I was in the vanguard of those calling for President Biden to announce he will not seek reelection. Yes, I cited prevailing concerns about his age. He’s 80. But I also noted back then that, among other things,
- he promised he’d serve only one term – as a transitional president;
- he risked the backlash that befell President George H.W. Bush for reneging on this famous promise, “Read my lips, no new taxes”; and
- he should rest his legacy on legislative accomplishments and foreign-policy initiatives that make him the most successful one-term president in US history.
Biden, don’t be like RBG
Alas, Biden appears hellbent on showing how not to learn from history. Of course, history is rife with famous figures, from Napoleon to Muhammad Ali, who failed to master the not-so-gentle art of knowing when to retire.
But I need only cite the pitiful episodes we all witnessed this year, featuring Senate Republican Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (81) freezing in mid-sentence. This alone vindicates concerns about what portends for Biden.
But I’d be remiss not to cite how Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg spent her final years effectively ruling on cases from her deathbed. She was a champion of Black civil rights and women’s rights.
Yet she failed to heed my advice, much like Biden. As a result, Ginsburg handed control of the Court to conservatives who are rolling back those rights, including voting and abortion rights.
Polls show a dead heat
Just like RBG, Biden blithely ignores calls to retire strategically. He’s also ignoring polls that show him in a dead heat with his twice-impeached, four-times-indicted, insurrectionist predecessor, Donald J. Trump.
Those poll results seem incomprehensible. But they indicate how a viscerally ignorant, disgruntled, and ungrateful American electorate might vote in 2024.
Ageism vs tribalism
The irony? At 77, Trump is no spring chicken either. Moreover, it’s self-evident that Biden is in far better shape. And, unlike Trump, he doesn’t have to continually prevail upon aides to lie about his weight.
The difference is that Republican tribalism trumps Democratic ageism. Everyone ridiculed Trump when he infamously boasted that he could stand in the middle of Fifth Avenue, shoot somebody, and not lose any votes.
Republicans joined in that ridicule. Yet they have proven him right time and time again. So they would have no compunction about voting for Trump despite his high crimes and misdemeanors. They don’t even seem bothered by his threats to rip up the Constitution to suit his narcissistic ambitions.
Thus, the Republican Party is nothing more than a cult of personality. And democracy is no match for the tribalism inherent in cult worship.
Meanwhile, Democrats are pinning forlorn hopes on either a prosecutor locking Trump up or the 14th Amendment disqualifying him. As shown, Republicans would still vote for him, even if he’s behind bars. And invoking the 14th Amendment strikes me as a poisoned chalice.
For starters, Trump’s demon spawn (heirs), like Vivek Ramaswamy and Ron DeSantis, make him look like a Jeffersonian Democrat. So the devil you know… Besides, Trump might be the only Republican Biden can beat. So be careful what you wish for.
Mind you, if Biden insists on emulating RBG, Democrats will vote for him. They would just hold their noses to avoid the decaying odor his age represents.
But I was so convinced Biden would keep his promise that I predicted “It’s Gavin Newsom vs. Ron DeSantis for President in 2024″ on July 22, 2023. That was over a year ago. Unfortunately, even if he changes his mind and decides not to run, the poll results everyone is harping about today mean that he’ll be retiring more in disgrace than with grace.
Of course, he could blame a sudden age-related health condition for not running. It could be “on doctor’s orders.” Hey, hope springs eternal.