Biden Is Smart to Stick to His Dumb Afghanistan Decision
Like fellow moderate Angela Merkel, the U.S. president has figured out that the only way for centrists to compete with populists is to be decisive, for good or ill.
Biden didn’t give an inch in his post-withdrawal speech.
Photographer: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
Joe Biden’s defense of his choice to leave Afghanistan gets more vehement with each speech he delivers. Every passing day might confirm that it was a bad decision with worse implementation; nevertheless, the president refuses to give an inch. He decided and, for better or worse, the rest of us have to live with the consequences.
While Biden has taken a hit in the polls, it’s likely that he will emerge stronger from this moment. Not because the withdrawal has enhanced his reputation for competence or good sense, which it hasn’t. But because Biden seems to have stumbled on the only formula that protects moderate leaders in a populist age: decisiveness.