EDITORIAL: President Biden's half stepping is wholly unacceptable; he must resign now

It’s been an incredible 10 days if you are into politics or history.

President Donald Trump took a bullet for democracy in a Pennsylvania field on July 13; President Joe Biden bit the bullet for democracy Sunday from his oceanside home in Rehoboth Beach, Republicans held their national convention last week in Milwaukee where Trump made triumphant appearances wearing an ear bandage following the July 13 assassination attempt, Democrats and Republicans both forced the Secret Service director to resign, and New Mexico’s Democratic lawmakers rebuffed the Democratic governor’s public safety agenda Thursday in a special session that lasted just hours.

It’s been a busy time in the news business. But the fog of breaking news can lead to misconceptions.

For example, President Biden didn’t decide “not to run again” as German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said on X on Sunday. Biden was hounded out of the presidential race at the ninth hour, well after the presidential primaries and just a month before the Democratic National Convention, under intense pressure from members of his own political party. And he’s reportedly very angry about how it all went down.

Biden’s acolytes were still spinning his determination to run for reelection on Sunday morning’s network TV political shows. By noon, he had been forced to surrender — halfway.

There’s nothing magnanimous or patriotic, thus far at least, about Biden’s exit from the presidential race. He was forced into the decision by cratering donations, polling for a year showing him trailing Trump in battleground states, and the realization from top Democrats like former Speaker Nancy Pelosi that Biden had no path to victory in November.

He could go the easy way, or the hard way if he made Democrats tighten the thumbscrews as their campaign donations also dried up.

Democratic guru Van Jones, somehow CNN’s senior political commentator, described anguished efforts to convince Biden to step out of the presidential race as painful and heartbreaking. Jones likened it to taking the car keys away from Grandpa.

But that’s not what happened. Democrats didn’t take the car keys away from Grandpa. It was more like, “Grandpa, pull over. I’ll drive us home.”

Grandpa still has his car keys, and in Biden’s case, the nuclear codes.

There’s still the pressing matter that needs to be settled of who is going to run the nation until January.

It’s too bad Biden didn’t let go of power a month ago. He’s been dangling in the wind for three and a half weeks, compounded by a case of COVID, which is no joke at his age, after his disastrous performance in the June 27 debate that left him mortally wounded politically.

Biden should have given the full measure and resigned soon after that pivotal debate instead of leaving himself in a position to be forced out of the presidential race by his so-called friends. It appears his family and true friends, if he has any after a half century in Washington, D.C., failed him and led to his inglorious political ending.

We’re expecting to hear from President Biden at 6 p.m. Wednesday.

Mainstream media will probably portray his speech as a magnanimous gesture by a most consequential and valiant president who chose on his own accord to pass the torch to a new and multi-ethnic generation. The rest of us will more accurately perceive it as a hostage video.

If Joe Biden plans to stay on as president, and deny his 2020 running mate invaluable experience in the Oval Office, he needs to explain why he isn’t up to run for reelection, but is up to run the nation for six more months.

If he can’t handle the demands of the campaign trail, how can he handle the demands of being the leader of the free world? Our military service members here in New Mexico and across the globe deserve and need a strong and attentive commander in chief to lead them in a perilous world at war.

If Joe Biden can’t paint a vision for America behind a teleprompter, how can he lead the nation behind the resolute desk?

If he can’t safely drive a car, how can he steadfastly steer the nation, day and night?

If he’s unfit to run, isn’t he also unfit to serve?

We can all see now that Biden’s June 27 debate performance wasn’t an episode, it’s a condition. Van Jones is right that this is painful for the nation to witness, just as if it were a family member. Presidents are part of our extended families in American life, love ‘em or hate ‘em. Poor vice presidents are little known. Recall President Ford’s vice president offhand?

Questions about Biden’s cognition will inevitably dog him for six more months if he doesn’t do the responsible thing and resign now. Discussions about invoking the 25th Amendment are picking up steam and will trail him like a lonely puppy if he clings to office.

If President Biden resigns, he will have truly done something patriotic and selfless. There is nothing shameful whatsoever about retiring from public life or work. He’s earned it. He should spend more time with the grand kids and work on his golf game at his leisure.

But if he stays, Biden will be ridiculed and demeaned endlessly, our military folks will continue holding their breath wondering who’s in charge, and Biden’s legacy will be cemented as a stubborn old man who didn’t know when to hang them up.