Let's face it: The recent presidential debate was a debacle. As my daughter, who has degrees in political science and public policy, put it to me in a text: If that were an SNL skit, it would have been hysterical. The sad thing is, of course, that it was not a "Saturday Night Live" sketch.
As I write this post, I am seeing countless calls for the Democratic National Committee to find a way to replace President Biden with a different candidate.
Of course, there are many challenges associated with making such a decision so late in an election cycle—and many of these are deeply rooted in our psychology. As described below, several psychological forces would make it difficult for the powers that be to replace President Biden as the Democratic candidate.
Once while I was coaching Little League, one of our best pitchers was on the mound. He loaded the bases with no outs. He seemed nervous, and he ended up getting clobbered. I really liked this kid, though, and did not want him to have to get taken out of the game. After he gave up 4 runs—still with no outs—I realized that I had to do it. At first, he looked sad to be taken out. But ultimately he seemed relieved.
Maybe likening a Little League game to a presidential election is a bit extreme, so let's consider a professional example: Imagine it is Game 7 of the World Series and a pitcher has loaded the bases........