I still think that Joe Biden’s term record is positive and even better than Barack Obama’s. However, we do not recover from a rout like the one in last Thursday’s debate.
While we have seen poor performances before, nothing was as disturbing as the sad spectacle of a diminished and sometimes totally incoherent man.
Even though his wife and family were reportedly advising him to stay in the race Sunday, Biden must be thinking about his party’s Senate and House candidates, whom he could drag down with him.
This is even more relevant if we consider the issues at national and international levels.
The Lyndon B. Johnson Precedent
History never repeats itself in the same way, but sometimes it offers a perspective from which we can draw inspiration.
Having become president following the assassination of John F. Kennedy, Texan Lyndon B. Johnson experienced heady success, but also a dramatic end.
If in 1964 he obtained 486 electors (out of 538) and he was ahead of Barry Goldwater by more than 15 million votes, in 1968 he abandoned the race which would have allowed him to obtain a second term.
When he decided to leave, JFK’s successor only had 36% support among the population and nothing allowed him to consider overcoming inflation and, above all, popular discontent over the Vietnam conflict.
In an article published in the Washington Post On Sunday, historian Doris Kearns Goodwin recalled that Johnson’s withdrawal had a very significant impact, reversing his popularity rating. She does not hesitate to speak of a sacrifice for the higher interests of the country.
Those who remember the 1968 election will not fail to point out that the Democrats lost the presidency. However, it should not be forgotten that the successive assassinations of Martin Luther King and Robert F. Kennedy came after the president had abandoned the presidency.
Joe Biden could still win
If Joe Biden is hanging on, it is because, despite his atrocious performance, Donald Trump is still polarizing and it would be surprising if we saw a massive movement of voters in his direction.
However, I believe that the president gives too little importance to the fact that 60% of voters want him to leave and that more than 70% of the population is convinced that he no longer has the capacity to do his job well.
What is the greater risk for Democrats: a Biden who is unlikely to serve for another four years, or the prospect of a new candidacy that would have to be sold quickly to voters?
Several candidates have dropped out of running this year to avoid tainting the president. I see several being able to convince Americans that they are superior to Trump. Biden has to go.
