As a Democrat, I was hoping for a much better showing by President Joe Biden in last week’s debate, but this did not happen. Because of the event’s utter awfulness, we were among probably millions of viewers who had to turn it off after the first 15 or 20 minutes.
Since then, I’ve read and heard many commentors on that evening’s sad demonstration of the qualification for national and world leadership of the candidates of our two political parties.
Regarding former President Trump, who rarely if ever actually answered the question asked, I suppose it’s accurate to characterize most of his debate comments as constant lying and blustering, which I realize appeals to many to his supporters as just “Trump being Trump.”
Regarding President Biden’s lackluster performance, albeit with honest answers, I have to agree with Democratic political strategist David Axelrod, who in a post-debate panel discussion said former President Trump would “face trouble’ if President Biden is replaced at the top of the Democratic ticket. This is exactly what needs to happen now.
What has been missing from commentary about President Biden’s performance is that now, in effect, he is at the top of his game. I can tell you as a fellow octogenarian that as the years go by one’s mental and physical capabilities only decline and never improve. He would be 82 at the beginning of a second term and 86 at its end We have just seen how he functions at present, so what can we expect in toward the end of a second term in 2029?
I hope that former Presidents Clinton and Obama, as well as the predictable decline in his polling statistics and fundraising numbers, will persuade President Biden it’s time to withdraw as Democratic candidate in time for the mid-August convention in Chicago to select a proper successor.
In my judgment, President Biden has been an excellent chief executive who was the right man at the right time. And he would have accomplished much more had it not been for the many impediments caused directly and indirectly by Mr. Trump through the House of Representatives and the Supreme Court. He should retire from his lifetime of distinguished public service now, at the end of this term, rather than continue his campaign at risk of electoral loss to himself, his party, and the United States.
Gerry Early
Easton
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