Is This Really the Best We Can Do?

It was painful to watch. Two men vying for the most important job in the world. And neither of them making the cut.

Trump was Trump -- just as expected, bragging and blustering, lying and threatening, refusing to say he would accept the results of the election, defending the Jan. 6 rioters. It is no exaggeration to say he is a threat to our democracy as we know it. Even in the face of a dramatically diminished opponent, he could not find his way to grace, to the high road, to optimism, to a message larger than spitefully attacking immigrants and the "me me me" we have come to expect. A younger and more vigorous Joe Biden could have eaten him for lunch. This time, he was lunch.

His voice was weak and hoarse. A cold. If that were all, it would not have been so bad. That was the least of it. It wasn't just a stutter. He visibly lost his train of thought in the first minutes of the debate. He choked on questions he should have hit out of the park. How could he get bogged down trying to explain Roe v. Wade? Why didn't he just say that killing live born babies is homicide in all 50 states? Why let Trump get away with that? Who cares that he was once -- a very long time ago -- the youngest one in the room when he is now, so very painfully, the oldest? How could he not be prepared for that most obvious question? How could he not have a clear and direct answer ready for black voters?

Biden, by all reports, spent days and days preparing for this debate. He was working with a very experienced staff. This was not a staffing problem. I am sure his debate book was stuffed with clear and concise answers. There was not a single question, I am certain, that they did not anticipate; there were no trick questions or hidden agendas. He should have been surprised by nothing. Instead, he struggled with everything. Even on the questions where he won on points -- where he did have better answers than his ducking and deflecting opponent -- his performance was halting and tentative.

Being president is a hard and demanding job. Biden came across as much diminished from the candidate he was four years ago. This Biden showed his age and the scars of four years in the hottest seat on the planet. It was hard to imagine that this Biden could have defeated strong opponents, as he did four years ago to win the nomination. If this were a primary debate, he would have lost the primary. The reason no credible Democrat ran against him this time is because of the conventional wisdom that he or she would have lost but would have mortally wounded the incumbent in the process. Sometimes conventional wisdom is wrong.

Will someone tell him? Of course they will. Plenty of someones. The post-debate headlines say it all. "President Biden Struggles as Trump Blusters." Democratic leaders were reportedly talking about replacing Biden at the top of the ticket before the debate had even ended. The question is whether Biden, who is known for his stubborn belief in his own resilience, will listen.

Every delegate to the convention is pledged to support Joe Biden. They were all approved by Joe Biden. Will he officially release them? What or who can convince him to do that? It would be the ultimate act of presidential leadership.

Donald Trump does pose an existential threat to democracy. Biden is right about that. The Democratic Party and its leader, who is Joe Biden, owe it to the country to put forward the candidate with the best chance of beating him.

As of June 27, that candidate is indisputably not Joe Biden. He has been a fine president. And the fine president that he is must now step aside to avoid leaving us in the hands of a dangerous man.

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To find out more about Susan Estrich and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.