Editor’s note: Sam Lyman is a former chief speechwriter for Senator Orrin Hatch. The opinions expressed in this op-ed are his own. Further comments On CNN.
CNN
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Would he stay? Or would it be Joe?
It is the most important issue in American politics.
President Joe Biden is under increasing pressure from voters to withdraw from the race after last month’s debate debacle. But he seems unfazed by the recent criticism, insisting in a recent ABC News interview that “there is no one more qualified to be president or to win this election than I am.” Biden said he has consulted with his staff and family on the matter. But when it comes to making such a big decision, he would be wise to look beyond those closest to him to the example of his former senator friends.
Biden faces a tough choice: Will he follow in the footsteps of Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein or Republican Sen. Orrin Hatch?
One is a cautionary tale, the other a model for how to get to the top.
First, it’s a cautionary tale.
Feinstein was one of the most accomplished lawmakers of her generation. She broke glass ceilings as the first female mayor of San Francisco and the first female California senator. As a senator, she led bipartisan legislation to combat domestic violence, protect civil liberties, and strengthen national security. She led the powerful Senate Rules and Intelligence Committees. Like Biden and Hatch, she played a key role in shaping the court as one of the longest-serving members of the Senate Judiciary Committee.
Feinstein has become an icon within her party as a pioneering lawmaker who has worked in good faith across party lines and consistently delivered results for her constituents.
This is how she should be remembered, and this is all she should be remembered for. But she is not.
A political career spanning multiple roles and more than four decades shouldn’t be defined by a single moment, but in the public’s mind, it often is.
For Feinstein, that moment came in the early summer of 2023. After months of severe mental and physical breakdown, a bruised and barely conscious Feinstein was carried into the Senate in a wheelchair by a young staff member. The infamous image of the senator in her emaciated state sparked countless calls for her to resign.
Feinstein was no longer the vibrant pioneer she once was, but rather an old, disoriented, twisted, out-of-touch politician who clung to life with the same fervor she clung to power. Despite mounting criticism from the media and party members, she refused to give up her seat and insisted on serving out her term. I have always wondered whether she chose to stay on of her own volition or under pressure from her staff.
She died four months later.
Feinstein’s obituaries celebrate her many accomplishments. But even the most glowing tributes raise questions: did Feinstein stay too long, causing permanent damage to her reputation and her legacy? As Mark Leibovich wrote in The Atlantic, “The lesson of Dianne Feinstein’s career is that if you stay in a job too long, you risk losing control of your end.”
Sound familiar?
By staying in the race, Biden appears to be following in the footsteps of Feinstein and, before her, Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. And now, by stubbornly refusing to step down, he too risks losing control of the finale and tarnishing his illustrious career.
The good news is that it doesn’t have to be this way: Biden doesn’t yet have the same diagnosed illness as Feinstein, so he has time to choose another path, namely that of his longtime friend Orrin Hatch.
Hatch, Biden and Feinstein were all in the Senate at the same time and all had prolific legislative careers, but Hatch, more than any other senator of his generation, seemed to understand the importance of a good exit.
When Hatch chose to step down in 2018, he was in high political form. As president pro tempore of the Senate, he was third in line to the presidential succession. He had just passed comprehensive tax reform, the culmination of a career of major legislative accomplishments that included hundreds of bills, including the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act, and the state Children’s Health Insurance Program. Hatch had also participated in the confirmation hearings of more than half of the nation’s justices, including 15 Supreme Court justices.
During his 42 years in office, Hatch had the career years of five senators. As chairman of the Senate Finance Committee and the most experienced Republican in the Senate, he could have served another term, as Biden did, and continued to play a major role in shaping policy.
But he chose not to.
why?
He understood the importance of two things: leaving on top And pave the way for the next generation.
Hatch’s decision to retire in 2018 was all the more remarkable given the intense pressure he faced from leaders of his own party to seek reelection: Then-Majority Leader Mitch McConnell was the first of Hatch’s colleagues to urge him to stay in the Senate, and then-President Donald Trump even scheduled a special trip to Salt Lake City to urge the senator to run for reelection.
As Mr. Hatch’s longtime speechwriter, I watched him struggle with the critical decision of whether to stay or go, but with his characteristic foresight and humility, he concluded that he could best serve our country by retiring from the Senate and paving the way for younger leaders.
In his retirement announcement, Hatch hinted at what’s next: “I may be leaving the Senate, but my next chapter in public service has just begun.” And that next chapter will be one of leadership. At the end of his term, Hatch stressed the importance of passing on the lessons of statesmanship to his successor, pledging to dedicate the rest of his life to nurturing a new generation of policymakers trained in the art of bipartisan negotiation.
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Hatch passed the ultimate test that separates statesman from statesman: he understood that the true value of a leader is not in accumulating power, but in knowing when and how to give it away. In this respect, President George Washington set the ultimate example.
Though he was at the height of his power, Washington chose not to seek a third term as president. This selfless decision underscored the importance of limited government, informal term limits, and the separation of powers. It ended his political career but galvanized democracy for the rest of his life.
Hatch made a similar decision to step aside as a leader and make way for up-and-coming leaders, and that’s why his legacy of common-sense policymaking lives on today — through the staff he developed, the judges he supported, and the ongoing work of the Orrin G. Hatch Foundation.
Biden now faces the same test of leadership: Will he relinquish power for his own legacy, act as a statesman by passing the baton to the next generation, or protect power at the expense of his party and country?
The choice between Feinstein and Hatch is easy: To protect the American experiment, Biden and other veteran members would be wise to follow Hatch.
