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Biden should make his reelection intentions clear now | Editorial

The president might be holding off on a decision because of sagging poll numbers and a desire to wait for the outcome of November's elections.

President Joe Biden walks past reporters and photographers as he departs the East Room at the White House in August.
President Joe Biden walks past reporters and photographers as he departs the East Room at the White House in August.Read moreChip Somodevilla / MCT

If President Joe Biden is not going to run for reelection, it would be better if he said so now, to increase his chances of continuing a string of legislative victories. “Look, my intention as I said to begin with is that I would run again,” Biden said recently in response to a question on CBS’s 60 Minutes news program. “But it’s just an intention. But is it a firm decision that I run again? That remains to be seen.”

Most Americans continue to dismiss Biden as being the answer to this country’s problems, despite a list of accomplishments that many past presidents wished they had less than two years into their first term. Only 39% approved of Biden’s job performance in the latest Washington Post-ABC News Poll. That number makes you wonder who’s been paying attention.

Biden inherited a Congress mired in partisanship but still managed to pass the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, which provides money to finally repair decrepit roads, bridges, and railways; the American Rescue Act, which kept families, small towns, and big cities afloat financially during the pandemic; and the Inflation Reduction Act, which addresses climate change more than any previous legislation.

» READ MORE: After a summer of surprising successes, President Biden is on a roll | Editorial

Inflation remains high — 8.3% above its position a year ago — but gasoline prices (one of the biggest drivers of inflation) have fallen since June from an average high of $5 a gallon nationally to $3.78. Grocery prices remain high, but that’s largely due to reasons no president could quickly resolve: the pandemic’s impact on the world supply chain, the Ukraine war’s impact on wheat prices worldwide, the skyrocketing cost of fertilizer, and a devastating drought affecting most U.S. farm states.

Americans still remember the Great Recession and they can’t forget the COVID-19 pandemic, given the hundreds per day continuing to die. They are looking for some sign of a brighter day that polls show they don’t think Joe Biden can provide.

That might change if Biden can keep up his current pace of legislative successes, but is unlikely to happen if the Democrats lose control of Congress in the Nov. 8 elections. Biden’s low poll numbers have helped Republican candidates attack their midterm opponents by linking them to the unpopular president.

Two years out is not too early for Biden to unequivocally declare his intentions for 2024.

Two years out is not too early for Biden to unequivocally declare his intentions for 2024. Saying he won’t run would allow Democrats to separate the unpopular man from his popular policies. Without Biden, congressional candidates can gain supporters by emphasizing his policy wins from the last two years, and pledge to build on the progress the president has made after he leaves office.

Declaring he won’t run would also light a fire for potential presidential candidates to gear up their campaigns. They need to get Americans to focus more on the future. That doesn’t mean ignoring the past or their current situation. It means remembering this country has endured worse and came out of it stronger.

All it takes is the right leadership.

Announcing he won’t run again would link Biden and George Washington, who was encouraged to seek a third term but knew Americans didn’t rebel against a king to establish a monarchy. Washington was compared to the Roman general Cincinnatus, who after being made dictator to lead the empire’s successful defense against an attacking army, promptly returned to retirement on his farm.

Biden will be 80 in November, but that doesn’t mean he couldn’t serve another term. Seven senators are 80 or more years old, including Mitch McConnell (R., Ky.), 80; Bernie Sanders (Ind., Vt.), 81; Patrick Leahy (D., Vt.), 82; Jim Inhofe (R., Okla.), 87; Richard Shelby (R., Ala.), 88; and Chuck Grassley (R., Iowa) and Dianne Feinstein (D., Calif.), both 89. But their jobs, albeit demanding, are not the same as being president of the United States.

The midterm elections alone shouldn’t determine whether Biden decides to run for reelection, but making that decision now could be the difference in having a more cooperative Congress to successfully carry out his agenda.

What will it be, Mr. President? Your low poll numbers don’t mean most Americans don’t like you; in many cases, they simply covet change they don’t think a familiar face like yours can provide.