Democrats Must Hope the Water is Deep Enough

One of the favorite adages of a very able executive whom I worked with during my last years in my organization was, “Watch what you wish for.”  Those Democrats calling for President Joe Biden to be replaced atop their party’s ticket need to be mindful of the very distinct possibility that the best day of the substitute nominee’s campaign may be his/her first day.  That said, what comes to mind for me are scenes from action movies over the years – likely at least one of the Indiana Jones adventures – in which the protagonist, being chased by villains, wild animals, or some other mortal hazard, reaches the edge of a cliff and looks down into water far below.  The choice is to either stand on the cliff and face almost certain doom — or to jump, and hope that the water is deep enough.  Obviously, all jump, and thereby escape the peril.

Although I sympathize with those who are fearful of the ramifications of – to use another old aphorism – jumping from the frying pan into the fire (or if you prefer to stick with water analogies, changing horses in the middle of the stream 😉 ) – I would submit that Democrats have no choice but to jump.  While I don’t believe that there are enough votes of diehard MAGAs to put former President Donald Trump back in the White House, I also doubt that there are enough votes of those who so abhor the prospect of a second Trump presidency that they will vote for Mr. Biden no matter what – in the terms of a close friend, even if he’s “a corpse” – to reelect the President.  Democrats need to change the dynamic, to stem the apparently currently indisputable indications that the undecideds who will determine the outcome of the election are trending toward Mr. Trump.

I have made clear in these pages my high regard for the manner in which Mr. Biden has conducted the presidency.  Furthermore, he is by all indications a genuinely good man.  I deeply regret that he didn’t choose to announce a graceful exit a year ago, when, if the reporting we are now hearing from media outlets sympathetic to him is accurate, he should have recognized his increasing physical limitations.  That said, although his withdrawal at this point will unavoidably be a bit ignominious and certainly accompanied by less acclaim than his over 50 years of service to our country deserve, let us hope for the sake of the country that he is now coming to terms with the fact that a seemingly decisive segment of our citizens have lost confidence in his ability to lead us for another four years.  And let those of us who believe in the Almighty and fear for the future of our democracy if Mr. Trump returns to office pray that if the Democrats (let’s add one more aquatic cliché to this note 🙂 ) take the plunge, they — like Indy – find the water deep enough.