Fingers crossed

The survey, which is being conducted this week and was commissioned by the Biden campaign’s analytics team, is believed to be the first time since the debate that Mr. Biden’s aides have sought to measure how the vice president would fare at the top of the ticket. It was described by three people who are informed about it and insisted on anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the information. They did not specify why the survey was being conducted or what the campaign planned to do with the results.

The effort, which comes as a growing number of prominent lawmakers call for Mr. Biden to step aside or suggest he should reconsider his plans to run, indicates that his campaign may be preparing to wade into a debate that has consumed the Democratic Party behind closed doors: whether Mr. Biden should step aside for his vice president.

While some of Mr. Biden’s top aides have quietly argued that Ms. Harris could not win the election, donors and other outside supporters of the vice president believe she might be in a stronger position after the debate, and could be a more energetic communicator of the party’s message.

  NYT

Without a doubt she could.  Not sure any Democrat would be less capable of that than Joe.

Privately, some members of the Congressional Black Caucus believe that President Joe Biden needs to step down from the ticket to circumvent Democratic losses in November — even if they’re publicly standing behind him for pragmatic reasons, members and sources told NOTUS.

“I want somebody who can win, and if it’s Biden, it’s fine,” Rep. Emanuel Cleaver told NOTUS.

And if it’s someone else? “It’s also fine,” he said.

[...]

The CBC isn’t the united front in support of Biden that it may appear from the outside.

“We’ve always prided ourselves on speaking in one voice,” one CBC member told NOTUS, requesting anonymity to comment on private discussions. “And I think there’s a lot of pressure to be a part of that one voice. … But I know how people feel, and I know what people come up to me and say.”

Rep. Ritchie Torres said there was “widespread concern.”

  NOTUS

As well there should be.

Yes, there are still four months left until Election Day. A lot can and will change. But the terrifying threat of Trumpian authoritarianism looms larger and larger as the summer passes by with no discernible change in the trajectory of the race, which Biden is on track to lose.

  Public Notice

The failure of the Republican Party to do one of the main things a political party is supposed to do—to check truly malevolent demagogues—is a signal elite failure of the last decade. It’s been terrible to see for those of us who once had an attachment to and respect for that party. More important, it’s been terrible for the country.

Now it’s the Democratic Party that is being put to the test. Can Democratic elites get Joe Biden to step aside? Can they then arrange a process that allows for an open competition whose result will be responsive to public sentiment? This process will be somewhat more reminiscent of the old way convention delegates, influenced by party elites, selected presidential candidates. It produced some pretty good presidents!

This is the historic task of the elites of the Democratic Party today.

A Democratic Party that can rise to the occasion, and help arrange for Joe Biden to step aside in favor of a candidate able to win in 2024 and fit to serve for the next four years, would be a party whose voters and elites would be worthy of respect and support.

  Bill Kristol @ The Bulwark

...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.

UPDATE 02:11 pm:

Some longtime aides and advisers to President Biden have become increasingly convinced that he will have to step aside from the campaign, and in recent days they have been trying to come up with ways to persuade him that he should, according to three people briefed on the matter.

A small group of Mr. Biden’s advisers in the administration and the campaign – at least two of whom have told allies that they do not believe he should keep trying to run for a second term – have said they would have to convince the president of several things.

They said they have to make the case to the president, who remains convinced of the strength of his campaign, that he cannot win against former President Donald J. Trump. They have to persuade him to believe that another candidate, like Vice President Kamala Harris, could beat Mr. Trump. And they have to assure Mr. Biden that, should he step aside, the process to choose another candidate would be orderly and not devolve into chaos in the Democratic Party.

Those discussions were recounted by three people familiar with them who, like others in this article, spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss a sensitive situation. There is no indication that any of the discussions have reached Mr. Biden himself, one of the informed people said.

  NYT

Of course, the White House denies it.  And of course, if none of "the discussions have reached Mr. Biden himself," then perhaps the White House can only rightly deny they've heard anything about it.

Senate Democrats are arriving at the Capitol after a briefing by Joe Biden’s campaign officials billed as an opportunity for campaign officials to quell democrats’ panic about the president’s chances of winning the White House in November.

[...]

So far there is no indication Biden will heed the growing calls to abandon his reelection bid, even as calls grow.

The president’s supporters - and his doubters - will be watching his performance tonight at a press conference following at the conclusion of the Nato summit.

  Guardian

In fact, Joe has become more obstinate and has been striking out at anyone who doubts him, calling them "elites".  Sound like anyone else you know?

Signs are emerging that people close to Joe Biden may be gearing up to convince him to exit the presidential race. The New York Times dropped two significant reports, with one saying that his re-election campaign is looking into how Kamala Harris might fare against Donald Trump, and the other, which was similar to a report by NBC News, that aides were discussing ways to get Biden to step aside. However, the leaders of his re-election campaign argue in a new memo that Biden still has a path to victory, and that his standing with voters has not changed as much as commonly believed since his troubling debate against Trump.

  Guardian

Bullshit.

There are two major events happening later today that will be important to watch. The first is a meeting between Democratic senators and three top Biden advisors, which could prove crucial to gauging how his congressional allies feel about his prospects. The second is the president’s press conference following the Nato summit, which is scheduled for 6.30pm ET.

  Guardian

On teleprompters. How about we hear from participants in the summit?

The set of Democrats who think he should reconsider his decision to stay in the race has grown to include aides, operatives and officials tasked with guiding his campaign to victory. Those who spoke to NBC News said the sentiment that he should exit and leave the Democratic nomination to someone else — most likely Vice President Kamala Harris — is widespread even within the ranks of the campaign and the outside Democratic entities supporting it.

“No one involved in the effort thinks he has a path,” said a second person working to elect him.

A third person close to the re-election campaign said the present situation — the questions swirling around Biden’s cognitive abilities, the dearth of fundraising and more polls showing Biden dropping in support and other candidates faring better — is unsustainable. This person also said they didn’t see how the campaign could win.

[...]

But two others close to Biden told NBC News that while they haven’t given up all hope of a turnaround, they see that as an increasingly unlikely outcome. And they believe the goal of defeating Trump in November should take precedence over backing Biden.

  NBC

You think?

[T]hese sources say that Biden is done — whether he drops out before November or loses to Trump on Election Day.

“He needs to drop out,” a Biden campaign official told NBC.

They say several of his closest allies, including three people involved in his campaign to win a second term, believe he has “zero” chance of winning, and may swamp Democrats in down-ballot races.

  Guardian

The people who are closest to the president, a group that includes some of his longest-serving advisers and members of his family, remain adamant that Mr. Biden will stay in the race.

  NYT

What happened to "country first"? Did it ever exist in the Biden inner circle?