I’ve asked my colleagues David Ignatius and Dana Milbank to help process the news. What should Democrats do now?

Ruth Marcus: This moment comes with mixed emotions: relief mixed with sadness and, even more so, fear for the road ahead. But I want to pause for a moment to consider the sadness. As frustrated and—ultimately—angry as I was at Biden’s unwillingness to exit gracefully, this is a deeply human story of a man who once saved us from Donald Trump and, I believe, genuinely believed to the end that he was the best candidate to do so again. It’s hard to grow older—and, indeed, hard to accept our own foibles and limitations at any age—and Biden’s story, tinged with tragedy throughout his career, ends on a note that is both tragic and, I hope, heroic.

David Ignatius: He looked in the mirror and finally saw what others saw. I share Ruth’s sense that we are entering a space that is unmarked and fraught with danger, but it is also exciting. Biden has opened the door to a generational transition. For the first time in a long time, Democrats have a chance to generate real energy about ideas and people. As scary as that is, it will be good for the party and the country. Bravo to Biden for opening the curtain as he closes his own.

Dana Milbank: Heroic more than anything. Biden did what he always did and put country first. I hate the way this played out in public. I didn’t join the clamor for him to back off. I had faith that he would do the right thing. Maybe it’s because of the clamor. Either way, he did the right thing. Where there was despair yesterday, there is hope today.

Ruth: In terms of the path forward, I think it’s fitting and proper for Biden to endorse Harris. But I think he’s trying to anoint her and avoid the divisiveness of a nomination fight. I think that would be a mistake. The delegates should have a choice. The problem with this process from the beginning has been the lack of choice, as David prophetically noted. There should be a process for the delegates and Democrats to hear alternatives rather than being told that they have no further say in the matter except to ratify Harris. She’s likely to be the nominee, and there’s reason to believe she’ll be a good standard-bearer, but the process is hugely important here.

David: The truth is, Harris will be a much better candidate — and potentially president — if she can survive the month-long battle of town halls and a “great debate” about the party and the country. If Biden blocks or tries to circumvent that, he will make a huge mistake.

Ruth: There is already an effort by Biden aides and allies to circumvent that process. See, for example, the statement by former White House Chief of Staff Ron Klain: “Now that donors and elected officials have dismissed the only candidate Trump has ever defeated, it is time to end the political fantasy games and unite behind the only veteran of a national campaign.”

David: Unfortunately, Klain has responded better to the interest groups within the party than to the challenge of uniting the country.

Dana: I’m saddened by the first part of Ron’s statement, but I think he’s right about the second. There’s a tremendous amount of resentment among loyal Democrats, particularly Black Democrats, about Biden being pushed aside. If the donor class were to succeed in pushing Harris aside as well, presumably for a white candidate, it would be an ugly and divisive scene. Harris is almost certainly the nominee, and she should be. There’s simply no way around it. She would have been the overwhelming favorite anyway, and even more so with Biden’s support. But the obstacles to it being anyone other than Harris — paying back the party’s war chest, ballot access issues, losing the campaign infrastructure that Biden/Harris built — are insurmountable.

David: After so many months of telling the public that what they saw with their own eyes was wrong, shouldn’t Democrats work harder to tell the truth — and show that the party is not a prisoner of its own internal politics? Why does an open race push the vice president aside? She would probably win an open race and be a better candidate.

Dana: Well, getting on the ballot and paying back hundreds of millions of dollars isn’t just an internal consideration. I don’t see any of the other usual suspects stepping up to challenge Harris. Some have already indicated they won’t. So while an “open process” would be ideal, how would that work if Harris isn’t challenged?

Ruth: Ultimately, the choice will not be with the donor class, but with the delegates. And as for the need for choice: look at the GOP insta-reaction. Putting aside the lack of niceness (Lara Trump: “He said he’d ‘get the job done,’ but he couldn’t even finish his own campaign!”), it’s all about Democrats’ perceived disdain for the will of the voters. Republicans may think they’re being clever by insisting on a process that will create divisions in the Democratic ranks, but they’re also right: There has to be a process that people can respect and accept. (I also don’t think Team Biden has to pay back the money. The money can go to a super PAC or the Democratic National Committee. The DNC can coordinate the spending. The infrastructure can and should be handed over to whoever is the nominee.)

Dana: I agree, Ruth, that it is up to the delegates. These are Biden delegates, and they will almost certainly appoint the person who endorsed Biden. They probably would have endorsed her anyway. This is not because it is a closed process or because the Democrats have rigged the game.

David: If no one challenges Harris, she will have a united party and a strong wind at her back. I just don’t think this is the time for Biden to be the silver bullet. Let him take the applause he deserves for what has been in many ways an unusually effective presidency.

Ruth: A well-deserved round of applause is a nice note to end on.

Dana: Yeah, I think we can all agree on that.

• David Ignatius has more to say about Biden’s decision. Take a look.
• Michelle Norris warns Democrats not to push Kamala Harris aside. Watch more.
• The Post editorial board wrote that Biden’s decision “creates an opportunity for a reset, not just for his party but for American politics more broadly.” Read more.
• Jennifer Rubin explores six ways Kamala Harris could transform the race. Check them out here.
• “Project 2025 takes many of the principles that have made this nation great and tears them apart,” said Larry Hogan, Republican candidate for Maryland Senate, in an op-ed in the Post.