AP/NORC: Democrats want someone besides Biden

AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta

The summary of the latest AP-NORC poll examining the upcoming presidential primaries tells most of the story. Biden 2024? Most Democrats say no thank you. Barely a third of the Democrats surveyed (37%) said they wanted to see Joe Biden elected to a second term. The number of Republicans who feel that way would probably be statistically zero were it not for Bill Kristol and a handful of other remnants of the never-Trump movement. That’s a significant drop in support among his own party from Biden’s already-low numbers in the weeks leading up to the midterms when barely 50% of Democrats were willing to say the same. There also appears to be little desire to see him replaced by his constantly cackling and frequently incoherent Vice President. So what are the liberals to do?

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A majority of Democrats now think one term is plenty for President Joe Biden, despite his insistence that he plans to seek reelection in 2024.

That’s according to a new poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research that shows just 37% of Democrats say they want him to seek a second term, down from 52% in the weeks before last year’s midterm elections.

While Biden has trumpeted his legislative victories and ability to govern, the poll suggests relatively few U.S. adults give him high marks on either.

Followup interviews conducted with respondents suggest that the reason for Biden’s collapse in support among Democrats is largely driven by the obvious elephant in the room. Most mentioned his age, along with “his coughing, his gait, and his gaffes.” Personally, I think we’re well past the point where Biden’s foibles can simply be waived away as “gaffes.” Even with a teleprompter in front of him, he can barely make it through five sentences before it sounds like he’s speaking some sort of extraterrestrial language. And his habit of trying to shake hands with invisible people may have been funny for a while, but is that really the guy you want in control of the nuclear codes, particularly when we appear to be approaching the brink of world war three?

Unfortunately for his party, Joe Biden is leaving the Democrats in a tricky position. While many Democratic officials are still supporting him in public, they have to be nervous about the possibility that he could cost them the White House next November. But who will be chosen to go hang the bell on the cat? If Joe Biden won’t exit of his own accord, someone will have to step up and challenge him to a primary battle. Aside from Bernie Sanders (who is even older than Biden, though he still seems fairly sharp), it’s not clear who might be ready to play the role of the bad guy or bad gal and try to oust the boss.

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Then again, it’s not as if Biden’s support for a second term has completely evaporated, at least according to NBC News. They claim that “Democratic insiders” are “all in” for Biden in 2024.

President Joe Biden had one question for Democratic power brokers at a campaign-style rally Friday: “Are you with me?”

The roars of approval and chants of “four more years!” at the Democratic National Committee’s Winter Meeting indicated they were all in for Biden 2024.

I’m sure that was an encouraging moment for the President, but we should include a reality check here. This was the winter meeting of the DNC. Obviously, nobody wanted to look like they weren’t a team player and fail to stand up and clap like seals for Biden during his speech. The “Democratic insiders” that NBC is referencing were a bunch of Democratic committee members who knew the cameras were on them and didn’t want to come off looking like the pack of backstabbing weasels that most of them probably are when nobody is watching.

If there’s going to be another candidate, someone is going to have to take the plunge pretty soon. If they let Joe Biden formally kick off his reelection campaign this month and don’t being the process of organizing and scheduling a primary, they’re going to be stuck with him. And based on virtually every poll we’ve seen since the midterms ended, almost nobody wants to see that happen.

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