Back in the spring of this year,I wrote that I thought President Biden would not finish out his first term. With the midterms now over and the Democrats seemingly still in the driver's seat, let me repeat that thought.
I don’t think that President Biden is in good health. Two elderly members of my extended family are in advanced stages of mental decline (whatever the medical diagnosis). Many Americans also have a family member or know someone who has a relative with a similar condition. Without mockery or rancor, I believe that President Biden's condition is obvious to many.
His most recent confusion over which country he was in (Cambodia not Columbia) can be passed over as a gaff that anyone could make. However, I am convinced that one day he will be unable to function in public regardless of the efforts of his support team. President Reagan's cognitive decline was evident in his second term. His condition accelerated after leaving office. Mr. Biden is older and still in his first term.
The prospect is that Vice President Harris will have to take over the president's responsibilities through the 25th Amendment process. I do not think that the people actually making decisions at the White House want VP Harris to take over. It is my belief that "they" will want someone else there and not Rep. Pelosi either.
If Mr. Biden is replaced now after the midterms, that person will be able to fill out this current term and run for president in the next two election cycles. . . .about ten years. If it is the vase that Mr. Biden is too debilitated to continue, and Ms. Harris is not the anointed replacement . . .how will that work out?
Consider the Nixon administration of the 1970s. Vice President Spiro Agnew was forced to resign because he was indicted for corruption when he was governor of Delaware. Rep. Gerald Ford was appointed VP to replace him. Later on, President Nixon was forced to resign to avoid being impeached for the Watergate scandal. . . .and Mr. Ford succeeded him, having never faced a national election.
The key to repeating this succession scenario is replacing the sitting Vice President first and then choosing the “right” person to replace her. If I were Ms. Harris, I would be looking over my shoulder politically. If the Clintons are anywhere in the picture, I’d be really concerned.