@Cassiodorus
in three months that would give the public a better ability to assess her qualifications? Stage an assassination attempt for the sympathy vote? (An Australian TV series, Rake, had the dueling political assassination attempts as a storyline line. Very amusing.)

A Biden resignation would require Harris to nominate and Congress to approve a new VP. (Probably more volunteers for that position than for Harris' running mate.)

As a former POTUS, Harris and spouse would be entitled to lifetime SS protection. Bad enough that the Trumpkins will be on the federal SS dole for another four years. Although, the SS will probably be relieved that the Hunter Biden detail will end.

#1 Joe Biden isn't really healthy enough to remain in office, and he hasn't been so for quite some time now. Why do you think Jaime Harrison et al. made the primaries into pointless charades, if not to give Biden the feeling of victory without having to do anything? Least accessible President in history. The question you ought to be asking is: who is really in charge? An old man with dementia, or Parkinson's? Doubtful.

Secondly, Biden's endorsement of Kamala Harris does not appear as sincere. Why not allow the public to test-drive a Harris administration, so they can see for themselves what she's like as President? Oh, I know the answer to this one! It's because either (1) the endorsements of Harris are meant to fill a hole until a real decision can be made at the convention or (2) they just want to free up a bunch of money and satisfy the donor protests, for now.

@wokkamile
however, until the NH primary, LBJ expected to win reelection without having to do much campaigning. Without having to disclose his health issues. NH revealed that he'd have a tough slog to win the nomination and possibly an even tougher slog in the general election. He was also keenly aware that policy changes that can be made to look like reelection stunts would hinder his campaign.

LBJ didn't simply decline to be the 1968 Dem nominee but also began the Vietnam peace negotiations. An effort to fix the big black mark on his legacy. A sincere effort on his part, imo, but there were many bad actors in the mix that delayed the process and LBJ wasn't exactly putting much effort into them.

LBJ didn't much like HHH, in part because HHH wasn't firmly on board with LBJ's Vietnam policy. (LBJ did much that diminished HHH's decent record and the man himself.) However, LBJ loathed the Kennedys who had been very cruel to him. Yes, he did have second thoughts after declining to run. Perhaps he was feeling healthier at that point. However, LBJ had historically been passive about seeking the presidency -- he hoped for a ground swelling of support for him without much in the way of campaigning himself. Didn't happen after RFK's assassination. Could have if the anti-war faction had believed that his peace talks were authentic; they didn't. The intra-party rifts by that point were too wide and deep and there was no peacemaker in sight. Daley added fuel to the fire in Chicago and that effectively squelched any chance for the convention to draft LBJ.

Can't overlook the fact that George Wallace had mounted a campaign that year. Effectively peeled of the most pro-war and racist faction of voters. Many of whom had benefited greatly from the New Deal (as had Wallace). Without the Deep South, JFK would have lost in 1960. LBJ understood that his civil-social-equal rights amendments would cost him and the party votes for a long time. That meant Democrats would have to work much harder in other states.

#1 issue in 1968 was the deterioration in the political health of his presidency. He stepped aside in late March after it became clear that he would be in a mighty struggle just to win his party's nom. Although I understand there is the fairy tale out there that he and Lady Bird had discussed years previously his serving only one term.

In any case, his stepping aside led to a boost in his presidential favorables ratings, and so by the time of the late August Dem convention, he was interested in getting back in again. He didn't think much of his VP Humphrey, and didn't think the country would vote for him. But a canvass of convo delegates by the aide he sent ahead to Chicago brought back bad news for Lyndon, only a few delegates expressing interest in LBJ running again, so he quietly dropped the matter.

@fire with fire the duties of the office are so time consuming that campaigning on top of that is not a good idea is certainly a new idea. Somehow, it wasn't too burdensome for virtually all past Presidents, was it?
They will come up with some bull shit spin. Obviously, this President is a figurehead and mouthpiece. He is not in charge. It is hard to say if that has always been the case.

why Biden was being criticized for not dropping out of the race, but no MSM called on him to resign.
Don't run, Joe! You are impaired and can't debate!
At the same time, he has the power to drop a nuke on someone somewhere, who knows, because he is impaired, can even debate.
The Machine wants him in office for now.
Why?

#2 raised by the bizarre "story" of this election season. The best way for the Dems to explain away the contradiction would be to say that running for office and serving are two different activities, calling for different skill sets. The drudgery of travelling the country places a crazy physical burden on the candidate even for younger candidates. Being POTUS, on the other hand, is stressful, but not physically demanding.

But that just highlights the absurdity of our political system which is now crumbling before our eyes.

The President is the front for the Nation State. As such, he or she is a TV character -- not an administrator in any realistic conception of the term. Since Sleepy Joe can't hack it on television, he is useless.

joe is done. Long live Kamala!

@Cassiodorus where there are a lot of diaries from Black and other posters about uniting around Harris, and anyone who doesn't is a racist at least if not spawn of Old Scratch himself.

If you know more than I do wouldn't be the first time I misread trends.

#3 Organize Black people.

Freedom Rider: Kamala Harris Destroyed Black Lives

It will totally work!

@on the cusp but I still think Harris does not want to be seen callously pushing an old man out of her way.

Were she to become the president right now, she would be stuck with his appointments, his cabinet and his policies.

BTW, Netanyahoo will be addressing Congress Wednesday, at his own invitation. Harris has said she will not preside. Might there be a political instinct or two hiding somewhere between the ears? She will be meeting with him--no campaign money if she does not, I imagine--to receive her instructions to bomb, bomb, bomb Iran.

I hope we will be able to obtain lists of who boycotts The Speach, and who does meet privately with him. It might be difficult for senators to avoid meetings, what with Chucky Schemer being Majority Leader. Nice bill you have been working on for the last six months, be a shame if it never got introduced.

#3 in self-service and corporate service. In his spare time, he helped his family steal money, and find ways to lock up as many blacks as possible.