James Pfister: Biden and statesmanship

Lyndon Johnson (herein LBJ) and Richard Nixon (herein RN) announced they would voluntarily leave the office of president. Their circumstances were analogous to those of President Biden today: an exigent pressure, world stress, a difficult road ahead, and loss of elite and public support. They made the unselfish choice to leave in the national interest. They were statesman. Will Biden do the same?

On March 31, 1968, in a speech to the nation regarding the frustrating war in Vietnam, LBJ surprised the nation with the statement: “I shall not seek, and I will not accept” the nomination for another term as President. When 1968 began, the Vietnam War was underway. Promises were made that progress was being made. Then, on January 30th, the Tet offensive occurred, a surprise attack by the North Vietnamese Army and the insurgent Viet Cong. Although the enemy exposed themselves and were defeated, the damage was done. It appeared to the American nation that the promises were wrong, that the strategy was not working. After Tet, only 33% believed progress was being made; 49% believed the war was a mistake. The Vietnam War was LBJ’s exigent pressure.

On February 8th, Senator Robert F. Kennedy challenged LBJ’s war effort. On March 12th, war critic Eugene McCarthy almost defeated LBJ in the New Hampshire primary. There was domestic turmoil over the war with protests, some violent. Young men were losing their liberty by being drafted for a war they did not support. There were many battle deaths. There was significant opposition to the war. Congress was divided. World affairs were challenging with the Cold War pressures.

LBJ stated he had 525,000 troops to worry about in Vietnam, not presidential primaries. He said he never made a more unselfish decision than when he decided to leave the presidency. (Robert Dallek, Flawed Giant, 1998). U.N. Ambassador Arthur Goldberg told him: “’You looked 10 feet high when you stood there not thinking of any other consideration but what would serve the country best’.” LBJ was a statesman.

On Aug. 8, 1974, in a nationwide speech, RN announced his intention to resign the presidency. His exigent pressure was Watergate. This began with a June 17, 1972, break-in by Nixon supporters of the Democratic National Committee offices in the Watergate office complex. He stated in his resignation speech: “I have concluded that because of the Watergate matter I might not have support of the Congress that I would consider necessary to back the very difficult decisions and carry out the duties of this office in the way the interests of the nation would require.” The road ahead would be difficult. He had lost support of key members of Congress, especially after the “smoking gun” tape was released showing that he had early knowledge of the break in and intended to cover it up. Public support declined. There were major challenges in the world, especially in the Middle East and with the Soviet Union.

Many urged RN to fight the charges in a Senate trial, assuming there would be an impeachment. But RN did not want to put the nation through that process when attention should be on the challenges of the world. He was a statesman in making the difficult decision to resign.

President Biden’s exigent pressure is his age, his mental state, and his ability to communicate effectively. Paul Krugman states that Biden is effective behind the scenes: “As anyone who has recently spent time with Biden (and I have) can tell you, he is in full possession of his faculties — completely lucid and with excellent grasp of detail.”

Even if true that Biden is mentally cogent, this is like a football quarterback who knows the game, but cannot throw the ball. A large part of being president is communication and image. He is the Head of State. Biden clearly fails at this.

Like LBJ and RN, there would be a difficult road ahead, he has lost support of elites and the public, there are difficulties in the world with two wars and Taiwan. If Biden is a statesman, he will announce he will not seek or accept a nomination for another presidential term. Let’s have a genuine Democratic Convention this summer.

— James W. Pfister, J.D. University of Toledo, Ph.D. University of Michigan (political science), retired after 46 years in the Political Science Department at Eastern Michigan University. He lives at Devils Lake and can be reached at jpfister@emich.edu.

This article originally appeared on The Holland Sentinel: James Pfister: Biden and statesmanship