I think the “you lied to us” problem could be put to bed with a “Joe declined” argument. That would work even stronger if he gave her a strong endorsement and said “I’m not up to it, but I trust Kamala.”
Would she actually do better? 🤷🏻♂️
I'm seeing a lot of these discussions going around right now and I think they really fail to reckon with how warped the current media environment is and how all attempts at messaging are swimming upstream in rapids. I see a lot of "They should just say X" without reckoning with how X will be COVERED
They could do a condensed debate schedule before the convention with the potential Dems (Harris, Whitmer, Pete, Newsom, etc.), and let the convention nominate someone.
Let her earn her spot, if it comes to that.