Biden may be engaging in one of the most selfish and destructive acts ever undertaken by an American president
As a general rule, voters tend not to appreciate late-career politicians when they’re trying to stick around. Hillary Clinton was among the most admired leaders in America when she left her post as secretary of state, in early 2013. That esteem eroded considerably when she started seeking a promotion in 2015. Perhaps Biden’s turnabout owes to a similar phenomenon: Voters preferred his presidency as a farewell tour more than an endurance run.
Even many of Biden’s biggest defenders say privately that they didn’t expect him to run again. Biden himself suggested as much. “Look, I view myself as a bridge, not as anything else,” Biden said at a March 2020 campaign rally in Detroit. He called himself a “transition candidate.” Sarah Longwell, the Bulwark publisher who has conducted focus groups across the political spectrum, told me last September: “It seems pretty implicit in the way voters talk that they didn’t expect him to be a two-term president.”
I’m struck when I speak with exasperated Biden voters by how often they bring up the “bridge” quote and the “transition candidate” line. This suggests that they viewed their past support for Biden as an emergency proposition—and that his ongoing presence violates an implied bargain. Sure, politicians are always trying to keep their options open. But you can understand how voters might feel bait-and-switched by Biden’s refusal to go away.
It’s easy to sympathize with an old-timer reluctant to give up something he loves. In Biden’s case, though, the stakes are potentially catastrophic. By running again—despite his age, despite his low approval ratings, despite his poor showing in the polls against Trump—Biden could be engaging in one of the most selfish, hubristic, and potentially destructive acts ever undertaken by an American president. If he winds up losing, that’s all anyone will remember him for. Bill Maher has said Biden could go down as the “Ruth Bader Ginsburg of the presidency.” Or of democracy.
Large majorities of Americans don’t want to see Trump back in the White House. Many are terrified at the prospect—with extremely good reason. Biden has put them in an incredibly dangerous position. But the more unpopular Biden becomes, the more stubborn he appears. [Continue reading…]