I have read:
There’s a presidential
race on, and while Mr. Biden disappointed a lot of people on Wednesday,
his exit is an opportunity to put aside wistful distraction. It’s time
to put him on the alternate history shelf, beside Presidents Al Gore and
Thomas Dewey, and the ’69 Orioles, and move on.
There are still decent
choices on the Democratic ticket. Admirers of Bernie Sanders and Martin
O’Malley can push on, to help prod Ms. Clinton and the Democratic
establishment leftward — or should we say back to the middle, or to the
party’s roots? — keep her talking about things like promoting
“progressive” values, defending immigrants, attacking corporate welfare
and standing up for the working poor. She would benefit greatly from
having to think about some of the ideas floating in from left field.
There is no reason to
feel too sad for Mr. Biden or ourselves. As he might say himself – he’s
the vice president, for gosh sakes, and he’s got more than a year left
to stabilize the Middle East, stoke the recovery along, fix the glitches
in Obamacare, get the world moving on climate change, rescue the middle
class. There’s also his call for a “
moon shot” to cure cancer, the disease that killed his son Beau.
At least his continued
presence will — I hope — serve as a critical check and counterweight on
the narratives being served up by the current favorite for the
Democratic nomination, Mrs. Clinton.
Take his withdrawal announcement today, in which Mr. Biden argued against reckless intervention in the Middle East.
“The argument that we
just have to do something when bad people do bad things isn’t good
enough,” Mr. Biden said. “It’s not a good enough reason for American
intervention and to put our sons’ and daughters’ lives on the line, put
them at risk.”
Go, Joe! He says he won’t be silent, a promise he is very, very unlikely to break.
God bless America, and God bless Joe Biden...
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