I purposely took a few weeks off from column writing to let the “creative pen” sharpen its point. Since that time so much has happened, I can’t contain everything into one column. 

So, let me clear out the good ol’ reporter’s notebook from the last three-ish weeks.

***

Joe Biden is officially out of the presidential race… which is the right decision.

It was clear at the presidential debate that Biden was simply not fit to be President for another four years. That, I’m sure, was the turning point for Biden’s camp when coming up with a decision on whether to stay in the race or not.

For “Democratic elders,” it’s like Christmas in July.  Nancy Pelosi, Chuck Schumer and a number of others are probably ecstatic with the decision so that the momentum garnered in recent weeks by former President Donald Trump can subside.

I think the decision to step aside – whether it was his or not – is a truly admirable and patriotic thing to do. It’s not easy to make that big of a decision and it is clearly in the best interest of the country that he decided to do so.

So with that, I am happy with the President’s decision.

What I’m not happy with is the manner in how the Democratic nominee is being decided.

Current vice president Kamala Harris is expected to take the majority of the delegates and become the Democratic nominee for President. While I am not opposed to Harris, and what she could do for our country, I am opposed to how we got here.

Why can’t there be an open vote from the people on who the Democratic candidate should be? Yes, Harris would likely win that vote, too, but what happened to letting the American people decide?

I get wanting to unite the Democratic party. I get wanting a presentable candidate against Trump. But this to me doesn’t scream democracy. It screams elitist.

Again, this is not a complaint against Harris, this is a complaint on the processes and manner on how she is getting to this position. I hope Democrats could see this and decide to make an effort to change this process. Let the people decide who they want as their candidate.

***

A week prior to Biden dropping out of the race, an assassination attempt took place on former President Trump.

I’ll keep this portion of the notebook short and sweet: Political violence should not be tolerated.

I hope that Trump is recovering well and will be ready to move forward in the next stages of the presidential race. Hopefully, this time, with fewer lies.

***

Football season is right around the corner!

In the B-section of the July 24 edition of The Covington News, I made my predictions for some of my favorite teams this season. You should go check it out if you’re a sports fanatic like me.

I’m excited to get football going again. No disrespect to NASCAR or golf, but I’ve been missing my Sunday viewings of NFL football. 

Hopefully my Falcons can get over the dreaded 7-10 hump. We’ll see.

***

I’ve given shoutouts to the other interns, but one more intern is due for one, too.

Shoutout to Jet Rawls for his great work on both the news and sports side of the paper this summer.

Jet has stepped up big in a lot of ways this summer and he’s gotten better with each story. I’m looking forward to seeing how far he’ll go in this industry. I’m sure it’ll be big-time.

***

And another shoutout is due to the managing editor of The News, Phillip B. Hubbard.

Phillip announced last week that he’ll be departing the paper for other opportunities as he explores his own career path.

Phillip was the one who brought me into The News and took a chance on me. That is and will never be lost on me. He’s made me a better writer, storyteller and professional and I’m fortunate to have worked with him for the last nine months.

Thank you, Phillip, for taking a chance on me and for leading the editorial staff through this last year. It won’t be the same, but we’ll try to keep things moving along. 

Evan Newton is the news editor of The Covington News. He can be reached at enewton@covnews.com.