Jeremy T. Ringfield's Blog, page 413

Biden’s legacy: Far-reaching accomplishments that didn’t translate into political support

By JOSH BOAK, Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — Sitting in the Oval Office behind the iconic Resolute desk in 2022, an animated President Joe Biden described the challenge of leading a psychologically traumatized nation.

The United States had endured a life-altering pandemic. There was a jarring burst of inflation and now global conflict with Russia invading Ukraine, as well as the persistent threat to democracy he felt Donald Trump posed.

How could Biden possibly heal that collective trauma?

“Be confident,” he said emphatically in an interview with The Associated Press. “Be confident. Because I am confident.”

But in the ensuing two years, the confidence Biden hoped to instill steadily waned. When the 81-year-old Democratic president showed his age in a disastrous debate against Trump in June, he lost the benefit of the doubt and on Sunday withdrew as his party’s nominee.

In the aftermath of the debate, Democrats who had been united in their resolve to prevent another Trump term suddenly fractured, and Republicans, beset by chaos in Congress and the former president’s criminal conviction, improbably coalesced in defiant unity.

Biden never figured out how to inspire the world’s most powerful country to believe in itself, let alone in him.

He lost the confidence of supporters in the 90-minute debate with Trump, even if pride initially prompted him to override the fears of lawmakers, party elders and donors who were nudging him to drop out. Then Trump survived an assassination attempt in Pennsylvania, and, as if on cue, pumped his fist in strength. Biden, while campaigning in Las Vegas, tested positive for the coronavirus on Wednesday and retreated to his Delaware beach house to recover.

The events of the last three weeks led to an exit Biden never wanted, but Democrats felt it was essential to maximize their chance of winning in November.

Biden seems to have badly misread the breadth of his support. While many Democrats had deep admiration for the president personally, they did not have the same affection for him politically.

Douglas Brinkley, a historian at Rice University, said Biden arrived as a reprieve for a nation exhausted by Trump and the pandemic.

“He was a perfect person for that moment,” said Brinkley, noting that Biden proved in era of polarization that bipartisan lawmaking was still possible. Yet voters viewed him as a placeholder, and he could never transcend the text of his speeches to visually “embody the spirit of the nation with a sense of verve, energy and optimism.”

As his reelection campaign entered its final days, Biden was still trying to prove himself and rally voters around fears that Trump would doom American democracy.

There was never a “Joe Biden Democrat” like there was a “Reagan Republican.” He did not have adoring, movement-style followers, as did Barack Obama or John F. Kennedy. He was not a generational candidate like Bill Clinton. The only barrier-breaking dimension to his election was the fact that he was the oldest person ever elected president.

While he contemplated being in the Oval Office repeatedly from his perch as a senator from Delaware, voters rejected him again and again.

His first run for the White House, in the 1988 cycle, ended with self-inflicted wounds stemming from plagiarism, and he didn’t make it to the first nominating contest. When he ran in 2008, he dropped out after the Iowa caucuses, where he won less than 1% of the vote. In 2016, Obama counseled him not to run, even though he was Obama’s vice president. A Biden victory in 2020 seemed implausible when he finished fourth in Iowa and fifth in New Hampshire before a dramatic rebound in South Carolina.

He won the nomination and then did something rare in American politics: He defeated an incumbent president, Trump, who had been a catalyst for a seething sense of polarization. He then had to withstand the Jan. 6, 2021, assault on the U.S. Capitol by Trump supporters who falsely claimed that the 2020 election had been stolen.

David Axelrod, a former senior adviser to Obama, said history would treat Biden kinder than voters had, not just because of his legislative achievements but because he defeated Trump.

“His legacy is significant beyond all his many accomplishments,” Axelrod said. “He will always be the man who stepped up and defeated a president who placed himself above our democracy.

“That, alone, is an historic accomplishment.”

But Biden could not overcome his age. And when he showed frailty in his steps and his speech, there was no foundation of supporters that could stand by him. It was a humbling end to a half-century career in politics, yet hardly reflective of the full legacy of his time in the White House.

His record includes legislation that will rebuild the country in ways that will likely be seen over the next dozen years, even if voters did not immediately appreciate it.

“It takes time for it to happen,” Biden told BET News on Tuesday. But in that same interview, he also demonstrated why the calls for him to step aside had grown so much louder: He was unable to recall the name of his defense secretary, Lloyd Austin, referring to him as the “Black man.”

Those recent episodes stand in stark contrast to a list of accomplishments most presidents would envy and use as a sturdy foundation for reelection. The optimism about the country’s future that Biden says drove him might materialize following his departure from the national stage.

Harvard University economist Jason Furman, a top aide during the Obama administration, said Biden “came into office when the economy was in the throes of COVID and helped to oversee the transition out of it to an economy that is now growing faster than any of its peer economies, with less inflation than they have.”

Furman noted that Biden increased spending to make longer-term investments in the economy while keeping Jerome Powell as the Federal Reserve chairman, giving the Fed cover to hike rates and bring down inflation without disrupting the labor market.

In March 2021, Biden launched $1.9 trillion in pandemic aid, creating a series of new programs that temporarily halved child poverty, halted evictions and contributed to the addition of 15.7 million jobs. But inflation began to rise shortly thereafter. Biden’s approval rating as measured by the AP-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research fell from 61% to 39% as of June.

He followed up with a series of executive actions to unsnarl global supply chains and a $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure package that not only replaced aging infrastructure but improved internet access and prepared communities to withstand climate change.

But the infrastructure bill also revealed the challenge Biden faced in getting the public to recognize his achievement because many of the projects will take decades to complete.

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In 2022, Biden and his fellow Democrats followed up with two measures that reinvigorated the future of U.S. manufacturing.

The CHIPS and Science Act provided $52 billion to build factories and create institutions to make computer chips domestically, ensuring that the U.S. would have access to the most advanced semiconductors needed to power economic growth and maintain national security. There was also the Inflation Reduction Act, which provided incentives to shift away from fossil fuels and enabled Medicare to negotiate drug prices.

Biden also sought to compete more aggressively with China and rebuild alliances such as NATO. He completed the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan that resulted in the death of 13 U.S. service members, an effort that was widely criticized.

He also found himself embroiled in a series of global conflicts that exposed further domestic divisions.

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in early 2022 worsened inflation as Trump and other Republicans questioned the value of military aid to the Ukrainians. Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack in Israel sparked a war that showed divisions within the Democratic party over whether the United States should continue to support Israel as tens of thousands of Palestinians died in months of counterattacks.

Biden privately lectured aides to focus not on differences when listening to the public but to search for agreement. He hewed to the ideal of bipartisanship even when Democrats broke with the GOP.

And yet, just days before he dropped out of the race, Biden felt that his work was not done and his legacy incomplete.

“I’ve got to finish this job,” he told reporters after a NATO summit.

But the size of the stakes and the fear of a Biden loss resulted in a bet by Democrats that the tasks he began could best be completed by a younger generation.

“History will be kinder to him that voters were at the end,” Axelrod said.

SF Giants manager Bob Melvin ejected before first pitch of game vs. Rockies

DENVER — Bob Melvin entered the company of Earl Weaver, the legendarily hot-headed manager, when he was ejected Sunday before the start of the Giants’ series finale against the Rockies.

Accompanying bench coach Ryan Christianson for the lineup card exchange at home plate, Melvin proceeded to give a piece of his mind to the umpiring crew led by crew chief Chris Conroy and was tossed, matching Weaver for the earliest ejection in MLB history.

Bob Melvin was ejected right before the game started after appearing to argue with the umpiring crew pic.twitter.com/UfSpSmq8AD

— SF Giants on NBCS (@NBCSGiants) July 21, 2024

The ejection was Melvin’s fourth of the season and the 63rd of his career, 16th all-time. Weaver ranks fourth but racked up his 96 ejections in only 17 seasons leading the Orioles from 1968-82 and 1985-86. He was ejected by Ron Luciano while exchanging lineup cards before the second game of a doubleheader against Texas on Aug. 15, 1975, still upset over a call that led to his getting tossed in the fourth inning of the opener.

While rare, they are not the only instances of pregame ejections. In fact, Giants pitching coach Bryan Price was tossed by Jim Reynolds during the lineup card exchange on May 23, 2015, when he was managing the Reds, while griping about calls from the previous day’s game.

Melvin repeatedly expressed his displeasure in the umpiring over the first two games of the series, both from the dugout steps and in postgame interviews.

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The hit-by-pitch that put Elias Díaz on base ahead of the Rockies’ two-run home run Friday night Melvin said was a “phantom hit-by-pitch” and that “I haven’t seen an umpire talk a guy into going to first base on a hit-by-pitch, either,” when “the guy is trying to argue that he didn’t get hit by a pitch.”

The same game, Conroy, serving as the first-base umpire, failed to get out of the way of a line drive down the foul line, turning a potential extra-base RBI hit from Brett Wisely into an inning-ending out.

Melvin and Logan Webb both complained about the strike zone, and according to the unofficial Umpire Scorecard Conroy missed 19 ball-strike calls Saturday night that favored the Rockies by 0.32 runs, while Brian O’Nora missed 15 ball-strike calls Friday night that favored the Rockies by 0.74 runs.

The Giants lost both of the first two games of the series, starting the second half in disappointing fashion and possibly adding to Melvin’s frustration.

Immediately after Melvin’s ejection, Jorge Soler slugged a leadoff home run that gave the Giants an early 1-0 lead.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.

‘No one tougher,’ VP Kamala Harris’s supporters say as she looks to presidential campaign

With President Biden throwing his support to Vice President Kamala Harris to take over his campaign for the presidency, all eyes are on the Oakland native who worked her way through California politics to become next in line for the nation’s top job.

Unless Democrats instead call for weighing other candidates at the Democratic National Convention next month — a possibility former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi floated earlier this week — Harris, 59, would be the heir apparent.

To her close friends and supporters who walked precincts in San Francisco when she was running for district attorney, raised money to help get her elected to state attorney general and the U.S. Senate, and knocked on doors in swing states to help the Biden-Harris ticket win in 2020, Harris is ready to lead the country.

“There’s no one more seasoned. There’s no one tougher,” said Lateefah Simon, a superdelegate to the Chicago Democratic National Convention who is running for Congress to fill Rep. Barbara Lee’s seat in Oakland. She considers herself Harris’s mentee since her early San Francisco days in the District Attorney’s office. “Everyone who has worked with her, from the young 20-year-olds to the very seasoned politicians, will tell you that she runs a tight ship and really, only the strong survive at that level.”

She withstood Trump’s attacks during the 2020 election when he called her “nasty” and “a monster” and put off Mike Pence during the vice presidential debate with the withering line “I’m speaking” — a comment that turned into a T-shirt slogan. She became the first woman and first woman of color to hold the vice presidency.

But Harris’s tepid polling numbers, sometimes lackluster speeches, and delayed ability to distinguish her role as vice president have some Democrats worried she can beat Trump and the growing MAGA movement. Her own primary campaign for president in 2020 was disorganized and short-lived.

“I hear very few people arguing that Harris shouldn’t be the nominee,” said political analyst Dan Schnur. “The much more frequent argument is that she should be one of several candidates to compete for the nomination rather than having it simply given to her.”

In announcing he was ending his campaign, Biden praised Harris, calling his decision to choose her as his 2020 running mate “the best decision I’ve made.”

“Today I want to offer my full support and endorsement for Kamala to be the nominee of our party this year. Democrats — it’s time to come together and beat Trump.”

Trump in his first post on his Truth social media platform about Biden ending his campaign didn’t mention Harris, saying only that “Crooked Joe Biden was not fit to run for President, and is certainly not fit to serve — And never was!”

Harris, whose parents met during protest rallies in Berkeley, California, was raised in an upstairs Berkeley apartment, where neighbor Regina Shelton with posters of Harriet Tubman and Frederick Douglas on the wall often babysat Harris and her sister. Harris was sworn in as vice president on Shelton’s family bible.

She’s distinguished herself as a fighter on the abortion issue and an advocate for Biden’s policies for the war in Gaza, campaigning for Biden across the country in recent months. Since Biden’s disastrous June debate performance, she had refused to indulge in speculation she might take his place on the November ballot.

That didn’t stop the speculation.

In a hypothetical national matchup, a CNN poll conducted in early July before the assassination attempt on Trump, still showed Harris trailing Trump, 45% for Harris to 47% for Trump, but by such a small margin that Harris could be within striking distance. She also received stronger support from women and independents than Biden, the poll showed.

But is there anyone with a better chance than Harris to beat Trump, especially with only four months left before the November general election?

Surveys ranking other Democrats whose names have been floated as possible Biden replacements show them all trailing slightly farther behind Trump than Harris, with California Gov. Gavin Newsom at 43% to Trump’s 47% and Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer at 42% to Trump’s 48%.

Although Newsom has appeared to posture for the presidency over the past year, debating Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, sitting for a no-holds-barred interview with Fox News’ Sean Hannity and calling for a constitutional amendment to enshrine gun safety laws, he has said he would not challenge Harris. They are longtime friends and political allies, and they have often been seen together through the years rubbing elbows at political events and surveying the aftermath of California wildfires.

Newsom, in a Sunday social media post on X, said Biden “will go down in history as one of the most impactful and selfless presidents.”

Any effort to push Newsom to the top of the ticket — or anyone else — could throw the party into disarray, pundits say.

An open or brokered convention would be disastrous, said Sonoma State political science professor David McCuan. But he wouldn’t put it beyond the Democratic Party.

“At a convention, you often display the fissures or fractures within the party,” he said. “Republicans don’t worry about those fractures until after they win. They’re all about winning. Democrats like to go through the process of group therapy in front of the television cameras that display all of their fractures, and that family looks pretty dysfunctional.”

As he puts it, “they’re more worried about grieving their weaknesses in front of the cameras than they are about winning.”

A competitive convention would be “absolute chaos,” said Schnur, a former GOP strategist. “The question is, would the chaos irreparably fracture the party or energize it?”

Each scenario comes with numerous risks.

“Black female voters have been the most loyal Democratic constituency for many, many years,” Schnur said. “There’s an open question as to whether many of those voters would stay home if they felt that Harris had been unfairly passed over.”

At the same time, “if you believe that this election is going to be decided by a small number of working class, blue-collar voters in three Rust Belt states, there are a lot of Democrats who worry that the former district attorney of San Francisco might not be the best candidate to reach those voters.”

Amelia Ashley-Ward, publisher of San Francisco’s oldest black newspaper, the Sun-Reporter, downplayed critics who say Harris can’t beat Trump.

“I don’t know why they keep saying she can’t win because she’s demonstrated time and time before that she can,” Ashley-Ward said.

She remembers chartering a cable car during Harris’s 2003 District Attorney campaign when she beat a two-term incumbent.

“We rolled for four hours across the city while she would jump on and off and introduce herself to people. We had bullhorns. It was magnetic,” Ashley-Ward said. “They went crazy over her.”

What exactly happens at the August convention remains to be seen. But Simon, the super delegate, said she’d be ready to support her party. And if Harris is the nominee,  “I will be with the biggest Kamala Harris sign in the crowd.”

State cautions against recreational shellfish harvesting in Santa Cruz, Monterey counties

State health officials are advising the Monterey and Santa Cruz county communities that it’s probably time to cancel those shellfish foraging plans.

According to a release from the environmental health division of the county’s Health Services Agency, the California Department of Public Health has warned consumers not to eat recreationally harvested mussels, clams or whole scallops gathered from Santa Cruz and Monterey counties.

State experts have discovered dangerous levels of paralytic shellfish poisoning, or PSP, toxins in mussels within the pair of coastal counties that can cause illness or death, according to the release. The cooking process does not destroy the naturally occurring toxin, which affects the central nervous system and produces a tingling around the mouth and fingertips within a few minutes to a few hours after ingestion.

These symptoms typically give way to a loss of balance, lack of muscular coordination, slurred speech and difficulty swallowing. In cases of severe poisoning, the toxins can cause complete muscular paralysis and death from asphyxiation.

The warning does not apply to commercially sold clams, mussels, scallops or oysters from approved sources, according to the release, and state law permits only state-certified commercial shellfish harvesters or dealers to sell these products after frequent and mandatory testing and toxin monitoring.

The shellfish warning is happening concurrently with the state’s annual mussel quarantine, which began May 1 and extends to Oct. 31. The quarantine, implemented to prevent the poisonings, applies to all species of sport-harvested mussels intended for human consumption but it does not apply to commercially sold mussels either.

According to the state health agency, most paralytic shellfish poisoning occurs between the spring and fall seasons but it remains extremely rare due to harvesting safety measures.

The state’s toll-free shellfish information line is 800-553-4133.

‘No one tougher,’ Vice President Kamala Harris’ Bay Area supporters say as she looks to presidential campaign

With President Biden throwing his support to Vice President Kamala Harris to take over his campaign for the presidency, all eyes are on the Oakland native who worked her way through California politics to become next in line for the nation’s top job.

Unless Democrats instead call for weighing other candidates at the Democratic National Convention next month — a possibility former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi floated last week — Harris, 59, would be the heir apparent.

“My intention is to earn and win this nomination,” Harris said in a statement Sunday. She thanked Biden and said she would “do everything”  to unite the party and the country.

To her close friends and supporters who walked precincts in San Francisco when she was running for district attorney, raised money to help get her elected to state attorney general and the U.S. Senate, and knocked on doors in swing states to help the Biden-Harris ticket win in 2020, Harris is ready to lead the country.

“There’s no one more seasoned. There’s no one tougher,” said Lateefah Simon, a superdelegate to the Chicago Democratic National Convention who is running for Congress to fill Rep. Barbara Lee’s seat in Oakland. She considers herself Harris’s mentee since her early San Francisco days in the District Attorney’s office. “Everyone who has worked with her, from the young 20-year-olds to the very seasoned politicians, will tell you that she runs a tight ship and really, only the strong survive at that level.”

Harris withstood Trump’s attacks during the 2020 election when he called her “nasty” and “a monster” and put off Mike Pence during the vice presidential debate with the withering line “I’m speaking” — a comment that turned into a t-shirt slogan. She became the first woman and first woman of color to hold the vice presidency.

But Harris’s tepid polling numbers, sometimes lackluster speeches, and delayed ability to distinguish her role as vice president have some Democrats worried she can’t beat Trump and the growing MAGA movement. Her own primary campaign for president in 2020 was disorganized and short-lived.

“I hear very few people arguing that Harris shouldn’t be the nominee,” said political analyst Dan Schnur. “The much more frequent argument is that she should be one of several candidates to compete for the nomination rather than having it simply given to her.”

In announcing he was ending his campaign, Biden praised Harris, calling his decision to choose her as his 2020 running mate “the best decision I’ve made.”

“Today I want to offer my full support and endorsement for Kamala to be the nominee of our party this year. Democrats — it’s time to come together and beat Trump.”

Former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton posted a joint statement also endorsing Harris, saying now is the time to “fight with everything we’ve got to elect her. America’s future depends on it.” Gov. Gavin Newsom late Sunday afternoon posted that “no one is better to prosecute the case against Donald Trump’s dark vision and guide our country in a healthier direction than America’s Vice President.”

But other key Democrats, including former President Obama and Pelosi, stopped short of endorsing Harris by midday Sunday.

Trump didn’t mention Harris in a Sunday post on his Truth social media platform on Biden leaving the race that said he “was not fit to run for President.” A later statement from Trump’s campaign said “Harris will be even WORSE for the people of our Nation than Joe Biden,” calling her “the Enabler in Chief for Crooked Joe.”

Harris, whose parents met during protest rallies in Berkeley, was born in Oakland and raised in an upstairs Berkeley apartment. Neighbor Regina Shelton, who had posters of Harriet Tubman and Frederick Douglas on the wall, often babysat Harris and her sister. Harris was sworn in as vice president on Shelton’s family bible.

She’s distinguished herself as a fighter on abortion and an advocate for Biden’s policies on the war in Gaza, campaigning for Biden across the country in recent months. Since Biden’s disastrous June debate performance, she has refused to indulge in speculation that she might take his place on the November ballot.

That didn’t stop the speculation.

In a hypothetical national matchup, a CNN poll conducted in early July before the assassination attempt on Trump, still showed Harris trailing Trump, 45% for Harris to 47% for Trump, but by such a small margin that Harris could be within striking distance. She also received stronger support from women and independents than Biden, the poll showed.

But is there anyone with a better chance than Harris to beat Trump, especially with only four months left before the November general election?

Surveys ranking other Democrats whose names have been floated as possible Biden replacements show them all trailing slightly farther behind Trump than Harris, with California Gov. Newsom at 43% to Trump’s 47% and Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer at 42% to Trump’s 48%.

Although Newsom has appeared to posture for the presidency over the past year, he has said he would not challenge Harris. They are longtime friends and political allies.

Any effort to push Newsom to the top of the ticket — or anyone else — could throw the party into disarray, pundits say.

An open or brokered convention would be disastrous, said Sonoma State political science professor David McCuan. But he wouldn’t put it beyond the Democratic Party.

“At a convention, you often display the fissures or fractures within the party,” he said. “Republicans don’t worry about those fractures until after they win. They’re all about winning. Democrats like to go through the process of group therapy in front of the television cameras that display all of their fractures, and that family looks pretty dysfunctional.”

A competitive convention would be “absolute chaos,” said Schnur, a former GOP strategist. “The question is, would the chaos irreparably fracture the party or energize it?”

Each scenario comes with numerous risks.

“Black female voters have been the most loyal Democratic constituency for many, many years,” Schnur said. “There’s an open question as to whether many of those voters would stay home if they felt that Harris had been unfairly passed over.”

At the same time, “if you believe that this election is going to be decided by a small number of working class, blue-collar voters in three Rust Belt states, there are a lot of Democrats who worry that the former district attorney of San Francisco might not be the best candidate to reach those voters.”

Amelia Ashley-Ward, publisher of San Francisco’s oldest black newspaper, the Sun-Reporter, downplayed critics who say Harris can’t beat Trump.

“I don’t know why they keep saying she can’t win because she’s demonstrated time and time before that she can,” Ashley-Ward said.

She remembers chartering a cable car during Harris’s 2003 District Attorney campaign when she beat a two-term incumbent.

“We rolled for four hours across the city while she would jump on and off and introduce herself to people. We had bullhorns. It was magnetic,” Ashley-Ward said. “They went crazy over her.”

What happens at the August convention remains to be seen. But Simon, the super delegate, said if Harris is the nominee,  “I will be with the biggest Kamala Harris sign in the crowd.”

What happens next: Joe Biden wants to pass the baton to Kamala Harris. Here’s how that might work

By BILL BARROW, Associated Press

ATLANTA (AP) — With President Joe Biden ending his reelection bid and endorsing Vice President Kamala Harris, Democrats now must navigate a shift that is unprecedented this late in an election year.

Democrats are set to hold their convention in Chicago on Aug. 19-22. What was supposed to be a coronation for Biden now becomes an open contest in which nearly 4,700 delegates will be responsible for picking a new standard-bearer to challenge Republican Donald Trump in the fall.

The path ahead is neither easy nor obvious, even with Biden endorsing Harris. There are unanswered questions about logistics, money and political fallout.

Can Biden redirect his delegates?

Biden won every state primary and caucus earlier this year and only lost the territory of American Samoa. At least 3,896 delegates had been pledged to support him.

Current party rules do not permit Biden to pass them to another candidate. Politically, though, his endorsement is likely to be influential.

What could happen at the convention?

With Biden stepping aside, Democrats technically start with an open convention. But realistically, his endorsement pushes Democrats into murky territory.

The immediate burden is on Harris to solidify support across almost 4,000 delegates from the states, territories and District of Columbia, plus more than 700 so-called superdelegates that include party leaders, certain elected officials and former presidents and vice presidents.

Will anyone challenge Harris?

Even before Biden announced his decision, Democrats floated California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer as potential contenders in addition to Harris. Yet some Democrats argued publicly, and many privately, that it would be a no-brainer to elevate the first woman, first Black woman and first person of south Asian descent to hold national office.

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Given how important Black voters -– and Black women especially -– were to Biden’s nomination and his choice of Harris as running mate, it would be risky, to say the least, for Democrats to pass her over for a white nominee. Democrats already faced historical headwinds before Biden’s withdrawal. Newsom and Whitmer, both of whom are white, and any other Democrat would also have to weigh the short-term and long-term benefits of challenging Harris now versus preserving goodwill for a future presidential primary.

Yet, fair or not, Harris also has not been viewed as an especially beloved or empowered vice president. The best scenario for her and Democrats is to quickly shore up support and project a united front. Democrats could even go forward with their plans for an early virtual vote – a move they’d planned to make sure Biden was selected ahead of Ohio’s general election ballot deadline.

What happens to Biden’s campaign money?

Biden’s campaign recently reported $91 million cash on hand. Allied Democratic campaign committees brought the total at his disposal to more than $240 million. Campaign finance experts agree generally that Harris could control all those funds since the campaign was set up in her name as well as Biden’s. If Democrats do nominate someone other than Harris, party accounts could still benefit the nominee, but the Biden-Harris account would have more restrictions. For example, legal experts say it could become an independent expenditure political action committee but not simply transfer its balance to a different nominee.

How will a vice presidential nomination work?

The vice presidential nomination is always a separate convention vote. In routine years, the convention ratifies the choice of the nominee. If Harris closes ranks quickly, she could name her choice and have the delegates ratify it. In an extended fight, though, the vice presidency could become part of horse-trading — again, a return to conventions of an earlier era.

Can Republicans keep Harris off state ballots?

Any curveball during a U.S. presidential campaign is certain to produce a flurry of state and federal lawsuits in this hyper-partisan era, and some conservatives have threatened just that.

State laws, though, typically do not prescribe how parties choose their nominees for president. And some GOP figures – Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine and Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey – have worked already this year to ensure their party did not deny Democrats’ routine ballot access.

With Thairo Estrada slumping, could SF Giants shake up middle infield?

DENVER — Walking into the visitors’ clubhouse Sunday morning, Tyler Fitzgerald and Brett Wisely couldn’t help but smile when they saw the Giants’ lineup card. It featured the pair of streaking rookies up the middle, with the slumping Thairo Estrada taking a seat.

“We saw it this morning and we were both pretty excited about it,” Fitzgerald said. “We love Thairo, obviously, but it’s just someone that I’ve played with in the minor leagues. It’s fun and it’s pretty cool to see. It’s kind of comforting knowing that one of my good buddies is up the middle with me.”

Formulating his lineup for the Giants’ series finale against the Rockies, manager Bob Melvin said he felt the need to ride the hot hand and didn’t rule out penciling in Fitzgerald and Wisely together more often if their trends continue at the plate.

“We’ll see,” Melvin said. “At this point in time we just have to run what we think is the best lineup out there on any particular day. Wisely sitting (Saturday) gave Fitzgerald a chance, and Fitzy rewarded us with a good game. He’s played well here recently, too.”

As for Estrada, who missed three weeks with a left wrist sprain and was hit in the hand by another pitch Saturday, “He’s been banged up, there’s no doubt about that,” Melvin said. “He’s probably not at 100% right now. Whether it’s affecting some of his swings, I’m not sure.”

Fitzgerald delivered the bulk of the Giants’ offense in their 4-3 loss Saturday night with a home run and an RBI double, while Estrada went hitless, lowering his batting average to .219 and OPS to .610, both of which would be career-worsts over a full season.

Since returning from a left wrist sprain July 9, Estrada has three hits in 29 at-bats, a .103 batting average. Over his past 30 games, dating back to the end of May, Estrada owns a slash line of .175/.210/.246, a .456 OPS, with five extra-base hits, two walks and 23 strikeouts.

“It’s not easy,” Estrada said through Spanish-language interpreter Erwin Higueros. “This is the first time in my career that I have had this bad streak.”

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It doesn’t help that Estrada has run a .211 batting average on balls in play over the past 30 games, compared to a league average of .289, and he joked, “things go well with me as long as I don’t hit it straight to the infielders.”

Melvin said Estrada would “never let on” that anything is awry physically, but after some prodding from reporters, the second baseman acknowledged that his injuries this season have taken a toll. He leads the team with five hit-by-pitches, and often they have gotten him on his hand, wrist or forearm. Last season, Estrada missed a month after being hit by a pitch and fracturing his hand.

“It’s not an excuse for what’s going on, but it kind of puts you on the defensive side,” Estrada said. “When you’re beginning to feel that you’re getting into a groove, all of a sudden that happens to you. … It’s been a year where I try to overcome an injury and here comes another one. First it was the thumb, then the wrist, then the hit-by-pitch. There are so many things that are happening that are getting in the way of me getting into a groove.”

With plenty of swimming stars at the 2024 Olympics, France’s Marchand may shine brightest

By PAUL NEWBERRY, AP National Writer

Most of the big stars from the last Olympics will be back at the pool in Paris.

Caeleb Dressel. Katie Ledecky. Ariarne Titmus. Emma McKeon.

But the local favorite might just shine brightest of them all.

France’s Léon Marchand has drawn comparisons to the great Michael Phelps, a link that was only strengthened by Phelps’ longtime coach, Bob Bowman, overseeing the 22-year-old’s rise to prominence.

At last summer’s world championships in Fukuoka, Marchand broke Phelps’ 15-year-old world record in the 400-meter individual medley, to go along with victories in the 200 IM and 200 butterfly — two more of Phelps’ signature events.

“Leon has several things that make him a great,” Bowman said. “He has speed and he has endurance. So he kind of has the whole package that you want, and so far he’s done well under pressure, which is the other piece of that equation. He has it all really.”

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The place figures to be especially loud every time Marchand steps up on the blocks.

“I get to swim the (400) IM against the world record holder in his home country,” said Carson Foster, the top American hopeful. “That atmosphere is going to be electric.”

Marchand, who swam for Bowman at Arizona State, competed in four events at the Tokyo Games, with a best showing of sixth in the 400 individual medley.

But he emerged as one of the sport’s rising stars at the 2022 world championships in Budapest, and his performance the following year in Fukuoka only raised the stakes heading into his home-country Olympics.

“When I came back from Tokyo, I was like, ‘Damn, this is like a game-changer. Now I can actually beat those guys pretty soon,’” Marchand said. ”I know I can train better. I know I can improve this.”

DOPING CONCERNS

Swimming has faced many doping scandals over the years, going all the way back to the East Germans’ rise to prominence in the 1970s that was powered by state-sponsored doping.

Now, all eyes are on the Chinese after reports that nearly two dozen of their top swimmers tested positive for banned substances ahead of the Tokyo Olympics but were allowed to compete. Five of those swimmers went on to win medals, including three golds.

It was also revealed that three of those same Chinese swimmers had previously tested positive for a different substance but faced no ramifications.

Ledecky said many swimmers have lost faith in the World Anti-Doping Agency and can’t help but wonder if the competition in Paris will be fair.

Phelps, who won a record 23 gold medals during his career, went before the U.S. Congress to express his concerns.

“It is clear to me that any attempts of reform at WADA have fallen short, and there are still deeply rooted, systemic problems that prove detrimental to the integrity of international sports and athletes’ right to fair competition, time and time again,” he said.

Katie Ledecky gets ready for the Women’s 800 freestyle finals Saturday, June 22, 2024, at the US Swimming Olympic Trials in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)BIG RIVALS

The United States and Australia have long been the world’s most prominent swimming nations, fueling a rivalry that will heat up again in Paris.

While the Americans traditionally have the deepest team, the Aussies have proven to be formidable foes in recent years — especially on the women’s side.

At the 2023 worlds, the team from Down Under captured 13 gold medals in swimming. The U.S. won seven, though it did lead the overall medals table 38-25.

Mollie O’Callaghan and Kaylee McKeown each won a pair of gold medals in Fukuoka, Titmus knocked off Ledecky again in the 400 freestyle, and the Aussies bested the Americans in both freestyle relays.

Australia currently holds seven world records in women’s events, including Titmus’ marks in the 200 and 400 freestyle.

“Certainly, the Australians are some of the best, if not the best, in the world,” American women’s coach Todd DeSorbo said. “There’s a lot of events for us in the U.S. where we’ve got nothing to lose. I think that when you’re the group, the team, the individual that has nothing to lose, you’re the most dangerous.”

CAN’T MISS RACE

The most anticipated event at the pool will come on the first night.

The women’s 400 freestyle will feature defending Olympic gold medalist Titmus, 2016 champion Ledecky and Canadian phenom Summer McIntosh.

Titmus is the favorite to repeat after setting a world record last summer in Fukuoka, but Ledecky and McIntosh are determined to give her a run for the top spot on the podium.

Ledecky already has six individual gold medals, more than any other female swimmer, and she’ll be favored to capture at least two more in Paris in the 800 and 1,500 free. She’d love to grab another by knocking off Titmus after settling for the runner-up spot in Tokyo and at the 2023 worlds.

McIntosh is only 17 but has already set world record in both the 400 freestyle and the 400 individual medley.

COMEBACK TRAIL

Dressel, the tattooed American who won five gold medals in Tokyo, is among many swimmers stars who took time away from the pool amid an increased focus on swimming’s mental and physical toll.

Fellow American Simone Manuel, the first Black woman to capture an individual gold in swimming, was sidelined for months as she recovered from overtraining syndrome. Hungarian butterfly gold medalist Kristóf Milák and British breaststroke king Adam Peaty also took long breaks to deal with personal issues.

Dressel qualified for two individual events in Paris, but he won’t get a chance to defend his gold medal in the 100 freestyle after finishing third in that race at the U.S. trials.

He conceded that his quest to recapture a love of swimming is still a bit elusive.

“I’m working on it,” said Dressel, who walked away from the sport in the midst of the 2022 worlds and didn’t return until the following year. “I’m trying to find those moments and really relish in them.”

DIRTY WATER

The 10-kilometer marathon races will be contested in the River Seine, raising concerns about dirty water.

Paris organizers have maintained that the water won’t be hazardous during the Olympics, but that hasn’t assuaged concerns after heavy rains sent bacteria-laden waste into the river.

Dirty water is a familiar issue at the Olympics, most notably when open water was held during the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Games along the beaches of Copacabana.

“We were supposed to have an Olympic test event there last summer, and that got canceled,” said American Katie Grimes, who will compete in both pool and open water events in Paris. “I’m sure they know what they’re doing. They’ve had a long time to figure this out. Hopefully, there’s a backup plan just in case.”

The wave ‘at the end of the road’: A look at the unique features of the Olympic Games surf spot

By VICTORIA MILKO, Associated Press

This month some of the world’s best surfers will travel to Tahiti, French Polynesia, to compete for Olympic gold on what is known as one of the heaviest waves in the world. Called Teahupo’o, the wave has unique properties that make it difficult to ride, having claimed the life of at least one surfer. Here’s a look at the dynamics of the wave and the 2024 Paris Olympics’ surfing competition.

The legendary wave ‘at the end of the road’

Located on the lush mountainous southwestern coast of Tahiti, Teahupo’o is often referred to as “the end of the road” in the surfing community. The nickname is both literal and figurative: The wave is located where roads end on the island, but it is also considered a crown jewel in surfing destinations due to its remote location, unique properties and thrilling rides.

FILE – A wave at Teahupo’o crashes onto the coral reef in Tahiti, French Polynesia, Thursday, Jan. 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Daniel Cole, File)Dynamics of the wave

How the wave forms is considered a natural marvel: The pitch and shape of the barrels of water come from Southern Ocean swells that bend and race along a large, shallow reef. The wave leaves from a sloped bottom, hurling toward the reef and breaking below sea level.

The left-handed waves are usually between 6 to 10 feet high but at times have exceeded 20 feet. The ride is short — lasting between 200 to 300 feet — but extremely fast and intense.

FILE – The surf breaks onto the lagoon in Teahupo’o, Tahiti, French Polynesia, Saturday, Jan. 13, 2024. Teahupo’o will host the surfing competitions during the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. (AP Photo/Daniel Cole, File)

Because of this combination of factors, it’s considered a difficult wave to ride and has claimed the life of at least one surfer. In fact, the name of the wave loosely translates into English as “pile of skulls,” reminding even the world’s most seasoned surfers to proceed with caution.

How scoring works in Olympic surfing

During surfers’ heats, a judging panel scores each wave ride on a scale of 1 to 10 based on a combination of factors, including speed, maneuvers and degree of difficulty. For each ride, the highest and lowest scores are discarded, with the surfer given the average of the three scores remaining.

FILE – The coral reef is visible beneath the water in Teahupo’o, Tahiti, French Polynesia, Jan. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Daniel Cole, File)

Surfers are allowed to catch as many waves as they want in a heat, but wave selection can be crucial, especially given the unpredictable nature of the ocean.

Simone Biles has a shot at history at the Olympics while defending champion Russia stays home

By WILL GRAVES, AP National Writer

Simone Biles and the rest of the U.S. women’s Olympic gymnastics team don’t need to be reminded of what happened in Tokyo three years ago. Mostly because nearly all of them lived it.

Biles, reigning Olympic all-around champion Sunisa Lee, 2020 Olympic silver medalist Jordan Chiles and 2020 floor exercise champion Jade Carey were all there inside a nearly empty and oddly silent Ariake Gymnastics Centre during a memorable two weeks that altered the course of each of their careers and in ways both big and small led them back to the Games.

They are older now — Biles is 27, Carey is 24, Chiles is 23 and Lee is 21 — and eager for what they are calling a shot at redemption.

“Everybody probably looks at the team, like ‘OK, they went to Tokyo and this, this and this happened. And what are they going to do here in Paris?’” Biles said. “But for us, I know we’re stronger than what we showed in Tokyo.”

Simone Biles takes a selfie with Suni Lee, left, Hezly Rivera (blocked), Jordan Chiles and Jade Carey, right, at the United States Gymnastics Olympic Trials on Sunday, June 30, 2024, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

Biles arrived in Japan as the face of the Games. She left without the gold medals most expected and instead at the center of the conversation about the intersection between mental health and sports.

Lee became a somewhat unexpected champion after Biles pulled out of multiple finals, a victory she struggled to believe she had rightfully earned. Carey packed a gold medal in her carry-on coming home but admits it felt weird competing as an individual after following an unusual path to the Games. Chiles cherished the team silver the Americans captured while Biles watched from the sideline but allowed she wasn’t at her best during the meet.

They’re all back — along with newcomer Hezly Rivera, just 16 — in hopes of authoring a different ending this time around.

“I think we really want a team gold,” said Lee, who overcame multiple kidney-related health issues to finish second behind Biles at the U.S. Olympic trials.

The American women are favored to win with defending champion Russia unable to participate as part of the fallout of the war with Ukraine. It just might not come as easy as Biles and company have made it seem while winning every major international competition (save, very notably, for one) since the 2011 world championships.

Brazil and powerhouse Rebeca Andrade have made massive strides over the last decade. France, China and Great Britain all have legitimate shots at making the podium.

Still, Biles knows a portion of those who tune in to watch will be waiting to see if what happened in Tokyo will repeat itself. She’s taking steps to make sure she’s in a better place this time around, including therapy, though she stressed the only reason she’s back is because she feels she owes it to herself.

“Nobody’s forcing me to do it,” Biles said. “I wake up every day and choose to grind in the gym and come out here and perform for myself just to remind myself that I can still do it.”

All she’s done since returning last summer following a two-year break was win her sixth world all-around championship while continuing to push her sport into places no one else dares go.

Biles, who married Chicago Bears safety Jonathan Owens in 2023, has brushed aside whether this will be her last time competing under the Olympic rings. That’s too far down the road. She and the rest of the U.S. team to “honor” the village that led them back to the unique spotlight only the Games provides.

“I feel like even for myself, I’m like, ‘Oh my gosh, I’m still doing it. I’m still capable,’” she said. “So let’s go.”

A rivalry renewed

Like their female teammates, the Russian men are also out of the mix to defend the Olympic title they won in a taut final three years ago.

That leaves China and Japan to duel for the top spot at Accor Arena. The Japanese are led by defending all-around gold medalist Daiki Hashimoto, who has spent the last three years cementing his status as a worthy heir to countryman Kohei Uchimura, considered perhaps the greatest men’s gymnast of all time.

Hashimoto has won each of the last two world all-around championships, though China (2022) and Japan (2023) have split the last two team titles.

FILE – Fred Richard performs on the pommel horse during the U.S. Gymnastics Championships, Thursday, May 30, 2024, in Fort Worth, Texas. The 20-year-old Richard headlines a U.S. men’s team that has a chance to finish on the Olympic podium for the first time since 2008. (AP Photo/LM Otero, File)Closing the gap

A resurgent U.S. men’s program hopes to reach the Olympic podium for the first time since earning bronze in Beijing 16 years ago. The Americans finished third at worlds last fall, and a young team led by 20-year-old Frederick Richard, who believes what happens in Paris could just be the start.

“(We want to) give everything this Olympics and show that we have the potential we can bring home medals and that it’s (go hard) to make sure it’s not about medals anymore,” he said. “It’s about gold medals for 2028.”

An unlikely comeback

The American women are the first team in modern Olympic history to feature multiple all-around champions on its roster.

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Only, she didn’t. Instead, Lee and her team of medical professionals were able to get a handle on her treatment, opening the door for Paris.

Biles’ presence also means Lee won’t feel the pressure to become the first Olympic champion in more than 56 years to repeat. Instead, she is hoping to come home with gold on the balance beam, an event that showcases her uncommon grace.

“I need to be gold because I feel like I always make the final and then I always mess up,” she said with a laugh. “But it’s still annoying.”