This was a president who had six months left in office, and yet it was a farewell speech in all but name.
It felt strange, totally in line with the outcome of Joe BidenThe disappearance: a president dragged kicking and screaming to the exit.
The prepared speech received the Oval Office treatment normally reserved for times of national crisis.
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Woven through it was Legacy, a narrative written by oneself to shore up a reputation.
The president spoke of his accomplishments in office and laid out a platform for electability.
It was the “defend democracy” campaign script that now belongs to someone else: Biden borrowed it to emphasize self-sacrifice.
The 11-minute speech was an awkward fit on prime-time television, like watching a tired old classic when politics had moved on.
Joe Biden pauses before addressing the nation from the Oval Office on Wednesday. Photo: Reuters
There were no serious stumbles while reading the autocue but it lacked vibrancy.
A Democratic campaign that was shifting gears suddenly felt like it was towing a caravan once again.
Biden’s promise to participate in the election campaign will make party strategists doubt.
So will his intention to serve another six months in the Oval Office.
As much as he wants to sell his record in government, for the sake of himself and his successor, it has “outgoing duck” written all over it.
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it’s not just Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu looking beyond Biden to know who they will do business with in the long term.
Biden wants progress on Middle East peace to be part of his legacy, but Netanyahu will question the durability of any deal with a president who is “here today, gone tomorrow.”
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President Biden’s short-term status risks undermining his authority in office and on the campaign trail.
There’s a reason there’s relief and excitement in the Democratic Party following the change at the top of the ticket: They saw it on prime-time television.
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