A New York Times columnist has called on President Joe Biden to bow out of the re-election and “shock the world.” The piece also suggested a way out for Biden that would be least scandalous and most honorable.
A New York Times opinion column by Ross Douthat shocked readers with a suggestion for Biden to step down from the Presidential race. The piece was more shocking coming from a media company that is notoriously Democrat-leaning. But this piece could sound pretty convincing for many of Biden’s re-election supporters.
Douthat even stated that it was no longer a question of whether Biden should proceed with his plan to return to the White House. But it was now a question of how.
Douthat based his conclusion and suggestion on the damning report from the Department of Justice’s Special Counsel on Biden’s handling of classified documents. The report had not only implicated the President in the allegations of leaking classified information but also questioned his mental acuity.
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The Special Counsel, Robert Hur, described Biden in his report as a “sympathetic, well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory.” Biden had called a last-minute press conference to defend his cognitive state and rubbish the report’s findings. But to Douthat, the damage is irreparable.
Biden should drop out of the race in the interest of his party, he says. In his own words, “Joe Biden should not be running for re-election. That much was obvious well before the special prosecutor’s comments on the President’s memory lapses inspired a burst of age-related angst.”
In the piece, Douthat conceded that Biden had done well despite his “obvious” health decline. But he reasoned that an additional five years on the saddle would hurt the country and his party.
Douthat wrote that there is no easy way for Biden to drop out of the race because of his “terrible Vice Presidential choice” in Kamala Harris. He believes that in the event of Biden’s exit from the race, Harris is even less likely to beat Donald Trump than Biden.
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But he prescribed what he believes is the most graceful pathway for his exit, which won’t put Harris in the ring against Trump. It involves betraying his vice president.
He advised Biden to wait till the Democratic National Convention in August when he will “shock the world” by announcing his withdrawal from the race. After that, Biden would “decline to issue any endorsement and invite the convention delegates to choose his replacement.”
Douthat conceded that the plan would cause temporary pain for Biden’s party. But it would be less painful than a protracted primary face-off between Harris and the other likely presidential prospects. Harris’s most likely opponents would be California and Michigan governors Gavin Newsom and Gretchen Whitmer.
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The columnist also had an answer for the possibility of any setback from any aggrieved politician. “The proximity of the general election would create stronger incentives for Harris or any other disappointed loser to accept a behind-the-scenes proffer and fall in line if the convention battle doesn’t go their way,” he predicted.
But Biden’s eyes are already set for another round of four years at the White House. It is unlikely that any report about his declining memory would change his mind.
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