What Biden Could Learn From Harry Truman

President Harry Truman knew he was approaching the point where he would simply not be up to the job  -- not according to his standards and not in line with the solemn oath he took. By 1952, his wife and daughter saw this as well. Margaret Truman noticed that there were moments when her dad simply dozed off. First Lady Bess Truman said that he'd had "the scariest bout of presidential exhaustion yet" noting that there were also times when he postponed his work "because he was too 'shaky.'"

This is all detailed in Jeffrey Frank's wonderful new book The Trials of Harry S. Truman which we've just finished reading. But, here's the deal: Truman had already announced he wasn't running for re-election. He was out of the race because, as the book explains, "he was close to burnout." So, give Truman credit. He recognized this. And give his wife and daughter credit, too. They were looking out for him as well. None of them wanted to see him embarrass himself and/or be destroyed by the job. They knew when it was time to say "enough." Consider that Truman was 69 when he left office. But he went on to live another 20 years. That might not have happened if he sought another term.

We bring this up because last night we attended a Wall Street Journal panel program in Philadelphia where we heard former Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell say he fully expects President Biden to seek re-election in 2024. Incredibly, Biden would then be 82 -- the oldest president ever! If elected, his term would run to age 86! 

But Rendell said Biden's planning to run and the former governor sloughed off Biden's repeated gaffes saying that George W. Bush blundered quite a bit as well. Maybe.  But even if we grant that, can anyone honestly say that "W" was as gaffe-prone or stumbled and bungled as much as Biden? C'mon! Biden can't seem to remember where he's been or where he's going. He's verbally challenged even when he's reading a teleprompter. He gets names and dates and locations wrong. He's often downright incoherent. And all of this happens daily.

Back to Truman. You would think that Biden's family would step in at this point. But First Lady Jill Biden and Biden's brother, sister, son and other family members seem to be enjoying (and benefiting from) the ride too much to interject a note of reason. They wanna keep the clickity-clackity Biden trolley trudging along. They're enablers! And consequently, we have to watch this sorry spectacle amidst growing concerns over the state of the presidency and the nation's future. 

This is painful. It's dangerous. It's wrong. And Biden should learn from Truman and step aside. Avanti!