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President Joe Biden has proved that, for the first time in years, the GOP is the more organized political party in our country.
Over the past month, while Republicans were putting the finishing touches on their Trumped-up party platform and campaign ticket, Democrats were debating whether the man who has been running the country for four years was capable of running for reelection. The infighting and public conversation from Democrats made it clear. They were losing faith in their leader.
Now that Biden has dropped out, that debate is over.
Biden’s decision is a stunning admission that Democrats do not think Biden can defeat Donald Trump in November, and raises the question of whether he can still run the country. For Republicans, it shows that their plan to attack Biden on policy worked and can be effective on Vice President Kamala Harris, should she take over the campaign.
I don’t knock Biden and the Democrats for this change. Trump has been gaining momentum since the presidential debate on June 27, and the assassination attempt on July 13 only grew that momentum.
Then came last week’s Republican National Convention, which solidified Trump as the figurehead of the party and the party as the most organized in this country.
Republicans have their presidential nominee and vice presidential nominee and are surging in voter polls. While we certainly have our disagreements on the right, we aren’t at the point where we are abandoning candidates just months before a pivotal election.
Biden drops out:Democrats can finally focus on beating Trump.
The Democrats have now ditched their candidate presumably for the Biden-endorsed Harris, who shares roughly the same favorability ratings as Biden.
It’s unclear whether Harris poses a higher political threat to Trump than Biden did, but there is no doubt in my mind Trump remains in a prime position to retake the White House.
The best chance the Democrats have is to highlight Biden’s exit from the race as an honorable decision, placing the future of the country and his party over his desire to cling to power.
This is the only angle from which Biden’s exit is somewhat commendable, and any time Harris is asked about the transition, she would be wise to speak highly of his decision.
For Republicans, the adjustment from Biden to Harris isn’t extraordinary. Harris was in the administration instituting the same policies for which Republicans have ripped Biden for the past four years.
She remains nearly as unpopular as her predecessor, and there is no reason for a significant change in strategy.
Kamala could get her moment:Biden should drop out so Democrats can run a historic two-woman ticket.
The new question for the Republican Party: If Biden isn’t capable of running for reelection, how is he capable of remaining in the White House?
The GOP would be wise to hammer that angle from now until Election Day, highlighting the disarray of our executive branch under the Biden administration.
The historic decision would be more impactful if Americans were thrilled about it. We live in a weird scenario where a party admitting the man representing them in the White House for the past four years is unfit is favorable to allowing him to remain on the ticket.
The only reason Democrats have a glimmer of hope in this process is the fact that their opponent is Trump, one of the most politically vulnerable people in America.
Even despite his momentum, Democrats have a plethora of angles through which they can attack Trump more than any other conservative who could have been the nominee.
His legal troubles, degenerate character and actions following the 2020 election all pose vulnerabilities for a Trump campaign – vulnerabilities that other Republicans wouldn’t have. Democrats would be wise to exploit each of these and ask the GOP why they are beholden to a man with so much baggage.
While they are still fighting an uphill battle, Biden’s decision gives Democrats a chance to try something new. That’s better than remaining in limbo with Biden, who clearly could not win.
Dace Potas is an opinion columnist for USA TODAY and a graduate of DePaul University with a degree in political science.