It’s Time for Biden to Do the Right Thing

This is the column I never wanted to write.

Let me start by admitting that I was one of those who complained most loudly when CNN scheduled this year’s first presidential debate at the end of June. It didn’t make any sense to put Donald Trump and Joe Biden on stage that early in the season, I insisted. By June 27, neither would have been officially nominated as their party’s presidential nominee. Wasn’t this a case of premature nominization?

But it soon occurred to me how wrong I was. I realized there was actually a good reason for staging the first debate before either Trump or Biden were the official nominee. Why? Because that way, in case either one of them performed badly, his party would have an opportunity to dump him and come up with a better choice before the nominating convention.

And that, in fact, is where we are today. That’s what happened in the first debate. Unfortunately, the party that needs to come up with a better nominee is not, as I had hoped, the Republican Party. But the Democratic Party.

There’s no way to sugarcoat it. Biden put on a painful, embarrassing, cringe-worthy performance on Thursday night. As former Democratic Senator Claire McCaskill summed it up on MSNBC: “Joe Biden had one thing he had to do tonight and he didn’t do it. He had one thing he had to accomplish, and that was to reassure America that he was up to the job at his age. And he failed at that tonight.”

Which is not to say Donald Trump had a good night. He unleashed a string of outright lies, most of which we’ve heard before: that he created the strongest economy in history, that his tax cuts helped the middle class; that thousands of terrorists, murderers and rapists are flowing over the border every day; and that America is no longer respected in the world. To which he added a couple of breathtaking whoppers: that Democrats were executing babies after they were born; that he had nothing to do with January 6; and that the Founding Fathers would actually applaud the overturning of Roe v. Wade.

And yet, given many opportunities, Biden did nothing to repudiate those lies. When Trump accused Biden of doing nothing for Blacks, for example, Biden didn’t mention that he’d appointed the first Black female vice president, the first Black female j ustice of the Supreme Court, an African-American secretary of defense and had given more money to historic Black universities and colleges than any other president.

Even on the signature issue of abortion, Biden failed to make the case that Trump owns the Dobbs decision, that turning the issue over to the states is denying millions of American women the right to control their own bodies, and that the Republican Party will not stop until it passes a national ban on abortion.

Though Biden occasionally scored a good point – “The only man on this stage who’s a criminal felon is the man I’m looking at right now” – most of his answers were so muddled, so disjointed, such word-salad, it was hard to follow him – even for those of us who follow this stuff closely, let alone for first-time voters tuning in.

It is true, as I have often argued, that Joe Biden doesn’t get half the credit he deserves. He rescued this country. He’s accomplished more in four years than most presidents do in eight. He’s restored America’s leadership in the world. He’s stood strong with Ukraine and Israel. He’s a champion for climate change, women’s rights, jobs, gay rights, public education, and all the other issues we care about. He’s been a very good and effective president.

The problem is that today, fairly or unfairly, people care about only one issue: Is Joe Biden still up to the job? He had his best chance to prove that on Thursday night – and he failed.

Now there’s only one way forward. As painful as it is for me to say it: For the good of the party, and for the good of the nation, Joe Biden should step aside. He should release his pledged delegates, declare an open convention, and let the party choose another younger, more energetic nominee. Make Donald Trump the addled old guy in this race.

There’s still time, and there’s no lack of talent. Think Gretchen Whitmer, Gavin Newsom, Kamala Harris, Josh Shapiro, J.B. Pritzker, Wes Moore. Anyone of them can beat Donald Trump.

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(Bill Press is host of The BillPressPod, and author of 10 books, including: “From the Left: My Life in the Crossfire.” His email address is: bill@billpress.com. Readers may also follow him on Twitter @billpresspod.)