Comment on Biden’s Bet on an Early Debate Ends in Calamity

“Dear J. D. Vance: Have you found that calling a woman trash has worked for you? Because we generally don’t forget that shit.” — Sen. Tina Smith (D-MN), on X.

“House Democrats are increasingly alarmed by a potential threat to the transfer of presidential power: a protracted failure by Republicans to select a speaker if the GOP keeps control of the chamber,” Politico reports. “The House convenes on Jan. 3 to elect a speaker, just a few days before Congress is supposed to certify the results of this year’s election.

Cameron Joseph: “While postelection chaos is quite possible, 2024 is unlikely to be an exact replay of 2020. In important ways, the system has been strengthened.”

Bushra Seddique: “Every four years, some liberal Americans threaten to leave the country if a Republican wins the presidency. Canada has become almost a joke—or maybe a fantasy—in certain left-leaning circles, not just a country but an escape hatch, a next life waiting if the election goes the ‘wrong’ way.” “But some liberals insist that they’re not joking this time: They are very scared, and very ready to leave if Donald Trump is reelected.”

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Philip Bump: “Polling conducted by YouGov over the weekend included a question centered on the alternate universe in which Biden never dropped out at all. And in that universe, Donald Trump has a national lead of seven points. Landslide territory.”