All 3 D's were proven public servants, highly capable, well within the mainstream of American policy and politics. History will marvel at Biden's achievements - and today's consumers would never buy his blue-ribbon economy. The People are ready to ditch democracy and try pot luck.

And momentum? It builds, or it fades. If it fades, it dies. Lost momentum smells like losing, and people pick up on that. If I were inside the strategy circle I'd be brainstorming big moves, not penny-ante panders.