David Ignatius, a Washington Post columnist and MSNBC “Morning Joe” regular, penned a column that has sent shockwaves through the political left. He said that President Biden should not run for a second term. He later reiterated his opinion on … “Morning Joe.”
To understand the reaction, you have to know that Ignatius is one of the cardinals of left-wing theology. He has dutifully carried every leftwing political narrative that has come out of the Biden White House. Conversely, he has been a consistent attack dog on all things Trump, Republican and conservative.
In his column, Ignatius praises Caesar. He lists many of what the White House and those on the left see uniquely as Biden accomplishments. He then brushes them aside to explain why Biden should NOT seek reelection.
Ignatius’ focus is on President Trump. He sees defeating Trump in 2020 as Biden’s primary goal and most notable potential success. Ignatius believes that defeating Trump to save the Republic is the ONLY issue to be considered – and apparently he does not believe Biden can do it again. Ignatius says that “Running for reelection would risk undoing his greatest achievement — which was stopping Donald Trump”.
Ignatius says that Biden is facing “two liabilities”. The most obvious is his age. He says that Biden is “no longer the garrulous glad-hander I met when I first covered Congress more than four decades ago.”
More specifically, Ignatius wrote:
“Biden’s age isn’t just a Fox News trope; it’s been the subject of dinner-table conversations across America this summer. His performance at times has been halting and uncertain. His decision-making process has been slow and secretive. His advisers have sometimes seemed more eager to protect him than to challenge him.”
The second liability is Vice President Harris. Ignatius sees her as both a liability to a Biden reelection – and unsuitable as a successor. Of Harris, he wrote:
“Kamala Harris has not helped his cause. She has been a loyal and hardworking partner, but she has failed to connect with the public or inspire confidence as a potential successor. Her approval rating is lower than Biden’s, and she trails several Republican contenders in hypothetical matchups.”
As a summation, Ignatius says that Biden should make way for “a new generation of leaders who can offer fresh ideas and energy …”
Ignatius believes that Biden “should announce asap that he will not seek reelection” since it will soon be past the time for any successor to mount a campaign.
In Ignatius’ mind, dropping out “would enhance [Biden’s] stature as a statesman who put the nation’s interests above his own.” It would also “deprive Trump of his favorite foil and force him to face a different opponent who might expose his weaknesses more effectively”.
During Ignatius appearance on “Morning Joe” co-host Mika Brzezinski was apoplectic over the Washington Post column. She not only said she completely disagrees with Ignatius but that she has never been more disappointed in the newspaper.
In expressing his concern, Ignatius is unintentionally helping Trump by giving credibility to the belief that the former President is a viable candidate and can beat Biden in a rematch. That makes the Ignatius’ column puzzling in view of his myopic interest in defeating Trump.
Although the White House has not officially commented on the Ignatius column, sources say that pulling out of the race is not a topic of conversation around the Oval Office – and that Democrats have not coalesced around any other candidate. At this point, the odds still favor a redux of the 2020 presidential election.
So, there ‘tis.