John MacDonald: The invisible VP for president? Don't think so

Canterbury Mornings with John MacDonald

One headline I’ve read about President Joe Biden quitting the presidential race is describing it as “a shock decision”.

It’s no shock to me. But it was, apparently, to some of his campaign staff.

According to reports, some of them had no idea their man had made-up his mind and was pulling the plug. Which I think is too little, too late for the Democrats. They are toast - just as much as they were yesterday. Possibly more so.

Because, at least they had a candidate that people know. Not only has Biden quit the race for the White House, he’s also endorsed his vice-president Kamala Harris to be the Democrats nominee for president. Someone who, from this side of the world anyway, seems to have been invisible since becoming VP four years ago.

I’ve often wondered whether that’s because she got so much media attention when they won back in 2020, that Joe’s nose was out of joint and he told her to take more of a back seat.

But back to the “shock announcement”. Here’s a quote from someone described as being a Biden state official: “I don’t think a soul in Delaware knew.” Which is where Biden has been, since testing positive for COVID last week.

Apparently, his campaign staff had pretty much just got off phone calls to Democratic Party people making plans for the party’s convention in a few weeks time - as if everything was just rolling-on as usual - and then Joe goes and makes his big announcement.

The question now, is whether Joe Biden has done the Democrats any favour pulling out. And I don’t think he has. The time for him to do his party a favour was way before now.

And I’m not talking about the three weeks since that TV debate with Donald Trump when the world started to sit-up and pay attention to what people had been saying long before then. That he was declining - like we all do when we reach a certain age - and was struggling.

If Joe Biden was serious about doing a favour for the party he has dedicated his adult life to, then he would have done it the favour he thinks he’s doing it, the day after the last election.

Day One of his administration should have included succession planning on its to-do list for the four years it had up its sleeve. But he didn’t - and the party didn’t - and now we’ve had this situation over the past few weeks where criticism has flourished and Joe Biden has floundered.

When all this noise started, I was of the view that a lot of the criticism was nothing short of age-ism. Because, if an 81-year-old is up to the job, why shouldn’t they keep doing it?

“If you’re the best person for the job, fill your boots.”

But, as someone once said, what good is a mind if you can’t change it?

And, while I started thinking Joe Biden was being unfairly treated, I now think that his belligerence in denying the inevitable and saying he was still the best person for the job - in fact, the only person for the job - means he has reaped what he has sowed.

In just a few weeks, my view has shifted from seeing him as someone being targetted just because of his age, to seeing him as someone who just didn't know or wasn't willing to accept that time was up.

Which is professionally tragic for someone so obviously dedicated to doing his bit for society. You can’t argue with his commitment.

He’s had a lot of personal tragedy in his life. And, the way things have played out for him, it’s a tragic way to end his career.

Not surprisingly, Donald Trump hasn’t held back since the announcement and he’s been saying on social media that he thinks it will be easier to beat Kamala Harris than it would have been to beat Joe Biden.

And, I agree with that. As I said earlier, where has she been?

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.