Welcome to Home & Away. Normally, I write about several domestic and international topics in this weekly newsletter. This week, though, there is only one story: last night’s debate.

One of the more bizarre moments of the evening was the back and forth over golf. Trump bragged about his golfing skills, comparing himself to a Biden who could not, Trump suggested, even hit a ball fifty yards. Biden claimed to be the better golfer, someone with a six or eight handicap, which, for those of you who don’t golf, is very good. As was often the case during the debate, Biden wasn’t clear. Then Trump of all people shut down the detour, saying they shouldn’t act like children.

The real handicap of the night, though, had nothing to do with golf. It was Biden’s age and performance. Multiple times, he was incoherent and indecipherable. It was often impossible to understand or follow what he was saying. Biden’s voice was raspy and high-pitched. He spoke way too fast. Going into the debate the conventional wisdom was that if Trump were the issue, Biden would win, and that if Biden were the issue, Trump would be declared the winner. The latter was the case.

Other candidates, including Reagan and Obama, have survived bad first debates to go on and win the presidency. But that was because their showing was at odds with public perception. Biden’s problem is that his poor showing reinforces the already entrenched narrative that he is too old and infirm to be president—that it is questionable whether he can serve out a second four-year term. There may not be a second debate, and even if there were, there is no reason to be confident it would result in a performance that would turn things around.

Yes, much of what Trump said was untrue. But Trump’s demeanor served him well. Biden mostly let him get away with his misrepresentations of the past and his record.

It is tragic that things were allowed to reach this point. Biden should not be the Democratic candidate. He should have announced sometime in early 2023 that he would not stand for a second term. Yes, that would have made him a lame duck, but it also would have given him the ability to do the right thing about the border and the Middle East without having to worry about how activists in the Democratic Party would have reacted.

There is no shame in being a one-term president. Both George H.W. Bush and Jimmy Carter were one-term presidents that history will judge favorably. Biden would join that group given his record of these past four years, during which his domestic and foreign policy achievements were many and outweighed his shortcomings.

The critical difference between Biden and both Bush 41 and Carter is that Biden would be losing to someone who constitutes a grave threat to an American democracy that has served this country well for close to 250 years and a world order that has served this country well for 75 years. If Biden loses to Trump in November, it would overshadow all of his achievements over the past four years and define his legacy. To allow it to happen would be irresponsible and unforgivable. If democracy is truly on the ballot, as Biden and his campaign often argue, then he owes it to the country to step aside. It is critical that Donald Trump lose, not that Joe Biden win.

Joe Biden does not want to be the Ruth Bader Ginsburg of American democracy, staying too long in the job only to be replaced by someone who shares none of his values and is committed to undoing many of his accomplishments. Better late than never, he should opt out, release his delegates, and set the stage for an open convention in August. The stakes are too high for anything else.

As always, some links to click on. And feel free to share Home & Away.

Share

Richard Haass in the news

Podcast

No Holding Back with Susan Estrich

Check out The Bill of Obligations: The Ten Habits of Good Citizens

Home & Away

Handicap (June 28, 2024)