellectually. It’s fine to get old. It’s not fine to make the rest of the world adhere to your nap schedule.
The excuse for this change of scheduling is that Iowa and New Hampshire do not represent the greater diversity of the American population. In other words, they are too white for Mr. Biden to win. The Wall Street Journal editorial page on February 6 points out the utility of Iowa and New Hampshire. Both venues require hands on contact with the electorate, something the Democrats fear the 81-year-old Mr. Biden would do poorly. Well, isn’t that the point? It is the young, vibrant pretenders to the throne that have often used Iowa and New Hampshire to jump start their campaigns and get new ideas on the public agenda.
For reasons that escape me, the Democratic National Committee has come under the thumb of Biden and the old timers. It was amazing that Nancy Pelosi finally stepped aside, but now that she has shouldn’t Hakeem Jeffries and Corey Booker be leading the Dems forward not Joe Biden and Jim Clyburn.
In discussing the coming election with my older son, an avowed liberal, he could not believe that I would actually vote for Ron DeSantis if he were to be the one to run against Joe Biden. I assured him, even as I dread what DeSantis’ election would do to the Supreme Court, I would indeed pull the lever for Mr. DeSantis as there is no way I’m electing someone who would be 86 when his term concludes, or if it ends before 2029, have to say “President Kamala Harris.” No way!
The Democrats are betting that somehow Donald Trump will be the GOP nominee and Biden can beat him again. Given the sentiments that many Americans actually think things are not going well and that Mr. Biden is over 80, I doubt Mr. Trump will get another shot and I think that the GOP field will be crowded and include at least DeSantis and Nikki Haley, too.
The Dems should use this time to talk some sense into Biden and have him bow out and then have a year to sort through who might run against Mr. DeSantis or whoever the GOP nominates. If it’s Biden, he may be able to rig the primary process, but he’ll lose the general election and that would be an awful end to his career. Is that really what he wants?
Mr. Biden has done his service for the country. Ending his career by being the person who rid us of Donald Trump will surely place him in the history books. Dayenu! That would be enough.
