August 9, 2024
Dear editor;
This letter is a response to Mighty Joe Way to Go in the July 25 issue of The Voice.
In early July, Judy Siedlecki opined in The Voice that certain Democratic Party leaders were wrong in suggesting that Joe Biden withdraw from his 2024 re-election campaign after his poor performance in the debate with Donald Trump, hinting that perhaps Biden was too old. Based on what we knew then, I totally agree with her assessment. Calls for Biden to suspend his campaign were unfounded and premature for all the reasons suggested by Ms Siedlecki. What became clear in that debate was Trump’s extraordinary propensity to lie, with Gusto!
Nevertheless, July 21, “Mighty Joe”, as she called him later, passed the torch to vice president Kamala Harris. My initial reaction to the news was “Say it ain’t so, Joe!” But, before the day was over the earth was rumbling from the incredible ground swell of grass-roots support for the new “Harris-for- President” campaign. The infusion of energy was, (and still is) palpable. Fortunately for us, Ms Siedlecki’s July 25 Reader’s Voice, “Mighty Joe Way to Go” was already in the editor’s hands, or she may have chosen not to submit it, given the news of Biden’s withdrawal. Her chronicle of Biden’s presidency puts to rest notions of any apparent age-related cognitive dysfunction, especially when one considers his extraordinary achievements, and he still has a few months left!
In the same July 25 issue, Deena Sheman writes that Biden’s campaign withdrawal, “might be the most selfless act in the history of American politics,” and she goes on to suggest senator Mark Kelly as a suitable running mate; but August 6 Minnesota governor Tim Walz was chosen and his popularity seems to grow exponentially with each passing day.
At this writing, the Democratic Party appears to be rising to the challenge, surging with optimism and hope for the future that our diverse populations can live in peace and flourish as one.
Peace.
Dave Hoehne, Aurora