Biden, To Run or Not To Run?: The Logic of In or Out Decision

VP Biden has been struggling with his decision to run for President. This can’t be a new issue or even a recent issue that he has had to contemplate over the last year or two. There can be many factors that he has been juggling and evaluating in striving to arrive at his decision.

This isn’t an unusual situation for anyone involved in a complex situation where there are many factors that can be considered as relevant to the decision. It happens with business and corporate leaders facing issues in their industries that require a direction from the executive(s). In many ways the abundance of issues, factors, questions, alternatives and a constantly changing environment that impacts the decision often leads to ‘analysis paralyses’.

So here’s a perspective that might help VP Biden in his decision.

There are three questions that should allow a perspective candidate to reach their decision.

1.       What is in the ‘best interest of the country’?

2.       Would running be ‘right for him’?

3.       Would it be ‘right for his family’?

The first question is asking if he thinks he has a ‘better vision of the policies and approaches for leading the nation than other candidates’? If not then he should look to whomever he thinks has a better vision and support them. If he does believe that his leadership would best serve the nation then what would be the rationale for not running?

Would the second question cause him to decide not to run? There really isn’t much logic that would lead to such a conclusion. If his candidacy would be better for the nation, then how is his not running right for him? Will he be better off if the nation is served less well? Will he feel he has done his duty to the nation he has served up to now and then allow less than the best vision guide the country? If he thinks his view is what the nation needs then there is no conclusion that running isn’t also right for him.

The same assessment applies to the third question. What is best for the nation is best for his family also. That’s one of the basic tenets of a “government by the people, for the people and of the people”. WIt hat is best for the nation serves the individual themselves best and serves their family best; else on what basis would his vision, his policies, his leadership be ‘best for the nation’?

So VP Biden really has one question to answer. Is there another candidate who has a better approach to leading the nation? Because that is the only reason to run, whether you think you can do a better job than other candidates.

This doesn’t make the other issues, problems, risks and obstacles that will still exist once you decide to run go away; but it puts them into the proper perspective of deciding to run or not. They are not the reason not to run, they are the challenges to be overcome because running is the best thing for the country and that makes these challenges worth the effort.