I remember thinking at the time that was a good strategy to, ah, clear the field. Silly me.

Not sure when Obama announced but it was well after Biden announced his intentions and some length of time after that Obama was caught on tape disrespecting Biden in the senate. But, I never held that against him.

It wasn't the George Floyd funeral but rather the Tyre Nichols funeral at which vice president Kamala Harris spoke so passionately about police reform.

As for 2008, it was Obama who had the gall. And, I like him, too. You will recall that Iraq was circling the drain during that campaign and Biden was the only one on the planet who had a feasible and well thought out plan for US policy there that had the chance to make things right for the people of Iraq if the plan hadn't been sabotaged by Bush/Cheney/Rumsfeld. You may also recall that this plan for an overhaul of US policy on Iraq received the overwhelming bipartisan support in a Sense of the Senate vote of 78 to 23 in favour! When had a vote like that last happened in the senate and when has it ever happened since?

As for Obama and the 2008 Iowa caucuses, I will never forget that Biden received less than one percent of that vote. Less than one percent!!! Un-freakin'-believable.

Yes, it was certainly Obama's year to shine and I withdrew my grudge against him - if not from Iowans - when he tapped Biden for his running mate. I'm a bit biased here, but I would say that choice was one of the most enlightened choices for vice president than any would be POTUS has ever made in the history of the republic.

I have no grudge against Kamala and I have enjoyed listening to some of her addresses - the George Floyd funeral comes easily to mind. She is just not ready to be president, in my view, plain and simple.

Flaw number one ... running for president in 2020 against the likes of Joe Biden when she had precious little experience in national politics and even less in international affairs.

That was enough for me to cringe at Biden's selection for his running mate. Now, she is nothing more than a head wind on his chances for reelection.

She could have made a great president if only she was willing to put the time and effort into it. The Trump years should have been a gift to her ultimate presidential ambitions.

Where has Harris shown that she lacks experience and knowledge, exactly? If anything, with her years as DA in SF and the AG for California prior to being elected to the US Senate in 2016, she has decades of public service experience that few other women of color her age can claim.

I was more impressed with her record going after the big banks and lenders and her prison reform programs as AG than I was with her time in the Senate. That is probably due to the fact that her time in the Senate was just 4 years with Trump as the President, so it’s not like she could have gotten too much legislation passed during that time. Just curious what the flaws are that make people dislike her so.

She really had no business running for president in the 2020 cycle, especially after her disingenuous attack on Biden over busing. Yes, I can hold a grudge for a very, very long time, I have discovered.

She should have spent more time in the senate honing her craft and learning about things. Too late for all of that now.

She was never a good fit with Biden's experience and position.

Say, just had a thought, how old is John Kerry and is he in good health?

Biden chose unwisely in 2020 and he's stuck with that choice, I suppose. That's too bad - for him, me and all the Dems.

Of course, it is possible that I may be proven wrong and that he'll win with the ticket he has. Hope so!

What my [5] demonstrates is merely that I believe there needs to be a change of running mate on the Democratic side.

Not. Gonna. Happen.

The Dems simply cannot suppress turnout by bailing on a female person of color just because her press and the resulting bad polling has been, well, Biden-level bad. That would be political malpractice, no?

BTW “blue tsunami” doesn’t mean Joe will win 40 states. It refers to Congress and the Judiciary etc.

What my [5] demonstrates is merely that I believe there needs to be a change of running mate on the Democratic side. The reasons for this are numerous and include Biden's age which so many Dems seem to be obsessing over.

However, if such a change is to be made, then it has to be serious and Newsom is decidedly non-serious, on second sober thought.

I can't think right now who Biden's new running mate should be but my thinking on the need for Biden to make this change has only grown since the Newsom-DeSantis debate. (by the way, why anyone who enjoys debates between the candidates running for president wouldn't love to see more of these one-on-ones is completely beyond me ... I'm talkin' to you, Chris!)

There has to be someone out there - besides a Jerry Brown type person who is also burdened by the ageism criticism who can round out the 2024 Democratic presidential ticket and create some real excitement and energy ... and reassurance of the kind that actually WOULD have a serious chance to create a Blue Tsunami!

Can anyone around here think of such a running mate? Don't take your time, 'cause that ain't on our side. Ahem.

There wasn't even anything close to a blue tsunami to replace Trump in 2020, so ...

I disagree with your assessment that either (1)Ukraine or (2) the Afghanistan pullout are hurting Biden. Both, especially Afghanistan were Biden cleaning up after Trump. The Repugs will certainly TRY to blame it all on Biden (see Covid-related inflation) but given that Trump’s going to be their nominee and the utterly disfunctonal House so I say Blue Tsunami next November.

He has quite a lot of work to do between now and next November.

A Newsom-DeSantis debate - on Fox News, especially! - is hardly irrelevant. On the contrary, it might be just what the Doctor, ahem, ordered ... in the sense that if Biden is really serious about wanting a second term to finish his domestic agenda - and overhaul his foreign policy which is so desperately in need of a total realignment - then he needs to think seriously about making a veep change.

A Biden-Newsom ticket is surely a match made in heaven, if ever there was one. And, I mean that sincerely ... I'm not trying to be facetious, here.

Sadly, it is precisely this kind of thinking that will ensure a second term for Trump! :(