Show notes
2023 is here, and with it come new year's resolutions, a new congress, and the unofficial start date for 2024 primary campaigning. Joe Biden’s first two years in office have certainly been a bit of a mixed bag. He has passed some monumental, bipartisan legislation like the Inflation Reduction Act, Infrastructure Bill, and COVID aid. But he’s also had quite a few bobbles. Afghanistan, Student Debt Relief, and a bleak economic landscape. All of this begs the question, is Biden really the best person to lead Democrats into the 2024 election? Some beltway insiders and political pundits argue that in spite of Biden’s weaknesses, he has a track record to point to that will appeal to voters. His record of bipartisan accomplishments will help hold together the coalition that delivered him the White House in 2020, including moderate suburban and independent swing voters. And the results of the midterms show, the democrats are in the driver’s seat. Why fix something that isn’t broken? But others argue it’s time for Biden to pass the baton and bow out of the race. Biden is too old to run let alone govern, and his approval rating is marred in the low 40s. There is a new crop of democratic talent that has emerged since 2020, and given Biden’s political baggage, each of them has a better chance of securing the presidency in 2024.
Arguing for the motion is Allan Lichtman, Former chair and distinguished professor in History at American University in Washington, DC. He is the author of several award winning books on American and presidential history, and his prediction system, the Keys to the White House, has correctly predicted the outcomes of all US presidential elections since 1984.
Arguing against the motion is Ross Barkan, an independent journalist whose work has appeared in The Guardian, The Washington Post, The New Yorker, The New York Times, and New York Magazine.
Speaker Quotes
Allan Lichtman: “Substantively and politically, he should run again. The unheralded Joe Biden has achieved the greatest record of domestic accomplishments since the 1960s”.
Ross Barkan: Joe Biden is going to be the nominee if he runs. No one is going to challenge Joe Biden. The party has coalesced around Biden, but parties don't always make the right decision”.
The host of the Munk Debates is Rudyard Griffiths - @rudyardg.
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