Per the above headline, I’ll get to Vice President Kamala Harris. But let’s first consider the moment. It’s been a tough stretch for fans of American democracy, full of fireworks. The Supreme Court granted the president kingly status, freeing the commander in chief from criminal prosecution for “official” acts. With Donald Trump, a convicted felon who incited an insurrectionist attack on the Capitol and who now espouses assorted authoritarian views, campaigning for a return to the White House, this ruling is especially dangerous and eases the way to autocracy. It raises the already sky-high stakes of this presidential election and heightens the necessity of quickly resolving the question of the moment: What to do about Joe Biden?

In recent days, I’ve discovered that many people have strong feelings about this. I wrote an article noting that there were three obvious scenarios—Biden sticks it out; Biden bows out, and he and Democratic leaders coalesce behind Vice President Kamala Harris; or Biden exits and leaves it to the delegates at an open and probably chaotic convention to choose from a group of contenders. Anyone who desires to thwart a Trump restoration needs to assess the probability of victory of each of these courses of action. And that entails considering whether Biden’s debate disaster was a one-off (as he, his campaign, and White House aides have insisted) or the sign of a condition that could manifest itself again and drive away voters. I leaned toward the Harris option, mostly because Biden could melt down once more and doom his campaign. But I could be persuaded the status quo offers better odds.

By the time you read this, perhaps a decision has been made, and the discussion is moot—though Biden on Monday was digging in his heels, noting in a letter to congressional Democrats that he was “firmly committed to staying in this race.” In the meantime, I’d like to make two observations: The reaction from certain quarters on Twitter (or X) to my article was disappointing though interesting, and, no matter what transpires, the Democrats need Harris kicking ass.

First, that response. Many of my followers on Twitter lambasted me for even suggesting Biden should quit the race and be replaced by Harris or someone else. They decried me as being part of the mainstream media gang plotting against Biden because it craves (for some reason) a Trump victory. There is an anti-Biden pundit conspiracy afoot to drive Biden out of the race, they angrily maintained, and anyone who raises the issue of Biden’s age and ability is part of that evil cabal.

I found this sad. I don’t know how anyone could watch the debate and not wonder what would happen—how the anti-Trump cause could be mortally wounded—if Biden repeated his zombie routine, particularly after the Democratic convention. It’s not a question of Biden’s performance in office. It’s a matter of whether enough voters—and it doesn’t need to be a large number—would be so disturbed or put off by this debate or a future sign of decline that they would not vote for Biden or, worse, choose Trump. Yet so many Biden fans dismissed the debate as merely one bad night and demanded unbending loyalty to Biden, who has indeed been a consequential, effective, and decent president. To me this was whistling past the graveyard.

But I understand. For eight years, the media has normalized Trump and not covered his apparent cognitive difficulties, his lies, and his extremism as diligently as they should. At his rallies, Trump often cannot express his thoughts in coherent sentences and paragraphs. When he praises a fictitious serial killer (Hannibal Lecter) or calls for suspending the Constitution so he could be reinstated president, it’s not front-page news. He gets away with it all. Including a criminal conviction, a civil fraud conviction, a civil court verdict declaring him a sexual assaulter, an alleged theft of top-secret documents, and an effort to overturn an election and sabotage the republic.

After all that, he remains the GOP’s presumptive nominee. There is no pressure on him to leave the race. His supporters and the GOP stand by him. Why is Biden—why was Hillary Clinton (her emails!)—hounded by the political press in a manner that hasn’t been applied to Trump? For instance, within the pages of the New York Times, there have been far more stories about Biden’s age than Project 2025 and its proposed authoritarian measures (which I first wrote about and identified as a threat last September).

Democrats should be pissed off by this imbalance in coverage—perhaps best illustrated by the press’s fixation in 2016 on the details of the Democratic documents swiped by Russian hackers and released by WikiLeaks and the media’s simultaneous disregard of the story that Moscow was helping Trump, who was enthusiastically accepting that assistance. Too frequently, the approach of mainstream media toward Trump comes across as this: Trump saying or posting crazy shit or speaking incoherently is just Trump being Trump. No news there. But Biden’s debate performance is a DEFCON 1 story.

As I said above, I believe Biden’s debate showing is worrisome and warrants media attention and discussion. But I sympathize with those Democrats and liberals who have been justifiably traumatized by all these years of coverage that aids and abets Trump. Why can’t Biden be cut the same sort of slack Trump always get? they ask. Why can’t Democrats stick with their man, a president with a helluva record of legislative accomplishments, the way that MAGA embraces a disingenuous narcissist who paid hush money to a porn star, committed business fraud, spread the Big Lie, and tried to mount a coup to stay in office?

It's not fair. Biden is judged on a conventional scale. Trump is given more lives than a basket of alley cats. And as the leader of a political cult, his deficiencies (such as a criminal conviction and additional criminal indictments) are ignored by Republican leaders, lest they be accused of heresy and hounded out of the GOP. Democrats do not treat their leader in this fashion. Consequently, his missteps can generate discussion and—Democrats being Democrats—different opinions that lead to squabbling.

Bidenites must look at the reality of this election and vigorously ponder what Biden’s debate debacle and a possible similar episode might mean to the low-engaged, uncommitted, or loosely committed voters who will help to determine the final outcome. That’s what I’ve tried to do. Denouncing the media for going overboard on this issue—as justified as that may be—sidesteps the issue at hand: determining the best path forward. Perhaps sticking with Biden is the Democrats’ best shot, given the confusion and chaos that could come even with a smooth Biden handoff to Harris. But such a conclusion ought to be reached after the most careful consideration.

Meanwhile, whatever happens with Harris—whether she is upgraded on the ticket or not—there needs to be more of her in this campaign. The debate demonstrated that Biden is not up to one of the key tasks of the Biden-Harris campaign: punching Trump in the nose. (I mean that rhetorically.) He must be cast as power-mad, unhinged, and a threat to American democracy. Biden can’t land such wallops. Harris, though, could.

In March, I wrote that it was time for the campaign to unleash Harris. As a former prosecutor, she could make the case against Trump, slamming and needling the guy, getting under his skin. Over and over. No doubt, he would take the bait. Being assailed by a Black woman might be too much for this racist and misogynist. She could irritate the eff out of him—trigger him—and compel him to act like the mean girl he is, a trait that does tend to turn off voters. No one should expect the media to do the work of highlighting Trump as a danger to the nation. The Biden-Harris campaign has to embrace that job. If Harris is out there everyday deriding and denouncing Trump, her attacks will be covered, and she will look like a fierce fighter—not a bad trait for a president.

At this moment, it seems that concern about Biden among Democrats is growing but has not yet achieved critical mass, and that Biden ain’t riding off into sunset. He is the ultimate decider and can remain the nominee even if Democrats do forge a consensus that his time has passed. So there’s plenty of opportunity for this mess to become even messier and more divisive for Democrats—and continue to be a distraction from what ought to be the main narrative of the campaign: preventing an authoritarian criminal from taking over the federal government. Whatever occurs, Democrats need to resolve this soon. And no matter what, Harris should be out there swinging hard at Trump. That’s the mission that most needs to be accomplished, whether she’s at the top or bottom of the ticket.

Got anything to say about this item—or anything else? Email me at ourland@motherjones.com.

No explanation needed.

While we have Robert F. Kennedy Jr. in mind, I want to make sure you saw this article I did last week on the conspiracy theorist/independent presidential candidate. In 2019, Kennedy visited Samoa and hung out with prominent anti-vax activists, boosting their prominence as their campaign to discredit vaccines succeeded in increasing vaccine hesitation on the Pacific island nation. Months later, a lethal measles outbreak occurred, killing scores of children.

Did Kennedy have any culpability for those deaths? Not surprisingly, he told an interviewer he did not. But I did a deep dive into this episode and found reasons that Kennedy does share the blame, and I discovered he later hailed one of those local anti-vax champions as a “hero.” This episode illustrates RFK Jr.’s M.O. He often expresses extremist ideas—such as saying, “There’s no vaccine that is safe and effective”—and then, when questioned about such a statement, denies he’s taken such a bonkers position. The Samoa chapter provides a clear case study of how Kennedy threatens public health and slyly sidesteps responsibility for that. Read all about it here.

The Bear. Last year, I hailed the first two seasons of The Bear as television literature, one of the best series out there. So it was with some trepidation that I awaited the third season, which was released by Hulu two weeks ago. Could this series maintain such a high level of quality? And...there was no reason to fear. The superpower of The Bear—which follows a group of misfits in Chicago as they turn a run-down sandwich shop into a high-end restaurant—is that it compels you to care (a lot!) about every single character. At center stage is Carmen “Carmy” Berzatto (Jeremy Allen White), a rising chef at a fancy restaurant who returns to the Windy City to take over the business after his older brother commits suicide and leaves him the joint and all its troubles. He is driven and obsessed with achieving perfection—and emotionally stunted. Thus, he struggles with all the people he must depend on to achieve his goal. That includes Cousin Richie (Ebon Moss-Bachrach), who by the latest season has gone from being a bro fuckup to the highly disciplined front-of-the-house manager of the new restaurant, and Sydney Adamu (Ayo Edebiri), a young Black woman and aspiring chef who nudged her way into the sandwich shop and has become Carmy’s full partner in the current endeavor. In this season, Carmy is aiming to score a single Michelin star for the foodie paradise he has created, but his demons could stand in the way. At the least, they irritate the shit out of those around him.

For the new season, Christopher Storer, the show’s creator, comes out strong. He is committed to demonstrating this show still has it—and is willing to defy convention. The first episode is an atmospheric, nonlinear quasi-recap that focuses on the past emotional tumult that fuels Carmy’s almost unhinged zeal. The second episode is essentially one long scene in the kitchen featuring a fight between Carmy and Richie that out-Mamets Mamet in both intensity and the number of “fucks” uttered. The writing, directing, editing, and acting in this set piece are breathtaking.

There is, though, a small problem with The Bear. The show is so genuine that it can be stressful to watch. When Carmy and Richie square off, it’s hard not to experience this combat viscerally. It is like watching a family fight. How entertaining is this? I know a few people who say the show is too intense for them. Each episode conveys the anxieties and pressures of owning and operating a restaurant—and delves into the personal conflicts that burden Carmy and the others. Watching The Bear is not relaxing. But it remains a standout, offering delicious food for thought that’s good for you.

The Other Side, T Bone Burnett. T Bone Burnett is a titan in American music. He has produced important albums for Los Lobos, Brandi Carlile, Elvis Costello, Elton John, Leon Russell, Counting Crows, Gillian Welch, Roy Orbison, Gregg Allman, the Wallflowers, the Punch Brothers, Sara Bareilles, and Alison Krauss and Robert Plant (of Led Zeppelin). And he has been a major player in Hollywood, curating music for such films as O Brother, Where Art Thou?, The Big Lebowski, and Cold Mountain and serving as the music pooh-bah for Nashville and HBO’s True Detective. Through his crisp and savvy production work, this onetime guitarist for Bob Dylan has shaped the nation’s Americana soundtrack and ushered to prominence numerous artists. He’s been awarded several Grammys, including producer of the year (twice).

There’s been one downside to this success for us music lovers. Burnett is also a wonderful songwriter and performer. His 1986 album T Bone Burnett is an all-time favorite that embodies the authentic spirit of Americana, full of songs that sound like folk classics but were newly minted by Burnett. (Check out “River of Love.”) Yet because of his successful career as a producer, Burnett’s output as a recording artist has been limited. He put out no albums of his own between 1992 and 2006—and nothing since 2008, until this past April with the release of The Other Side.

The disc is a collection of songs that Burnett wrote in a couple of weeks after buying three new guitars, and several of the tracks feature Lucius, an indie-pop band. Once again, the tunes, produced (of course) with a crystal-clear sound, have that authentic old-time feel, as if they were dug out of a lost trunk from the 1940s. Burnett has a knack for taking a basic country blues structure and finding an ocean of depth in it. The opening track, “He Came Down,” is a melancholic and vague ballad, imbued with spirituality and offers us the tale of an unnamed martyr. Burnett’s world-weary vocals are a good match with Roseanne Cash’s on the country-ish “(I’m Gonna Get Over This) Some Day.” The tracks with Lucius—especially the dreamy “Waiting for You”—shimmer. And on “Everything and Nothing,” Burnett offers a somber ditty about confronting death: “Everybody wants to live forever / But nobody wants to get old.” The Other Side is a quiet but triumphant return for Burnett and a reminder of what’s gone missing for years.