President Joe Biden showed sacrifice and maturity by declining to run again
President Joe Biden announced July 21, "I believe it is in the best interest of my party and my country for me to stand down and to focus solely on my duties as president for the rest of my term." The announcement came after a series of gaffes that led to declining poll numbers and Democratic party leaders asking him to allow another Democrat to run against Donald Trump.
Mr. Biden's agreeing to serve one term was an act of sacrifice from a man who served his nation with decency and skill.
Whereas a key benchmark of an American president's success used to be whether he had gotten reelected, historians have changed their metrics. It is OK to have been a one-term president as long as one had achievements and integrity.
From LBJ to Gerald Ford to Jimmy Carter, many modern presidents have had their legacies re-analyzed. When Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson assumed the presidency upon the assassination of President Kennedy, he faced a mourning public. After passing The Civil Rights Act of 1964, Johnson beat Republican candidate Barry Goldwater in a landslide. A master of legislation, Johnson went on to pass "A Great Society," which was a bold series of domestic measures including the expansion of Medicare.
The Vietnam War continued unsuccessfully under Johnson and he lost support. Seeing no path to victory in 1968, President Johnson declared, "I shall not seek, and I will not accept, the nomination of my party for another term (...)."
Robert Caro wrote that LBJ “not only had held the country steady during a difficult time but had set it on a new course, a course toward social justice.”
LBJ was followed by Richard Nixon who won two presidential elections before resigning in disgrace over the Watergate scandal in 1974.
Vice President Gerald Ford was uncomfortably thrust into the presidency. After a rough transition, Ford pardoned Nixon, leading to public outcry. In 1976, Ford lost to Georgia Governor Jimmy Carter, who had run as an outsider.
According to the National Constitution Center, "Ford became the first, and so far the only, person to become President without winning a general election for President or Vice President."
Richard Norton Smith noted that Ford brought calm to the nation and left the presidency intact for those who followed. Smith wrote of Ford: "Drawing off the accumulated poisons of Vietnam and Watergate was no mean accomplishment."
Carter defeated Ford in part because he promised the American people, "I'll never lie to you." Carter's accomplishments – among them the Camp David Accords, the Panama Canal Treaty of 1977 and the founding of a cabinet-level Department of Education – were overshadowed by inflation, an energy crisis and the Iranian Hostage Crisis. President Carter lost his bid for reelection in 1980 to Ronald Reagan.
Jonathan Alter wrote of Carter, "He was a disciplined and incorruptible president equipped with a sharp, omnivorous mind; a calm and adult president(...)."
Alter's description of President Carter reminds me of our current president. Joe Biden, like Carter, is a centrist Democrat who supports a higher minimum wage and labor rights. Both leaders support women's health and Roe v. Wade. And both Carter and Biden share a global perspective, supporting the United Nations and energy conservation.
Former President Carter went on, after his presidency, to found The Carter Center, which has monitored elections worldwide and helped eradicate river blindness and guinea worm. For his efforts, Jimmy Carter was awarded a Nobel Peace Prize in 2002.
Each of these one-term presidents proved that there is life after the presidency.
President Biden was the right man for his time, having followed convicted felon Donald Trump, whom historians have rated one of the worst presidents in American history.
Whereas Trump denied losing the 2020 election and encouraged the Capitol insurrectionists Jan. 6, Biden knew when it was time to leave the presidency.
The Revolutionary War patriot Nathan Hale proclaimed, "I only regret that I have but one life to give for my country." Joe Biden had but one term to give to his country. During his presidency, he calmly helped the U.S. rebound from COVID, invest in infrastructure, and explore renewable sources of energy. In wisely declining to run for reelection, Biden demonstrated that the American system of government is more important than personal ambition.
President Biden had only one term, but it was a successful one. For returning the White House to decency and professionalism, we thank you, President Biden.
Jordan Barkin is a columnist published by USA Today and Hearst. He can be reached at jordanbarkin@gmail.com.