An Open Letter to President Joseph R. Biden, Jr.

 

Dear President Biden,

 

                Like many Americans I have watched the disarray in the Democratic Party and in your campaign with dismay. You know that the stakes in this election are enormously high. If Donald Trump is elected in November, democracy in America will end, and our nation will careen toward catastrophe. I do not understand why the millions of Americans who plan to vote for Donald Trump do not understand this, but facts past and present make it clear.

                In that light, I would expect you to show more urgency than you have. You have been negligent in your duty to the voters, and that negligence continues. If the performance that you gave in the debate was the best that you possibly could have given, you should not have gotten on stage at all. It would have been better for you to plead illness, and let Donald Trump crow about how you were too old or sick to face him, than to present the image of fear and frailty we all saw on our television sets on June 27th.

The debate was an enormous opportunity. If you had appeared relaxed and jovial, it would not have mattered what you said. If the transcript of the debate were unchanged, but your demeanor had remained cheerful and your voice confident throughout, you would have been perceived as the winner, and Donald Trump’s campaign would be in freefall now. Instead, you handed him free corroboration of all the preposterous lies he has been telling about your health and fitness, so that now every time you misspeak the media seizes upon it as “proof” of your incapacitation. That is a trap of your own making, and it will not be easy to escape. Shame on you!

As disappointing as your debate performance was, your conduct since has arguably been just as bad, or worse. You have not in any way given the appearance of a man who knows how much trouble he has put the country in. An interview with George Stephanopoulos? A press conference? Those efforts at damage control were feeble. If you want to undo the harm of the debate, you must create an event that will draw as much viewership and media attention as it did, which will be almost impossible. Perhaps an open town hall in which you fielded questions from voters would create the right atmosphere of spectacle, but even that might prove inadequate.

The way that you have been communicating with the public makes you seem obtuse. Telling people that you will not withdraw from the race because “you have to finish the job you started” is simply not acceptable. This is not about you. This is about the country. The only reason anyone would want you to stay in the race is if they think it presents the best possibility of defeating Donald Trump. If you can make that case to the people (“anyone who might replace me would not be able to raise money fast enough,” “a fight over my replacement would split the Party”), fine. If not, you should withdraw.

In all honesty, from where I sit it seems too late for you to redeem your campaign. So many leading Democrats are showing such overt signs of demoralization. It appears that you have lost the confidence of your Party, and you cannot get it back.

While the case for your withdrawal grows ever stronger, it must be admitted that your withdrawal from the race will inevitably cause as many problems as it solves. If you do withdraw, you must do so quickly, and in a way that preserves the unity of the Party and lays the groundwork for victory in November. The most important principle to underscore is that you are not withdrawing because of Donald Trump. You were, you are, and you will ALWAYS be a better choice than Donald Trump. As a matter of plain fact, the people of the United States would be better served by leaving the office of the presidency vacant for four years than by electing Donald Trump, and it behooves you to say as much to the American people whether you withdraw from the race or not.

But if you do withdraw, it is vital that you stress the fundamental merit of your administration. Your health might prevent you from campaigning effectively, but the record of your accomplishments is clear. Vice President Kamala Harris is thus the only legitimate candidate who can replace you on the ballot. To pass her over in favor of anyone else would be to lend credence to the lies that Donald Trump persistently tells about your tenure in office. This should be your forceful message to the Democratic Party, in the event that you decide to withdraw.

Please think carefully about this, Mr. President. If you are going to stay in the race, start acting and talking as if you understand the emergency you have created. If you are going to leave the race, do so soon, and in a way that unifies and energizes the Democratic Party for the struggle to save our democracy.

Thank you for your attention to this letter. I hope that it finds you well.

 

Sincerely,

 

Andrew Meyer