Joe Biden

President Joe Biden’s announcement that he was not going to contest had come as a huge mood booster for the Democrats, especially influential leaders like former president Barack Obama and former Speaker Nancy Pelosi. After the announcement, Biden had begun to fade faster than expected from the news, from news headlines.

Suddenly, Vice President Kamala Harris has become the focus of news and news analysis. The big question that is being asked is whether she will win the nomination at the Democratic Party convention in Chicago next month. It appears that she might get through with the nomination.

Already, 16 of the Democratic governors had endorsed her. The liberal media that had worried about the wobbly Biden campaign had overlooked the fact that Biden enjoyed the full support of the Democrat party.

Obama’s backroom manipulations to persuade Biden to step down did not work, and he maintained his silence. Obama has not yet declared his support for Harris. It would be useful to remember that Biden has transferred his support base in the party to Harris. She is not a much liked figure in the Democratic circles.

When and how Biden decided to pull out of the race will remain in the realm of speculation until Biden gives his own take on the issue. Many would like to know as to why he delayed the decision, giving about 104 days for Harris to campaign against an aggressive and triumphant Donald Trump, whose political fortunes soared after an attempted assassination bid on him about 10 days ago.

It seems to be the case that Biden was keen to remain in the contest. What might have changed his mind is when doctors had declared that he had Covid. Biden in one of the post-Covid interviews had said that he would quit only if the medical situation arose. It is possible that it is Covid that had influenced his decision to quit the presidential contest.

So, it looks like that Biden gave up the quest for a second term when it had become apparent that he may not be able to keep up the campaign momentum against a robust Trump. It would be futile to believe that Biden had heeded the advice of the political caucus that had initially supported him and later developed cold feet when Biden seemed to have fumbled in the TV debate with Trump. The liberals feared that a frail Biden would not be a match to a belligerent Trump. But they could not persuade Biden. 

It is also forgotten that Biden beat Trump against many odds. Trump was a president in office. Biden projected a reassuring image of a man who believed in the simple American values of democracy. He did not want to shake up things like many liberal utopians.

He was a man who faced hardship and tragedy in life, the death of his wife and daughter, the death of his elder son due to cancer, and the legal troubles of his second son. But he built his political career doggedly. He was no ideologue and he had no oratorical skills of a Bill Clinton and an Obama.

But he was a quintessential American in his pragmatic outlook on life, willing to negotiate and talk. His critics have pointed out that he did not keep to his initial promise that he would be a one-time president and he would not seek re-election. But what changed his mind was the vulgar Trump politics, and he was fired to fight for what he believed to be the essential values of American democracy. He was the president who considered climate change a serious issue and he was willing to put money into it. History will judge Biden kindly.