When Boris Johnson resigned as prime minister of the United Kingdom two years ago almost exactly to the day, he spoke of ‘the herd.’
“At Westminster, the herd instinct is powerful and when the herd moves it moves, and my friends in politics,no one is remotely indispensable,” he said.
Joe Biden is certainly feeling ‘the herd’ right now. Only in the case of the beleaguered (and battered) U.S. president, ‘the herd’ is way bigger and more powerful.
He is facing an onslaught, if not a downright tsunami of public and private pressure to ‘do the right thing’ and gracefully_ and more importantly, swiftly,_ bow out of the presidential race and allow a more mentally and physically agile and younger candidate run for the Democratic Party. Daily articles in the ‘should be’ friendly New York Times, Washington Post and allies in the Democratic Party and well-meaning friends are urging him to quit after his term ends–if not before.
And these are just his friends. The Republicans, presumed rival Donald Trump, and the cesspit of social media are clamoring for him to get out –only in coarser and more vulgar language which says more about them than the sitting president. I did wonder why if he’s such a bad candidate, then the Republicans should be jubilant about having such a subpar opponent. I was lectured about ‘caring for the nation, future of mankind’ blah, blah. Hypocrisy abounds.
It seems the only thing that is keeping the 81-year-old Joe Biden in the race is his own stubbornness and/or conviction, and the crucial support of his family. In an interview with ABC, he said ‘Only the Lord God Almighty’ could get him to stand aside. Some say he’s gone Trumpian with that attitude. I say give him a break.
The world has gone slightly mad. I know that if I nag my husband or daughters to do something I think is important, they resist. They push back. It’s human nature. You need to give people space and let them take action. Trust them to the right thing.
Boris Johnson stepped down as he’d lost all political support and he was in a corner that even he, a wily operator, couldn’t escape from. He was grudging and unrepentant, though at least he gave good oratory.
Joe Biden has way more class and substance than Boris Johnson. In political terms, he’s a giant, one of the political figures who’ve made a mark in the last century. Like Britain’s Johnson, he’s a superb orator when the occasion demands, though naturally his style is different. You’d never know that looking at most of the media though. I recall a speech he made on the Polish border after Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022. It was the speech of a statesman. But I’m darned if there was much reporting and analysis of it in our infantilized and clickbait-driven media.
Joe Biden now in his 80s, has spent more than half his life in politics. You can’t just expect him to stand down when the New York Times tells him to. Let’s think why he is being told to step aside. We’re not talking about a corruption scandal, or losing an election, but about the deeply personal relationship most of us will face with our own mortality. It’s a delicate matter for someone who has spent so many decades at the peak of politics, to accept and realize that he is not infallible and worse than that, not as capable as he needs to be for the job. Decline can be slow and cruel.
Let Joe Biden (and smart aides) be in charge of the narrative and timing. There is still time. Though not much. A week is a long time in politics, former UK Prime Minister Harold Wilson is said to have quipped to journalists at a briefing. His departure, should it happen (and I think it probably will), should disrupt the Republicans’ campaign as much as possible. And the Democrats better pick a good candidate that can beat Trump, if they want to avoid looking really lame.
As for Biden, only he can make the decision if and when to bow out. But give him some space. That much he deserves.
