President Biden repeatedly challenged those who questioned whether he was vigorous enough to run for president: “Just watch me!”
Well, the nation watched his performance in the debate. The pundits watched. Political leaders watched. World leaders watched. At the conclusion of the debate, 74% of the American people told pollsters that they felt Biden was too old to do the job.
The problem with the “wait-and-see” strategy, with patience while President Biden tries to fight his way out of the hole dug by his disastrous debate performance is that you cannot unsee what you have seen.
His walk on stage—and his blanking on the first softball question—cannot be forgotten. These were not simple gaffes and looking at one’s watch, these (and the many slips he made over that painful 90 minutes) were evidence that the Joe Biden of 2024 is not the Joe Biden of 2020.
Nor can we forget that he told the Democratic governors that he needed to get more rest and needed to do fewer events after 8 pm. Not part of the job description.
Nor can we forget that he told George Stephanopoulos that he would feel fine if he did as [good] a job as he could have done. Forget the grammatical slip. Maybe at Lake Wobegon you can feel good if you gave it the old college try. Not in this year’s presidential election.
The White House wants to define the issue as whether a three-and-a-half year record as President should be wiped out by one bad night. That is the wrong question. Of course, it should not. Nor should a fifty-four year career as a dedicated and effective public servant. Those should be indelible parts of Joe Biden’s legacy. They should not be tarnished.
And if he drops out of the race Biden’s legacy is secure. Biden will be rated as the best one-term president in our nation’s history, one of the top ten presidents going back to Washington. He will have done most of what he set out to do, far more than most presidents have been able to accomplish. He beat Donald Trump and stopped the momentum that MAGA Republicans were gaining, not only winning in 2020 but turning back a predicted Red Tide in 2022. And he would have been the transitional figure to the next generation of Democratic leaders he promised he would be when he accepted the party mantle four years ago.
But if he runs—and loses—that legacy will be lost. It will be Ruth Bader Ginsberg on steroids. A great career, a brilliant career, tarnished because she held on too long and allowed someone for whom she had no respect to sit in her seat and play a key role in undoing some of her greatest judicial victories.
If Biden loses to Trump, the critics will say he too hung on too long. And look what happened.
Worse, what if Biden stays in the race and has other instances of blanking, of losing his train of thought, the critics will jump. If he does that representing the nation as President, rather than the party as candidate, the reactions will be worse.
What we saw now almost two weeks ago was a man beyond his prime. One of the worst answers Biden gave to Stephanopolous, one almost overlooked, was his failure to recall whether or not he had viewed the tape of his debate performance. Certainly he should remember if he has seen it. And if he actually has not, that is malfeasance on the part of his closest advisors. He needs to know and to appreciate how the nation say him, why people have doubts.
President Biden was terrific at the North Carolina rally, at the Black church in Philadelphia, rallying his supporters on a series of zooms. No one doubts that the fighting Joe Biden still has him moments—and they are terrific.
The point, however, is that he will also have less good moments. Some may be inconsequential—a bad moment—but the press and Trump will pounce on them. Some may be more important—and we cannot afford that, not if they lead to a Trump presidency.
Everyone over 75 (including this commentator) and everyone who has a parent or grandparent over 75 or 80 knows that we all slow down. It stinks, but it is a fact of life. Most hopefully have far more good moments than bad, and President Biden certainly does. But those of us who are self-reflective know that we are not as quick, not as sharp, as we once were. And our families know that, acknowledging our aging and working with it, not denying it. Would that that were the role that the President’s inner circle was playing.
Donald Trump probably fumbles words and phrases more than does Joe Biden. He never had the command of the issues, nor of the job that Biden has, even today. None of those who believe Biden should step down is making an argument for Trump. He is worse, and if Biden stays in, the obvious choice is Biden. However, the choice should not be between two people, about each of whom the public has serious doubts. Now it is.
President Biden’s debate performance opened the door for him to recognize that the time for a transition is now. He can do a great service, to his party but mostly to the nation, by allowing the people to have the kind of choice they want, to allow a new generation of leaders to take their rightful place.
Those who are calling for Biden to step aside are not modern-day Brutuses. They are devotees of Joe Biden who want him to avoid the RBG fate and take a step which, like Washington’s farewell after his service as president, will be an enduring part of his legacy of service to this nation.