Is it ostentatious and embarrassing for a long-established political party to seek continuance in high office when in obvious internal disarray? Aside from failure to assure election integrity for the protection of all citizens, should it be excused for deliberate obfuscation of the declining health of its leader and short-sighted failure to prepare for prospective generational change? A symbolic choice of understudy to tip the 2020 vote, and subsequent failure to accord her a meaningful developmental role, has rendered the party bereft of credible succession. Seductive ‘feel good’ governance is unconvincing when it fails to address basic living needs and national priorities.A hastily installed replacement for an incapacitated president appears totally unprepared to deal with the rigors and routines of the presidency. Sleight-of-hand installation is necessary because no formal job application would include pertinent background qualifications for that demanding position. A party in disarray now is left with the imperative of a grossly overdue public debate about federal policy and practice by a candidate with woefully inadequate exposure to the apolitical world of daily American existence.It’s far too late for a ‘Plan C’ that relies on superficial platitudes lacking in credible substance.“God bless America” is an essential fall-back ‘Plan D’. Phil Osifer