This thread will get hidden, but what the hell. Let's talk real talk that actual Democratic political operatives are having at this very moment.

Biden couldn't step down during the primaries, and can't step down now, because of Harris. (This might not be his personal reason for refusing to bow out, but it's the fundamental reason party leaders haven't even tried to push him.) You see, he leads a party that has embraced identity politics so thoroughly that "cis white male" has become a euphemism for "Nazi". The base reluctantly accepted him in 2020 because he was Obama's VP and their sheer desperation to defeat Trump overrode all other concerns. And he also picked Kamala Harris as his running mate and explicitly promised a black female SCOTUS justice.

If Biden steps down, the identity politics brigade in the base, who nearly went nuclear on him in 2020 despite the need to beat Trump, will burn the party to ash if the nomination isn't handed to Harris on a golden plate. They would have gone scorched earth against anyone who dared run against her had there been an actual primary race, and they will be just as vindictive if Biden steps down now and the party tries to offer up someone other than Harris at the convention.

Now, there's a strong perception that Harris has failed horribly to connect with people as VP, and she would get stomped by Trump like Hillary did. But that's just a perception, it might or might not turn out to be true, and Harris has the right to make her case to Dems just like anyone else. What actually is true, however, is that there is a large contingent of Democrats who have had enough of the "It's Hillary's turn" mindset. They lived through it twice, and it ended with Trump being president. So there's a real existential battle looming that Democratic operatives have been desperate to avoid: the clash between those who want to see a real competition involving multiple options and progressive viewpoints, including the potentially unspeakable horror of another white man like Newsome, and those who will fire accusations of race-misogyny at literally anyone who even suggests that it might not be Harris' turn case closed. The bloodshed would make what Kennedy did to Carter look like a mere scratch, and this time the stakes aren't an idiot actor from California but a convicted felon who is openly anti-democracy and pro-Putin.