If I had that kind of power, would I protect my son against dire consequences—even those of his own making? Of course I would.

      It’s a hallmark of our generation—a willingness to shield our children from harm and smooth their path, get them into the best preschool, drive them to the field hockey select games, work with them on college applications, help them out with student loans, put them on our health insurance plans and cover the deposit for their first apartment.

      Even when our children struggled, we’ve talked to the physics teacher about why a C+ rather than a B-, and we have interceded with the aggrieved neighbor about the bouncing basketball that destroyed a flower bed.

      Or maybe our kid was caught with a joint in the school bathroom—maybe we laid down the law at home, but we talked to the principal and the school resource officer and worked to soften the penalties. 

      But none of us is the President of the United States.

      Joe Biden’s decision to pardon his son—a sweeping, almost unprecedented pardon—is an ultimate example of stepping in to smooth that path, to protect when we can, to shield if it’s within our power. But of course, it was also a very unfortunate example of both awful hypocrisy and of lowering ourselves to a standard we have rightfully abhorred.

      For months, when, in retrospect, it was politically expedient, Biden repeatedly asserted he would not pardon his son. Even though he clearly believed that the prosecution of his son had been politically motivated—and it probably was—he said he would not pardon, he wouldn’t commute.

      And then of course, when there was nothing politically to lose, he just did. Lying is OK if you lie for a very good reason?

      Michelle Obama famously said, “When they go low, we go high.” So much for that idea. Biden’s decision has brought us down to the same level we disdained, made it appear that we are no better than those we have rightly accused for nearly a decade of twisting the rules and bending the laws.

      Some Democrats have defended Biden’s decision by arguing to the effect that the party should stop bringing a butter knife to a gunfight. If Republicans are going to fight dirty, if they are going to use everything in their arsenal to gain and keep power, Democrats must respond similarly.

      But Biden’s job—Democrats’ job, democracy’s job—was to stop Donald Trump’s assault on the liberal order and the hypocritical breaking of rules. That was why many voted for Biden in 2020.

      Now, Republicans can cynically say that the liberal order isn’t worth protecting because even Democrats agree it’s rigged and corrupt. And Trump with all his lies and tampering with our laws and our norms is no different than any other politician.

      He is, of course, but Biden’s decision to make his son safe has made Trump stronger and America weaker.