What made it hard for Biden and family to quit?

There is a time for fighting and there is a time for letting go

I’m relieved though saddened that Biden stepped down as candidate. I promoted this over and over and over again since his debate with Trump.

1. Contrary to all kinds of theories on the Internet, his political and emotional intelligence and memory are fine. And he always stammered. And he’s unaware of misspeaking and stopgaps looking for words.

Like in many Parkinson’s patients and others with acquired speech difficulty, his understanding is fine. He just can’t communicate it anymore. A computer that doesn’t work falls still, but someone with aphasia may mutter nonsense. It really doesn’t sound good—especially his inability to say numbers. Monthly rent increases under his administration will not be kept under $55 but under 5%. I’m sure he knows. But it sounds so off.

Remedy: Tell him his brains are fine. It’s just his lips, so to speak.

2. US specialists all agree, that one wins elections on promises, not on work well done. It’s a terrible, unfair, stupid reality, but true nonetheless.

Remedy: Tell him his record is superb, but that won’t suffice.

3. ‘Everywhere and anyone I speak, people are ecstatic.’ People love him. They really do. They are happy when it’s not as bad as it seemed. They focus on what is well said and overlook the terrible mistakes. Or they think it’s too painful to tell you the truth. But the media focus on the errors. And, so does Trump-world. It’s devastating. You can’t say: ‘Most of what I said was fine.’ Just like you can’t claim a clean bill of health when 99.99% of your cells are fine; why focus on a little cancer?

Remedy: Tell him people come to you and your rallies because they love you and are grateful for your work. They are willing to overlook anything. This is lovely and heartwarming, but fans alone won’t win you reelection.

4. ‘But Trump lies all the time—that’s worse.’ That’s true. But you can’t pass an exam or job interview by saying others are far worse. Besides, Whataboutism is a Trumpian tool we should not use.

Remedy: Please don’t change the subject. His lies plus his fumbled words still sound better than your gaffes. Get over it. Listen to your recordings.

5. ‘Statistics are wrong all the time. I beat him last time, I’ll beat him again.’ That all may be true, but that’s what Trump said in 2020. And he lost.

Remedy: Tell him that wishful thinking is not enough.

6. ‘Anything can still happen.’ True. But that’s not a strategy. Only a miracle can flip the critical numbers you get from your own polls now.

Remedy: Tell him those who urge you to step down don’t love or appreciate you less than those who don’t. They just agree with you this election can’t be lost. ‘Well, at least I did my best’ isn’t good enough—you know that. Trump must be stopped. You’re not the issue. Throw your large weight (and thin built) behind the one the Democratic Convention elects.

Even the previous Pope stepped down when the time had come. You’re in good company. But stay on until January. Some very important stuff soon needs to happen internationally—you’re the best coalition builder still.

About the Author

MM is a prolific and creative writer and thinker, previously a daily blog contributor to the TOI. He often makes his readers laugh, mad, or assume he's nuts—close to perfect blogging. He's proud that his analytical short comments are removed both from left-wing and right-wing news sites. None of his content is generated by the new bore on the block, AI. * As a frontier thinker, he sees things many don't yet. He's half a prophet. Half. Let's not exaggerate. Or not at all because he doesn't claim G^d talks to him. He gives him good ideas—that's all. MM doesn't believe that people observe and think in a vacuum. He, therefore, wanted a broad bio that readers interested can track a bit what (lack of) backgrounds, experiences, and educations contribute to his visions. * This year, he will prioritize getting his unpublished books published rather than just blog posts. Next year, he hopes to focus on activism against human extinction. To find less-recent posts on a subject XXX among his over 2000 archived ones, go to the right-top corner of a Times of Israel page, click on the search icon and search "zuiden, XXX". One can find a second, wilder blog, to which one may subscribe too, here: https://mmvanzuiden.wordpress.com/ or by clicking on the globe icon next to his picture on top. * Like most of his readers, he believes in being friendly, respectful, and loyal. However, if you think those are his absolute top priorities, you might end up disappointed. His first loyalty is to the truth. He will try to stay within the limits of democratic and Jewish law, but he won't lie to support opinions or people when don't deserve that. (Yet, we all make honest mistakes, which is just fine and does not justify losing support.) He admits that he sometimes exaggerates to make a point, which could have him come across as nasty, while in actuality, he's quite a lovely person to interact with. He holds - how Dutch - that a strong opinion doesn't imply intolerance of other views. * Sometimes he's misunderstood because his wide and diverse field of vision seldomly fits any specialist's box. But that's exactly what some love about him. He has written a lot about Psychology (including Sexuality and Abuse), Medicine (including physical immortality), Science (including basic statistics), Politics (Israel, the US, and the Netherlands, Activism - more than leftwing or rightwing, he hopes to highlight reality), Oppression and Liberation (intersectionally, for young people, the elderly, non-Whites, women, workers, Jews, LGBTQIA+, foreigners and anyone else who's dehumanized or exploited), Integrity, Philosophy, Jews (Judaism, Zionism, Holocaust and Jewish Liberation), the Climate Crisis, Ecology and Veganism, Affairs from the news, or the Torah Portion of the Week, or new insights that suddenly befell him. * Chronologically, his most influential teachers are his parents, Nico (natan) van Zuiden and Betty (beisye) Nieweg, Wim Kan, Mozart, Harvey Jackins, Marshal Rosenberg, Reb Shlomo Carlebach, and, lehavdil bein chayim lechayim, Rabbi Dr. Natan Lopes Cardozo, Rav Zev Leff, and Rav Meir Lubin. This short list doesn't mean to disrespect others who taught him a lot or a little. One of his rabbis calls him Mr. Innovation [Ish haChidushim]. Yet, his originalities seem to root deeply in traditional Judaism, though they may grow in unexpected directions. In fact, he claims he's modernizing nothing. Rather, mainly basing himself on the basic Hebrew Torah text, he tries to rediscover classical Jewish thought almost lost in thousands of years of stifling Gentile domination and Jewish assimilation. (He pleads for a close reading of the Torah instead of going by rough assumptions of what it would probably mean and before fleeing to Commentaries.) This, in all aspects of life, but prominently in the areas of Free Will, Activism, Homosexuality for men, and Redemption. * He hopes that his words will inspire and inform, and disturb the comfortable and comfort the disturbed. He aims to bring a fresh perspective rather than harp on the obvious and familiar. When he can, he loves to write encyclopedic overviews. He doesn't expect his readers to agree. Rather, original minds should be disputed. In short, his main political positions are among others: anti-Trumpism, for Zionism, Intersectionality, non-violence, anti those who abuse democratic liberties, anti the fake ME peace process, for original-Orthodoxy, pro-Science, pro-Free Will, anti-blaming-the-victim, and for down-to-earth, classical optimism, and happiness. Read his blog on how he attempts to bridge any tensions between those ideas or fields. * He is a fetal survivor of the pharmaceutical industry (https://diethylstilbestrol.co.uk/studies/des-and-psychological-health/), born in 1953 to his parents who were Dutch-Jewish Holocaust survivors who met in the largest concentration camp in the Netherlands, Westerbork. He grew up a humble listener. It took him decades to become a speaker too, and decades more to admit to being a genius. But his humility was his to keep. And so was his honesty. Bullies and con artists almost instantaneously envy and hate him. He hopes to bring new things and not just preach to the choir. * He holds a BA in medicine (University of Amsterdam) – is half a doctor. He practices Re-evaluation Co-counseling since 1977, is not an official teacher anymore, and became a friendly, powerful therapist. He became a social activist, became religious, made Aliyah, and raised three wonderful kids. Previously, for decades, he was known to the Jerusalem Post readers as a frequent letter writer. For a couple of years, he was active in hasbara to the Dutch-speaking public. He wrote an unpublished tome about Jewish Free Will. He's a strict vegan since 2008. He's an Orthodox Jew but not a rabbi. * His writing has been made possible by an allowance for second-generation Holocaust survivors from the Netherlands. It has been his dream since he was 38 to try to make a difference by teaching through writing. He had three times 9-out-of-10 for Dutch at his high school finals but is spending his days communicating in English and Hebrew - how ironic. G-d must have a fine sense of humor. In case you wonder - yes, he is a bit dyslectic. If you're a native English speaker and wonder why you should read from people whose English is only their second language, consider the advantage of having an original peek outside of your cultural bubble. * To send any personal reaction to him, scroll to the top of the blog post and click Contact Me. * His newest books you may find here: https://www.amazon.com/s?i=stripbooks&rh=p_27%3AMoshe-Mordechai%2FMaurits+van+Zuiden&s=relevancerank&text=Moshe-Mordechai%2FMaurits+van+Zuiden&ref=dp_byline_sr_book_1