ANGELO LYNN

Five days after the Biden debate debacle, thousands of pundits, political activists and political scientists have weighed in on whether Biden should toss in the towel. At the same time, top Democratic leaders have circled the wagons to excuse Biden’s poor performance and keep him in the race — if he chooses to remain.

The political calculus offers no definitive answer. 

It has always been a close race, and those numbers aren’t likely to change by a huge swing. Biden is honest and trustworthy, and has accomplished much as president. He not only offers the nation a stable path forward, but also doesn’t pose a threat to its democracy. Trump is a dictator in waiting, spews nonsense, continuously lies (factfinders reported he told a lie every 90 seconds he spoke during the debate), is a convicted felon, faces more criminal charges, and has laid out plans that will substantially undermine the nation’s democracy.

The fundamental choice between the two candidates hasn’t changed. 

But, in American politics, performance matters. 

A Washington Post podcast this past Saturday ran under the headline, “It takes a lot to overshadow Donald Trump. Biden managed to do it.” That Biden did it with an awful performance isn’t ideal, but the headline brings up a likely outcome that could help the Democrats more than they realize — the daily news cycle could swing to their advantage. 

Trump is good at one thing: sucking the air out of the room. He’s so outlandish, so full of nonsensical garbage, so comfortable lying, so lacking in morals that his comments are irresistible fodder for TV news, and print — especially when he’s at his worst.

Meanwhile Biden, who appeals to wide swaths of Americans as a rational president who has stabilized the ship of state and makes wise decisions, hasn’t been able to capitalize on those accomplishments to sell his presidency. His poll numbers are mediocre not because of what he’s done, but because he can’t parlay his accomplishments into victories. It’s a reality that being a lousy communicator is a major shortcoming for a president, particularly in today’s communications-saturated world.

That party leaders have shielded Biden from public appearances and denied a competitive national primary were mistakes made obvious by Thursday’s debate. If party leaders choose to stick with him, today’s odds are Trump would win in November. 

Could Biden be the “comeback kid?” Sure. Could Trump’s troubles spell his demise? Maybe. But here’s the thing: the past three years have proved the opposite. Joe being Joe won’t help him; Trump being Trump won’t hurt him.

As long as Trump dominates the news cycle, and as long as Biden struggles to make his much stronger case resonate with voters, Trump wins.

The alternative is for Biden to step aside, free his delegates and have the party conduct a search for alternative candidates. 

Yes, there is peril in that process. There will likely be party squabbles, competing agendas, unflattering comments Democrats make against Democrats to ensure their candidate wins the nomination. It could be chaotic.

But there’s also a huge upside. Just like Biden overshadowed Trump on Thursday, five days later today’s news is all about what the Democrats are going to do. The political intrigue is not about what idiotic things Trump said in the past 24-72 hours, but rather is laser focused on the possibility of a presidential candidate who won’t be 80, can carry on a conversation that is lucid and informative, who addresses the questions, can provide a national vision for the future, and can shut down a buffoon who can’t speak without lying.

How refreshing, and how exciting that search would be. 

And it would suck the air out of the daily news cycle for the next two months and longer. Here’s why that matters: If polls are to be believed, they’ve told us the public is extremely disenchanted with the choice they currently have (with 49% of the public wanting someone else to lead their tickets, according to an April Pew Research Center poll.) Imagine the excitement that a shortened, full-on press to find a new, dynamic, younger candidate to represent the Democratic Party could offer that huge block of voters.

And if the Democrats had a disciplined approach to such a selection, it gives them an opportunity to tout their platform and contrast it to the Republicans, which is Trump’s self-serving babble that benefits the wealthy and favors an isolationist foreign policy at a time when the U.S. needs even stronger ties with its allies. If done well, this contrast of platforms could be good news for Democrats up and down the ticket.

Yes, it’s risky. Presidential history suggests staying with the incumbent is the preferred choice. But these are not normal times, nor are Biden-Trump normal candidates. And with the Supreme Court’s recent rulings that strengthen the presidency to a king-like status by broadening immunity over all official presidential actions, a Trump victory is even more threatening to our 248-year-old democracy.

It’s on the Democrats to nominate the best candidate to beat Trump. To do that Democrats have to drop their blinders; it’s not just that Biden had a bad debate night, it’s that he hasn’t been able to lock in a majority of supporters over the past three years against a very flawed candidate who has been described as “a serial rapist, narcissist, pathological liar with autocratic and anti-democratic tendencies” and far worse. If your candidate is trailing against that big of a loser, you have the wrong candidate. 

Biden, who has been a stellar president and public servant throughout his life, deserves the highest of accolades. There’s still time, and hope, those closest to him will encourage him to step aside, allowing other Democrats to step forward and pose a stiffer challenge to Trump. That’s the surest way to preserve the noble legacy that would then be Biden’s to cherish. 

Angelo Lynn