Congressman Jamie Raskin's letter to President Joe Biden (<<<<full text, 4 pages, excerpted below)
July 6, 2024
Dear President Biden:
I write as your admirer, your supporter and your fellow politician. I write also as your friend who has treasured your compassion and wisdom... But I write you now, above all, as a fellow citizen who shares your mad love for American democracy and freedom .We are under siege every day by the autocrats and monarchists, from Moscow to Mar-A-Lago, and the decisions we make will be historic for the fate of our country and ou rfreedom . I am not writing to presume to tell you what to do, Mr. President, because that is up to you and Jill and your family entirely. You will be the best judge of that.
But I am writing to remind you of who you are.As a truly great and magnificent leader, you belong to all of us. Sometimes it will be hard for you to perceive, much less fully comprehend , the substance and character of your own greatness. I write to remind you of your true greatness as a leader.***
***I want to leave you with a final thought about baseball, the American game where even the finest pitchers have only around 110 pitches in them before their armstire and begin to give out. In the eighth inning of the seventh game of the 2003 American League Championship Series against the New York Yankees, Pedro Martinez, one of the greatest pitchers in Red Sox history, began to tire badly after 118 pitches and he gave up three straight hits and a run from Derek Jeter.
The Red Sox Manager, Grady Little, visited the mound and Martinez vigorously protested that he was fine and he could continue and give it his all despite all the statistics about what happens when pitchers play afterthrowing for so long. Little kept him in and the Yankees proceeded to tie the game at the next at-bat with a two-run single and then went on to win the game with an 11th inning home run by Aaron Boone.
There is no shame in taking a well-deserved bow to the overflowing appreciation of the crowd when your arm is tired out, and there is real danger for the team in ignoring the statistics. Your situation is tricky because you are both our star pitcher and our Manager. But in democracy, as you have shown us more than any prior president, you are not a Manager acting all alone; you are the co-Manager along with our great team and our great people.
Caucus with the team, Mr. President. Hear them out. You will make the right decision.
With boundless admiration, affection and solidarity,
Jamie Raskin (MD-8)
Member, United States House of Representatives
No comments:
Post a Comment