It wasn't the debate performance so much as what the President said.

[LonePirate]

33. I'm not sure I fully agree.

The discussion and news of the billionaire tax picked up steam during the second week of March 2024 after a much quieter opening salvo for it about a year earlier.

During the first week of March before the billionaire tax become prominent a week later, Biden was down a little over 2 points in the 538 polling average, a margin that was fairly constant throughout the month.

Biden had been suffering from age related concerns since maybe 2022 or even early 2023, something that really bubbled to the surface with the Israel-Gaza mess back on October 7 of last year. Younger voters have had concerns about his age since then, if not earlier. There have been numerous polls saying this for quite a while with Trump also polling negatively because of his age. Except Republicans lined up to support their nominee. For Dems, various coalitions in our party have been in search of the mythical perfect candidate as they seek someone to overcome the courts and their hamstringing and impeding of much of Biden’s agenda.

While the majority of the billionaire class probably do not like the proposed tax, Democratic voter unease with Biden has been happening since last year. No doubt the plutocrats have piled on but I take them to be more of the followers rather than the instigators here. The debate cemented the concerns for a lot of people and that opened the floodgates to bring us where we are now.

Biden is a good man. He has been a great President and honorable lifelong public servant. We are all better off because of him. I just don’t think there is a Dem alive who could have handled the mess of the past few years any better. It’s sad that a restless party preferring major change over a steady hand may be his downfall despite all that he has done. Priorities and people change whether we like it or not.