The New York Times has endorsed Democratic candidate Joe Biden for president, billing him as an experienced politician with the “whole country’s interests at heart.”
“Mr. Biden realizes that there are no simple answers. He has the experience, demeanor and character to guide the country through this valley into a more brighter, more confident future,” the Times editorial board wrote. “He has our support for the presidency.”
The Grey Lady supported Biden as the leader ready to wrestle with a “trifecta of crises:” the Covid pandemic, a broke economy and civil unrest.
“When they go to the polls this year, voters aren’t just choosing a leader. They’re deciding what America will be,” the Times wrote in its endorsement.
“They’re deciding whether they favor the rule of law, how the government will help them weather the greatest economic calamity in generations,” the paper went on, “whether they want government to enable everyone to have access to health care, whether they consider global warming a serious threat, whether they believe that racism should be treated as a public policy problem.”
The Times praised Biden’s “long and distinguished record of accomplishment” as senator and vice president, specifically crediting him for co-sponsoring the Violence Against Women Act of 1994 and later brokering the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 following the Great Recession.
Biden was also touted for publicly backing the legalization of gay marriage before the Obama White House had offered its stance, forcing the administration left on the issue.
The editorial also cited his growing endorsements from foreign policy and national security officials as proof he can manage foreign threats. It referenced the “history-making excitement” of his running mate, Kamala Harris, who would become the first woman, black person and Asian-American to hold the position.
Biden, according to the Times, offers hope that perhaps a “modicum of bipartisanship” could prevail amid a dramatically divided Congress as a candidate willing to bridge the divide among politicians to both his right and left.
“Progressives who want even more from him should not be afraid to push. Experience is not the same as stagnation,” the paper continued.
Still, the editorial acknowledged that Biden wasn’t the “perfect candidate.”
“But politics is not about perfection,” the endorsement concludes. “It is about the art of the possible and about encouraging America to embrace its better angels.”
