Still Working Toward Acceptance

Two big items turned up in yesterday's news that tell me last week's debate wasn't all that much of a game changer for the election. The first was Politico's report of a call from Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer to Jen O'Malley Dixon , Joe's campaign chair: She used the call to reiterate her commitment and willingness to help the president but also voiced her concern about how much more difficult the campaign would be now for Biden, I’m told by a person familiar with the call. Even more revealing is how word of the call reached me: from someone close to a potential 2028 Whitmer rival for the Democratic presidential nomination. This person said Whitmer had phoned O’Malley Dillon with more of an unambiguous SOS: to relay that Michigan, in the wake of the debate, was no longer winnable for Biden. Whitmer herself has walked back the SOS attributed to her that Michigan is no longer in play, but it rings true to me. First, she says she won't be a can...