(It was written by the two and is to be delivered by them at two separate locations at the same time)
Dear fellow Americans,
At no time in our history, have so many talented women chosen to run for the office of president. At no time has there been such great need for our best publicly minded citizens to step forward.
The values that our nation holds dear, freedom, openness, fairness, strength of character, compassion, are under assault by the bigoted and the small minded.
Democracy itself being under siege, it is urgent that we join forces to fight back against those who seek to divide us and plunge us into darkness.
The two of us have a long history in politics. You may disagree with us on some matters, but we both are confident that, in our different capacities and to the best of our abilities, we have always endeavored to do the best we could for the nation.
And so it is that with both sadness and joy, the two of us would like to announce that we are no longer seeking the office of the presidency.
We are saddened because we are putting aside our highest personal ambition, which is not easy.
We are joyful because we think our decision will pave the way for a woman to become president to all Americans.
We democrats are facing in Mr Trump a candidate who will be showered with money by the financiers and business people who want to continue to get the tax cuts and deregulations that favor them.
We democrats are facing in Mr Trump a candidate for whom money will not be an obstacle in this election, because the affluent class of this country sees him as their best hope to maintain inequality and keep them in power .
But the unfairness we are seeing in taxes, in health care, in education, is breaking our backs and degrading the American spirit.
This is the time to stand up against those forces that keep spreading the word that if the very rich cannot keep getting richer, why then there would be no more creativity in the land.
This is the time to rise against those forces that keep telling us that if the very rich are not given unlimited privileges, why then the rest of us would not have it in ourselves to find our way to prosperity and harmony.
They are wrong. Very wrong.
We democrats, strongly believe, that when education and health care are made available to all of us, then that will release the drive and ingenuity that is needed to create a world where there is dignity alongside plenty.
And we believe, that this very special moment in our history, is just the right time for an American woman to step front and rise to the office of the presidency, leading us to unity, greater prosperity and reestablishing our place among the nations of the world.
In 1789, two hundred and thirty years ago, we elected George Washington as our first president.
During those two hundred and thirty years since we elected George Washington, we have never elected a woman president.
Two hundred and thirty years.
My fellow Americans, don’t tell us that in nearly a quarter of a millennium there has not been a highly qualified woman capable of carrying out the duties of president of this nation.
There has not been a woman president in our land because consciously or unconsciously, overtly or covertly, we consistently have thought of ourselves as better than them.
Let us be brave and admit it, for that is the first step toward healing the soul.
Look into your heart and tell us that you have not come across a woman who was just as talented as you are or more.
Look into your heart and tell us that you have not come across a woman who did not have ample leadership qualities.
If you haven’t then you haven’t looked. If you haven’t then you have been blind.
Talented women are everywhere, they are standing next to us this moment. They are present in every field of endeavor, and they have been vastly underutilized.
It has been our loss. We cannot afford such waste.
Our current president is a symbol of the undervaluing of women. Put aside his many degrading remarks and just look at the composition of his cabinet. Out of 15 positions, only 2 are presently occupied by women. Only 2, the secretaries of education and transportation.
Is this not a representative democracy?
Both of us who have crafted this speech have had good political careers. We’re not done yet.
But we think that we both have had a good run and that it is time to step aside and let a woman move forward. We are taking this position, more than a year before the election, because we believe that the electorate needs to get to know the women candidates for president. We are also taking this position partly because of our age, and there’s no turning back the hands of time.
We may have our own preferences as to a woman candidate, but we are not endorsing anyone just now.
We strongly believe, however, that during this next year before the general election, we will need to concentrate our efforts and that the less diluted the field is, the more clear our choice will become, and the less likely it will be that we squander much needed resources.
Fellow Americans, the nation needs to heal.
Our current president is tearing us apart.
We need someone with the capacity to reach out to those whose animosity is consuming them, remind them that in unity lies our strength, and so begin to build the bridges to a fairer, kinder and stronger America.
Let us make 2020, the Year of the American Woman*. By then, it will have been 231 years since we elected our 1st president.
Thank you
And God bless America.
Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders.
*The idea that 2020 be designated the Year of the American Woman, was first proposed on 7/18/2019 by an obscure California writer and blogger who shall remain unnamed.
Oscar Valdes oscarvaldes.net
