Diane Kimura

The NYTs published a long story blaming concerns about Mr. Biden’s frailties on a "distorted, online version of himself, a product of often misleading videos that play into and reinforce voters’ longstanding concerns about his age and abilities.”

Elected Democrats at least have the excuse that they risk their careers if they tell the truth about Biden.

Exhibit A: Dean Phillips. But there’s no excuse for a press corps to deny what two-thirds of the public said they saw with their own eyes.

Now, with the looming prospect of defeat to Donald Trump, the liberal media establishment has turned to admit what it can no longer deny.

The path out of this nightmare might be easier if not for another problem the press refused to recognize—that Harris wasn’t remotely qualified to be Vice President when Biden chose her. He had promised to pick a woman as his Vice President, and Biden selected Harris because she was a woman of color, not because of her qualifications.

Harris had bombed as a presidential candidate, washing out after she couldn’t defend her own Medicare plan at a primary debate. She had risen to the Senate based on patronage. Yet she was hailed by Democrats and the press as the first woman of color on a national ticket, as if this were more important than someone who could do the job. Criticism of her failures on immigration, or of her frequent word salads, was said to be racist or sexist.

Imagine if the Vice President now were someone like Gerald Ford, a pair of safe hands as Nixon’s resignation in 1974. The press is now reporting that one reason Biden chose to run for re-election was fear that Harris couldn’t defeat Trump.

It’s an apt worry. But if Biden had bowed out last year, Democrats could have had a normal primary fight for the nomination. Harris would have had to show she deserved it in her own right by defeating competitors. Now Democrats run the risk of appearing to bypass the first minority woman Vice President in a backroom coup. This is what happens when a party puts identity politics above governing experience and political skill.

A Biden withdrawal and an open August convention are still desirable—in the best interests of the country as much as those of the Democratic Party.

Biden’s frailties are an invitation to adversaries to exploit in a second term, and Harris isn’t up to the job. An open convention carries risks, but it’s the best way Democrats and their media allies can clean up the mess they’ve made.

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