COMMENTARY: Biden, without the rose-colored aviators

If Kamala Harris manages to become the 47th U.S. president, it will be despite Joe Biden, not because of him.

Biden is a decent man and an honorable politician. His record of accomplishments as president is robust. “I’ve given my heart and soul to my nation” he said in a prime-time speech, but he may have given it too late.

The accolades being tossed at Biden following his decision to withdraw from the presidential campaign are misguided, as were several of his earlier actions that placed Democrats in the position they’re in now — racing against time and odds to prevent another four years of Donald Trump.

There is little honor in finally acknowledging an untenable situation months, perhaps years, after those around you saw it. There is nothing heroic about clinging to a presidential re-election campaign that never should have been embarked upon in the first place. And there’s hardly cause for celebration when a campaign of such high consequence is stubbornly taken to the brink before the course is corrected.

When he ran in 2020 Biden explained, “I view myself as a bridge, not as anything else.” He said younger politicians were “the future of this country.” Had he kept to what seemed like a pledge to serve a single term it would have, indeed, qualified as an act of patriotism.

Instead, Biden decided to run again, declaring that he had to “finish the job.”

Biden’s missteps actually began before he selected Kamala Harris as his running mate. By declaring that he would select only a woman to run as vice president, he laid the foundation for unfair criticism that Harris faces now: that she is a “DEI” (diversity, equity and inclusion) selection. In other words, the label Republicans are using for Harris isn’t so much about her as it is about how Biden went about picking her in the first place.

It’s probably worth remembering that in 2020, neither Biden nor Harris was the Democrats’ best option. Harris had stumbled so badly in her early effort to get the presidential nomination that she dropped out when it became clear she wouldn’t prevail even in her home state of California. Biden lost in Iowa and New Hampshire and was going nowhere until Rep. Jim Clyburn endorsed him in South Carolina — giving Biden that state’s primary and ultimately the party’s nomination.

After a few grueling years in the White House Biden’s age and cognitive challenges began to show. Though many Democrats claim to have been surprised by Biden’s June 28 debate debacle, evidence of his struggles had been on display for months. The president and those closest to him must certainly have been among the first to recognize this, not the last.

Incumbent presidents aren’t meaningfully challenged within their own party unless they withdraw early enough for a legitimate primary process. That’s what Lyndon Johnson did in late March of 1968; Joe Biden waited until July 21.

Harris insisted she wanted to “earn” the nomination. But because of Biden’s delay, what she got was the very “coronation” that Democrats hoped to avoid.

If Harris wins in November, Biden’s place in history will be secure and the stubbornness he displayed in the campaign will be forgotten. If she loses, her political career will be over and, sadly, the blame will rest largely with her boss.

Peter Funt’s latest book is “Playing POTUS: The Power of America’s Acting Presidents,” about comedians who impersonated presidents.