William McGurn
WSJ, July 22, 2024
“… they opted to gaslight the American people about Mr. Biden’s health and savaged the one Democrat who dared mention it—Rep. Dean Phillips, who challenged the president in the Democratic primaries.”
Heading into the weekend at his vacation home in Rehoboth Beach, Del., President Biden was reportedly stewing over Barack Obama’s role in the orchestrated campaign to force him off the Democratic ticket. The New York Times cited the “unseen but clearly felt presence” of Mr. Obama, which lent a “Shakespearean quality” to the drama that culminated in Mr. Biden’s decision to take himself out of the 2024 presidential contest.
For Mr. Biden, it must have brought back unpleasant memories of 2015, when he was Mr. Obama’s vice president and considering a run for the top job. Instead of encouraging his loyal lieutenant, Mr. Obama and his White House backed Hillary Clinton. That makes Sunday the second time Mr. Obama has helped knock Mr. Biden off the Democratic presidential ticket.
It’s left a mark. Mr. Biden can argue, as he certainly does, that he is the only Democrat to have defeated Donald Trump. His unspoken accusation is this: If Mr. Obama hadn’t intervened against him, he would have won in 2016 as well and spared the Democratic Party its current trauma. It may not be true but it’s a plausible argument—and Mr. Biden believes it.
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