Democrats, Stop Complaining About Biden and Work to Beat Trump

William Nowling
| The Detroit Journal

Oh, this debate. Where to start?

What would you say here: To all the chattering Democrats who are whispering that we need to change horses before the convention – stop. There was far more media coverage about this after the debate than during the debate itself. President Joe Biden is our nominee. To borrow a phrase from General George Patton, “You campaign on the candidate you got, not the one you wish you had.”

Yes, President Biden looked tired. Yes, he messed up some of his prepared lines during the debate and sounded a little hoarse. He is 81 years old. But given all that, he’s still not a convicted felon, a misogynist, an insurrectionist, or someone who continues to have relationships with Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong Un. These are all things that l former President Donald Trump.

At this point, Biden’s best shot at Trump came after the debate when he told reporters, “It’s hard to debate a liar.” Yes, he did, which makes us wonder why Team Biden agreed to participate in this circus in the first place.

Debates (a terribly misleading term for what these candidate fights have become) are like forward passes in football: there are only three possible outcomes, and two of them are bad. So with a six-in-ten chance that your candidate will fall flat on his face, how can you not be prepared for this kind of situation?

If Democrats are eager to change anything about the Biden campaign, how about starting with those who allowed this debacle to happen? Hoping that the same Joe Biden who made his case so forcefully during the State of the Union will show up for the debate is not a strategy that will win this election.

When I advise clients who are having a bad time in the media, I tell them to own the worst thing anyone can say. You can’t ignore the donkey in the living room. Better that it comes from you than giving bread to your adversaries. For President Biden, it might even look like this: “Yes, I know, it wasn’t as sharp as I could have been. I understand and I will do better. But at the end of the day, I’m not that guy.

And not being “that guy” is what the Biden campaign must continue to remind the moderate, sensible conservative voters who will decide this race.

This election is not about who is the sharpest or the most resilient. Democracy is on the agenda in November. It is about choosing between a president who respects the rule of law and a man who has repeatedly flouted our Constitution. Russia and China would like nothing better than to see Trump elected. They know that a Trump administration would destabilize democracy at home, making him a weakened defender of free peoples abroad.

This is the issue, and my new Democratic friends must make this clear to themselves.

Joe Biden has beaten Trump before and he can do it again. But the president and the rest of his inner circle need to be honest about the challenges they face (Biden’s age and Trump’s lies). One of them is helpless. The other is ripe for picking.

It’s time to stop worrying about whether we need a new Democratic presidential candidate and focus on reminding the American public of the many reasons why we don’t like Trump.

William Nowling is a former Republican communications strategist who supported President Joe Biden and a professor of practice at Michigan State University.