By JOSE GARCIA

For over a year, polling has indicated that most voters don’t want Trump or Biden in the White House next year. But just as human-produced CO2 pollutes the atmosphere, the political biosphere —contaminated by bipartisan gerrymandering; campaign finance laws that invite corruption; wacko leaders in Congress; media platforms that profit hugely from the political spectacles they encourage and then cover, and then lament; a Supreme Court that discredits itself more each day as it loses all connection to fair play — has rigged things to make it likely both Trump and Biden will be imposed on a frustrated electorate that desperately wants new blood. In other words, public opinion be damned. The attack on democracy did not begin with Trump or the Supreme Court or the Clintons— they just moved it along. It began with the termites of gerrymandering, campaign finance, and media deregulation half a century ago. Then it moved on to create rigged nominating rules that whisper loudly: public opinion be damned.

The cringing moments we all endured watching Biden in debate last week presented an unwelcome curve ball for both campaigns. For Trump’s camp, the pleasure of seeing Biden perform pathetically was tempered by the thought that, should Biden step down, it might change the dynamics of an election cycle that seemed favorable for Trump—should an attractive, younger, alternative to Biden be found. For the Biden camp, the word “panic” was on everyone’s tongue as they called up buddies in the media in real time as the show went agonizingly on. For the citizenry, though, it seemed like an affirmation that, as usual, we are well ahead of the arrogant, out-of-touch and untouchable political class, including the national media elite.

The immediate reaction among prominent Democrats was predictable. Rep. Jim Clyburn (84 years old), who rescued Biden from imminent collapse last time when he scared off the other candidates by mobilizing the black vote, worried that an open convention would be messy and divisive. In other words, don’t trust voters to get past messiness, but trust them to vote for Biden even when polls indicate a Trump win. MSNBC’s Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski argued that Biden has survived dramatic setbacks before. Surely, he would come back again—begging the question, how can you come back from the age of 81? Or, for that matter, Trump’s increasingly obvious 78? Nancy Pelosi (84) ventured that since Biden has been such a good president we owe him a chance to stay on the ticket—begging the question about the wisdom of betting the bank on a behind-in-the polls President who performed pitifully in the head-tohead.

But take note of this newsbreak: The Supreme Court this week handed Joe Biden a major victory when it declared presidents have absolute immunity from prosecution for “core” official acts. In his remaining months he may now, in his official capacity of course, indict his political enemies by weaponizing the Justice Department (Michael Cohen or Fani Willis as Attorney General?), rig elections in the key states, and jail Donald Trump on suspicion of terrorism until January, without fear of accountability after he leaves the White House. If our electoral system still declares Trump the victor, he can