More or less the whole world has criticized President Joe Biden for his gaffe in saying in his Warsaw speech on Saturday that Vladimir Putin "cannot remain in power." There's no need to pile on. Biden's unscripted remark did have the virtue of telling the truth that the problem in Russia won't end even if Putin orders his troops out of Ukraine.
Yet Biden's remark may well make it harder to negotiate with Putin over Ukraine or anything else. And Biden's habit of misstating his own policies — no fewer than three times during his European trip — is especially dangerous amid an international crisis.
Then again, the same critics who are lambasting Biden helped to hide his obviously fading capacities in the 2020 campaign. They circled the wagons around his Delaware basement because they thought he was the only Democrat who could defeat Donald Trump.
The reality is that we have to live with Biden for three more years as president. And please stop writing letters imploring us to demand that he resign. Do you really want Vice President Kamala Harris in the Oval Office? She was chosen as a bow to identity politics to unite the Democratic Party in the election campaign, not for her ability to fill the president's shoes. In the last 14 months she has failed to demonstrate even the minimum knowledge or capacity for the job. We are fated to make the best of the president we have.
In that regard, members of Congress of both parties will have to play a more assertive role, and the good news is that they have been doing so to good effect on Ukraine. Congress has stiffened Biden's resolve on sanctions and military aid. The pattern is that the White House resists a tougher policy until it faces a defeat or difficult vote on Capitol Hill. Bipartisan coalitions of the willing will be even more important as the war continues, and threats from Iran, China and North Korea escalate.
As we've argued, Biden would also be wise to bring some high-profile conservatives and Republicans into his administration. In 1940, as the prospect of world war approached, Franklin Roosevelt brought in experienced GOP internationalists Henry Stimson as secretary of war and Frank Knox as secretary of the Navy. They built credibility with the public and on Capitol Hill for the hard choices to come.
Harry Truman worked with GOP Sen. Arthur Vandenberg to build support for NATO at the dawn of the Cold War. Jimmy Carter at least had the hawkish Zbigniew Brzezinski as his national security adviser when the Soviets tried to exploit Carter's weakness.
Secretary of State Anthony Blinken has shown impressive energy, and he was right in advising Biden not to withdraw in toto from Afghanistan. But Biden desperately needs to diversify the advice he gets beyond the liberal internationalists who dominate his councils. Susan Rice, Ron Klain and Jake Sullivan have the Afghan failure on their resumes.
