A jolt of adrenaline and excitement

Vice President Harris at the Essence Festival in New Orleans

Ten days have passed since the CNN debate, and President Biden’s campaign is utterly adrift. In a sense, it has been concussed, stone-cold knocked out. It is down on the mat, and there doesn’t yet seem to be any signs of getting up — let alone moving. Staying where they are is not an option for the Biden team, but at present, the operation is as pinned down strategically as any presidential campaign has ever been.

When is the last time the Biden campaign threw a hard punch that connected?

Here was the scene in Nashville yesterday:

There will be much more of this. Much more.

This must be opposed. It must be stopped. The American people must snuff this out.

The cause of America is a great one. It deserves a defense from the smears and libels directed against it by Trump and his fascist cronies. Enabled by thousands of accumulated acts of cowardice, greed, self-interest and corruption, Trump stands today — right now, at this very second — in the strongest political position he has ever held. He is not holding a losing hand.

Mark Robinson, the MAGA Holocaust denier, who is running for governor of North Carolina, appeared in a MAGA church, and started talking about killing people. What is the response from the Democratic National Committee? How about the Democratic Governors Association?

Freedom demands a fierce advocate. Trump deserves to be confronted relentlessly, non-stop, and aggressively for every remaining second of the campaign.

What we are witnessing is a morality tale as old as the ages playing out. It is difficult to watch, but also a secondary consideration when evaluated through a prism of patriotism. The only thing that matters in the moment is the threat at hand, which is real, determined, filled with malice and winning.

Trump is a convicted felon and a rapist, who defamed his victim. He is a con artist, abuser, fraudster and purveyor of all manner of schlocky schemes and cheap hustles.

Donald Trump is an ignorant man and a world-class demagogue. He is a pathological liar and bully with thin skin, and a talent for playing the victim like Yo-Yo Ma can play the cello.

Physically, he is grotesque, preposterous and comical. He is a blusterer and a buffoon. He is a narcissistic clown, who is a walking punchline.

Yet, he has taken on an aura of inevitability and invincibility. He has come to be a vessel for the contempt of people who have joined together in a poisonous community in which anger and rage are swirling freely.

This moment requires the drawing of a line, as well as a commitment to not take one more step backwards from the advancing insanity from the institutions that exist to defeat and oppose it. Turning the keys over to the MAGA vandals without laying out the clear stakes is unacceptable and more deeply immoral. It is deeply wrong.

What has happened could be seen coming from very, very far away, but the truth is denialism and delusion are powerful elixirs. Now, a terrible moment has arrived, and it will spiral more aggressively this coming week.

The herd is panicked. It is moving, and some members are already running. The mass is on the edge of a stampede, and nothing in front of it will be left untrammeled. Politics is a brutal business. What is gathering for the president this week is going to be much worse than the last 10 days.

According to various news accounts, the campaign has all but stopped functioning. The White House is paralyzed, and what is happening is largely a black hole for the White House staff. Donors, members of Congress, delegates, candidates and voters are in open revolt. All of this, while the Republican National Convention is about to lambaste Biden with the help of a vengeful media that is chasing the conflict and hoping to get a bite of flesh. Dark days have arrived. Truly.

The days ahead will feel long and stagnant, but they will give way soon to new possibilities and a fresh start in the fight against Trump.

Next week, senior Democratic US senators are going to start confronting the Biden White House about the political realities about which the president demonstrated deep denial in the Stephanopolous interview.  There is no visible or conceivable scenario in which the situation stabilizes for President Biden this week.

What this means is that Vice President Harris should be considered to be the Democratic front runner for the nomination, which will be decided in Chicago by the delegates after President Biden releases them. Her vice presidential contenders will be a very short list, and poses some interesting questions:

How would the country react to a female ticket — Harris-Whitmer?

What about to a black ticket — Harris-Moore?

More likely, Harris would pick a white male governor from a must-win state, which would make Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania the frontrunner.

The coalition that elected Joe Biden in 2020 has disintegrated. A new one must be constructed — and quickly. There must be a jolt of adrenaline and excitement into the race. Young people, in particular, need motivation.

Kamala Harris would be a formidable candidate against Donald Trump.

While we wait, watch her in action.

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