Cogito Ergo Non Serviam
Biden Bids America Adieu
Joe Biden addressed the American people last night from the Oval Office, his first such address since he withdrew from the presidential campaign. In his 11 minute speech, he explained his reason for departing was to protect democracy. He said that as much as he revered the office, he cared for the country more. Most politicians say that, but they do not mean it. In his case, the actions speak for themselves. This, however, was more than a simple "thanks and goodnight." It was a warning of what could happen if Americans get the election wrong. In that regard, he may be the most effective campaigner the new Harris team has. He no longer has anything to lose and nothing to gain. That makes him dangerous. Yet, his actions show true statesmanship as well. It is a powerful combination.
While his withdrawal does make him a lame-duck president, that is still a rather powerful situation in which he finds himself. Last night, he said,
Over the next six months, I will be focused on doing my job as president. That means I will continue to lower costs for hard-working families, grow our economy. I will keep defending our personal freedoms and civil rights, from the right to vote to the right to choose. I will keep calling out hate and extremism, making it clear there is no place, no place in America for political violence or any violence ever, period. I'm going to keep speaking out to protect our kids from gun violence, our planet from climate crisis as an existential threat.
In a political campaign between his VP and Mr. Trump, President Biden can change the daily news cycle with a simple press conference or executive order. The ability to undermine the Trump campaign if and when it builds momentum is invaluable.
If Mr. Biden is guilty of any failing, it is his unwillingness to take of the gloves and fight his own side. After his poor debate performance, many Democrats were worried. It was Mr. Biden himself who failed to put the rebellion in his own party down. Even as late as this week-end, there was a clean path to the nomination. He could have released all the delegates to vote their conscience, and he should then have said he is staying in the race. That would have forced the rebels to find a standard-bearer to take him on. There is no one in the party who could beat him because his campaign won those delegate seats and appointed loyalist to fill them. It might have been a messy day or two at the convention, but the rebels had no one and few votes.
That, however, would have taken the spotlight and put it firmly on him and his age-related issues. He could have won the nomination, but it is not clear if in doing so he would undermine his own general election campaign. Another poor performance might have given Mr. Trump the Oval Office.
This journal remains skeptical of the Harris campaign and its ability to pull off the election. One remembers her abortive 2020 campaign, where she had a promising start only to fail before the Iowa caucuses. If the hypothesis was that only an old white guy can reassure Middle America to vote against Mr. Trump, then Ms. Harris is not the right person for the job. And if the hypothesis was wrong in the first place, that says more about the Democratic Party and its ineptitude than anything else.
One cannot deny the enthusiasm that the Harris candidacy has sparked in the party and perhaps in the nation beyond. At the same time, history and personal experience show that enthusiasm is not the be all and end all of campaigns. Marching voters to the polls becomes easier if they are enthusiastic, but a hyper-excited partisan gets the same number of votes as someone who is holding their nose while marking their ballot.
To paraphrase the Scottish play, "Nothing in his political life became Joe Biden like the leaving of it."
© Copyright 2024 by The Kensington Review, Jeff Myhre, PhD, Editor. No part of this publication may be reproduced without written consent. Produced using Ubuntu Linux.
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