Gretchen Whitmer--the decidedly "meh" Governor of Michigan, has been one of the favorites for donors and political insiders for the nominee of the Democrat Party should President Biden step down or be forced out of the race. 

Early on in the post-debate saga, she was clearly angling for the job, but as the Biden Crime Family run by the triumvirate of Joe, Jill, and Hunter made clear that Slow Joe wasn't leaving, she has begun to backtrack. 

Now she is shutting down the speculation that she is open to the job, although there has been no Shermanesque "If nominated I will not run" pronouncement. 

https://t.co/gqyCsTamNq

— bryan metzger (@metzgov) July 8, 2024

Whitmer initially did not follow the Gavin Newsom strategy of sticking by his man; she was coy. She has made no secret of her ambition to run for president, and she clearly reveled in the talk about her potential candidacy. 

LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer is releasing a new memoir at a particularly fraught moment, both for herself and for the Democratic Party.

Set to release Tuesday amid the frenzy over President Joe Biden’s recent debate performance, “True Gretch” won’t do much to dispel questions about her national ambitions. But in a pre-launch interview with The Associated Press, Whitmer did what she could to shut down such speculation, saying bluntly that she would not step into the election if Biden were to step down.

“It’s a distraction more than anything,” said Whitmer. “I don’t like seeing my name in articles like that because I’m totally focused on governing and campaigning for the ticket.”

But the word has gone out, and Whitmer is falling in line, and unlike some of her colleagues, she never openly stabbed Biden in the back. 

Whitmer's Achilles' heel may (or may not) be her COVID pandemic policies, which were among the harshest in the nation. So far, being a COVID fanatic has not been the political poison it should be, and Whitmer's appeal to AWFLs certainly won't be hurt by being too fascist about COVID. 

Send Covid into the nursing homes, shut down businesses, run to TikTok. https://t.co/uyTiWNxZkX

— Big Fish (@BigFish3000) July 2, 2024

Whitmer's superpower is her personal story, which will appeal to women. She recounts the story of her sexual assault as a key to her defense of abortion and wields the idea of being a compassionate person far more effectively than Joe Biden. 

Waiting until 2028 is a smart move on her part. Even if Joe Biden gets out of the race, winning this November will be very difficult. Anti-establishment candidates are winning across the world, and Whitmer is hardly anti-establishment. Kennedy would be the best Democrat candidate if Biden were out, with Bernie running neck and neck with him. 

Neither could be accepted by the establishment because their entire appeal is opposing it. 

Democrats will need to cheat to win, and the margin of cheating is likely to be too great to overcome. Nobody will believe an 81 million vote victory this time around, and it will be impossible to convince even Independents that the election was fair. 

Biden isn't leaving; the best alternative acceptable to the elites are not going to actively campaign for the job, so the Democrats are almost certainly toast.