For the last couple of days, the news world has been abuzz with the Hur Report, its condemnation of President Biden's mental state, and its implications for the 2024 Presidential race. Day by day, more and more Democrats are showing some willingness to yank the rug out from under old Joe and sub in someone else.
There is a lot of noise about someone either belling the cat and convincing Joe (or, more likely, Jill) to step down for "reasons of health" or "family matters" or to outright 25th Amendment the old man into the next time zone, which would put Kamala Harris at the Resolute Desk and, oh, by the way, would make her the incumbent heading into the election. The question is this: Who will replace Joe Biden on the ticket, should this come to pass? Will it be Kamala Harris, whose approval ratings are somewhere between divorce lawyers and dysentery? Maybe, but recent GOP candidate Vivek Ramaswamy thinks it will be former First Lady Michelle Obama.
The bombshell findings from Special Counsel Robert Hur put a spotlight on Biden's cognitive abilities, saying he would not bring charges against him in part because a jury would find him to be a "sympathetic, well-meaning elderly man with a poor memory," despite the acknowledgment that the classified documents were "willfully" obtained by Biden both as vice president and as a senator.
Ramaswamy, who was outspoken on the campaign trail about the belief that the 81-year-old president will ultimately not be the Democratic nominee, told Fox News Digital the special counsel's report marks the "convenient path" for Democrats to nominate the popular former first lady.
As I've said on this possibility before, color me skeptical. Here's why:
- The Obamas are quite literally enjoying the lifestyles of the rich and famous, with a bunch of luxurious mansions, some of which are notoriously near the waterline of those pesky rising oceans. They have a massive net worth of about $70 million, as either Barack or Michelle can stir up hundreds of thousands at a moment simply by showing up someplace and reading some remarks off a teleprompter. Why would Michelle Obama give that up for the most stressful job in the known universe?
- Speaking of stressful jobs, it's unlikely in the extreme that the Obamas have any interest at all in being saddled with cleaning up the mess old Joe has made. Barack knows this, having famously remarked that one should not "...underestimate Joe's ability to f**k things up."
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- The Obamas still wield a great deal of influence in Democrat circles, and they do so without having any actual responsibility.
- In an interview with Fox Business's Stuart Varney, Republican analyst Karl Rove cited Michelle Obama's autobiography, stating:
“No, no, look, look, she hates politics,” Rove said. “You read her autobiography. She didn’t want her husband to run for the state Senate. She didn’t want him to run for the presidency. She is not a political animal.”
I'm inclined (on this) to agree with Mr. Rove. It's unlikely in the extreme that the Obamas, who are enjoying a wealthy retirement with essentially zero responsibilities, would want to dive back into the whirl of national politics.
It's becoming more and more likely that someone will be replacing old Joe Biden on the Democratic ticket in November. Right now, it's a safe bet that said someone is waiting in the wings with that long hook to snatch the president off the stage. But Michelle Obama? California Governor Gavin Newsom, perhaps, but not the former First Lady.
I think Mr. Ramaswamy is wrong on this one.