I hope to live long enough to read the definitive book explaining how the powers in the Democratic Party brilliantly executed their plan to win the 2024 presidential election up to the end game. Faced with an administration with failing policies led by an increasingly physically failing President, the plan was to secure the weakest opponent. Once accomplished, replace Biden with a bright new face unattached to the administration to carry them to victory. A complaint media would partner in the endeavor.

The planners secured the Republican nomination for the weakest possible opponent, Donald Trump. They focused media attention on Trump by hitting the former president with several novel indictments. It is suitable to punish even political opponents if they break laws; we punish other citizens.

However, most of the cases were questionable rather than airtight. Republicans reacted as intended, with anger and sympathy for their former president. The planners also tried to keep him off the ballot in several places. The obvious unconstitutionality further enraged many in the G.O.P. All the focus on Trump’s court cases sucked all the air out of his primary opponents. Only Nikki Haley lasted through Super Tuesday.

Once the Republican convention nominated Trump, it was time to dump Biden. In a genius move, they got Biden and Trump to agree to a debate well before the Democratic convention. Exposing the sitting president as a feeble old guy opened the door to his dropping out and his replacement with a candidate untainted with the administration’s miseries.

What happened is a mystery. Instead of a bright, unattached new face, Biden endorsed vice-president Kamala Harris, the only Democrat more unpopular than himself, right after he dropped out.

Kamala Harris’s position as vice president was always an option. If Biden realized he was failing at any point, he could’ve resigned, making her president. As the incumbent, she would make her own record.

In February, special counsel Robert Hur declined to prosecute Biden in the documents case because he was an old man with a failing memory who would find sympathy from jurors. At this time, it would’ve been perfect to have the president resign and Harris take over if the party powers thought she was capable. Instead, everyone, including Kamala Harris, came to Biden’s defense to claim Biden was sharp as a tack.

Few thought Harris was an option. She proved to be a terrible candidate in 2020, with far-left positions. Her time as vice president gave her unfavorability ratings lower than Biden’s. As a “Border Czar,” she is forever linked to Biden’s mass migrant invasion.

Rather than be saddled with the weak candidate, it seemed better to wait until Trump was locked in and then expose Biden as unable to run for another term, which the debate did spades.

Biden would then release his delegates for a mini-primary in the time remaining until their convention, featuring a debate or two. All eyes are on the Democrats freezing Trump out of the news. Whoever the fresh ace winning is, the media could fawn all over him or her in the short time to the election.  

This plan had every chance of succeeding, as Harris got a bounce from her selection through and shortly after the Democratic convention. According to the polls, she pulled ahead of Trump. Unfortunately, weeks remained to expose her as linked to a failed administration and her weaknesses as a candidate.

Alternatively, whoever won at the convention had only a short time to go to the election. Not linked to the administration, the new candidate could ride the wave of media enthusiasm to victory.

Nancy Pelosi may have let the cat out of the bag by saying she expected a primary to replace Biden. If this was the case, why did Biden endorse his vice president, shutting the door on an open mini-primary? The powers to be, Pelosi, the Obamas, Clintons, and others seemed surprised. Why? Did they think they had a deal with Biden only to find he reneged?

Why would Joe Biden make an open primary deal? Did the others have something on him, maybe the goods on the Biden family influence pedaling business? Leaking damming Biden information after the election news fades might give us the answer just before inauguration day for maximum humiliation. Until we get the total exposure, we can only guess. All we know is that by naming Kamala Harris as his choice, Biden set the course for the resulting disaster.

With the rout, the Democrats are the big losers. They ran against the Republican they thought would be easiest to beat, only to nominate an even weaker candidate. Some soul-searching is in order. Instead of religious zeal for “Mother Earth” and “Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion,” adopting policies that work and people want might be in order.

On the Republican side, with the “Never Trumpers” endorsing and voting for Harris, the bridges are burnt. They might as well form a new party as Republicans despise them, and the Democrats have no further use for them.

On the other hand, Nikki Haley showed how a gifted politician plays her hand while not compromising. While acknowledging her differences with Trump, she made the case that he is still better than Kamala Harris. By endorsing Trump as Haley pledged to do as a Republican and offering to campaign with him, the former South Carolina Governor and U.N. Ambassador came across as a real trooper. Even though Trump failed to use her, she still campaigned for other Republicans, especially Dave McCormick for the senate in Pennsylvania. In that vital state, she clearly supported both McCormick and Trump. McCormick won over a long-time incumbent.

No matter what happens, Donald Trump will be out as president in four years. Haley is in a great position for 2028. She is a winner.