WASHINGTON, D.C. Sept. 13 (DPI) – Veteran Washington Post journalist David Ignatius – one of the few remaining consistently excellent reporters at a major US news outlet – had the temerity today to suggest Biden should not run again. And his carefully crafted op-ed so far has generated more than 11,000 reader comments, many of them surprisingly trolling, which is to say personal and hostile.

The most popular among all the comments was a howl of snide and meaningless what-about-ism: “And David Ignatius should retire. See how that works Dave?”

Ignatius is simply saying what most Democrats are privately fretting about: That 80-year-old Biden is appearing older than his years, and they fear it’s not realistic to expect five more years of service from him. Further, Ignatius touched the third rail of presidential politics these days: that Kamala Harris is unpopular and hasn’t demonstrated many leadership or communication skills as VP.

“Harris has many laudable qualities, but the simple fact is that she has failed to gain traction in the country or even within her own party,” Ignatius wrote today.

Ignatius simply says ” I don’t think Biden and Vice President Harris should run for reelection. It’s painful to say that, given my admiration for much of what they have accomplished. But if he and Harris campaign together in 2024, I think Biden risks undoing his greatest achievement — which was stopping Trump.”

Ignatius, 74, is today the nation’s foremost reporter on national security matters, and continues to write regularly – and conduct public forums with readers – for washingtonpost.com. Much of his work appears as Op-ed columns, rather than as straight news, which gives him greater latitude to make observations on the vast Washington national-security apparatus, to which he remains well connected.

That’s why the response from WaPo readers – often personal and hostile – comes as such a surprise.

Other most popular comments:

I’m voting for Biden.
The reasons:
1. He saved us from the insanity that was the Trump administration. And for that I am profoundly grateful.
2. Having dealt with disability all my life and now myself with ageism too, I know from my own experience that that kind of prejudice is spoken by weaker minds who have nothing else constructive to offer.

But Biden is the best bet for keeping Trump out of office. So he has my vote. This column seems like too little too late.

You want to know who really shouldn’t be running for president again in 2024? Donald J Trump.
After all that lunatic is only three years younger than Biden and he has been indicted by federal and state prosecutors for committing several crimes.
So, Ignatius, why don’t you go write an opinion piece concerning why Trump should not run again, and make sure you talk about his criminal indictments.