I’ve paid a lot of attention to presidential campaigns since I was young. The first I truly remember was between Richard Nixon and George McGovern in 1972. My age reached double digits that year.
I could never have imagined watching one unfold like the current one has.
Donald Trump, a convicted felon, twice impeached when he held the office before and, by any objective measure a terrible president, just became the oldest person ever nominated by a major party for the office.
If that is not bizarre enough, he almost was denied that nomination, not by the political process but by a troubled youth with a gun.
Truth truly is stranger than fiction.
Meanwhile, on the other side, the very real possibility exists that the sitting president, Joe Biden, who deposed Trump four years ago, may not end up as the nominee of his party despite having already locked up all the delegates he needs to displace his opponent as the oldest candidate to secure a major party nomination.
This one will certainly be more than a footnote in the history books.
One would think all this would be exciting to people, especially political buffs, but I find it tiring, instead. And it seems I’m not alone. TV ratings for this week’s convention of the Republican National Committee were down by 21% on opening night. Ratings for the culmination — Donald Trump’s Thursday night acceptance of the nomination, were not available as of this writing. There’s no reason to believe it will be better.
There’s also no reason to believe the ratings for the upcoming Democratic National Committee convention will be any different.
Well, I need to couch that prediction.
Everything could change if Biden withdraws from the race — and there are signs that could actually happen.
Biden was initially adamant that he would stay in the race to the end after a terrible debate performance left many supporters wondering if, at age 81, he is up to another four years in the biggest job in the world.
But, as calls to step aside have increased, there are signs it could happen.
The calls started with Democratic congressmen we’ve never heard of, followed by a Hollywood actor who thought he had the gravitas to be of consequence (in the current culture, maybe he’s right), then more consequential people such as Adam Schiff, the California congressman and Senate candidate who has been a strong backer of Biden and who is firmly on Trump’s enemies list for his work impeaching Trump and participating in the House committee that investigated the attack by Trump supporters on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.
There were reports this week that Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi have privately urged Biden to step aside. Even former president Barack Obama, by any account Biden’s BFF, is said to have counseled Biden that it’s time to call it a career.
Biden has said he would withdraw if there were a medical reason, and was almost immediately diagnosed with COVID.
So, if that were to happen, the Democratic convention could change from background noise to must-see TV.
It’s unlikely the convention would turn into one of the conventions of old, when multiple candidates sought the nomination and many floor votes were needed to gain consensus — when back-room deals helped sway votes and a dark horse could emerge victorious.
No, if Biden were to step aside, the party would quickly coalesce around a younger candidate, most likely Vice President Kamala Harris.
And maybe none of that will happen. Maybe Biden will hold onto his delegates, accept the nomination and we’ll watch two elderly men slug it out until November. Both will be under incredible scrutiny. For all the attention paid to Biden’s age and rhetorical gaffes, there are plenty of signs that Trump can’t keep a train of thought on the tracks.
We’re living through history, here. There’s no telling how posterity is going to view what happened this year, but I can imagine a lot of school kids, when presented with this story, saying, “Really?”