Biden quits race: What is his legacy? And what now for the Democrats?

Now it’s happened, it seems it was inevitable.

At 81 years old, age was the issue that dogged Joe Biden more than any other.

The disastrous debate in Atlanta catapulted the simmering questions about the president’s frailty onto the front pages here.

A growing number of serving Democratic politicians went public with their calls for him to stand down - more behind the scenes also vented their frustration.

Then, the wealthy donors started pulling their money.

At that point, the fate of Biden was sealed. Despite repeated claims that he would not stand down, it merely served to cast the president as out of touch and aloof.

His claim that he would stand aside if the Lord Almighty came down, suggested an almost religious zeal.

Self belief is one thing, but this smacked of an arrogance that infuriated many in his party.

Over the weekend, more voices joined the chorus calling for his campaign to end.

But this was always going to be a final decision taken by the president and First Lady Jill Biden, in consultation with their family.

Biden now joins a select group of Presidents who only served one term.

Like Lyndon B. Johnson, he has chosen not to run rather than losing a second election. His legacy will be as the man who defeated Donald Trump, and brought America back from the brink after an attempted insurrection and the ravages of the Covid pandemic.

There were great high points, including his bi-partisan Inflation Reduction Act, the apotheosis of Bidenomics, boosting green industries, and creating record numbers of jobs.

Under his watch inflation fell, inequality fell, violent crime fell, unemployment fell, and although prices remain stubbornly high, America’s stock markets soared.

His legislation reduced the price of key medicines like insulin for ordinary Americans. The number of citizens without health insurance fell to a record low of 7.2 %.

But his critics point to the record numbers of people crossing the US border with Mexico as proof his domestic policies on immigration have failed.

On foreign policy, there were also errors. His handling of the US withdrawal from Afghanistan was seen as abysmal by his critics, generating damaging images of Afghans clinging to US planes as the Taliban tightened their grip on the country.

In Gaza too, he faced challenges, trying to walk a narrow line of unwavering support for Israel while trying to reign in the worst of the violence and civilian death toll which soared into the tens of thousands.

It alienated progressives on the left on his party and cost him key support in swing states like Michigan which has a large Arab American population.

During the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Biden managed to avoid a dangerous escalation and stood firm by Volodymr Zelenskyy, as the Ukrainian President faced down the invaders.

Despite his achievements though, Biden’s approval rating remained historically low. No sitting president with only 38% of the population saying he was doing a good job has ever been re-elected.

President Biden often says people should compare him with the alternative, not the Almighty.

He was referring to the choice between him and Trump, but now too many people in his own party have weighed Biden against the other possible Democratic candidates and decided almost any of them would be preferable.

His Vice President Kamala Harris is one possibility. At 59, she has age on her side, despite perhaps not having the profile or reputation she might like.

Others have suggested the California Governor Gavin Newsom or Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer may also be viable.

The problem is, only Harris can access the vast funds sitting in the Biden Harris campaign coffers.

There is also the considerable risk of alienating black and ethnic minority voters if the party bypassed the chance of nominating America’s first woman of colour as their candidate for President.

All this will be thrashed out in the coming month - it has to be settled by August 7 to comply with laws in Ohio.

Some party insiders think those laws could be changed but the Democratic Convention takes place on August 19, so there is really very little time for the party to agree on who should fight Trump in November.

What started as a grudge rematch between two old white men, is now looking like becoming one of the most exciting and unpredictable races in recent history.

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