"We do want to turn the page."
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre wasn't kidding after the most gruesome 10 days of Joe Biden's presidency, which followed his abysmal performance in his debate with ex-President Donald Trump.
The White House can't control the ending of this extraordinary controversy over calls by some Democrats for Biden to be removed from their presidential ticket. But there were signs Tuesday that the worst of the crisis may have passed — at least for now.
House and Senate Democrats, back in Washington after the Independence Day holiday, were soon locked in wrenching discussions about what comes next. Some expressed disquiet about Biden's chances of beating Trump in November and even those who publicly support him want him to conduct a far more energetic campaign.
The questions heading into the day were whether there would be a critical mass of lawmakers that would fatally undermine Biden's support in the party and whether party leaders were ready to tell the president the game is up. But so far, neither of those tests have been met, so Biden has at the very least bought himself some time. And with the Republican National Convention starting next week, he will hope the spotlight will soon be trained elsewhere.
Biden could still win the election — given Trump's legal woes and extreme unpopularity. But he'd need to come from behind in the polls. And the president lost his best chance to turn the race around at the CNN debate, when he failed to make an effective case against his GOP rival. Democrats now face the prospect of heading into an election against an opponent they fear will destroy democracy with a candidate many fear can't win. And every step Biden takes from now on will attract extreme scrutiny, starting with a solo press conference that he's due to hold on Thursday at the end of the NATO summit in Washington.
Even one occasion when he comes across as confused, frail and incoherent, as he did at the debate, could destroy the rudimentary patch covering the hole in the Democratic dam and imperil his candidacy all over again.
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