By Wilson Egbodje
It is “in the best interest of my party and the country”, ——Joe Biden.
President Joe Biden’s decision to quit the campaign for 2024 presidential election is a welcome development. What mostly marks it as unique is the orderly pattern it took. Of course, no one expected anything less from the leader of the free world. He has conducted himself with the honour and dignity expected of the consequential office, or for that matter, offices he occupied during his decades-long astounding political career.Posterity will judge Joe Biden one of America’s finest rulers. That he has succumbed to human frailty, arising from old age even while still filled with zest and passion to serve his country and humanity, is not an issue. It is a clear testament of man’s finite capacity to do earthly bidding in the face of natural limitations. Biden made the best of his time. Now that twilight hamstrings him, his decision to step down is timely.
The episodic hallmark of his honour derives from his endorsement of Kamala Harris, his vice president of four years, as the democratic party’s presidential candidate. That singular act has ensured a deep assurance of party unity and cohesion. He did not leave the Democratic Party in disarray. Many will not understand but it takes tact, wisdom and statesmanship to achieve that feat in a heated polity, filled with rancour and perfidy. That is the situation in the United States today. His demonstration of courage deserves a global salute.The avalanche of endorsements from prominent democrats that suddenly trailed the phenomenal Joe Biden gesture has positively transformed an already wearied political landscape. The enthusiasm it ingested into the race will remarkably impact the campaign till election day. The Biden-Harris political campaign infrastructure only needs to be slightly overhauled to properly rein in a running mate.The Vice President has barely hundred days to scale the gauntlet. Not a mean task. She went through it with her principal, Joe Biden in 2020, in what was one of the most hotly contested elections in recent U.S. history. Taking a cue from Biden 2020 would be of great help. He focused extraordinarily on the swing states and won a majority of them. It was not uncommon to find Biden campaigning in a city in the morning and returning in the evening if Trump was there in the afternoon.If the democrats must win this election the upbeat mood among donors which surged capaign funds to a record $81 million dollars in 24 hours should be sustained through mass mobilization of party leaders.
Voting blocks across the country need to be reached to awaken them from discouragement occasioned by Joe Biden’s poor showing at the June 27 debate in Georgia. But the President worked hard and left enviable records.Biden’s management of the economy was admirable. He pulled America’s covid ravaged economy from the doldrums, drastically reduced unemployment and forgave students loan debts. He also woke up to the reality of advantages of economies of scale by adopting unsung rhymes at the border. The effects will be seen in the next couple of decades. Allowing nearly 10 million immigrants into the U.S in three and half years was a feat no one thought was possible. The subtlety of implementation was beyond comprehension. Harris has a chance to build on this.Kamala Harris’ capmpaign steategy should be policy-focused and bereft of personal mudslinging. She has inherited much goodwill from Joe Biden in terms of policy issues both of them presided over together. Biden was on course to defeat Trump before he withdrew. The Vice President should leverage on all of this now that she has the added prerogative of formulating personal policies as she works with her team to attract voters.
Joe Biden is leaving a blueprint diplomatic legacy in place. He strenously fought to protect the rules-based world order established at the end of the second world war. Sustainability of the new internationalism formed the basis of America’s relations with allies. Save for the monumental blunder in the withdrawal of U.S troops from Afghanistan- working on a timetable set by his predecessor- his performance has saved the world from derailment at this critical time. Aside from John F. Kennedy and the senior George Bush, a former CIA Director, not many other U.S presidents have shown the tact and savvy demonstrated by the Biden presidency in international politics in recent times. Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford were steered by the “wise owl”, Dr Henry Kissinger, their National Security Adviser and later Secretary of State for the much they achieved. Presidents Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton and Barack Obama improved much on the job and mastered the intricacies of international politics to a large extent, and in the long term. Ronald Reagan was largely successful through the influence and hard work of George Schultz, his Secretary of State, who used his immense business connections as CEO at the globe girdling Bechtel Corporation before his appointment. Of course, the fortuitous passing away of Soviet Presidents Brezhnev, Chernenko and Andropov in quick succession and the silent intrigues surrounding their respective succession plans aided Reagan in bringing the Soviet Union to its knees. Hopefully, Kamala Harris will have to lean heavily on experienced diplomats in this crucial sphere of American presidency, if she wins the election. This should be reflected in her campaign strategy now.
Finally, it will do Kamala Harris a lot of good to understand that Trump is a very formidable adversary. It is heartening to note that she has a pool of shrewd democratic party leaders with enviable records to draw from. She will need to have a listening ear. Joe Biden, Pelosi, the Clintons and Obamas and several other powerful democrats are there to assist her in hard campaining. They all did it for Biden in 2020. Harris is a hard woman and cannot be underrated. Doing so could turn out to be Trump’s mistake. Her laughter is a veil shielding a very stern determination and iron will. Her records as a state prosecutor in California and at the border speak volumes to that. Nothing that chanced at the border was a mistake or sign of weakness.
Kamala Harris was the engine behind, working out the nitty gritty of everyone of Biden administration’s policies.For three and half years she took the back seat. Now power has been thrusted on her. Note how she secured the required number of delegates to get her nominated at the convention within two days after Biden endorsed her. Her management of the campaign will open all eyes to know what lies ahead if she is elected.
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