Agree with all of this. It’s a mystery to me why there appears to be no proper succession planning or real bench strength.

Harris being the candidate is exactly what the Democrats deserve. They have made DEI a centrepiece of their identity politics for decades and now it's going to kick them squarely in the nuts where they deserve it.

Harris is incredibly over promoted, vacuous and...well, quite frankly dim and even worse for her, quite the awkward, unlikeable character.

She stands no chance against Trump.

DEI isn't meritocracy and any organisation that engages in it will eventually suffer for it.

'Who are you and how did you get in here? I'm a locksmith. And, I'm a locksmith.' (Leslie Nielsen)

We all get credit for not being Trump. Well almost all. There could be a couple of exceptions. It was Biden’s primary asset in 2020 and I have long argued he should have banked it and stood aside for the next generation, his job being done.

Now he has. Whether the timing proves to be a master stroke, long planned for and calculated to create a clear path to victory time alone will tell.

For the avoidance of doubt any comments in response to a previous post are directed to its ideas and not at any, or all, posters personally.

Those here who dismiss Harris with Trumplike criticism are under estimating the lady.

The way some pile on the personal insults just because they don’t approve of her politics is somewhat familiar.

She can be pretty effective and we are likely to see a lot more like this in the coming few months:-

[Link]

For the avoidance of doubt any comments in response to a previous post are directed to its ideas and not at any, or all, posters personally.

She stood against Biden in the primaries last time and was the first candidate to quit due to a lackluster performance.

Most Americans don't think much of her so she will have to raise her game if she is to stand a chance of beating Trump.

It's a bit like Corbyn stepping aside for Abbott.

One more point

Biden did though choose her as his VP. There were reasons for that, which are as relevant today as then. There is no doubt that the core Trump vote won’t be flocking to her side but I see none of those who form the core anti-Trump vote leaving her either. So it’s the middle that matters. Can she shift enough of them to make the difference in the key swing states? With many not wanting either Biden or Trump her points of difference could be enough. The burden of age now falls on Trump. So does the burden of the perception of linkage to corruption. For some women being a woman is an asset. For some the colour of her skin is an asset. Trump is unlikely to agree to debate with her, so can be presented as a coward.

Will these be enough? Who knows, but what seems obvious is that the game has changed.

For the avoidance of doubt any comments in response to a previous post are directed to its ideas and not at any, or all, posters personally.