@washingtonpost endorses Joe!

Joe Biden for president https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/09/28/editorial-board-endorsement-joe-biden/

“In order to expel the worst president of modern times, many voters might be willing to vote for almost anybody.
Fortunately, voters do not have to lower their standards. Joe Biden, is exceptionally well-qualified, by character and experience, to meet the daunting challenges.”

“Those challenges have been created, exacerbated or neglected by the incumbent: the pandemic; rising inequality & racial disparities; 21st-century, high-tech authoritarianism ascendant in the world, with democracy in retreat; a planet at risk due to human-caused climate change.”

“Underlying is the question of whether U.S. democracy is any longer capable of meeting even one challenge, let alone a host. Here is where Mr. Trump has done the most damage, & where Mr. Biden is uniquely positioned for the moment. He would restore decency, honor & competence.”

“In contrast to Mr. Trump’s narcissism, Mr. Biden is deeply empathetic; you can’t imagine him dismissing wounded or fallen soldiers as “losers.” To Mr. Trump’s cynicism, Mr. Biden brings faith — religious faith, yes, but also faith in American values and potential.”

“In place of Mr. Trump’s belittling & demonizing, Mr. Biden offers commitment to finding common ground to make government work. He has demonstrated that commitment in reaching across the aisle to Republicans & in bringing unity to Democrats without compromising his convictions.”

“Mr. Trump’s negative example has demonstrated how essential in a president are decency, empathy & respect for others. Mr. Biden brings deep reservoirs of each.But those qualities are not sufficient. A president also needs toughness, governing experience & good judgment.”

“Does Mr. Biden have what it takes?He took on some 20 aspirants. To considerable chatter about his past failed campaigns, he finished fourth in Iowa and fifth in New Hampshire. He had almost no campaign money, little staff and, if you believed many of the pundits, no chance.”

“Mr. Biden didn’t believe the pundits. He stuck to his game plan, took his fight to South Carolina & won there on Super Tuesday. In defeating Sanders he showed that the party hadn’t moved as far left as some were saying — and as Mr. Trump continues, baselessly, to allege.”

“Mr. Biden then oversaw a vice-presidential selection process that was free of leak. He chose as partner the woman who, after the fact, almost everyone agreed was the most qualified, Sen. Kamala D. Harris. Mr. Biden showed that he will govern based on merit, not grudge.”

If he takes the oath in the midst of the pandemic’s second wave, as is quite possible, with the economy in a tailspin, we can be confident Mr. Biden will rise to the occasion. Why?”

“Because when President Obama and he took office, the nation was in a similarly frightening tailspin. Mr. Obama trusted his vice president to work with Congress to deliver a bipartisan recovery package & then to administer it, helping save America’s auto industry & the economy.”

“On climate change, where Mr. Trump denigrates scientists and dismisses warnings about a grave threat to humanity, just as he did with covid-19, Mr. Biden understands that no issue is more fundamental to the long-term prosperity of the nation or the world.”

“Mr. Biden has an ambitious & reform-minded criminal justice agenda. He would set minimum standards for use of force & condition funding on police reforms. His $20 billion competitive grant program would incentivize states to shift dollars from incarceration to crime prevention.”

“Far from embracing socialism, Mr. Biden would better position the US as a capitalist competitor to China. He would do so by rolling back the least defensible of Mr. Trump’s upwardly skewed tax cuts & investing more in education & research.”

“On foreign policy, Mr. Biden offers an enormously positive change from the Trump administration, simply by promising to rebuild long-standing U.S. alliances and the global leadership that Mr. Trump has willfully disrupted.”

“He would rebuild relations with NATO countries and help them stiffen defenses against Russia. He would end Mr. Trump’s appeasement of Russian President Vladimir Putin and coddling of Arab dictatorships such as Saudi Arabia.”

“He would rejoin the Paris accord on climate change and seek to revive the nuclear deal with Iran. He would reverse Mr. Trump’s senseless withdrawal from the World Health Organization, and commit the United States to multilateral efforts to combat the coronavirus pandemic.”

“Democracy is at risk, at home and around the world. The nation desperately needs a president who will respect its public servants; stand up for the rule of law; acknowledge Congress’s constitutional role; and work for the public good, not his private benefit.”

“Just as desperately, it needs a president with the know-how and experience to show that values and results can go together.
It is fortunate to have, in Joe Biden, a candidate who can lead an administration that is both honorable and successful.”