The Democrats have come to grips with the hard truth: they are stuck with Joe Biden for however long this ride called the presidency lasts. But as the midterms loom, and the hopes of holding the House and even the Senate grow dimmer by the day, some in the Democrat Party are starting to contemplate the bitter battle that is sure to come once Creepy Grandpa Joe is out of the picture.

We know that Democrats have become increasingly disillusioned with Joe Biden and his administration. The problem is, they like Kamala Harris even less. Which means that unless Joe drops dead, or takes a flight of stairs wrong/has a medical emergency that incapacitates him to the point that Jill Biden, Ron Klain, and Susan Rice can’t hide it, then Joe will be president until January 19, 2025. Now, if the midterms go well (at this point, “going well” would mean keeping control of the Senate), then Democrats might breathe a little easier. But if the “red wave” ends up being a tsunami? Well, even Joe acknowledged during his interview with Scott Pelley on “60 Minutes” that he wasn’t sure about running again in 2024.

The only way to interpret that is if the shellacking comes, Biden will be a lame duck in everything but name. Which means that the Democrats have to start looking at their bench. But the ugly reality is that it isn’t that deep, and it has a LOT of people on it who think they deserve a shot at running again.

At age 79, Biden has called himself “a bridge” between generations of Democratic politicians. Top leaders like House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), 82, and Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.), 71, are in his age range, and administration officials often swat off questions about whether he’ll run again, with public and private statements indicating his intent.”

But taken in tandem with the uncertainty of the midterms, the age factor leaves the door open for Democrats to start laying some groundwork, and several have already shown signs that make their aspirations fodder for speculation.”

Traveling to early voting and swing states is one of the best ways to assess a politician’s interest in seeking higher office. And just a few weeks out from Election Day, midterm candidates in those places are hoping for a boost from top figures in their party — giving potential presidential hopefuls a built-in reason to be there.”

In Wisconsin, Democratic Senate nominee Mandela Barnes, the lieutenant governor, is hoping to get recognizable figures like Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) to the battleground state, according to a report in Politico.”

A trip by Sanders, 81, would likely be seen as a controversial calculation in the home stretch, but could also raise questions about the senator’s own possible political preparations.”

As long as Bernie Sanders is breathing, he’s going to want to run for president. And he probably has more of his wits about him than Biden does. But there is no way that Democrats are going to let Bernie be the Democrat nominee, not after making sure he wouldn’t be the nominee by propping up Biden in 2020. But if Bernie isn’t an option, then wouldn’t the LOGICAL choice be Kamala Harris? Hilariously, this article from The Hill does not mention Kamala AT ALL. Apparently, her name is not coming up when Democrats discuss their alternate candidates in 2024. Which, of course, means that the Democrats are all racists and sexists. Hey, I didn’t make these rules! I’m just over here, laughing hysterically. The only way Kamala Harris has any chance of becoming president is over Joe Biden’s dead body, and his entire inner circle means that quite literally. It will be a “Weekend at Bernie’s” reboot with Joe and Jill on Rehoboth Beach in Delaware, with Ron Klain pulling strings in the background, in order to keep Kamala out of the Oval Office.

So, who is tops on the Democrat radar post-Joe and skipping over Kamala?

Sanders won New Hampshire in both 2016 and 2020, but that doesn’t mean he’d have the state to himself if he were to run again. A roster of Democrats have traveled to the first-in-the-nation primary state to convince voters to show up and vote for their party’s House and Senate candidates. The list includes several who ran against Biden last election.”

Sens. Cory Booker (D-N.J) and Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), who each spent considerable time there during the last cycle, have already made the trek, while Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, the former mayor of South Bend, Ind., has also gone several times. Sens. Jon Ossoff (D-Ga.) and Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), and Illinois Gov. J. B. Pritzker (D) have touched down too.”

Another Biden confidant, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D), has also been mentioned.”

If I laugh any harder at this list, I might need an inhaler. Schiff? Pritzker? WHITMER? They might see themselves as presidential “contenders” in their own heads, but that just isn’t going to happen. The one name that keeps coming up, though, is Buttigieg’s.

The source mentioned Buttigieg, 40, who Democrats are increasingly whispering about as a younger leader who could be in contention for the nomination for a second time. That scenario, however, usually comes with the caveat that Biden would have to announce he wouldn’t run, since Buttigieg is now working in the administration and is seen as a team player.”

Many in the party believe he has the desire and is well poised to do it, including being the face of bipartisanship legislation at work in the infrastructure bill.”

Buttigieg is also the face of the supply chain crisis and telling people to buy electric cars in order to save money on gas. Oh yeah, and he disappeared on paternity leave and no one in the media noticed until the supply chain stresses were so bad that even they had to ask where he was. If the Democrats believe that Buttigieg, who has no experience running anything bigger than South Bend, and has not particularly distinguished himself with a cushy job as Secretary of Transportation, should run for president simply because he is a married gay man, oh boy. I will be getting all the popcorn for the showdowns between the Kamala Harris camp and the Pete Buttigieg camp, because even though I don’t think Kamala is fit to be president, I don’t think she’s going to go quietly, either.

The 2022 midterms will truthfully make or break Joe Biden’s political future. If he becomes a lame duck in less than a month, then by the time he turns 80 (a fact that the White House is not advertising or celebrating) the media will be actively pointing out his age and looking for his successor. The Democrats and the media (but I repeat myself) don’t want a repeat of 2020, with a crowded stage of candidates all trying to out-left each other. They want to have someone picked out and ready to go.

The other part of 2022 that Democrats don’t want to think about? Ron DeSantis is poised to win re-election in Florida. They also don’t know what Donald Trump will or won’t do. But Democrats aren’t looking for a candidate who can take on Donald Trump. They are looking for a candidate who can take on Ron DeSantis. Best of luck with that.

Featured image: original Victory Girls art by Darleen Click