https://www.wsj.com/politics/elections/biden-is-like-yoda-inside-the-big-money-battle-to-salvage-the-democratic-ticket-693ea661?mod=hp_lead_pos2

‘Biden Is Like Yoda.’ Inside the Big Money Battle to Salvage the Democratic Ticket.

Some of President Biden’s top donors have latched on to a “Star Wars” analogy aimed at keeping nervous supporters from defecting: President Biden is like Yoda—old and frail yet wise and influential—whereas Donald Trump is like Jabba the Hutt, a gluttonous and powerful gangster.

When talking to Wall Street supporters, Biden loyalists have drawn comparisons to the famed investor Warren Buffett, pointing out that the chairman and chief executive of Berkshire Hathaway made a vast amount of his fortune between the ages of 83 and 93.

The comparisons are part of a frantic effort to salvage Biden’s candidacy in the face of growing concerns about the 81-year-old incumbent’s ability to beat Trump, his presumptive Republican opponent in November’s election. Some so-called bundlers, supporters who solicit donations from other donors, said they are refraining from asking donors for more money in the wake of the debate given the president’s poor performance.

Cracks in what had been a unified front of support from Democratic lawmakers began to emerge Tuesday. Rep. Lloyd Doggett (D., Texas) called on Biden to exit from the race.

Biden, at a fundraiser Tuesday in McLean, Va., said he “didn’t have my best debate night,” but pointed to his campaign’s ability to raise $38 million since then. “So far, so good,” he said. “I’m feeling good about what’s happening.”

Biden added that he “wasn’t very smart” before the debate because he kept a busy travel schedule. “And then I came back and nearly fell asleep on stage,” he said, prompting laughter from the audience. Biden actually spent roughly a week at Camp David, the presidential retreat in Maryland, preparing for the debate after his trips to France and Italy.

Among those publicly leading the pro-Biden effort are Reid Hoffman, co-founder of LinkedIn, whose team has fielded hundreds of calls, emails and other forms of outreach since Biden’s debate Thursday. Some want Hoffman, a venture capitalist and Democratic megadonor, to urge Biden to abandon his bid, or to tone down his support for the president, according to people familiar with the matter. The Biden campaign reiterated on Tuesday that the president has no plans to drop out.

Among Biden’s donor defenders, there is a sense that they can’t hide his declining physical frailty. Instead, some are making the case that, while his physical appearance might look old, his mental acuity is still intact.

Hoffman’s team, which has shared the Star Wars and Buffett analogies, got a top researcher in aging and brain health to study Biden’s and Trump’s debate performances and other recent public engagements for reassurance. The person concluded that Biden’s cognitive ability wasn’t on the decline though he had a significant decline in motor and mechanical capabilities, according to people familiar with the matter. It is unclear whether that is assuaging donors.

Some reluctant donors want to see Biden do an interview for reassurance of his acuity. The White House said Tuesday that Biden would sit for an interview with George Stephanopoulos of ABC News. The president also plans to hold meetings with lawmakers and Democratic governors and travel to Wisconsin this week.

Among some top business leaders, there is a push to draft a chief executive to replace Biden on the Democratic ticket. That effort has centered on trying to persuade Jamie Dimon of JPMorgan Chase to run as he has fielded calls from business people and politicians, according to people familiar with the situation. Dimon has rebuffed those overtures, these people said. One person said that while Dimon would enjoy the job of president, he doesn’t want to run in an election.

Many donors this past weekend said they were reassured by fundraising events Biden held in the New York area. But by Tuesday, there were signs that encouragement was giving way to increasing concern about the viability of Biden’s candidacy.

“I found nobody that was abandoning him at the Hamptons event,” said one person who attended an East Hampton, N.Y., fundraiser over the weekend, adding that Biden seemed like his normal self at the event and spoke lucidly. ”I came out of it thinking he will survive this and it will be a blip and he will move on. I don’t have that opinion today.”

In the past day, on private calls with political-action committees and among donors, many have called for Biden to step down as nominee, people involved in or briefed on the calls said. “The feeling that he has to drop out, at least among the donors I speak to and calls I’ve been on, has metastasized,” said the person who attended the East Hampton fundraiser.

In one political-action committee call with about 100 donors Tuesday, many attendees spoke about the need for Biden to step aside, the person said. They all were in agreement that he had led well as president, but there was a consensus that he wouldn’t be able to defeat Trump given the debate performance, the people said.

Some discussed potential replacements, including Vice President Kamala Harris, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and California Gov. Gavin Newsom. All three have publicly maintained their support for keeping Biden on the ticket.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5549613&forum_id=2#47804808)

Hoffman’s team, which has shared the Star Wars and Buffett analogies, got a top researcher in aging and brain health to study Biden’s and Trump’s debate performances and other recent public engagements for reassurance. The person concluded that Biden’s cognitive ability wasn’t on the decline though he had a significant decline in motor and mechanical capabilities, according to people familiar with the matter.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5549613&forum_id=2#47804883)

works for me

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5549613&forum_id=2#47804888)