I am now in favor of Biden running for reelection in 2024.
Did he stumble going up the stairs to his plane recently? So what?
Does he stammer on occasion? So what?
Does he miss a beat sometimes? So what?
As I write this I hear Beethoven conducted by Bernstein and the NY Philharmonic orchestra
in the background and to mind comes poet Dylan Thomas’ exhortation to his father, ‘rage, rage against the dying of the light’.
That’s right, Joe Biden, rage, rage!
Take on the Republican adversary and give them a good fight.
You’re doing a good job so keep at it.
The war effort would not be where it is now were it not for your push.
Although I strongly believe you need to be bolder and confront Putin to stop firing missiles from behind his borders to kill Ukrainians and destroy their country.
Should you take this step the war will come to an end sooner. It could be the turning point. Please think about it carefully.
Advancing age does create problems for all of us but every one of us is different and there are men and women older than you making important contributions to humankind.
I’m reminded of a researcher in England whose name I don’t recall, who had celebrated her 100th year and still walked down the hill from where she lived on the way to her lab. Every day.
So ‘rage, rage against the dying of the light!’
You are clear in the perception that our nation stands now at a critical juncture in history.
The two largest totalitarian regimes in the world, deniers and abusers of man’s eternal quest for freedom of expression, have joined forces to trample on the West.
They must be stopped. Until such time as when their people will awaken.
Maybe we should drop millions of copies of George Orwell’s ‘1984’ from balloons overhead on China and Russia so they can start pulling out of their existential mud.
But while we wait for them to breathe the air of freedom and dare challenge their oppressors, here in America we have plenty of work to do to correct long held injustices.
We can do it.
Your leadership comes filled with hope and an openness to dialogue. That many Republicans are still under the spell of Trump and Trump alike figures is part of what our nation has to deal with.
But keep pushing hard to do what you think needs to be done. If you’re wrong, we’ll tell you.
And if you fall ill as you press on with your term and the next, well, then our medical teams will step in to restore you to full competency. And if your time is past, then Harris will kick in.
Meanwhile, go forth young man, young at heart, young in your mind, striving to fight off the bullies and dictators seeking to keep humanity on its knees.
Stay open to criticism. If you’re not well enough to continue doing your job then tell us. We need that honesty from you. But who knows when that will be?
Defy the odds, keep pushing, striving to do your best.
‘Rage, rage against the dying of the light!’
And ‘run, Biden, run!’
Oscar Valdes 