I reckon the time has arrived to declare a preference for the Democratic Party presidential nomination.

I have kinda/sorta danced around the topic, declining to make that declaration — until right now.

My preference is for a centrist Democrat to succeed the current president of the United States, Donald John Trump. I have spoken already about my admiration for Joseph R. Biden Jr. I long have admired his Senate work and I believe he served ably as vice president during the Obama administration.

Of all the Democrats running for president, my belief at this moment is that Biden is the best candidate to take on Trump. He is, as a pundit once described it, my “Goldilocks candidate.” He is not too liberal, not too conservative. He seems to fit the bill of a man who is equipped at virtually every level to become the next head of state.

Joe Biden could restore some dignity to the presidency, which Donald Trump has sought systematically to destroy through his idiotic behavior.

Trump has declared war against damn near everything that Barack Obama and Joe Biden sought to do during their two terms as president and vice president. Biden doesn’t appear inclined to do anything of the sort were he to win the presidency later this year.

My fear for the Democratic Party right now is that it is lurching toward nominating a far-left progressive, perhaps even a “democratic socialist,” in the form of Bernie Sanders. It is my considered opinion that the party is courting disaster were it to nominate Sanders to run against Trump.

I want a nominee with foreign policy chops. I want someone who has demonstrated an ability and a willingness to work with lawmakers on both sides of the aisle.

More than anything, I want a president who can return the presidency to a more traditional posture on our political landscape.

I acknowledge the difficulty that Joe Biden faces at this moment. His good name was pilloried during the impeachment inquiry and during the Senate trial that acquitted Trump of two serious “high crimes and misdemeanors.” He is paying a potentially grievous political price for the savagery visited on his name and reputation.

It also might be too late.

I just thought it was time to stake my claim in this most consequential fight for the presidency.