In its 20-year history, Raw Story — the largest independent U.S. progressive news site — has never issued an editorial, let alone endorsed a political candidate. But given the events of last night’s presidential debate, that history must change today.
When you’re president, your main job is to make good decisions and keep the country running smoothly and safely, both domestically and internationally.
When you’re running for president as a candidate, though, your job is quite different: your new job is to inspire hope, communicate your leadership vision and turn out the vote.
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In this regard, President Joe Biden — as correct as he's been on policy — has failed. For months, we've watched Biden, who would be 86 years old on the last day of his second term come Jan. 20, 2029, lose the vitality, vigor and mental sharpness that marked his time as a senator and vice president.
Last night, Biden confirmed that on the biggest of stages, pitted against his most formidable foe, Donald Trump, he's no longer up to the challenge of securing the nation's future as a robust democracy. Biden provided irrefutable evidence that he is incapable of leading this country forward in the 21st century.
It's vital to acknowledge that Biden has led the country through an extraordinarily difficult time in American history. He inherited the worst mess from a predecessor since Franklin Delano Roosevelt became president after Herbert Hoover crashed the country into the Great Depression.
Biden has shepherded groundbreaking infrastructure and climate bills. He was the first Democrat since Lyndon B. Johnson to openly repudiate neoliberalism and put America back on FDR's progressive track. He's aided student borrowers. He's taken on giant monopolies, big banks, dysfunctional airlines and big polluters. And he’s defended democracy valiantly in Ukraine and around the world, which now, again, respects America.
Biden has also nominated some of the most diverse and brilliant judges and agency heads in the history of our nation. He's been a consequential president, perhaps the most consequential in the lifetime of many of us, even boomers.
But whoever made the decision to put Biden head-to-head against a felonious reality TV star with no moral compass should never again darken the doors of a Democratic campaign.
More importantly, because CNN licensed last night’s debate to all the other networks, and therefore will almost certainly turn out to have had the largest presidential debate TV audience in American history, it’s time for the Democratic Party see what everyone else in America did: Biden cannot serve for four more years.
This election is too important to indulge one man's desire to hang onto his office. The winner of this election will literally define the future of democracy as a form of governance both in America and worldwide. And the success — or failure — of the Democratic presidential candidate will have far-reaching effects on U.S. Senate and U.S. House races that will determine whether Republicans or Democrats win majorities.
As late in the election season as we may be, it's not too late for the Democratic Party to replace Biden. It’s not as if the Democratic Party is lacking in talent. There are some superstars and some sleepers. And a decision about the Democratic Party's presidential nominee isn't real and official until late August when the Democratic National Convention takes place in Chicago. Making a change is a mind-boggling responsibility, but Democrats may have little choice if they want to win a White House that Biden is at grave risk of losing.
Biden has done an admirable job in his role as president. But it’s time for serious soul-searching. It's time for the Democrats to do what's both difficult and necessary. It's time for Joe Biden to retire with the gratitude of the nation and step aside for that nation's good.