President Joe Biden endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris after deciding to withdraw Sunday as candidate for reelection.

President Joe Biden did the right thing.

Poignant? Extremely, because President Biden has been a national political force for a half a century.

His dramatic exit comes a week after the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump, whose convention was arguably the most disturbing political gathering America has ever seen.

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The only analogous political event to Biden’s exit was President Lyndon Johnson’s declining to run again on March 30, 1968. That moment was historically fraught, but it didn’t equal the drama of this sad moment.

Biden’s catastrophic debate performance three weeks ago led to this historic juncture in American history.

President Biden’s endorsement of Vice President Kamala Harris adds yet another layer of high-voltage electricity to this moment. Should Harris become the Democratic nominee and defeat Trump in November, she’d be the first woman ever to be elected.

Her election is not a done deal, but at least this lances the boil of Democratic discontent that had been festering since Biden’s implosion on the debate stage.

Biden knows that Harris is a historic choice, not just as vice president but as the 2024 Democratic nominee. Expect the Democratic Party to close ranks immediately, not wanting to squander another minute in the........

© San Francisco Chronicle