海角大神

When President Joe Biden delivers the keynote address Monday night at the 2024 Democratic National Convention in Chicago, emotions among the delegates are likely to run high 鈥撀燼 mix of gratitude for his decades of public service, a sense of poignancy, and a tinge of relief.聽聽

One month ago, President Biden was still his party鈥檚 presumptive nominee for the November election, despite poll numbers heading south. He still had his base: ride-or-die supporters who believed he had the best shot at beating former President Donald Trump.聽

But it wasn鈥檛 to be. Mr. Biden, under intense intraparty pressure, stepped aside on July 21.聽Illinois State Comptroller Susana Mendoza, a loyal Biden delegate, is floored by how much better things now look for the party.

鈥淚鈥檓 a big fan of Joe Biden鈥檚, and I was sad to see what happened, happen,鈥� Ms. Mendoza says in an interview. 鈥淏ut I鈥檇 be lying to you if I told you that the momentum shift was anything other than monumental.鈥�

The president 鈥減assing the torch,鈥� she adds, 鈥渋s going to be one of those defining moments of his legacy.鈥澛�

A missed opportunity for competitive primaries?

Other Democrats are less glowing. They wish that the octogenarian president had come to accept much sooner that he had slowed down and would better serve his party by not running for reelection. That could have allowed for a proper primary contest among the party鈥檚 next-generation talent, these party members say.

But the emergency transition to Vice President Kamala Harris, now the Democratic nominee, has been remarkably smooth. And in his prime-time address Monday night, Mr. Biden聽. Electing her, based on their joint record, and blocking Mr. Trump, whom Mr. Biden views as a threat to democracy, would in effect solidify the president鈥檚 legacy.聽

After Mr. Biden鈥檚 speech, he and his wife, Jill 鈥� also speaking Monday night 鈥� will board Air Force One and fly to California for a vacation. The idea of Mr. Biden, who lives and breathes politics, leaving a Democratic convention early would have been unheard of, under different circumstances.聽

The president has been to all but one Democratic convention since his first in 1972, when he was an upstart Senate candidate and council member from New Castle County, Delaware, who had yet to turn 30. That鈥檚 13 conventions spread over more than a half-century. (The only one he missed was in 1988, as he recovered from brain surgery not long after his failed first presidential campaign.)

But this year, Mr. Biden鈥檚 intent clearly is to cede the stage, literally and figuratively, to his hoped-for successor.聽

Still an election for Biden to focus on

One close friend who will be watching Monday night from the United Center is Ted Kaufman, who served as Mr. Biden鈥檚 decades-long chief of staff in the U.S. Senate. He also served as a senator from Delaware himself when Mr. Biden became vice president.聽

In an interview, Mr. Kaufman ascribes the current unity among Democrats to the 鈥渆xistential threat鈥� posed by former President Trump. He emphasizes that Monday night will not be Mr. Biden鈥檚 goodbye to the nation.聽聽

鈥淭his is not going to be his farewell speech,鈥� Mr. Kaufman says. 鈥淗is farewell speech will be in January.鈥�

On Monday, the speech will center on 鈥渉ow important it is that we leave this convention and go out and elect Kamala Harris president of the United States,鈥� he says. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 enough.鈥�

Mr. Kaufman says he wasn鈥檛 surprised that Mr. Biden decided to drop his reelection bid 鈥� or that it seemed to happen so suddenly, with the president insisting that he wouldn鈥檛 quit the race until the day he abruptly announced he was out.聽

That鈥檚 how Mr. Biden operates, his friend and former aide says. 鈥淗e鈥檚 been doing this for 50 years, and one of the things that鈥檚 made him so successful is that he鈥檚 really good at analyzing his situations and making decisions and making them quickly.鈥�

鈥淢ore betrayals than a Shakespearean drama鈥�

Chris Whipple, author of the book 鈥淭he Fight of His Life,鈥� which covers the first two years of the Biden presidency, sees the moment as 鈥渂ittersweet.鈥澛�

Dropping out of the 2024 race 鈥渨as obviously the most difficult decision he or any other president has made in a long, long time,鈥� Mr. Whipple says. 鈥淚 mean, just think back to Lyndon Johnson in 1968鈥� 鈥� the last sitting U.S. president to quit his reelection race.聽

鈥淏ut it鈥檚 also tragic in a way. This had more betrayals than a Shakespearean drama,鈥� he adds, rattling off the names of high-profile Democrats who turned on Mr. Biden one by one 鈥� former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, former President Barack Obama, and even celebrities such as actor George Clooney.聽

Even more brutal, Ms. Pelosi has been offering some glimpses of the behind-the-scenes machinations to get Mr. Biden to drop out, as she promotes her new book, 鈥淭he Art of Power.鈥� 鈥淚 never called one person, but people were calling me saying that there was a challenge there,鈥� she .

Another close observer of Mr. Biden, former Republican Sen. Chuck Hagel of Nebraska 鈥� a friend of the president dating back to their days in the Senate 鈥� also says he鈥檚 not surprised that the president ultimately decided to drop out. The Nebraskan says he spent a couple of hours with Mr. Biden in the White House back in December, and has spoken with him a few times since.聽聽

鈥淚 always had the feeling that he would eventually make this decision,鈥� Mr. Hagel says.聽

奥丑测?听

鈥淧ut yourself in his position,鈥� he says. 鈥淔or 50 years, he鈥檚 been doing this, and he鈥檚 been knocked down, as he likes to say, a number of times, but he gets back up and he eventually succeeds.鈥澛�

鈥淭hat鈥檚 who Joe Biden is. But you get to a point in your life and your career where things have really shifted and changed dramatically 鈥� not only your age and your capacity,鈥� he adds. 鈥淲hen it鈥檚 time for new leadership, it鈥檚 time for new leadership.鈥�

Biden鈥檚 own legacy at stake as Harris seeks election win

Ms. Mendoza, the Illinois state comptroller,聽says she鈥檚 expecting the mood at the convention around the president鈥檚 speech to feel 鈥渟omewhat nostalgic, somewhat bittersweet.鈥� She says she still feels some sadness around how things played out.

鈥淗e鈥檚 been through so much pain and heartache and loss in his life that having to walk away from this position had to just be another major blow,鈥� she says, alluding to the deaths of the president鈥檚 first wife and baby daughter in 1972, then his eldest son, Beau Biden, in 2015.聽

鈥淏ut I think at the end of the day, he鈥檚 gonna have a huge smile on his face when he sees Kamala Harris be sworn in as president of the United States.鈥澛�