Use an audio player or The Post’s “Impromptu” podcast feed Listen to the entire conversation.
Perry Bacon Jr.: People want new faces in politics. A lot of people I’ve talked to around the country feel like, “Why am I voting for these two old guys again?” If you have someone young and eloquent, I think it would inject some new energy. There may be scandals that I don’t know about, but if we’re talking about Gretchen Whitmer or Pete Buttigieg or someone we haven’t heard of, I think they have great potential.
Karen Tumulty: Let me explain what the change now means. First of all, President Biden will voluntarily step down. Then the roughly 4,000 delegates to the Democratic National Convention will make their decision and then be discharged. This means that we will have a very short, intense primary election, but the electorate is basically party activists, union workers, a lot of teachers unions, local party officials, a lot of local elected officials. It will not take place in a smoke-filled room like it did before.
Charles Lane: That would be less transparent and democratic than the primary election process, which was hardly ultra-democratic in the first place, since Biden got no votes in the primary.
Karen Tumulty: And some states, such as Florida, have decided not to hold primary elections.
Charles Lane: While I somewhat agree with Perry, I continue to believe that voters are crying out, “I don’t want this choice! I don’t want to choose between these two!” So if there was a way in the world to create a completely new face, I think the benefits would be enormous, no matter how tedious the process of getting there.
And let’s not forget the other guy. If Donald Trump becomes president, and he will, he has a literal criminal record. It won’t be a deciding factor if the Democrats pick someone who was arrested for drunk driving 20 years ago. I think novelty has a lot of value. But what we’re facing is Joe Biden, who is extremely defiant, committed, dogged, and increasingly “going nowhere.”
You can listen to the full conversation here:
