Biden said ‘challenge me.’ At the DNC, Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly should

It’s U.S. Sen. Mark Kelly’s turn, and Democratic strategists who don’t realize it risk handing the White House to Donald Trump.

President Joe Biden keeps saying he’s not going anywhere, but the buzz calling for him to drop his reelection bid seems to be getting louder by the hour.

It started as background noise with videos on social media showing Biden looking lost and confused. It got too loud to ignore after Biden’s debate performance, which was the worst showing in the history of presidential politics. (You can just imagine Sarah Palin watching from Alaska with Russia in her back window, pleading, “Say it ain’t so, Joe.”)

Now, leading Democrats are suggesting Biden step down, prompting the 81-year-old leader of the free world to dare them in a letter: “Go ahead, announce for president. Challenge me at the convention.”

Kelly's got the resume to go toe-to-toe with the president

Who better for a game of chicken than a former fighter pilot?

Kelly won’t have the name recognition of California Gov. Gavin Newsom or Vice President Kamala Harris, but in this case, that’s a good thing.

Newsom is too California — even worse, from a national perspective, he’s too San Francisco. That city has been beset by crime, homelessness and skyrocketing inflation that helped give birth to the Occupy Protest movement of the early 2010s.

Harris will have to overcome far too many problems that our nation should have moved beyond, including racism and sexism. But she also didn’t do enough to distinguish herself over the last four years. She’ll find herself boxed in as an insider, tied to failures at the U.S.-Mexico border and with the nation’s economy.

Kelly doesn’t have those problems.

His background in the military and science is appealing

He’s strong on national defense, having flown combat missions in the U.S. Navy during the Persian Gulf War.

He’s strong on technology, engineering cooperation between the U.S. and Taiwan to secure semiconductor production plants in Arizona.

He’s strong on gun control, as his wife former congresswoman Gabby Giffords was a victim of a mass shooting in Arizona.

And he’s been to space, not because he’s rich and bought his own rocket, but because he was a NASA pilot flying missions to the International Space Station.

Why we should reject the argument it's not Kelly's turn

Political insiders will say it’s not Kelly’s turn. But I don’t think it was Barack Obama’s turn in 2008. And it certainly wasn’t Bill Clinton’s turn in 1992.

Contrast that to 2016 when it was Hillary Clinton’s turn. She was accomplished and ready, but she couldn’t excite Black voters to turn out as they did for Obama. And she didn’t turn evangelicals who don’t believe women should hold positions of leadership.

There’s the question of whether there’s enough time to mount an adequate campaign. It’s legitimate, but American voters have attention spans that don’t last longer than a TikTok.

Voters have time to learn and embrace Kelly as a contender

The four months between now and November will be an eternity.

Plus, Kelly’s newcomer status will give him the advantage of novelty. People will be excited to learn about him, and they’ll be excited about what they learn.

I’m not convinced that Biden will lose to Trump. Ronald Reagan won handily in 1984, despite simmering fears that he was showing signs of dementia.

But I’m also not convinced that Biden is fit to serve as president for the next four years.

If the Democrats decide to take up the president’s convention dare, Kelly needs to be at the point of the attack.

It’s his turn.

Reach Moore at gmoore@azcentral.com or 602-444-2236. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter, @SayingMoore.