By Daniel Nardini

I watched the presidential debate, and I was saddened by the whole affair. I personally think that this was not U.S. President Joe Biden’s best hour. At the same time, former U.S. President Donald Trump seemed rather unhinged even though he may have seemed more adroit than his contender. Yet, I found the whole CNN platform was superficial and really did not address a whole slew of issues that are affecting everyday Americans. The CNN panel asked questions that did not really answer a lot of issues for things that concern ordinary people like you and me. And that all I am hearing about now is “how Biden is incapable of doing this or that and that “he is too feeble to do his job and should be replaced.” To the U.S. news media, whether they be liberal or conservative, I say point blank you all do not determine who the candidate should be. This is done by the primaries and by the American people themselves. They are the ones who should make the final decision WHO should be the presidential candidate. At this point, I think the pundits and naysayers have done a major disservice for President Biden, the Democratic Party and the country as a whole.

But there is another important thing which is being neglected in this mad rush to judgement; the principles and the things the candidate stands for. A candidate is an extension of the core beliefs and aspirations of the people in not only the party but in the nation as a whole. President Biden is not alone in why he seeks to remain president. There are tens of millions of people who wish for him to remain at his job. These people who voted for Biden back in 2020 will no doubt vote for him again because of what Biden stands for. Biden stands for the rights of women, and one of those rights is abortion as health care. Biden stands for the civil rights and protections of ethnic, racial and religious minorities. Biden stands for the constitutional limitations of government and champions the rights of the individual. Biden stands for the rule of law and the independence of the judiciary; one of the bedrocks of this country’s political and civil system of government. Finally, Biden’s presidency has presided over an overall strong economic growth and greater social stability despite inheriting a country still in the midst of the COVID pandemic and all of the social problems that went with it.

This is the other side of the coin the U.S. news media has failed to show the American public. Worse, the U.S. news media seems to live in the moment without context and offer simplistic solutions that do not serve the country. Of course I pretty much knew that President Biden has had bad moments due to his age and probably is suffering from ailments that people in the Democratic Party do not want to disclose. But then the next question I have to ask is Trump any better on this point? I am NOT going to touch Trump on his health issues or his age. That would make me a hypocrite. But there is one thing I must bring up which should be of paramount importance to any and all voters. Trump has been convicted of 34 felonies under New York state law, and is therefore a convicted criminal. This fact in my view should not escape any independent voters of what kind of man Trump is. Ironically while there is no federal law that says he cannot run for the presidency, he cannot vote. Should the country elect a man who is by our judicial system a convicted criminal? Do we want criminals running the country? The Republican Party may be gloating about President Biden’s difficulties, but Trump’s difficulties will soon be coming up when he is sentenced on July 11th; four days before the Republican National Convention. None of us can guess where any of this will go, but this fight is far from over.