Check out this image (Angel, 2017). The table’s succinct display and concise definitions list four types of conversations in a 2×2 table format. Debate is listed as a two-way competitive conversation purposed to win or convince.
Prior to the June 27, 2024 debate, debates.org lists only 16 years that held Presidential debates in the United States (CPD: Debate History, n.d.). This will be the 60th consecutive presidential election and 58thcompetitive presidential election in the United States. Out of sixty election years, only seventeen of them have seen Presidential Debates – that’s 17/60 or 28.3%. The Associated Press (2024) reports that both candidates and their respective parties considered skipping debates for the first time since 1972 before bypassing the Commission on Presidential Debates for the first time since 1988 (Cooper, 2024).
In spite of all this, Thursday’s Presidential Debate went forward. That is a huge positive. Unfortunately, that may be the only positive about Thursday’s debate. President Trump deflected question after question and tallied up at least thirty separate lies according the CNN fact check. Biden tallied up at least nine of his own lies and fumbled over his words while doing his best impression of that sloth from Zootopia. Both candidates were struggling to keep my attention when this happened… Since playing golf is not a requirement for the Office of the Presidency, I decided I had heard enough, let a few expletives fly, and turned off the debate. After moping around my apartment for a few days, I ran across this opinion piece from the New York Times.
And, I agree. President Biden should be replaced as a candidate. For whatever reason, neither President Biden nor anyone in his party nor I have adamantly protested his candidacy until now. It is like we are all dosing off on guard duty or falling asleep at the wheel. We may too be like that sloth from Zootopia – a little too comfortable with monthly paycheck and cozy job at the licensing office. But that New York Times article seemed to stop short of asking the following question: Who is best qualified to replace President Biden?
The media are name dropping people like Vice President Harris, California Governor Gavin Newsom, and even Maryland Governor Wes Moore. But Vice President Harris is polling lower than President Biden. Both she and Governor Newsom may be too polarizing for an already polarized nation. And while Governor Moore appears to have charisma, he may be better suited to meet the nation’s needs if he makes a run for office in four or eight years.
I want to entertain the idea of a different candidate for the President of the United States. It may be foolish and ridiculous to do so. After all, party delegates decide who runs for office and the electoral college decides who fills that office. But this is a democracy, and democracies are supposed to foster discussion and debate. Are they not?
My proposal is that Retired Four-Star Admiral William McRaven be nominated as the Democratic Party’s candidate for President of the United States. The retired Admiral may not desire to take on such a consequential role in these tumultuous times. But good leaders are often called to leadership positions whether or not they aspire to fill them. Egos of reluctant leaders may be better prepared to meet the political demand for equanimity.
Admiral McRaven’s potential reluctance cannot qualify him to replace Biden as the Democratic Party’s nominee for President of the United States. His track record of excellence, service, leadership, and integrity must do that. As soldier, Navy Seal, team leader, husband, father, Admiral, strategist, and author, McRaven’s resume’ is detailed in the opinions of his friends, family, and coworkers. Anyone can search pages of the internet or his books for the details.
Having served admirably in the military for 37 years, in senior leadership positions under the Bush and Obama administrations, and in leadership positions in the private sector, Admiral McRaven has extensive experience addressing complex problems in stressful situations. Most importantly, he does not appear to be a man who desires to offload risks onto others. People who lead by example tend to accept responsibility for their actions and their people. McRaven does that.
If another candidate is to be selected, the President of the United States must lead his party to nominate a replacement. This could be the crowning achievement of President Biden’s political career. He is a man who has lost a spouse, a daughter, and a son. He has been beaten and battered by politics throughout his career. His stubborn commitment to democratic values has only grown throughout his career. Now he is faced with yet another grueling predicament: continue his exhausting run for office or nominate his potential successor.
The true test of power is one’s will to give it up. Biden bolstered the Obama administration when he somewhat reluctantly accepted the nomination as the Vice-Presidential candidate in 2007. Biden may have saved the country from further degradation when he won the Presidency in 2020. In spite of a pandemic, debt-ridden economy, and war-torn Eastern Europe and Near East, Biden has humbly executed the duties of the Office of the Presidency since January of 2020. But however unfair his life has been from a childhood stutter to the early passing of his closest family to criticisms of a mostly ungrateful nation – his legacy may be largely defined by what he does now. In a cruel game of opposites, life has once again presented him with a reluctant choice: tarry on or select a potential successor. Ironically, the latter may be more typical of the President’s laid-back, resilient, patriotic, and characteristically stubborn willingness to set aside his ego for the sake of his country. Much may depend on it.
Whatever the President decides, the nation is at yet another crossroads. Whether or not it is true, catastrophes feel closer these days. One is prudent to remember the constant presence of uncertainty, and wise not to forget that the true test of power is one’s will to give it up.
Tao Te Ching – Verse 78 (translation by Stephen Mitchell, 1995)
Nothing in the world is as soft and yielding as water.
Yet for dissolving the hard and inflexible, nothing can surpass it.
The soft overcomes the hard; the gentle overcomes the rigid.
Everyone knows this is true, but few can put it into practice.
Therefore the Master remains serene in the midst of sorrow.
Evil cannot enter his heart.
Because he has given up helping, he is people’s greatest help.
True words seem paradoxical.
Sources:
Angel, D. (2017, August 23). The four types of conversations: debate, dialogue, discourse, and diatribe — David W. Angel. David W. Angel. https://davidwangel.com/the-opportune-conflict/2016/12/28/the-four-types-of-conversations-debate-dialogue-discourse-and-diatribe
CBS News. (2024, March 27). Gov. Wes Moore on Baltimore bridge collapse victims: “My heart is broken for them” [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bujli4KqFgI
Cooper, J. J. (2024, May 16). Election 2024: Biden and Trump bypassed the Commission on Presidential Debates | AP News. AP News. https://apnews.com/article/commission-presidential-debates-future-nonpartisan-early-voters-01a7cfe1817dc110d14635536f1f86b1
CNN. (2024, June 28). CNN Presidential Debate: President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-v-8wJkmwBYhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CMBmrW6LzV0
CNN. (2024b, June 28). Vice President Kamala Harris defends President Biden’s debate performance [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CMBmrW6LzV0
CNN. (2020, October 20). He oversaw the bin Laden raid. See what he says about Trump [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1HNugOXEfng
CPD: Debate history. (n.d.). https://www.debates.org/debate-history/
Daily Stoic. (2024, May 20). Admiral Bill McRaven on capturing Sadam Hussein and honorable leadership [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G6Ej3exPW_Y
Disney Movies. (2016, May 11). Zootopia | DMV (Flash) [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ONFj7AYgbko
Election listing | The American Presidency Project. (n.d.). https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/statistics/elections
Fox News. (2023, December 1). Ron DeSantis shreds Gavin Newsom on crime: “I know you like to lie!” [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9uA9zosh3j8
FRONTLINE PBS, Official. (2021, January 20). President Biden (full documentary) | FRONTLINE [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zaoIqk68LPI
FRONTLINE PBS, Official. (2023a, January 24). Biden & Putin’s Years-in-the-Making faceoff over Ukraine | Putin and the Presidents | FRONTLINE [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XrCleLrspIU
FRONTLINE PBS, Official. (2023, December 19). Inside Biden and Netanyahu’s increasingly fraught relationship after Oct. 7 | FRONTLINE [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RTW2orpRiGk
Jocko Podcast & United States of America. (2021, July 16). Admiral William McRaven on the most important piece of advice he received on leadership [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Msch-heHd0Q
NBC News. (2020, October 23). Final 2020 presidential debate between Donald Trump, Joe Biden | NBC News [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UCA1A5GqCdQ
New York Times Editorial Board (2024, June 28). To Serve His Country, President Biden Should Leave the Race. New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2024/06/28/opinion/biden-election-debate-trump.html
Mitchell & Harinam (2024, April 11). Tao Te Ching – Verse 78 – “Nothing in the world is as soft and yielding as water. Yet for dissolving the hard and inflexible, nothing can surpass it.” Harinam and Healing Heart Center. https://www.harinam.com/tao-te-ching-verse-78-nothing-in-the-world-is-as-soft-and-yielding-as-water-yet-for-dissolving-the-hard-and-inflexible-nothing-can-surpass-it/
Obama Foundation. (2021, April 30). 10 Years Later: President Obama and Admiral Bill McRaven reflect on the bin Laden Raid[Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yVZaUtnvJKs
The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. (2019, May 21). Adm. William McRaven sat down with Saddam Hussein [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9LRvYTk83mM
Wikipedia contributors. (2024a, April 28). William H. McRaven. Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_H._McRaven
Wikipedia contributors. (2024b, May 12). List of United States presidential elections by popular vote margin. Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_United_States_presidential_elections_by_popular_vote_margin
Wikipedia contributors. (2024c, June 16). United States presidential election. Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_presidential_election
Deliberating Truth 
I’ve been looking for a centrist, intelligent and a real leader for some time. I don’t need to agree with all his positions, I just want to know where he stands and if we don’t agree on some things, that’s fine as long as we can respect each other’s opinions. McRaven has the qualities of a great leader, but getting his name out to the wider public would require Biden to cede the nomination to him. And from what I know of McRaven, he would not aspire to the presidency. But he might serve, if asked to do so for his country.
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