Parker: George Washington foresaw today's irresponsible, immoral leadership in Washington

In President Joe Biden's announcement on social media of his decision to not run for reelection, he ticked off the many wonderful achievements during his three and a half years in the nation's highest office.

But if things are so great, as Biden seems to think, why are Americans so dispirited?

Biden's personal polling is horrible. General polling shows an American public in a sour state of mind.

Per Gallup of a few weeks ago, only 41% say they are "extremely proud" to be an American, compared to 70% 20 years ago.

In Biden's own Democratic Party, only 34% say they are "extremely proud" to be an American.

America's first president, George Washington, was urged to run again after serving two terms. He declined, motivated by the ideals of America's founding that the nation would be about individual freedom informed by moral ideals, and not by government and politics. Washington feared the politicization of the nation, that it would become everything that Joe Biden now represents.

Washington expressed this concern in his farewell address in 1796, saying that "unprincipled men will be enabled to subvert the power of the people and to usurp for themselves the reins of government."

This, of course, is exactly what has happened.

We know that Biden did not quit voluntarily. His overriding motivation, clearly, has been the retention of power and glory. He is leaving only because he has been pushed out by party leaders and major donors.

What are the chances that a major corporation would leave in control a chief executive officer in Biden's physical state? The answer, of course, is zero.

Further, as Republican VP nominee J.D. Vance has pointed out, "If Joe Biden doesn't have the cognitive function to run for re-election, then he certainly doesn't have the cognitive function to remain as Commander-in-Chief."

Worse, it's not just about Biden. Those who pushed him out the door did so not because of their concern that he is not fit to govern. Their concern was the polls show he can't win.

The Wall Street Journal reports that in October 2021, Biden went to Capitol Hill to lobby congressional Democrats to pass the trillion-dollar infrastructure legislation. Per the Journal, "According to Democrats in the room," Biden spoke for 30 minutes "disjointedly and failed to make a concrete ask of lawmakers."

Rep. Dean Phillips noted, per the Journal, "It was the first time I remember people pretty jarred by what they had seen."

That was three years ago.

Clearly it has been well known for a considerable amount of time, by a considerable number of individuals in the president's party, that the man sitting in the most powerful office in the world is not capable of doing his job.

George Washington's concerns two and a quarter centuries ago were well founded. A powerful political class has arisen in Washington, which exists to further its own interests at the expense of the welfare of our nation's citizens. This, of course, follows the dramatic expansion of government. The federal government now takes some 25% of GDP, compared to little over 14% in 1950.

My own first exposure to Joe Biden came in 1991 when, as chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, he presided over the confirmation hearings of now Supreme Court Associate Justice Clarence Thomas. The circus that Biden permitted, allowing airing in the hearing room, with live national press coverage, of unsubstantiated pornographic allegations of one woman, Anita Hill, to besmirch the character of a man of who would become one of the nation's great and most articulate defenders of our constitution, is beyond reproach.

Biden's behavior was then, as is Biden's behavior now, motivated by calculations, first and foremost, of personal political interests.

Let's hope and pray that, somehow, America finds its way back to the ideals of the founders and George Washington.

Star Parker is president of the Center for Urban Renewal and Education.