Inside Biden's debate disaster and the scramble to quell Democratic panic

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Inside Biden's Debate Disaster and the Scramble to Quell Democratic Panic

Panic is not too strong a word to describe the sentiment that coursed through the Democratic Party from top to bottom as the debate unfolded.

“What the actual f— is happening?” one Democratic fundraiser texted. Across the room another sent along something of a distress call and a hostage video at once: “This won’t be as bad for voters as it is for us, right?” From progressive to pragmatist, the verdict among Democrats was perhaps the most united the party’s upper ranks have been in decades.

Everyone in America who tuned in to the debate could see for themselves how Biden has aged. Already locked into what is at best a neck-and-neck race with Trump, Biden’s path to victory suddenly seemed to be turning into a dead-end before Democrats’ eyes. That left the party asking two questions. Was there any way to get him off the ticket? And if not, was there any chance to stagger across the finish line with a deeply flawed candidate?

Either way, it was nothing like what Biden and his team had plotted while secluded at the presidential retreat of Camp David in Maryland’s mountains for six full days of rehearsal in an airplane hangar and movie theater. For all the talk about the most successful first-term agenda ever and a history-defying midterm election, Biden's team spent the wee hours of Thursday and all of Friday trying to talk Democrats off a ledge.