Of the many lessons I learned from my father, the one that he repeated often and in a variety of contexts was “There’s a time to leave the party.”
As I aged and was confronted with major decisions and as he aged and tried to make me understand that leaving the party included letting him go, I told him I understood his advice.
When I asked him “How do I know WHEN is the time to leave the party?”
He immediately said, “I can’t tell you that, but I can suggest it’s better to leave too early than too late.”
As I read the words of President Biden today, I’m reminded of what my father taught me.
And I’m thankful that President Biden has chosen to leave the Presidency.
In my view, President Biden deserves the country’s appreciation and thanks for all that he has done over his 50 plus years in service to our nation.
I hope that as difficult a decision as it must have been for President Biden to make, he leaves the “party” without regrets.
I, for one, admire him, how he has spent his life, and how fortunate our country, and the wider world, have been for what he has given us all.
Charles Tilis said:
Well said. I hope he inspires the Nation with his speech informing the Nation of his decision.
Liz Frost said:
Thank you!!!!
Dominique Lallement said:
Well said, Rick. Biden has made an amazing contribution to America.
I only wish he had left the party earlier, when there was a lot more time for the democrats to get ‘organized’. May be the US will learn something from the old continent: it is possible to block the extreme right, but it requires a strong strategy, a lot of goodwill and determination, and a lot of hard work! we’ll see!
Anon-2 said:
One small nit: he is not leaving the presidency, he’s leaving the campaign. He’s president until January, as frightening as that is. Critical thinkers have wondered who was running the country for a long time. The rest of the people saw the truth in the debate.
And let’s not lionize him for leaving; this was absolutely not his choice, obviously. They didn’t even let him announce this in his own words via a press conference a la LBJ….just a letter on social media, not even on WH letterhead. Good bye, old puppet; hello new puppet.
Richard said:
Anon-2,
You are correct. In the first sentence of your first paragraph, I should have written “leave the campaign” (as in not run).
Richard
Hugh Riddleberger said:
Thank you, Richard. Well said.
One must avoid judgement at all costs as it does not further understanding.
Joe Biden is a decent man who served our country. Thank you, Mr. President.
The Duke of Brooklyn said:
God help us if trump is now elected!
What a mess he is! 34 lies in his recent
‘Talk’ to the delegates last Thursday night
He can’t tell the truth!
Yes, Sam time was up but we’ll have
To wait and see what happens to him now.
I pray that this does not mean Trump
for four more years! (If that happens, I’ll pray that my time is up soon!!!)
Anon-s said:
Duke, I don’t think you have to worry. They won’t let Trump anywhere near 1600. Our elections simply aren’t transparent. But I want to comment on “lies” you find so disturbing.
There are lies, and there are gaslighting lies. Gaslighting lies are evil. All politicians lie. Trump’s many lies are that of a salesman…”best economy of all time”, “record crowds”, “lowest unemployment of all time.” Harmless.
But the gaslighting lies are evil, and YOUR OWN SIDE has done this to you. The “fine people” hoax. The “drink bleach” hoax. The “Russsian collusion” hoax. The “Afghan bounty” hoax. The “feeding koi fish” hoax. The “laptop is Russian disinformation” hoax. The “you won’t get covid if you are vaxxed” hoax. The “Trump said the n word on tape” hoax. I could list a dozen more…..but let’s not forget the “Joe Biden is sharp as a tack” hoax, where anything to the contrary was flagged as disinformation two weeks ago.
These lies, and yes, they have all been debunked…..have done real damage to the soul of the nation, and to the soul of its people. Now, we have a president who resigns via a PDF on twitter? No picture to go with it? LBJ had a 44 minute press conference announcing his withdrawal. It wasn’t “heroic” of Joe to withdrawal……he did it with a gun to his head. The protectors of democracy don’t trust the voters. I don’t blame them; the voters are so easily gaslighted; democracy is too important to be in the hands of the voters, in their minds.
Jim Kilby said:
Ring the bell. Close the book and blow out the candle.
Bill plitt said:
Thank you as always for your timely and personal reflections on the service and departure of Biden from the campaign, not the Presidency. He still has 7 good months thank God. Bill
Robert Thurston said:
Nice remembrance of Sam! Thanks for posting this!
Jim Kilby said:
it’s a repeat of history. LBJ couldn’t run. Nixon won, but at least the Republicans had the courage to tell him he had to go, after Watergate. Unlike the hypocrisy of the current Republicans, who didn’t send Trump packing, after his Watergate, on Jan. 6th. Biden should have had Trump arrested and charged, the minute after Biden took office. The problem for the Demarcates now, after Biden decided not to run, is they have no Bobby Kennedy
Anon-s said:
A more apt analogy for Watergate…..where some low level campaign workers attempted to spy on the DNC. Obama used the full espionage resources of the US government to spy on the opposing candidate. Worse than Watergate by a factor of ten. The dems did not send he and Joe packing. Jan 6th: where a president told protesters, who thought the election looked fishy, to peacefully protest. Yes a few hundred knuckleheads incited a riot, miniscule in comparison to the riots throughout the summer encouraged by the new Dem nominee.
Anon-2 said:
And…btw….they LITERALLY HAVE a Bobby Kennedy. But the “protectors of democracy” didn’t let him run, so he had to go independent.
Ping WAYLAND said:
There are so much we can learn from Sam, a very wise and kind man. He will always be remembered fondly. Thank you Richard for sharing your thoughts. I thank President Biden for his dedication to this country and the people.
Mike Weinroth said:
When I first heard that President Biden had decided not to run again for President I was saddened. It was almost like hearing he had died.
But, I agree with most of the pundits that it was time and I feel Kamala will be a very strong opponent of Trump.
She is dynamic, smart, telegenic and many years younger than her opponent. I want to believe our country is ready for a new and progressive start.
Women, minorities and the underserved will rally behind Kamala, and I actually may live long enough to witness the swearing in of the first female President of the United States. It’s worth waiting for!
Anon-2 said:
If she was “smart and dynamic,” you’d think her handlers would let her off the teleprompter and speak to a journalist from time to time, but they know it’s too risky. She’s clearly drunk half the time, and has zero grasp of any issues.