I must confess, I felt a gut-punch in my stomach watching the presidential debate. But honestly, I felt a lot better watching Biden deliver a speech to a North Carolina rally the next day. And I was reminded about all he has accomplished, all he has set into motion, all he has laid the foundation for and I am not willing to give that up.

Has Biden aged from four years ago? Sure, all presidents who actually work for the American people instead of their own profit, pleasure and power do –  Obama was graying after his first term. It is telling that Trump did not “age” after four years in office, of which the equivalent of one full year was spent golfing at his resorts at a cost of millions of dollars to taxpayers.

The amount that Biden has accomplished is not just historic but extraordinary. There is no issue, no item on the long, long list of wishes and promises that he has not addressed, even going back again and again when facing malign obstruction from Republicans and now the ChristoFascist Supreme Court: student debt relief, reproductive rights, drug prices, cybersecurity, AI, housing, climate action, gun violence, health care, child care, junk fees, job creation, small business investments. With Biden, Infrastructure Week happens every week.

This is certainly because Biden not only has his priorities, his agenda, his values in place, but also because he has managed to assemble the most extraordinary team of hard-working public servants who are equally committed to carry out the mission of building a society affording equal opportunity to all.

So the line that struck me – after Trump said he didn’t really want to be president and went on to either lie (30 times in 45 minutes), or go back to his rally script and never actually answer a question (child care, climate change or whether he would accept the results of the election) and never present anything resembling policy (except when he said he would withhold funding from any school that mandated vaccines and cut regulations) – is when Trump actually attacked Biden for not firing anyone.

That triggered the reminder of Trump’s time in office – the revolving door of his appointees (“only the best!”) who were fired for incompetence, corruption, or failing to be loyal enough to break the law for Trump’s benefit.

Democrats are panicking because they realize Trump poses an existential threat and are afraid to gamble that marginal voters either won’t turn out or will vote for a third party candidate, which would hand the Electoral College to Trump.

But let’s not also play into their hands – Trump and Republicans would like nothing better to see Democrats change horses this late in the game, just enough time for them to put their MAGA disinformation machine to work and destroy any candidate the Dems put up, because actually no one is perfect and anyone else would come with their own baggage, be easier to re-define. Who has the name recognition, the record, the experience, the respect to appeal to all the various contingents and cohorts, the double-haters, the young progressives, and suburban Moms?

Who else should the Democrats look to for president? Gavin Newsom, Gretchen Whitmer, Pete Buttigieg, Amy Klobuchar are among the favorites, but there is little time to elevate them to the pedestal, and all the in-fighting and jockeying will only become ammunition against them.

I would only look to replace Biden if I had 99.9% guarantee the new candidate could beat Trump, based on outpouring of additional, new and on-the-fence voters – especially in the seven swing states that will decide the Electoral College.

I would want to see multiple polls from different sources in those swing states that show decisive leads and elevated enthusiasm and turnout (commitment to vote, not just who is leading that day’s popularity contest) for that candidate above all others and compared to Biden, across the different demographic categories.

A replacement would not have had the benefit of being vetted in primaries and debates and making it through a convention fight without getting bloodied – and btw, it has never happened that a candidate selected in an open convention actually won election.

Actually, polls show that Biden still does the best against Trump of all these potential replacements.

And by the way, Biden picked Kamala Harris as his vice president for a reason, and she has proved herself to be competent, worthy of taking on whatever responsibility is placed on her, and top of the list to be top of the ticket herself. It’s not like Biden has a Sarah Palin or a Dan Quayle in the wings.

But there is a difference between campaigning and governing. Moreover, this campaign isn’t between an incumbent and an outsider who can promise or pledge anything. We have a clear comparison of the record of both. We have the video and we have the receipts.

A comatose Biden would still be better, more productive, more positive for our nation, our democracy and our world than a second Trump term when the dictator-wannabe sociopath Trump vows nothing but retribution and an end democracy – and for that matter, any MAGA-infected Republican armed with the Project 2025 playbook.

Going forward: maybe Democrats should emulate Republicans and instead of racing for the exits (no call to replace Trump after convictions for 34 felonies, sexual assault, business fraud), rally around candidate Biden, and aim the attack where it belongs: on an evil, maniacal, serial criminal Trump, who only wants to win back the White House to stay out of prison and build his kleptocracy like his puppet master Putin (he told Big Oil he would reverse Biden’s climate actions if they gave him $1 billion.)

The decision of this Imperial SCOTUS majority basically making Trump a king, above the law, has made it all the more crucial to elect a p

resident with values and character over someone who is supremely unfit for the office, who thinks he could shoot someone on Fifth Avenue and now get away with it. Trump is a fundamental threat to the nation, our freedoms, our rights, and “My Justices” just handed him a loaded gun and told him it was A-okay with them to go right ahead and shoot.

And this latest action by the Imperial SCOTUS (overturning Roe, affirmative action, the ability of federal agencies to regulate the environment, health, and safety) makes who we elect even that much more crucial.

Bottom line: Joe Biden represents the most consequential president of our lifetime, a proven champion for all of us who has spent his lifetime in public service. I’m not willing to discard that or give up on Joe Biden.

This contest is still about competence and character versus chaos and corruption. I trust Biden to “Finish the job.”