In his first public address since deciding not to run for re-election, Joe Biden treated the nation to a speech that was as full of contradictions as it was disingenuousness. Speaking from the Oval Office, the president tried to put to rest the mounting queries regarding his sudden decision to step aside in favor of Vice President Kamala Harris. But what he delivered were more questions than answers.
Teleprompter Diplomacy
“In recent weeks, it has become clear to me that I need to unite my party in this critical endeavor,” Biden began. “Nothing, nothing can come in the way of saving our democracy. That includes personal ambition.”
If those words had been offered prior to this year’s presidential primary contest, where more than 16 million people sought to have their say over the Democratic Party contender, they would likely have been well-received. Now, however, several months late and 100 million dollars in donations short, they ring hollow.
On the topic of why he decided not to run, no mention was made of his disastrous debate performance, his flagging poll numbers in the crucial battleground states, nor his evident cognitive difficulties. Instead, he spoke of VP Harris’ anointment:
“I’ve decided the best way forward is to pass the torch to a new generation. It’s the best way to unite our nation. I know there was a time and a place for long years of experience in public life. There’s also a time and a place for new voices, fresh voices, yes, younger voices. And that time and place is now.”
Apparently, the last year of soundbites claiming that Biden’s age was irrelevant have gone the way of the memory hole; in its place is the now-firm belief that it’s time for a younger voice to take the party megaphone. Why was this not true before the primary contest?
A Funny Type of Democracy
The president added an oratory flourish with all the makings of a Kamala Harris campaign slogan. He said:
“The great thing about America is, here kings and dictators do not rule — the people do. History is in your hands. The power’s in your hands. The idea of America lies in your hands. You just have to keep faith — keep the faith — and remember who we are.”
In whose hands? — not in those of the 16 million disenfranchised Democrat primary voters, naturally, but rather in the palms of the now-unbound delegates who will determine the party’s next contender without the input of the states from which they hail. It’s a funny type of democracy, made especially ironic by how members of Mr. Biden’s party clearly pressured him to stand aside.
Biden Fit for Service?
Biden insisted that he would not be stepping down from the presidency and that he would continue in office for the next six months, focusing on his Cancer Moon Shot, Supreme Court reform, and “working to end the war in Gaza.”
The question of whether Joe Biden can maintain his duties is one that sparks a whole host of concerns – some of which delve into the conspiratorial realms, others which are valid concerns regarding who is ultimately running the country. Special Counsel Robert Hur’s investigation into Biden’s mishandling of classified documents concluded with the notion that charges would not be brought because – in Hur’s opinion – the jury would find him to be a well-meaning, forgetful elderly man. Hardly a ringing endorsement of competence.
And what about those who work with the president every day? Did they not witness his deterioration? Was the debate debacle a real surprise to them? Yet, the very people who united in forcing Mr. Biden to halt his campaign are now the ones with the unenviable task of explaining why he shouldn’t be removed from office. After all, six months is a long time to have the nuclear codes if one is too impaired to run a political campaign.
Where’s the Answer, Joe?
For the good of democracy is not a satisfying answer as to why the president collapsed his re-election campaign. Considering that the party will run roughshod over its primary supporters to crown Kamala Harris in a virtual roll call before the almost 4,000 delegates can gather in Chicago this August, it is also not a convincing one.
The Fourth Estate will not be demanding details on the process of Biden’s removal and has indeed already begun the process of canonizing the 46th president as a “heroic” figure. Party leaders in Congress have all fallen in line behind Harris in what appears to be the hope that they can avoid being throttled out of office through the entanglement of Joe Biden’s political coattails. Meaning, the only person who could have provided a clear answer was Biden himself. He chose not to.
“The cause of the nation is larger than any one of us,” he said. And that has always been true. The question demanding an answer is whether this concept holds true when it comes to a party so desperate to cling to political power, it suspends the very notion it claims to champion.
