So how should he campaign now?
Because if Biden’s plan from two weeks ago was to campaign as some ridiculous “Dark Brandon” ageless superhero trying to implement some bold policy agenda over the next four years, someone should tell him that ship has already sailed. With over 70% of voters believing that, based on their own observations, Biden is not up to the job, there is no realistic path to victory for Biden, even if he claims he can.
If I were to advise Biden, as all candidates must, I would tell him there is a more compelling way to embody the future: He should run as an elder statesman with one last important role to play for the country, other than keeping Donald Trump out of the White House: finally handing the government over to leaders who don’t remember the moon landing.
This time, Biden should offer himself not as a bridge to the next generation, but ultimately as a way out for the Baby Boomer generation.
Don’t underestimate how pent-up generational resentment nearly drove Biden off the ticket. Of course, this wouldn’t have happened if Biden’s performance in the November debates hadn’t scared Democrats about his prospects. Before then, worries about his age were more of a background buzz.
But in the days after the debate, there was a genuine enthusiasm among Democrats for the opportunity that seemed to have emerged. Biden was on the brink of collapse due to his advanced age, and the Democratic Party would not be able to replace him with another octogenarian. (Biden was born before the end of World War II, technically too old to qualify as a baby boomer.) Just as an open convention suddenly seemed possible, so too did a moment when a younger candidate who wasn’t Vice President Harris might burst on stage.
Biden may succeed in thwarting that insurrection, but he would be wise to use it for his own ends — by proposing a vision of change for the next four years that doesn’t depend on, say, the ability to work past 8 p.m.
As noted political survivor Bill Clinton always said (and I’m paraphrasing here to keep it PG), “When you’re in a quagmire, you go in.” So if I were Biden I’d say:
vinegarYes, I’m feeling my age now, and I don’t have much energy left. I won’t be flying to Europe in four years. And my generation is over. We’ve been on the stage for too long. But I promised to lead this country out of Trumpism and into the next American moment. And if you let me get the job done, I’ll hand over power to younger leaders who haven’t had a chance.
This is common when a company promotes its chief executive to chairman, and who better to oversee the change than someone with half a century of experience and contacts around the world?
Biden should start with the convention. No more old senators, no more gray-haired ex-presidents, and, please, no more Kennedys. Fill his prime-time lineup with little-known governors and mayors, young legislators and cabinet members. Position himself as a grandfatherly figure, a “president” who will assemble the best young talent he can find.
Position Harris as a partner rather than a subordinate, and reassure everyone that if you were to be gone for any reason, a replacement would be quickly put in place, whether or not she was everyone’s first choice.
And rather than waiting to build his second-term Cabinet after the election, he will begin making key appointments during the fall election cycle, sending a clear message that these new appointees will operate with unusual independence. Presidents always insist that they make all the decisions. Biden should take the opposite approach, presenting his next administration as a period of promoting high-profile people, decentralizing the bureaucracy, and trusting the party’s best minds to drive reforms themselves. (Biden’s first-term Cabinet is competent enough, but it doesn’t pulse with the star-power air of Colin L. Powell or Hillary Clinton.)
How about Gina Raimondo as chief of staff, or Pete Buttigieg as secretary of state? Why not bring in a couple of governors who might run to replace you, like Gretchen Whitmer, Gavin Newsom, or Wes Moore? Forget about the 2028 primaries. The job now is to create the image of an administration that cares more about the next 30 years than it does about the next election.
Of course, Republicans will accuse Biden of being a figurehead, not a president, but I suspect that most independent voters would prefer a kind figurehead who empowers wise, younger leaders, rather than a volatile narcissist bent on retribution. And because they won’t believe Biden is in full control, he deserves to be seen as the only truth-teller in the race.
Nearly 52 years ago, just before turning 30, Joe Biden was elected to the Senate on a promise of generational change. He should run this final campaign in much the same way, giving the ’60s generation a fitting send-off.
