Rep. Dean Phillips (D-MN) came out on "Meet the Press" Sunday to say he thinks President Joe Biden needs a strong primary opponent because he feels that "people want to turn the page" on the entire political system, including both Biden and former President Donald Trump.

“I’m a representative, and I’m representing what I believe to be the majority of the country that wants to turn the page,” Phillips said. “Tired of the meanness and the fear mongering of Donald Trump. I would like to see Joe Biden, a wonderful and remarkable man, pass the torch, cement this extraordinary legacy.”

He added, “As a Democrat, I adore Joe Biden. He saved this country. He can cement his legacy. My real call to action right now is not about me. The call to action is to ask the president to pass the torch."

It's a unique position among Democrats, and not because Phillips himself has any aspirations for the presidency--at least not yet.

"Extraordinary bench"

He cited an "extraordinary bench of people ready to go” — mentioning and echoing names like Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro and Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker.

Phillips' position is not shared by national Democrats, however: they think Biden is the most likely candidate to win for them and can be propped up for five-and-a-half more years even though he can hardly string two sentences together anymore--or stay on his feet.

While Phillips is right that Biden needs to go--for his own sake and for the country's--he fails to acknowledge Biden's many policy failures, such as the Afghantistan pullout in 2021 that led to the deaths of 13 U.S. service members and put the country back in the hands of the Taliban.

Never mind Biden's trillions in extra-budgetary spending that have led to an inflationary spiral many Americans are finding it hard to afford.

Biden's failures

Then there's the border, where over 7 million illegal immigrants have come into the country because he reversed all of Trump's successful policies and implemented ones that don't work at all.

Phillips may be right that many voters want to turn the page on the current political situation--can you blame them?

In reality, though, politics is being run on polls and probabilities that tell the current leadership of both parties that Biden and Trump are their best chances of winning.

It may take some kind of divine intervention--a severe health setback for one or both or maybe some criminal charges that actually stick--for the country to move past these elderly power brokers that just won't give up their power until it is ripped from their hands.

Something new

If only Ronna McDaniel or Jaime Harrison had Phillips' courage, we might have a chance to turn the page to something new.

Whether Whitmer, Pritzker or Shapiro could or should win a national race, however, will remain an area of disagreement.