In this debacle, Biden’s laurels are withered; he does not deserve much glory. In the wake of his reluctant departure from the race, he leaves a squalor of conspiracy theories and the scandal of his having persisted for so long. Conservative historians will write him off as an incompetent, while progressives—after overpraising his accomplishments—will recall him as the one who left the Democratic Party in chaos and, as may be, delivered the country to the carnivore Donald Trump.

Whatever the achievements or disasters of Biden’s administration, he will be condemned for his profound irresponsibility in placing his party and his country in jeopardy. The first reactions to his capitulation make it sound heroic. The truth is that the man does not know how to make a graceful exit—whether from Afghanistan or from a presidential race.

The verdict will be harsh on his wife Jill and his closest advisers and his doctors because for so long they concealed his deepening disability.