Pump Down the Volume

You may have noticed that there has been a lot of news coverage about the question whether President Biden should drop out of the race.  I’ve been watching very little of it.

Not because I don’t think it’s an important question – it’s an incredibly important question.  Not because I think it’s certain he’ll be staying in…or guaranteed he’s dropping out – I have no idea.  Not because he’s sure to lose or likely to win – I don’t know this early before people are paying serious attention.  Not because I don’t know the answer to any of these questions – I don’t know the answer to many questions, which is often why I do watch, to find out the answers.

I’ve been watching very little of it because no one talking knows the answer to any of the questions.  And they still answering with great certainty.

There’s only so much time I can spend watching pure uncertainty and total guesswork answering questions they don’t have the answers to.  Especially when so many of them are rock solid sure they’re right.

Of course, this is critically important.  And I’m riveted into what the outcome will be.  And occasionally nuggets of news are dropped in, like who has called for the President to drop out.  Or stay in.  But no matter how certain they are of their position, even they don’t know if they’re right.  “They” being on either side.

And some of them will be right.  But it’s still just a guess.  And it’s okay to guess.  But 24/7 guessing has its limits for me.  Especially since after about 15 minutes, we’ve heard the thoughtful reasons why President Biden should leave the race – or stay in.

Here’s how much this is a Moebius Strip.  The ribbon that’s a continuous loop with only one side that twists back on itself. 

Former Speaker Nancy Pelosi, as wise a politicians as there is in the Democratic Party today, was asked her position of President Biden.  And she said, ““It’s up to the president to decide if he is going to run. We’re all encouraging him to make that decision, because time is running short. He is beloved, he is respected, and people want him to make that decision.”

To which MSNBC’s Jonthan Lemire replied, “He has said he has made the decision, he has said firmly this week he is going to run. Do you want him to run?”

To which Ms. Pelosi responded, “I want him to do whatever he decides to do. And that’s, that’s the way it is. Whatever he decides, we go with.”

To which the response would be – but he says he’s decided. 

And the comeback is – “I’ll go with whatever he decides to do.”

And at the moment, all this guesswork is done without knowing if the cure will be worse than the disease.  At the moment, President Biden is polling better against Trump than Kamala Harris is, or any of the other named contender.  Except that they’re not polling as well at the moment most likely because they aren’t as well-known, yet, as the President is.  Will that change if any of them become the nominee?  And if so, will it change enough?

I don’t know.  But then neither does anyone talking about it.  Though they aren’t talking about it nearly as much as even they think it deserves, given the whole bottom line point is them concerned that President Biden can’t win – or can win.  So, it’s odd because it’s such a critical issue to discuss and at least try to find out.  And odd, too, since they all have so much airtime to fill discussing if President Biden should stay in the race or not.  You’d think they might consider a change of direction a welcome relief.

To be clear, I do have the TV on during the day, though not as often as before.  Because sometimes what's being discussed on The Topic is newsworthy. Although when it’s on, I generally have the sound off, and just check in to read the chyron at the bottom of the screen to see if The Topic they’ve been discussing has changed.  Usually, the answer is “No.”

And to repeat, I think it’s a critical issue to discuss – oddly enough, more so in private where people are less likely to spend 24 hours a day on it, but more like the old radio news ad line, “Give us 15 minutes, and we’ll give you the world.”  And in private where Democratic Party officials can try to use their influence one way or the other to those for whom it matters.

Talking to TV viewers all day is not, to me, one of those audiences for whom it matters.  At leat not that much.

At some point, there will be an answer.  And then I’ll turn up the volume.