Vote for Democrats. The country has been leaderless for too long.

I won’t lie like our politicians. I don’t think anyone on either side believes that Joe Biden is going to miraculously save our country. For those who aren’t deluded, who realize our economy is failing, I don’t know if he can stabilize or reverse our trends in just four years. I don’t think he can repair decades of fear-mongering and identity politics that have poisoned our political discourse in this country. I especially don’t think Joe Biden has the cure for COVID-19 in his back pocket. What I do know, without reservations, is that he can and will lead our country in a better direction than where we are now.

I won’t argue about the current president and his policies, if you could even call them that. Separate of everything he has tried to do while in office over the past four years, it should be clear to everyone in this country he has failed at the most important role his office is afforded: to lead the country. Failure of leadership is different from failures in policy. Having different opinions on legislation does not actively hurt our country. Choosing to disregard your responsibility for what happens in this country under your watch does.

All our president needed to do when he came into office was lead. Judging by the state of our republic today, he was not the man for that hour; judging by how he dealt with that realization, he won’t be the man for next.

— Justin Tipton

Salisbury