Following Biden’s disastrous debate performance, I argued that the president deserved to remain in the race due to his success in office and decades of public service. However, in the weeks since, Biden appeared unfit to run.
It pains me to write this because I’ve had the guy’s back until now, but…
It’s over. Joe Biden must drop out of this race.
The polling indicated his road to victory in November was narrow and rocky, even before Biden’s horrid showing at the debate, where he came off as old and doddering as he’s depicted in conservative media.
Biden continued to shake supporters’ faith in him with consecutive, feeble efforts to restore his image as a mentally competent leader (the NBC interview with Lester Holt is particularly depressing.)
For longer than most, I was resistant to the idea of replacing Biden on the ticket this late in the race. So-called “election experts” warned against it and the case they made for his remaining in the race seemed solid.
And to be honest, I felt bad for the guy. I didn’t think he deserved to be lambasted and lampooned as viciously as he has been by all manner of news and entertainment media. Yes, Grandpa Joe is old and rickety. He falls too often and meanders even more.
But I thought Biden could hang in there and win reelection because the majority of Americans would vote for a dirty sock filled with gravel over Trump.
As such, some Postindustrial subscribers thought my continued defense of Biden and faith in the American electorate illustrated that, in fact, I had rocks in my head.
Chris Riley in Manistee, Michigan, wrote of my defense of Biden:
“You gotta be shitting me. Biden does deserve the best; he has earned it, but the presidency and our Democracy deserve even more, especially now. It’s painful to watch…Time will come for us all, but right now, the American people deserve better.”
Tough but fair, Chris. I shouldn’t let my personal feelings get in the way.
And in all transparency, I’ve had my share of gripes about Biden.
For instance, I will never forgive him for the way in which he abandoned the Afghan people, particularly the women, to brutal subjugation by the tyrannical Taliban.
Never. Ever.
However, I put aside my personal feelings about Biden’s mismanagement of Afghanistan because I knew the alternative to him was a return of Trumpism in its most extreme and unfettered form.
In recent days, though, faith in Biden’s ability to carry out the duties of the presidency has gone from a mere pundit talking point to a matter of dollars and cents, as many of the big-money donors Biden needs to win are closing their checkbooks.
With the money drying up, the elected Democratic old guard has been strongly suggesting that Biden needs to hang it up.
House Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi said as much, as has President Obama, reportedly.
A leaked letter to Biden from Maryland Democratic Rep. Jamie Raskin strongly suggests that it’s time for Biden to end his run for reelection, relying on a baseball analogy to make his point to the president, who he compares to a team’s star pitcher and manager.
“There is no shame in taking a well-deserved bow to the overflowing appreciation of the crowd when your arm is tired out, and there is real danger for the team in ignoring the statistics,” Raskin wrote. “Your situation is tricky because you are both our star pitcher and our Manager.
“But in democracy, as you have shown us more than any prior president, you are not a Manager acting all alone; you are the co-Manager along with our great team and our great people,” he added. “Caucus with the team, Mr. President. Hear them out. You will make the right decision.”
Raskin’s remarks are both celebratory of the more than half century of work Biden has done on behalf of the American people and a suggestion that it’s time for him to let someone else continue the work.
And I finally agree with them. It’s time for ole’ pitcher Joe to let a younger, stronger arm finish the game for the win.
