I’m staying in, I’m staying in, I’m staying in, I’m out. The crisis the Democratic Party and Joe Biden created going into this critical election was a mistake of historical propositions. It’s never happened before and was entirely preventable. When Lyndon Johnson dropped his possible re-election bid in March 1968, he could see the crush of the Vietnam war was too much to overcome and it wasn’t one month before the Democratic convention. Simple math told Biden and party leaders he would be eighty-two years old at the start of his second term and eighty-six if he survived it. Biden could have gone out a hero after the 2022 elections when Democrats did much better than expected. Biden did accomplish a great deal in undoing Trump’s mess and getting significant legislation passed. He could have come out and said it was time to pass the torch to a younger generation of candidates and may the best candidate win.
Biden was declining by the day over the last year and a half and he and his inner circle tried to cover it up. Biden insisted he was going to run again and they were all afraid to stand up and tell him it was a bad idea for him and the country. The party leaders like Pelosi, Schumer, Jeffries and dozens of elected Democrats have been desperately scrambling for the last few weeks since the disaster debate to do what they should have done in early 2023. His aides hid the truth in plain sight. No unscripted events, very few open news conferences, very few one on one interviews. The stumbles and pauses and coughs only grew worse.
Biden and his team thought he beat Trump once and he was the only one who could beat him again. They let themselves be blinded by what they didn’t want to see. No one wants to stand up to the president and tell him he is wrong. That’s why presidents have to surround themselves with advisors who have the backbone to stand up to power. It’s the most demanding job in the world. The pressure is unrelenting and mistakes can have huge consequences.
There is no greater consequence than allowing Trump back into the White House. This week painted an awful picture for Biden and Democrats. While Trump was being hailed a hero at the Republican convection, Biden was holed up at home with Covid. Even the video of Biden getting off the plane to return home to isolate was hard to watch. Biden had a long career of service to his country. He did save the country at a critical moment in 2020 when he beat the most dangerous man ever to sit in the White House. He should be remembered for that and the decent man he is.
Power can be a a drug that’s hard to give up. Biden wanted to be president all his life and failed a couple of time before he finally made it. The party was derelict in allowing this to fester into an embarrassing situation. Biden is also to blame for allowing himself to be humiliated by having to give in as his own party turned on him. The new nominee is likely to be Kamala Harris. We have to support her. She may not be everyone’s ideal candidate. But there is no option.
Perhaps hubris on the part of Biden – unwilling to give up the fight and thinking that his health and cognitive ability was actually better than what everyone else observed. Also, probably a good deal of denial from family and those closest to him who could have prevailed and inched this process forward much sooner. His record of accomplishments speak for themselves. Let’s hope this change ignites massive voter turnout for VP Harris. She is a good choice. That other guy should never be allowed anywhere near the white house again. Once was too much!