Democrats are panicking. Why aren’t their leaders doing anything?

But reading The moralist, Reading Patricia O’Toole’s 2018 biography of Wilson, I discovered another, far more pertinent historical lesson. On the eve of the 1920 convention in San Francisco, an ailing Wilson had convinced himself that he alone could save the League of Nations by running for a third term. Cary Grayson—Wilson’s physician who had played a major role in covering up the president’s health—and his top aide Joseph Tumulty were hovering around Union Station in Washington, pleading with leading Democrats on their way to the convention to resist a little Wilson campaign. As Grayson told a senior party official: “No matter what anyone else tells you … I will tell you that (Wilson) is permanently ill physically, progressively weakening mentally, and cannot recover.”

With less than seven weeks to go until the Chicago convention, Democrats have run out of time for dithering and denial. Perhaps Biden can convince skeptics that he is truly prepared to wage a brutal campaign and commit to a tough second term. But that requires a level of candor and off-the-telephone skill that has been in short supply since Atlanta. With the president’s first interview scheduled for Friday, there is little sign that the president or his closest confidants are prepared to handle the scrutiny that this unprecedented moment demands.

If Biden has the good sense to step aside, Democrats need all the time they have to find a fair, inclusive, and orderly way to choose another nominee. An open convention would not be a return to 1968, in large part because Democrats are united on the big issues: democracy, women’s reproductive rights, civil rights, and America’s engagement in the world. When Trump is the alternative, forging party unity is easy.