More for Joe Biden:
Mr. Biden would not require much in the way of on-the-job training if he wins election in November.
Mr. Biden entered the Senate as one of its youngest members ever, representing Delaware for 36 years. He was instrumental in passage of the Violence Against Woman Act, and as a member of the Foreign Relations Committee on he worked on international arms control and sanction efforts against apartheid South Africa. This lengthy legislative experience led former President Obama to tap Mr. Biden as his running mate and subsequently the administration's point person to Congress. Mr. Biden's honed negotiation skills came in handy, and his diligent background work was key on important measures like passage of the Recovery Act, the stimulus package that rallied America from the Great Recession, and Senate approval of the New START Treaty, a 2009 strategic nuclear disarmament pact with Russia.
The same editorial appears in the Brattleboro Refomer.
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We do, though, want a president who works toward solutions. President Donald Trump lacks the disposition and restraint to do much more than put on a fractious show.
Joe Biden can do much better and he would.
Vote for Biden.
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Today, as we endorse Joe Biden for president, we want to speak directly to those voters who supported President Donald Trump four years ago.
Like you, we hoped in our heart of hearts that Trump would prove to be more than he appeared to be. The nation was due for a reset, and there was an allure in picking an outsider who promised to change a federal government that didn’t work for those who needed its help.
We hoped that Trump might cut away stagnant parts of the federal bureaucracy to make way for rebuilding based on new ideas.
There will indeed be a need to rebuild in the next four years. But it is the rebuilding that follows a house fire.
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The king has failed disastrously. Trump needs to be removed from office, and Joe Biden is the only guy who can do it.
The coronavirus is the most glaring example of his failure. Not only did Trump fail to provide leadership in the battle against the disease that has killed 210,000 Americans, he actually impeded the effort to fight the killer to protect his own interests.
In character, when it was determined that allowing the 3,500 Grand Princess passengers to disembark would prevent the spread of the disease to others on the ship, Trump spoke out against the move because it would add 40 infected passengers to the U.S. totals.
He lied to play down the disease’s severity. He overruled or blocked the recommendations of experts. He lied to claim his administration’s success at fighting the disease. He mocked those who wear masks, and refused to wear one himself. It was inevitable he would catch the disease due to his lack of caution.
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No president could have avoided entirely the damage wrought by the worst pandemic in a century. However, it was not until contracting the novel coronavirus himself that Trump has appeared to understand the depths of the crisis his administration has faced this year. For too long, the president insisted the virus would go away on its own, or that its seriousness was being overstated. His shift was short-lived, as he has lapsed back to rallies sans masks and social distancing in recent days. Nevertheless, all Americans share a hope that the administration’s $11-billion “Operation Warp Speed” to deliver effective vaccines in the next few months proves fruitful. Biden, for his part, has from the beginning grasped the gravity of the issue and there is every indication he would take action to fight the virus’ continued fallout as president. He has outlined a plan that includes ensuring all Americans have access to free and reliable testing and implementing national mask mandates.
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Four years ago, the IJ endorsed Hillary Clinton over Donald Trump. We argued that she was, by far, the best qualified for the job of president of our nation.
Four years of Trump as president has offered a record that proved us right.
In fact, he has not grown into the job — as had been generously predicted by his supporters. He has built a tenure of divisive partisanship, public bullying, schoolyard name calling, unilateral decision making and secretive leadership. Now, he won’t even promise there will be a peaceful transition of power should he be defeated.
He needs to be defeated — and convincingly.
His behavior during the September debate with Democratic challenger Joe Biden was a culmination of the kind of bullying and disrespectful leadership that has dominated his term as president.
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More to come...
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