Hard Reset: Forward

Sunday afternoon at 1:46 p.m., Joe Biden withdrew from the race to win the presidency in the upcoming November Election. As an incumbent, he did something few sitting American Presidents have done. In ending his run, he opted out of the quest to continue being President. Lyndon Johnson was the last to forego the effort to repeat. That was 56 years ago, in 1968, a year marked by the assassination of Robert F. Kennedy, Sr., and Martin Luther King, Jr. As in 1968, The Democratic National Convention will convene in Chicago. Prognosticators have forecast the prospect of a long, hot summer, complete with the Democrat’s political convention being marred by violence.

It would be editorial malpractice to write about President Biden’s choice to withdraw without mentioning the drumbeat that grew to a crescendo of revolt against the man, who until Sunday had been the presumptive nominee of the Democratic Party. Like Johnson, Theodore Rosevelt, Calvin Coolidge, and Harry Truman also opted out. However, all four had served more than four years. Each had assumed the office upon the death of the incumbent, and then went on to win a term of their own. They all faced their own exigent circumstances, such as wars, or the economy.

President Biden faced the demon of natural causes. And yes, aging is a natural phenomenon. Joe Biden is simply further along in the annual anniversary cycle than any previous presidential candidate…or President, for that matter. Suffice it to say, Father Time is undefeated, and it did a victory dance on Mr. Biden during his recent debate with Mr. Trump. I have surmised, “The Debate,” as it will forever be known, will go down as one of, if not the most pivotal face-off in the history of political debates.

Yes, there were rumblings from various party voices before the debate, suggesting Biden get out of the race. But let’s be real, the debate was the equivalent of the World Series, the World Cup, and Walt Disney World, all rolled up into one. What had been a series of spring showers evolved immediately into a torrential rain, then quickly escalated into violent thunderstorms, then ultimately morphed into a flat-out relentless tsunami. It all culminated Sunday in Biden leaving the race, and subsequently, very quickly endorsing Vice President Kamala Harris. 

If the first couple of days are any indication, the change has energized the Democratic Party, infusing it in ways that were unimaginable a mere week ago. On successive days, tens of thousands of African American women, and African American men, respectively, coalesced on separate Zoom calls to discuss the issues, and the new candidate, and to donate over a million dollars each. Undoubtedly, there will be many other groups taking similar measures. In fact, her campaign reported raising over $100 million in one day, contributed by 1.1 unique donors, including 62% first-time donors. On the political side, in just two days, Vice President Harris garnered the number of delegates necessary to secure the nomination at the Convention next month.

The early response has been quite impressive. About that, there is no debate. However, the reality is, by all appearances, America is evenly divided on the issues that raise our collective political hackles. VP Harris is the shiny new thing. She has understandably attracted a lot of attention. The GOP, for its part, is being forced to pivot, and adapt. But that’s how politics works. They will zero in and use the hundreds of millions they collect in both huge dark money and in small dollar donations, to attack Harris. In so doing, surely, they will come up with something better than DEI hire, for a woman who was elected as the San Francisco District Attorney, elected as California Attorney General, elected as a US Senator from California, and elected as Vice President of the United States. Compared to GOP Vice Presidential candidate JD Vance, a first term Senator from Ohio, she’s a seasoned political savant. But I digress. This election is, and was always going to be a hard fought, hotly contested battle. The GOP will however, not have “old” Joe to kick around anymore. Democrats will have “old” Donny.

There’s a new sheriff…I mean, a new prosecutor, in town. We now have a “Hard Reset: FORWARD!”

I’m done; holla back!

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Hard Reset: FORWARD!