Can Kamala Harris Step Up? Asking for a Friend.

Bret Stephens: Gail, these have been some very difficult days. I’ve been thinking of you a lot but maybe we should go to politics first. Biden is out. Where is Howard Cosell when you need him?

Gail: Bret, ever since we started conversing about this we agreed that President Biden should announce that he wasn’t running for re-election. Right away. So talented, qualified Democrats would have time to launch their candidacies.

Looks like we got the one but not the other.

Bret: What’s past is past. Democrats could still have an opportunity to reset the whole race, bring the excitement over to their side and at least have a chance of avoiding what looked like certain doom in November. At least if they don’t make the mistake of simply accepting a Harris nomination as a fait accompli. Or do you think that Biden’s endorsement of her was the right thing to do?

Gail: Be practical. Harris is his vice-president who’s served him well and loyally. Not to endorse her would be a real diss. And given the fact that we’re only talking about weeks until the nomination, it’s hard to imagine a rebellion. None of those other talented, qualified Democrats is a standout star who’d be an obvious alternative.

Bret: You may be right, but if that’s true, I think we can say hello to President Trump right now. Harris is an even weaker candidate than Biden. Not that I’ll vote for Trump, but I don’t think I can vote for her.

Gail: No! Can’t believe you’d go there. No matter how bad the nominees are, one is always less bad than the other.