Richard Nixon announced his resignation live. LBJ announced his decision not to run for re-election in a presidential address. Joe Biden posted a letter. Really? Supposedly, some of the White House staff learned that the president was withdrawing via X (Twitter). The obvious decline of Joe Biden could no longer be hidden or excused after his trouncing in the June debate. The move in his party to remove Biden grew until he finally agreed that he should step aside. Or did he? If he agreed, one would expect him to have given a national address. But now, it's a fait accompli. The speech writers are working on his eventual public address.
Cynics hold that this was always in the cards. Vivek Ramaswamy argued in the early primaries that Joe Biden would not be the nominee. Lucky guess? Doubtful. Joe Biden stayed on the ballot and hid in the basement just long enough to secure the nomination. Now, the party elites can pick his successor. It has long been clear that the party doesn't trust its voters, which is why superdelegates exist. Had Biden not been in the primaries, RFK Jr. might have won the nomination. That was so unacceptable that the party has driven him to run as an Independent.
Will it be VP Harris? Seeing as she was the first candidate to be eliminated in the 2020 primaries, she looks to be a weak choice. But the Biden-Harris campaign war chest can only be spent if she is the nominee. Will the Democratic Convention select her? With Biden out, his delegates are probably free to pick whomever they like. Gavin Newsom? Gretchen Whitmer? Josh Shapiro? Pete Buttigieg? Will these politicians try to sway the nation, or will they just shake hands in the smoke-filled rooms? Just like old times.
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