Months of self-assured complacency have given way to serious panic in some corners of the Democratic establishment as a series of national polls put Joe Biden neck-and-neck with Donald Trump. Recent surveys from the likes of The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and CNN show Trump and Biden split nationally, hovering around 47 percent each. The latest ABC News/WaPo poll has Trump at 52 percent and Biden at 42 percent—an anomaly, sure, but still frightening enough to elevate Democratic blood pressure nationwide.
This disconcerting reality, however predictable, has many in the D.C. cafeteria asking the inevitable, if notably farfetched, question: When is the absolute latest moment that Biden could step down so that the party could hold a primary and field another candidate? This comes after months of teasing comments from Rep. Dean Phillips, among others, followed by the recognition that no one was willing to rock the boat.
