President Joe Biden has endured more than a lifetime of disappointment and tragedy: the shocking car-crash death of his wife Neilia and his toddler daughter Naomi in 1972, just after he was elected Delaware senator at the age of 29. The cancer death of his beloved son Beau in 2015. When Barack Obama chose him as vice president in 2008, that revived Biden’s lackluster 2008 presidential campaign, and ultimately his entire career. And though he passed over the 2016 election partly because of Beau’s death, he ran and became president in 2020.

Wednesday night, as he explained why he was no longer running for president, he sometimes seemed as fragile as in the June debate that ended his career. But he was more clear and resolute. He explained his decision to stand down and not seek reelection this way.

“I believe my record as president, my leadership in the world, my vision for America’s future, all merited a second term. But nothing, nothing can come in the way of saving our democracy. That includes personal ambition.

“So I’ve decided the best way forward is to pass the torch to a new generation. It’s the best way to unite our nation. I know there was a time and a place for long years of experience in public life. There’s also a time and a place for new voices, fresh voices, yes, younger voices. And that time and place is now.”

Biden mentioned his vice president, Kamala Harris, only once, although he has warmly endorsed her before.

“I would like to thank our great vice president, Kamala Harris. She is experienced, she is tough, she is capable. She’s been an incredible partner to me and a leader for our country.”

Maybe most significantly, he promised to work for “Supreme Court reform,” which, when he got elected, he shunned. At the time, he turned the clamor for court expansion and other ideas over to a commission that recommended basically nothing. There’s nothing he can do now, given the composition of the House and Senate. But if he could make court reform a mainstream issue—a Joe Biden issue—it could be taken up with fervor from now on.

I sat back and listened to his litany of accomplishments.

“Today we have the strongest economy in the world, creating nearly 16 million new jobs—a record. Wages are up, inflation continues to come down, the racial wealth gap is the lowest it’s been in 20 years. We are literally rebuilding our entire nation—urban, suburban and rural and tribal communities.

“Manufacturing has come back to America. We are leading the world again in chips and science and innovation. We finally beat Big Pharma after all these years to lower the cost of prescription drugs for seniors.”