President Joe Biden put country before self Sunday when he announced he would not run for re-election, saying “I believe it is in the best interest of my party and the country for me to stand down.”
Though we’re not privileged to know what influenced the president’s decision, no doubt a lot of soul-searching was involved and the humbling recognition that at age 81 another four years on the job would be a formidable challenge. He is human, after all, and to admit so is a welcome relief to those anxious about the future course of our country.
Universally, Americans feel both Biden and the Republican nominee, former President Donald Trump, at age 78, are too old to serve as commander in chief of the world’s most powerful and influential country.
Biden’s decision to bow out is a reset to the election.
The stakes couldn’t be higher.
In his three-plus years at the helm, President Biden has stood up to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s aggression against Ukraine.
That position must not change.
If Putin is treated with kid gloves, he will not only overtake Ukraine but also other Eastern European countries, posing a threat to democracy on a scale of what led to World Wars I and II.
The same goes for Chinese President Xi Jinping’s threat to overtake Taiwan.
It’s by having the courage to defend democracy, both here and abroad, that dictators such as Putin and Xi are held in check.
On the home-front, President Biden has been a strong defender of women’s reproductive rights.
The Supreme Court’s 2022 decision to reverse Roe v. Wade and its constitutional right to abortion turned back the clock on women’s rights, thanks to the appointments by former President Trump of ultra-conservative Justices Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett.
Republican efforts to limit access to birth control, enforce a national ban on abortion and outlaw fertilization procedures are tactics designed to control women and must be fought.
For today’s younger and working-class generations, President Biden’s debt cancellation programs have benefited millions. Whether they be firefighters, teachers or nurses — the debt relief means they can make a down payment on a house — rather than pay exorbitant interest rates charged by greedy lenders.
Hands down, student debt relief is the best way to ensure our young have a chance at higher education. Keeping them — and education — a priority is our best way to “level the field” between the haves and have-nots.
