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Joe Biden’s best dignity-preserving option is to run in an open convention this summer, Graeme Wood argues. https://lnkd.in/ei24cJvQ Biden has secured enough delegates to officially get the nomination at the Democratic National Convention in August, and now he has sole authority to release them and let them choose another nominee at or before the convention. “He would have to give a speech to explain this choice. It might go something like this: ‘You saw me looking old. For the next month you’ll see much younger Democrats and Republicans eating my dust. And if in August, my party thinks this old man is ready for retirement, I’ll be thrilled to finish my term, support the nominee, and work on my golf handicap come January,’” Wood suggests. “Only one cognitive test really matters, and that is the test administered by voters over the course of a campaign, and scored by them in the booth after seeing a candidate dominate or falter. Biden’s decline seems either to have been hidden from the public or to have come relatively quickly, too fast for the primary season to reveal it in full,” Wood continues. But by running in an open convention, Biden would be offering voters, “through their party proxies, a second chance to stress-test his frontal lobes.” “The alleged downside of this option, or any option that leads to an open convention, is that the Democrats would waste time and money fighting one another when they could be fighting Donald Trump,” Wood writes. But “competition is healthy, and what sounds to naive ears like a death match is an essential step in the propagation and survival of the party.” The Democratic Party, Wood writes, “would benefit from a season of intense open auditions—to figure out which junior talent deserves promotion, which senior talent deserves retirement, which policies animate the party’s supporters, and which policies should go. The candidates who emerge with the most support from this compressed process—which would be the most-watched gladiatorial match in American political history—will be the party’s future.” And, Wood continues, “Biden will either continue or conclude his career with a fight.” 📸: Brendan Smialowski / AFP / Getty

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Steve Selman

Independent Writing and Editing Professional

2mo

Biden will find it easy to preserve his dignity. The same can't be said of the media who made his rise and stay possible.

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Damian Bacchoo

High School Principal at UWC South East Asia

2mo

To be fair, I think think there would probably be more dignity in stepping down without subjecting himself to your proposal. Is it even possible for any candidate to be left with much dignity after going through the washing machine (of polarised media and the popular vote) and then being hung out to dry in public? Why would anyone wish that on themselves and their family? Surely there are other ways to serve?

This is very thought- provoking and makes so much sense- thank you!

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Cameron O.

Co-Founder @ Protagonist Communications | StoryBrand Certified Guide

2mo

I’m very curious to see how things all play out. Taking most reporting worth a grain of salt at the moment until the proof is in the pudding.

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Tish Benson

Experimental conceptual performance artist

2mo

What an interesting image to pull up in alignment of the article Makes me think of a tornado 

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Samantha Diaz

👩💻 Marketing Expert Converts Browsers into Buyers ✍️ Word Nerd 🙌 Dreamer & Doer

2mo

I also think he should take a cognitive test, as should Trump. As a matter of fact, don't you think that should be a basic requirement for all presidential candidates? So far, they've both refused.

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