Joe Biden is missing in action

The US President's prevarications over the Middle East and Ukraine threaten his legacy and Kamala Harris' election prospects.

- Edward Luce

One of the upsides of US President Joe Biden making way for Vice-President Kamala Harris was that he could focus on the presidency. Two months later, there is scant evidence that his freed-up schedule has had much effect. In another era, Mr Biden might have had the luxury of taking a long bow as he exits the stage. But the Middle East is on the brink of war and Ukraine is heading into a dangerous winter. Ms Harris' election prospects and his own legacy are in jeopardy.

This is no time to skirt tough decisions. Yet, that is precisely what President Biden is doing. Of these, the most urgent is the rising spectre of a full-blown war between Israel and Hezbollah. Mr Biden's response to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's self-declared pre-emptive strikes on Hezbollah has followed the same course as on Gaza. Mr Biden believes that the closer he is to Israel, the more leverage he has over what it does. There is no evidence that this works with Mr Netanyahu.