Commentary
Sorry David, too late for that. And too bad that Biden didn’t take his own advice from back in 2019.
David Ignatius is a well-respected Op-ed columnist for The Washington Post. His most recent column, published today, was headlined, “President Biden should not run again in 2024.”
Ignatius began his column reminding readers that in 2019, when Biden launched his campaign, he was the right man at the right time:
“Joe Biden launched his candidacy for president in 2019 with the words ‘we are in the battle for the soul of this nation.’ He was right. And though it wasn’t obvious at first to many Democrats, he was the best person to wage that fight. He was a genial but also shrewd campaigner for the restoration of what legislators call ‘regular order.’”
He went on to summarize some of Biden’s notable accomplishments:
“Since then, Biden has had a remarkable string of wins. He defeated President Donald Trump in the 2020 election; he led a Democratic rebuff of Trump’s acolytes in the 2022 midterms; his Justice Department has systematically prosecuted the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection that Trump championed and, now, through special counsel Jack Smith, the department is bringing Trump himself to justice.
“What I admire most about President Biden is that in a polarized nation, he has governed from the center out, as he promised in his victory speech. With an unexpectedly steady hand, he passed some of the most important domestic legislation in recent decades. In foreign policy, he managed the delicate balance of helping Ukraine fight Russia without getting America itself into a war. In sum, he has been a successful and effective president.”
But despite the wins, despite the admiration, Ignatius followed up with this:
“But I don’t think Biden and Vice President Harris should run for reelection. It’s painful to say that, given my admiration for much of what they have accomplished. But if he and Harris campaign together in 2024, I think Biden risks undoing his greatest achievement — which was stopping Trump.”
“Biden would carry two big liabilities into a 2024 campaign. He would be 82 when he began a second term. According to a recent Associated Press-NORC poll, 77 percent of the public, including 69 percent of Democrats, think he’s too old to be effective for four more years. Biden’s age isn’t just a Fox News trope; it’s been the subject of dinner-table conversations across America this summer.
“Because of their concerns about Biden’s age, voters would sensibly focus on his presumptive running mate, Harris. She is less popular than Biden, with a 39.5 percent approval rating, according to polling website FiveThirtyEight. Harris has many laudable qualities, but the simple fact is that she has failed to gain traction in the country or even within her own party.”
Unfortunately, despite his good intentions, Ignatius ended his column basically undermining his argument that Biden should not run again with a dose of reality:
“Time is running out. In a month or so, this decision will be cast in stone. It will be too late for other Democrats, including Harris, to test themselves in primaries and see whether they have the stuff of presidential leadership. Right now, there’s no clear alternative to Biden — no screamingly obvious replacement waiting in the wings. That might be the decider for Biden, that there’s seemingly nobody else. But maybe he will trust in democracy to discover new leadership, “’in the arena.’”
Sorry David, time isn’t “running out;” time has run out! In a presidential election cycle that seems to begin earlier and earlier, and with no immediately recognizable Democratic hopeful who will be able to mount a winnable challenge to Trump, the train has left the station. In an otherwise laudable column, Ignatius left out the obvious: an alternative! Frankly, all the best “usual suspects,” including governors like Whitmer (Michigan), Pritzker (Illinois), Polis (Colorado), Newsom (California) and others either have serious baggage (Newsom) or don’t have the name recognition and/or the apparatus (fund raising and staffing) to begin mounting a campaign this late in the game. Remember, the GOP had their first debate last month!
But here’s the thing that gnaws at me while we Democrats are wringing our hands. Not many people remember what was going on and what was said in December 2019 as the Democratic field was beginning to shape up. But I do.
In December 2019, multiple media outlets ran stories about Joe Biden’s intentions if he won in 2020. This quote from Eric Lutz of Vanity Fair sums it up:
“Sources familiar with his (Biden’s) thinking told Politico he may seek to allay such concerns (his age) by indicating he’d only serve one term, allowing a new generation of Democratic leaders to rise once he’s attended to the business of ousting Trump. By positioning himself, explicitly or implicitly, as a temporary caretaker of the White House who can clean up the mess the last guy made and get out, he may be able to win over some who are unexcited or uncertain about a Biden presidency. ‘This makes Biden a good transition figure,’ one prominent Biden adviser told the outlet. ‘I’d love to have an election this year for the next generation of leaders, but if I have to wait four years [in order to] get rid of Trump, I’m willing to do it.’”
One of the key reasons I supported Biden’s candidacy for the nomination then was what was in those stories; that he’d win, fix the mess Trump created and then turn things over to a new generation of Democrats. But that doesn’t appear to be happening. Biden won but apparently forgot what he and his advisors were saying. And, unfortunately, he probably picked the wrong person as VP…the natural successor to a one-term presidency. Recognizing all that, it’s simply too late to change course.
What to do then? Hit Trump as hard as we can by comparing the criticisms of Biden and compare those criticisms to Trump, point by point:
- Age: Trump is only three years younger than Biden. No one talks about that.
- Physical fitness for the job: Trump is obese, with horrible eating habits and no exercise regimen. (Sorry, golfers). Based on his last physical Biden’s doctor reported, “The president remains fit for duty, and fully executes all of his responsibilities without any exemptions or accommodations.”
- Mental acuity: While Biden looks a little lost at times, ocasional loss of his train of thought does not seem to have hampered his effectiveness on the job. Trump is generally incoherent in his speeches and social media posts sounding, more often than not, to be demented and deranged.
- Character: Yes, Biden probably should have reined Hunter in on some things, but he’s basically a good man. Trump, on the other hand is a serial liar who has been indicted on 91 felony counts, is a known sexual predator and rapist and will seek revenge and retribution on all his alleged enemies while simultaneously destroying democracy and the world order in the meantime.
Dems – let’s stop lallygagging and get tough! This is an election that cannot be lost.
Around the Block 
good message
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The only idea that I disagree with you about and Mr. Ignatius ,( I obviously do not know David as well as You Do,)is that Trump is not gone and certainly not forgotten. He has not been vanquished and is not behind bars. He is polling better than anyone thought with 90 plus indictments. Democrats have had 4 years to get rid of him. Where are leading Democrats who are chomping at the bit to get in the fight? If Democrats wanted to take back state houses and sever Trump’s popularity, they should have gone all out in the run up to the 2022 mid-term elections and after. Instead the lost New York for shit sake! There is no one in the fight except an old man and a unpopular woman. That is going to have my support because there is no one else. I know the importance of this. Does the rest of America?
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A sobering article but, then again, aren’t all articles pertaining to the election sobering if not down right scary? Yes, I agree with your assessment of the intentions of 2019 and Biden’s stop gap measure to rid the country of djt and the ranks should have closed on an alternative candidate to follow suit upon a one term President. Since this has not been forthcoming the only alternative is to go with your advisements, slam djt for all his ill character and try to rally support amongst the young and disenfranchised.
The notion that a sizable number of the American populace (would and do) support this evil maga grifter is so disheartening in a civilized society.
Does the element of being an Expatriate citizen hold true for me in the future…….?
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re: expatriation – let me know when you want to start planning. Didn’t I read, as veterans, we get special deals? Or was that just for Jarheads?
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Of Course we would need a fine Naval officer to carry us through! 🙂
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I am going to sound like a broken record, but age should not be a factor in this coming election. However, for the Democrats, dynamism should be. The Democrats should have a candidate they want to have leading them, a candidate who will bring out the voters one more time. Biden is not dynamic, and that is the only reason he should not be running.
The problem is, looking at current Democratic leadership, no one is dynamic. there is no John F, KENNEDY. There is no Barrack OBAMA. So, because of the lack of a dynamic leader, you are basically stuck with Biden again. He is competent. If nothing else, America needs a competent President. Don’t throw him out with the old newspapers. Look at what you got when you cannot look to the future. Let him caretake for another term. And spend the next four years looking for someone who can lead America out of the morass.
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Well said. Completely agree but for one point. While JFK and Obama were indeed dynamic, neither could match Biden’s accomplishments.
Obviously, Kennedy’s presidency was tragically cut short, but it is arguable that he wouldn’t have accomplished much of the domestic initiatives that LBJ did. And, of course, we’ll never know if he would have stubbornly escalated the Vietnam War as Johnson did.
Obama’s greatest triumph was the Affordable Care Act. But there were many areas where, whether due to his lack of enthusiasm for the nuts and bolts of politics or simply his possible believe that he was “too smart” for the crowd he had to work with, he fell short. While he was dynamic, it is questionable whether he displayed real “leadership.”
My point regarding where we are now is that I had hoped Biden would have held true to that 2019 one-term objective — fix the mess, train new leadership and move on. While he’s done a great job at everything else, he didn’t prepare future leadership. As they say in NYC, it’s time to “fuggedaboutit.” What’s wasn’t done, wasn’t done. Now it’s time to rally behind him in his fight against the incompetent, completely unfit, disgraced, twice impeached, morally and criminally corrupt ex-president and his MAGA acolytes. Make no mistake…losing that fight will spell the beginning of the end of democracy and the world order.
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Losing will certainly affect the USA in that way, but I doubt it will be the end of democracy and world order. Other younger nations will step up to fill the shoes left by a failing USA. But hopefully we will not have to get go that point, The Republican Party needs to be decimated everywhere, just like Conservative Parties in other nations. It is time for the world to progress past racism, theocracies, and dictatorships.
I personally think democracies as we know them today need to be changed to prevent things like what is happening in the USA, Great Britain, and certain other countries. There is no more honour in being a politician, if ever there was any. Some limits do have to be imposed on who can run for office and how campaigns are funded, that sort of thing. The USA has gone too far in certain directions.
Or maybe a whole new type of government needs to be discovered. As the Republicans have shown, democracy can be abused, badly!
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