EDITORIAL: The ‘selfless’ Joe Biden heads for the exits

One minute on Sunday the Democratic propaganda machine was ramping up the breathless messaging, spamming email boxes with assurances that “Democratic Party Chairs in Battleground States Stand With President Biden.” But the next minute those state party chairs were standing alone.

The whispers around Washington turned into a crescendo after President Joe Biden’s distressing debate performance. Yet the president and his handlers stubbornly insisted for nearly a month that he wasn’t going anywhere, that he was devoted to “finishing the job,” that he was the best hope to fend off the evil Donald Trump. Then he lost Nancy Pelosi and Barack Obama. The vultures circled above.

On Sunday they got their prey. Mr. Biden capped a stunning and rapid fall by announcing that he would no longer be a candidate for re-election. He endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris as the Democratic nominee. “I believe it is in the best interest of my party and the country for me to stand down and to focus solely on fulfilling my duties as president for the remainder of my term,” Mr. Biden posted on X. He will deliver a more detailed public statement this week.

Democrats who had long insisted the president was “sharp as a tack” and the victim of malicious attacks by his political foes now rushed to praise Mr. Biden’s wisdom. Rachel Maddow of MSNBC fame gushed that the “selfless” Mr. Biden “had done a remarkable thing” and “put his ego aside” by exiting the race. She made the remarkable assertion that his decision affirms his ability to make good choices.

“It’s a bad day for the Trump campaign,” Ms. Maddow insisted.

That’s one particularly wishful way of looking at it. Ms. Harris isn’t polling much better than Mr. Biden. The Democratic Party just spent the better part of four weeks in the middle of a campaign engaging in a very uncomfortable and public brawl about their own standard-bearer’s mental fitness before finally opting for his defenestration. You can bet that if Democrats stumble in November, they won’t remember Mr. Biden as “selfless” for dragging this out.

It’s not even clear whether the party faithful will quickly fall in line and embrace Ms. Harris as the nominee in accordance with the president’s advice. There have been calls for an open convention in August, during which candidates would make their pitches to delegates. Others want delegates to anoint Ms. Harris during a “virtual roll call” prior to the convention.

Rest assured Democrats will ditch their fealty to “democracy” in a New York second if they conclude that the smoke-filled room will better calm the chaos and give them a better chance in November.