Bernie, at 82, has the age problem just like Biden. Same with Warren at 75. And both are polarizing. A younger candidate would flip the age problem directly on Trump’s lap.

Michelle, she wants none of it and I don’t blame her for wanting to have her life. She gets attacked relentlessly still and she’s not even directly involved in politics.

Oprah… please. Enough “celebrity” candidates already.

The seven candidates listed above are all the best bets. Now we just need to wait a couple more days for independent post debate polls to see how badly the disastrous Biden performance has hurt the Dems. And to see if Joe refuses to stand down regardless of the polling results.

And of course, there’s Hillary (The most qualified candidate, who has already proven she can get more votes than Trump).

And then there’s always Oprah and Michelle Obama.

Kamala Harris
If Biden were to decide against seeking reelection, Vice President Harris would be the most obvious choice to replace him. Harris has defended Biden and emphasized his ability to serve another term in recent days, as have most other top Democrats who could be considered.

Serving in the country’s second-highest office has given her some amount of executive governing experience, and Biden choosing her as his running mate already made her one of the top possible candidates for the 2028 nomination.

With the presidential primaries concluded, Harris is also the only possible contender who could claim some past electoral mandate for the nomination, with the country having indirectly elected her as first-in-line to the presidency four years ago and Democratic voters backing Biden this year with the knowledge that she is the running mate.

But Harris has some vulnerabilities. Her favorability rating has often been even lower than Biden’s, though she has improved somewhat in the past couple months and has a higher net approval rating than Biden, according to FiveThirtyEight.

She also could be dogged with criticisms of the Biden administration’s policies like immigration, on which she was spearheading an initiative.

Still, Democrats could take a hit by passing over the first female Black vice president as its nominee when having the chance because Black voters will be a key constituency. A poll last month showed Harris would perform better with Black voters than Biden.

Gavin Newsom
If Harris were to be passed over, the California Gov. Gavin Newsom would almost certainly be at or near the top of many Democratic delegates’ list to be the nominee.

Newsom has become one of the most prominent Democrats in the country over the past few years, in part because of his defense of Biden and his sparring with prominent Republicans, most notably Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R).

Despite ongoing speculation of Newsom having presidential ambitions, he has repeatedly denied interest in running for president in 2024. Following Biden’s debate, he appeared in the spin room to argue against ditching Biden just because of one performance and called talk of Biden being replaced “unhelpful and unnecessary” in a fundraising pitch for the president on Friday.

But if Biden were to step aside, Newsom would very likely receive significant calls to throw his hat in the ring.

He would be able to run on a record as a two-term governor of one of the largest economies in the world and tout many accomplishments during his tenure for the left in the solidly blue state. He also has overcome an attempt to recall him and is seen as a top possibility to run in 2028.

Gretchen Whitmer
Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer first came to office in 2018, boosted by the slogan “Fix the Damn Roads,” which put a pragmatic focus on repairing the state’s infrastructure. Since then, she has become a rising liberal star in the Democratic Party.

Her easy reelection victory in 2022 brought with it Democratic majorities in the state House and Senate, marking the first time in decades that Democrats had a trifecta of power in Michigan. She was also reelected alongside the passage of a ballot measure enshrining abortion rights in the state constitution, an initiative she championed.

Whitmer has been able to notch key victories, including the repeal of the state’s decades-old abortion ban and a “right-to-work” law to prop up unions.

Still, Whitmer has been among the clearest of the rumored choices that she is not angling to replace Biden and is fully behind him.

Politico reported the Whitmer called Biden campaign chair Jen O’Malley Dillon on Friday to make clear she was not responsible for her name being floated as a possible replacement and is willing to help Biden with the campaign. She appeared in an ad supporting the Biden-Harris ticket that she posted Sunday on her account on the social platform X.

Pete Buttigieg
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg was relatively unknown when he first began his run for president in 2020 but gained traction and popularity as “Mayor Pete,” having served as the mayor of South Bend, Ind.

Buttigieg became a close advocate for Biden throughout 2020, culminating in his selection as Transportation secretary, making him the first openly gay Cabinet secretary. His success has raised speculation that he may try for another presidential run down the line.

In particular, he had a high-profile moment in 2021 as Congress passed and Biden signed the bipartisan infrastructure law into effect.

Buttigieg’s youth would also be a sharp contrast to Biden despite having less experience than some other rumored possibilities. But he struggled in 2020 with rallying minority, and especially Black support, and could face controversy over the administration’s handling of the East Palestine, Ohio, train derailment.

Josh Shapiro
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro gradually rose to higher office in his home state before being elected state attorney general and eventually governor in 2022. He has developed a reputation over his career as a more moderate Democrat but was elected after running on key liberal issues, like protecting abortion rights and raising the minimum wage.

His ability to comfortably win the governorship in the battleground by almost 15 points, as well as his youthful energy, has sparked rumors he could be a future face of the party, possibly running for the Oval Office in four years.

But he would also likely get some attention this year if Biden were to end his presidential bid. He has been one of Biden’s top surrogates and called on his fellow Democrats to put in the work necessary to get Biden elected, saying “hand-wringing” and “fretting” are not the answer.

“Democrats, stop worrying and start working. We all have the responsibility here to do our part,” Shapiro said during a Friday interview on MSNBC.

JB Pritzker
As the governor of Illinois, JB Pritzker is already set to receive some attention next month as the host governor of the Democratic National Convention in Chicago. This, along with his rising national profile, could yield some support for his name to be placed in contention for the nomination.

Pritzker is in his second term as the head of the strongly Democratic-leaning state and has been an ardent defender of Biden throughout the 2024 campaign. Also one of Biden’s top surrogates, he defended the incumbent following special counsel Robert Hur’s report on Biden’s handling of classified documents and pushed back against Democrats planning to vote for anyone other than Biden in November.

Pritzker also received attention after his abortion-rights group announced a $500,000 investment into efforts to enshrine abortion rights into the Florida state constitution.

But as with other Biden surrogates rumored as future presidential candidates, Pritzker has remained behind Biden.

As the debate was wrapping up on Thursday, Pritzker argued on X the choice was “clear” in picking Biden over Trump, saying, “Voters face a stark choice in November. A president with the experience to fight for hardworking families across the country vs a 34-count convicted felon who cares only about himself.”

Andy Beshear
Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear (D) pulled off an impressive reelection victory in his ruby-red state last year, improving his margin by a few points over his first election in 2019.

That thrust his name into the national conversation as someone who may have a future in the party, even though he will be term-limited in the next election. The governor is widely popular, only in his mid-40s and managed to win statewide as a Democrat twice in a state that hasn’t voted for a Democrat in a presidential election since the 1990s.

Beshear addressed the possibility of Biden being replaced Monday, telling reporters he will support Biden as long as the president remains the Democratic nominee.

“The debate performance was rough. It was a very bad night for the president, but he is still the candidate. Only he can make decisions about his future candidacy. So as long as he continues to be in the race, I support him,” he said.

When pressed on whether he could replace Biden, Beshear said talk of serving is “flattering” but is a “reflection of all the good things going on in Kentucky.”

Dear Joe,

I write to you urgently, as your old neighbor from Scranton. My mother was your babysitter, and you and I sat at my kitchen table many decades ago. I’ve been your admirer for years, sending you checks, knocking on doors and writing pieces supporting you.

Few leaders in American history have had your big heart or sense of moderation. You rescued this country from disaster in 2021, returning us to a sense of normalcy after a brutal insurrection, featuring a crazed mob who smashed the windows of the Capitol and threatened to hang then-Vice President Mike Pence. You assisted an economy in freefall, helping us end a pandemic that killed over 1 million people in the US alone, making it one of the worst-affected wealthy countries globally.

You ushered in crucial support for infrastructure. You, Joe, pushed through the Safer Communities Act, which included the most significant gun control measures in nearly thirty years. Crime has fallen and continues to fall, despite Trump’s rhetoric to the contrary, and you’ve been trying to tame sticky inflation with some success — consumer prices have slowly but steadily dropped under your leadership.

You marshalled support among our allies for Ukraine. And our country is deeply admired around the world for its leadership in technology, its strong military, its enviable research universities and a hugely influential entertainment industry, according to Pew.

This is all good. But you’re an old man now, like me. I know what it’s like to summon the energy to move forcefully through the day. Our bodies don’t cooperate as they once did. Sometimes it hurts even to get up in the morning.

Sadly, that was evident to me from the moment you walked — dazed and confused — onto the debate stage Thursday in Atlanta against former President Donald Trump. You seemed ancient, pale and fragile. You almost groped your way to the podium. Your speech was halting, often incoherent. Your jokes fell flat, badly timed, out of context. You let crazy Donald lie with impunity and snicker at your responses.

I found myself weeping. Weeping for you. Weeping for our nation.

You’re a man of huge integrity, Joe, and you must — you MUST — stand down. Do it for your country and your party. The threat of another four years of Trump, a grifter and con man, is existential.

Democracy really is at stake: Trump tried to subvert the 2020 election and overthrow our government. He did everything in his power to confuse his followers, making them believe he really was elected four years ago.

If Trump returns to the White House, he will give Russian President Vladimir Putin free rein to crush the poor Ukrainians and anyone else who annoys him. He will give Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu a blank check. NATO will be imperiled. He will slap massive tariffs on imported goods from China and elsewhere, driving up inflation, as economists suggest. He may put more right-wing judges on the Supreme Court, and women can forget about abortion rights for good. Guns will proliferate, as they did under Trump’s first term in office. He will work to make the public think that global warming is a big hoax, destroying progress in this crucial work of fighting climate change. On and on. Disaster looms.

It’s on you, Joe, to listen to the leaders of your party.

Speaking of which, if Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi are not on their way to the White House today, they should be swiftly removed from office for dereliction of duty. It’s their job to see that the party puts forward the best person who can win in November, and if they don’t, the election of Trump should land squarely in their laps. It’s beyond time for wise heads to surround you with love, Joe. They must tell you that, for the sake of the country (not to say your own legacy, which is on the brink of ruin): It’s the moment to step down.

The lesson of the late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s desperate effort to cling to power when her resignation, under President Barack Obama, would have allowed for a good judge to replace her should be echoing in your head. Don’t let yourself be remembered as Joe Bader Biden.

You’ve done your work, and you’ve done it well. The nation is stronger because of you. But we need a brokered, open convention — as in the old days, when this was the norm. Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, California Gov. Gavin Newsom, Illinois Gov. J. B. Pritzker and others — just to pluck a few obvious names from the hat — should make a case for themselves. The best available Democrat should stand against Trump in November. Any of them should be able to wipe the floor with him.

I’m sorry it’s come to this. But it has.

We both share what I like to think of as Scranton values. We grew up among hard-working ordinary people who understood that this is a country based on equality. Our neighbors were Irish, Italian, Ukrainian and Lebanese immigrants. We believed in this place called the United States of America, where values and character matter.

Be the great man you are, Joe, the one we’ve seen in action and admired for many decades. We salute you. It’s tough, I’m sure. But your final act of greatness lies right before you now.

Do it. Withdraw.

Respectfully, Jay

Jay Parini, a poet and novelist, teaches at Middlebury College.

Keep in mind European elections are typically only a few months. There’s over four months until our election – a lifetime in political time.

Biden has acheived so much. He brought us out of Covid, prevented a recession, passed an infrastructure bill, passed the CHIPS bill, made the biggest investment in Climate in world history, lowered drug costs, passed gun legislation, expanded NATO, and more. But his single greatest acheivement was making Trump a one term president. That will be his greatest legacy, but he is now at serious risk of undoing that and the rest of his accomplishments. His legacy will be that his stubbornness and ego allowed this shitstain on American history to return to power.

Please Joe, for the nation and the world, step aside.

If he has the strength and wisdom to step aside, the Democrats will have two months to choose another candidate.

It was obvious nearly a year ago that President Biden shouldn’t run for a second term. In an August poll by the Associated Press, 77 percent of the public and 69 percent of Democrats said he was too old to be effective for four more years.

Yet Biden and his inner circle persisted, driving on toward Thursday’s disastrous televised debate, which vividly portrayed the failings the country had already detected.

How did this happen? What was the combination of moral conviction, personal confidence and selfishness that propelled Biden, despite the risks, toward his decision to seek another term?

I have an unusual window on Biden’s march toward the precipice. In September, I wrote a column headlined “President Biden should not run again in 2024.” It shouldn’t have gotten as much attention as it did, because it said no more than what many Democrats were mulling through last summer. But perhaps because I have been a strong supporter of most of Biden’s foreign and domestic policies, this call for him to step aside created a stir.

In the months since, I have talked regularly with people close to Biden about why he stayed in the race. Their comments help explain the path to Thursday night — and illustrate too how Biden’s inner circle will be crucial now in encouraging him to step aside and let someone else take on former president Donald Trump.

Biden’s main reason for running again was that he felt, in his gut, that he could win. He loathes Trump — you could see the contempt animating that otherwise-frail demeanor Thursday — and it’s been his political mission to stop Trump and his MAGA rebellion. He did it twice, in the 2020 election and the 2022 midterms, and he thought he could do it again. Most important, he believed there was no one who could do it better.

Biden might have considered withdrawing if Vice President Harris was more popular than he was — running 10 points ahead of him in polls, say. But Harris hasn’t gained traction as vice president, and Biden knows it. Some say Biden deliberately sidelined Harris; I think her shortcomings reflect her own political weakness. But the fact is that Biden had no obvious heir.

Perhaps paradoxically, Biden might also have stepped aside if Trump hadn’t run. He could have said he had achieved his political quest of vanquishing Trump — and opened the way for a younger generation of leaders. But Trump’s successful primary campaign almost guaranteed that Biden would stay in.

Biden’s family has played a central role, especially his wife, Jill. When my column appeared last September, I was told by people who know the Bidens well that the president was angry but that the first lady was irate. She’s his protector and advocate — always. His children, Hunter and Ashley, would probably have been comfortable with him stepping aside. But even after Thursday night’s performance, you could see Jill Biden onstage at a “victory” party clapping and leading a chant, “Four more years!”

Loyalty is admirable, except when it disserves people we love. President Lyndon B. Johnson’s wife, Lady Bird, knew the strains he was suffering in office and his fragile health. She talked with him about not seeking another term as he was being inaugurated in 1965, and he confided to her in 1967 that he had decided against running the next year, though he kept waffling until his announcement in March 1968.

Biden’s inner circle of aides has also been protective — to a fault. Biden is a stubborn and sometimes-irascible man. He has maintained a remarkably disciplined White House, with few leaks and minimal backbiting. But loyalty and discipline can come at a cost. In the days after my column argued that he should step away, I heard rumblings of agreement among insiders, but they were quickly squelched. Discipline prevailed.

What’s especially painful about the Biden story is that he has been in most ways a very good president. The biggest lie Trump told Thursday was his portrait of the country as a ruined mess. The economy is strong, the United States is working seamlessly with an ever-closer set of allies in Europe and Asia, and our global financial, military and intelligence dominance has rarely been clearer. Biden has been effective despite the obvious signs of stress. He has also remained a decent man.

That’s his valedictory, if he could accept it. I noted in September that Biden should understand that he has achieved what he described in his 2021 inaugural speech: “When our days are through, our children and our children’s children will say of us: They gave their best, they did their duty, they healed a broken land.” Biden did just that.

Biden’s closest counselors — political adviser Mike Donilon, former chief of staff Ron Klain, the first lady — have an obligation to be honest with him now. If he has the strength and wisdom to step aside, the Democrats will have two months to choose another candidate. It will be a wide-open and noisy race, but that will be invigorating for the country. It’s never too late to do the right thing.

Thursday night had the sense of an ending. There was something Shakespearean about the gaunt, haunted face of Biden on stage squinting as if to see in a dwindling light, struggling for words even as the nobility of his purpose remained. I was reminded of a passage in “King Lear,” when Edgar advises his struggling father, the Duke of Gloucester, “Men must endure their going hence, even as their coming hither; Ripeness is all.”

But an ending is also a new beginning. That’s what Biden, with the wisdom of his age, can give to the country.