Why Joe Biden shouldn't run for president

I'm sorry, Joe, but this nation is not turning its lonely eyes to you

Joe Biden.
(Image credit: Illustrated | Alex Wong/Getty Images, Juan Andres Martinez/iStock, arbaz bagwan/iStock)

What in the world is Joe Biden thinking? According to The New York Times, he is "95 percent committed" to running for president in 2020. If I were a millionaire 76-year-old former vice president and senator I would be 95 percent committed to watching hoops and taking it easy with my grandchildren (and about 5 percent committed to picking up an occasional six-figure speaking fee), not agonizing over whether I want to spend two years applying for the worst job in the world.

A better question, though, is what are the Democratic bigwigs who are said to be "impatient" waiting for the great man to enter the presidential arena thinking? Imagine believing that what the Democratic Party is looking for in its leaders in 2019 is a handsy geriatric white man who distinguished himself over the course of a long political career by cozying up with the financial industry and bragging about being tough on crime in between cringe-worthy jokes about Strom Thurmond, at whose funeral he proudly delivered the eulogy (a fact unmentioned on his Wikipedia page).

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Matthew Walther

Matthew Walther is a national correspondent at The Week. His work has also appeared in First Things, The Spectator of London, The Catholic Herald, National Review, and other publications. He is currently writing a biography of the Rev. Montague Summers. He is also a Robert Novak Journalism Fellow.