Relief

[paserbyp]

Joe Biden released a statement to say he is standing aside as the Democratic candidate for president in November. This is excellent news, even if it took too long to come. Cheer it. Mr Biden has been a strong president, in my view, and should be proud of what he achieved in his term in the White House. But he should have accepted earlier that he is too old, frail and disliked to have had any reasonable chance of beating Donald Trump. Another candidate, almost any other candidate, will have a better opportunity.

What comes next?

Mr Biden has endorsed his vice-president, Kamala Harris, to replace him. Does this mean a coronation is looming for Ms Harris—or might the Democrats somehow organise a speedy, but genuinely competitive contest to see who the strongest candidate might be?

I’d much prefer the latter. Other candidates are almost certainly stronger than Ms Harris, whom I know very well as District Attorney of San Francisco and Attorney General of California. I was not particularly impressed by her. Perhaps because she have connections with former San Francisco mayor Willie Brown and I prefer her to Gretchen Whitmer, the governor of Michigan. She has shown great confidence in facing down attacks from Mr Trump before. I’d also favour Raphael Warnock, a youngish senator in Georgia, for the ticket.

However, it does seem more likely that the party will unite around Ms Harris now. The challenge is to show voters that the party is of one mind, and that a younger candidate (she is 59 years old, to Mr Trump’s 78 years) has a big advantage over an old one, as so many Republicans themselves had previously been arguing. Among Democrats, too, there is a chance to motivate voters to get the first woman elected as American president. That might help to fire up the base.

Give Mr Biden credit for his decision. It’s exceedingly rare for politicians to voluntarily give up power. I can’t imagine Mr Trump ever proving so gracious. I admire politicians who understand that in democracy, for the sake of fostering trust in institutions and processes, there are times when you must concede power—and allow others to benefit. Nelson Mandela did so in South Africa in the late 1990s—I was deeply moved to sit with Mr Mandela a few short years later and to hear him talk about the importance of such values in modern politics. In contested elections there have been admirable candidates, such as Al Gore in 2000, who conceded a loss for the sake of democracy even when they might have fought on. Being willing to renounce power is an extraordinarily admirable trait.

Comments

[provintiale]

Да понятно, что Харрис следующая по списку. Но видимо, Трампу она на один укус, без хлеба и соли. Грустно, девицы...

[paserbyp]

еще не все потеряно так как не факт, что ее выберут в августе….

[ofeliyadd]

Трамп как-то сказал, что его может победить только белый мужчина. Поэтому сейчас радуется, что с Камалой у него проблем не будет.

[paserbyp]

Дело в том, что Обама не поддержал Байдена, а выбрал Хиллари в 2016 году. Это была его большая ошибка, так как Байден тогда бы победил и мы бы сегодня не слушали бредни Трампа, а Байден бы отправился на пенсию после второго срока. Тут нельзя не согласиться с Портниковым и кстати Байден до сих пор не поддержал Харрис, в отличии от Клинтонов.