Karl Rove offers advice to the Biden campaign in a piece at the Wall Street Journal. Here’s the kernel of the piece:
Mr. Biden made a mistake when he complained at an already ill-conceived press conference last Thursday that it “wasn’t any of their damn business” when the special counsel asked when his son Beau died. The president’s attempt to sidestep his failure to recall the date fell flat.
It won’t turn things around, either, to ask voters to “look at all he’s accomplished,” as Jill Biden did in a campaign email after the special counsel’s report. Team Biden has beaten this drum for more than a year, yet his numbers remain underwater at 39% favorable, 57% unfavorable in the RealClearPolitics average. If bragging could raise numbers, Mr. Biden’s would be in the stratosphere.
Vice President Kamala Harris didn’t help by asserting that she’s “ready to serve” if something happens to Mr. Biden. That was better left unsaid. Ms. Harris boasted that anyone who observes her as vice president “walks away fully aware of my capacity to lead.” That reminds swing voters that Mr. Biden might not last until the end of a second term.
Similarly, Mr. Biden’s attempts at humor underscore the problem more than they obscure it. Joking as he did Monday that “I’ve been around a while, I do remember that” won’t make him sharper, younger or stronger. To voters looking at an increasingly dangerous world, this is no laughing matter.
To win, Team Biden has only one option—an all-out attack on Mr. Trump, using every means of communication every day in an assault of unusual scope and expense. Victory would require Mr. Trump’s cooperation in making truly outrageous appeals to his hard-core supporters that alienate swing voters. Fortunately for Mr. Biden, the former president has done his best to help.
He continues by considering what he refers to as the “LBJ option”—the president withdraws after April 3:
By April 3, almost 78% of Democratic convention delegates will have been selected and by April 29 nearly 85%.
Note that VP Harris would not automatically inherit President Biden’s delegates. Essentially, it would be up to the party leadership to determine who the candidate would be. The “smoke-filled room” would be a Donnybrook. But that is what would happen. Don’t be surprised if that’s exactly what happens. I wouldn’t be surprised if the party leadership starts putting pressure on President Biden to do just that.
A few observations.
First, its been leaked (no doubt from Mr Hur’s office) that Mr Hur didn’t ask Biden about Beau’s death, but Mr Biden who brought it up (and then Mr Biden couldn’t date properly). Real mismanagement in the West Wing; they had the transcript or summaries of the interview for months and couldn’t prepare the President better?
Second, a coincidence that the Chicago hosts the Democratic convention this year like 1968?
Third, to pursue the “LBJ” option after Super Tuesday when primaries for most of the country has passed means the Democratic party position is to exclude its own supporters from choosing their Presidential nominee and to prevent the country from choosing the presumptive candidate of the opposing party. It would make the party an oxymoron of its own name.
Of course, the Republican party are becoming an oxymoron of its own name; so dysfunctional that it requires the strongman tendencies of Trump.
Fourth, if Biden quits but Harris doesn’t get the nomination, it would open a large set of divisions within the party. And anyone else besides Harris would have the burden of the Biden record without the powers of incumbency.
Meh. They supposedly recorded the interviews so hopefully they release the transcripts so we can stop speculating. I do find it odd that not remembering the date of his son’s death is a measuring stick. I dont remember the dates of death of mother (long ago) or father (relatively recent). I just dont remember dates in general. The wife OTOH remembers the date of nearly everything. First date, engagement date, official wedding date and unofficial. All of the deaths, etc. Anyway, a transcript will let people see what he remembers and doesnt remember.
Also, is it notable that many others Hur interviewed couldn’t remember details about how documents were handled?
Steve
Not “They supposedly recorded”, it was recorded. Both Biden’s lawyer, aids and Hur’s team have the transcript.
They have had the transcripts for months. The media (MSNBC, Hill) is reporting the White House is considering releasing the transcripts, but is hesitant because they aren’t sure it helps or hurts Biden (which I think is telling).
Honestly, the screw up was letting Biden be interviewed by Hur in the first place. Did Biden believe it was Hur’s job to prove his innocence vs his actual job of finding a crime? Biden could have avoided this by refusing to be interviewed by Hur like Trump did with respect to Mueller. Volunteering to be interviewed is similar to violating Popehat’s dictum to never be interviewed by law enforcement without a lawyer.
Curious: It was never reasonable to assume Biden was asked dates of publicly available information as part of a special investigation. People don’t have good recall of most dates. Most will better remember surrounding circumstances of an event like where it happened, who was with them, and what you did next (or before). The special investigator only had five hours to talk and he almost certainly already had a pretty detailed chronology from document searches and other witnesses. If the witness can’t remember details, then ask if there are any documents that would help you refresh your memory? And investigators are more interested in the surrounding circumstances of events than dates because those provide potential leads.
From what I’ve seen of the report, it looks like a report that a prosecuting attorney would make to another prosecuting attorney. It’s not supposed to be a public accounting, it’s only become obligatory to release the report for the sake of transparency after people complained about Trump’s AG summarizing a special counsel report. The special investigator wrote that Biden would “present” himself as a “sympathetic, well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory.” In any criminal trial, Biden wouldn’t testify, it would be his attorneys that would “present” a picture through questioning of witnesses.
Carry on Joe, Carry on!!