Dark Brandon vs. Old Joe
James Carville thinks Biden shouldn't run.
1. Biden 2024
I’m catching up on my favorite longform interview show—Bill Kristol’s Conversations—and just listened to his recent talk with James Carville.1 I cannot recommend it highly enough. Carville is a rare bird: A political pro who is partisan, but transparent.2 He doesn't spin his analysis to make things look good for his side.
You should either watch or listen to the entire interview. He’ll make you smarter.
The most interesting part of the conversation is about Biden 2024. Carville thinks Biden should not run. He offers a number of reasons in support of this position:
The Democratic bench is as strong as it has been in his lifetime.
The 2024 Senate map is challenging enough for Democrats that a Biden collapse could give Republicans both the White House and a filibuster-proof majority.
Trump is, in his view, unlikely to be the nominee.
But the big one is Biden’s age. (There’s been a hot conversation about this over at The Bulwark subreddit.)
Carville argues that: