He did it far too late, but this is a moment simply to recognize that Joe Biden did the right thing.

By getting out of the race, President Biden served his country, his party and himself.

The country deserves a major-party candidate who can actually serve a full term as president. It became obvious after the debate that Biden could not do that. Again, that should have been obvious quite some time ago, but his handlers hid him from serious journalists, which was a major mistake.

The country deserves a candidate who can put up a full-throated defense to Donald Trump. Whether that candidate wins or loses is not as important as the fact that there be a real and substantive debate about issues and vision, and not just a default outcme when one candidate can’t stagger to the finish line.

Clearly, the interests of the Democratic Party are also served best by a viable candidate at the top. I don’t so much care about this, but, again, in a two-party system like ours, the country works best if both parties are functioning as well as they can.

Or at least one of them is. The Republicans? That’s another column, but suffice it to say here that they’re not exactly at the top of their game.

President Biden also served his own individual interests by dropping out. I think we can all agree, whether we like his policies or not, that he served his country the best way he could for a long time.

Trying to run at age 81, in his diminished state, simply turned him into a punchline. That’s not fair to his legacy. He was going to lose; at least by getting out he can reclaim his dignity.

That must’ve been a difficult thing for him to accept.

He’s a fighter, always pushing and hopeful for a comeback. He’s qualified for the job. And he’s the guy who beat Trump the last time. Plus, who wouldn’t want the ego boost of another win?

People chanting your name, a convention hall full of Biden signs, cushy digs. Giving up doesn’t sound nearly as much fun.

But eventually, he came to realize that was not only impossible, but that the pursuit of it would be harmful.

Again, it would have been far better to do this a year ago, for all the reasons I just cited. But far better to do it now than not do it at all.