After Joe Biden was installed in the White House earlier this year, it became a trope for conservatives that America was only days away from Biden resigning and Kamala Harris being installed.
Well, it's October, and this hasn't happened.
And it's not going to happen.
Barring Biden's heart rate going to zero, Harris will not be president. Not now. Probably not ever.
And it's a simple matter of power. Because if Harris is placed in the White House, the office of VP is empty, waiting - per the 25th amendment - for her to name a successor.
And the party in power cannot risk that power vacuum.
The Senate is precariously balanced between the Democrats and Republicans. And in the event of a 50-50 tie vote, the VP gets to cast the deciding vote.
That includes a Senate confirmation of a new vice president. Anyone appointed has to be confirmed, and the Republicans suddenly have new and strong powers, and a Biden successor would need to do serious compromising and negotiating to get that appointment through.
I have no doubt that there are many who would like to see Harris in the White House. I have no doubt that Biden is probably ill, although I think that's overblown and much of his sometimes strange behavior and statements are more the result of an innate lack of intellect than dementia. But none of this will change the realities of the power balance in the Senate. If Biden becomes more incapacitated than he already is, I'm predicting an Edith Wilson moment. Edith was the wife of Woodrow Wilson, and after he became incompetent after a serious stroke, Edith basically made pronouncements and decision in his place. Jill Biden will likely do the same thing, and her husband will be kept alive by any means possible.