President Biden announced he’ll be retiring from the political scene in November, and not standing for reelection. He has endorsed Vice President Harris for the Presidency.
My sympathies to President Biden. He’s had a unique political career: Representative, Senator, former Presidential candidate rejected for alleged plagiarism, vice president to one of the most highly rated Presidents, and then President, but now for only a single term. He’ll be highly rated by historians in fifty years, especially in the context of two of the worst Presidents, Bush and Trump. It must be disappointing to have to leave the race after an unfortunate debate performance against a determined loser like Trump, especially in light of a term fill with accomplishments. For those who’d dispute that claim, just remember: cleaning up after Trump and his Republican Congress, determined to bankrupt America, is an expensive proposition in terms of inflation, but the alternative was even worse.
Perhaps his recent Covid diagnosis and symptoms are also affecting him.
I had reluctantly concluded he was the best candidate back in 2019/2020, but was concerned about his age, and that’s caught up with him. I had hoped that he’d make it through this self-inflicted crisis, convinced that as voters began comparing the two Presidents and what they’re saying, they’d realize that Trump is a demented old man, allied with flying nutcases of many varieties: Proud Boys, Nazis, Evangelicals, all with their own delusions of why they should be in charge.
Not that all of Biden’s allies are sensible. One or two don’t seem to know how liberal democracies work. But Biden’s record of a recovering economy, return to world leadership, effective support of Ukraine, Taiwan, and Israel, all dangerous but necessary enterprises, speaks for itself. I believed he would put his boot right up Trump’s ass in the end.
Vice President Harris, I guess it’ll be your boot up his ass. I’m confident you can do that.