A commentary on Joe Biden's candidacy for President

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Dear Joe

You and your biding your time to announce your candidacy lost me at hello! Why? . . . because we need a person who has the strength of conviction and passion to run for President. Nothing less is acceptable for a position as important and critical as the Presidency of the United States. If you do not have this by now, this is a very serious red flag!

No, I'm not saying that you need to be a dangerous trigger-happy President like Trump. We have had more than enough of that while we have been taken hostage by his embarrassing and security-threatening tantrums.

That said, your endless equivocation on whether or not you are running is tantamount to a fearful and cowardly child waiting in the wings of a stage to see if he has the gumption to go out on it. Of course, this means putting on big boy pants and jumping into the spotlight. It does not mean getting the spotlight by teasing the citizenry, like the stripper who shows a bit of thigh before we know if she will strip.

For a role like the Presidency we need someone who knows he is good and ready to strip to strip himself, his values, his policies bare so that we know who and what is there. So far, you have intentionally played coy with the public while others with solid conviction have jumped onto the national stage. This presents the unsettling message that you are manipulating us like pawns for your pleasure, or that you lack the daring. Given that the Presidency demands a person of great courage and transparency, either, or both behaviors do not stand up to the challenges of the role.

What is astounding to me is that while you pretend that you are not running, everyone knows you are. This includes you, given your recent gaffe revealing this. However, you are running from the sidelines. This behavior concerns me from the standpoint of integrity. What else are you hiding? I'd guess it might be some of the skeletons in your closet, like voting for the Iraq war. I'm also guessing that those currently supporting you, (projecting you into the lead polling position,) do not know of these skeletons.

Meanwhile, while you are pretending, equivocating, dallying, and teasing, other candidates be they well-known or widely-unknown, have had the cojones to jump into the fire with both feet. Regardless of how qualified they are, they have shown thebravery, conviction, and passion to give it a go. As a result, of jumping into the fire of media and public scrutiny, they are being challenged, tested, debunked, revealed, chastised, criticized, taunted, etc. Regardless of their chance of becoming President, this illustrates mandatory skills for the role and which will be tested repeatedly throughout a presidency: courage and conviction. (The latter skill is not akin to the definition of conviction I'd script for Trump.)

So, this begs the question as to why you are waiting to let others withstand this test, while you safely remain in the bleachers. To do this for as long as you have and expect that after watching this rodeo that you can just ride in like the white knight on horse is simply not fair. It is also indicative of a lack of courage and conviction needed for the role of the President.

Mainly for this reason, as well as your Casper Milquetoast moderate stance in a time which calls for progressive measures, this gal will be lassoing a horse named Courage. Before doing so, she is prodding the horse named Joe out to pasture where he can safely graze on pansies.

Authors Bio:

Leslie Sheridan is a lifelong activist, a published author and poet, (Medium.com, The Huffington Post, Free Press, Medium, Organic Consumers, Sonoma News Today, The Wall Street Journal.)  In the professional realm, she is a consultant and coach in marketing, sales, human resources, and personal development. (https://www.linkedin.com/in/lesliemsheridan .)  She makes her home in the greater San Francisco Bay area.