From Michael Beschloss on NBC to an article in The Hill, historians are likening Joe Biden's withdrawal from the presidential race to George Washington's retirement after his 2nd term. That's utter nonsense and any honest historian knows it. It is this sort of drivel that has ruined the reputation of higher education. George Washington could have been king! He could have served as president for life. He did neither. Despite being in a position to dictate the future of the now free colonies, he stepped aside. Unanimously chosen to serve as the first president, he accepted the burden. When he retired again, he said to John Adams - the 2nd president - "I am fairly out, and you are fairly in. See which of us will be the happiest." He did not covet power, which is his greatness.
Biden withdrew because his party demanded it. Campaign donations had dried up after his horrendous debate performance. It would be better to compare him to Lyndon Johnson, who withdrew on account of the Tet Offensive in Vietnam. Viewed as an American defeat, it was the straw that broke the camel's back. LBJ was divisive yet effective. Despite his overwhelming victory for re-election in 1964, he saw his odds of winning in 68 as long. Yeah, that sounds a lot more like Joe Biden. Biden's mental decline has been obvious throughout his presidency even as the media and his party have sought to hide it. The debate wrecked that strategy. His odds of winning in November were approaching nil. The party needed to make a change or Trump would return.
Less partisan historians in the future will see that Joe Biden was a figurehead, an ambitious politician who achieved the presidency after his capacity to fill that role had faded. He will be compared with Woodrow Wilson, who spent the end of his presidency as an invalid on account of a stroke. Jill Biden will be compared to Edith Wilson; first ladies who sought to hide their husband's ailments from the public and perhaps exercise power in their stead.
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