The surprise about Joe Biden’s pardon of his son Hunter is not that the president granted it after repeatedly saying he would not do so. The shocker is that “the big guy” is finally acting like a father after decades of ruthlessly using his drug-addicted son as a pocket man for his scam and stepping in to protect his child, rather than influence him.

The pardon further tarnishes what remains of Mr. Biden’s presidential legacy, but it could prove to be the most respectable thing he has done as a parent in years.

Did the president pardon his son to preserve the integrity of the Biden name? It’s not likely. President Biden surely now understands that he will be remembered for forgetting where he is, the withdrawal from Afghanistan, open borders and inflation. Her family is associated with shady dealings, cocaine, leaked diaries and laptops, and a granddaughter who was denied a Christmas stocking on the family home.

There is no proud Biden family legacy to be saved by erasing Hunter’s conviction. In fact, the only shred of dignity Joe Biden had left came from the lie that he voluntarily withdrew from the 2024 race because he was the kind of leader who put country before himself. With Hunter’s pardon, he lost the ability to assert this claim, as well as the facade of nobility he had built around it.

It also seems unlikely that the president granted the pardon because he feared being prosecuted and imprisoned for his own criminal behavior. Given his age and physical condition, he could never seriously believe that he would see the inside of a prison cell, no matter what was discovered about him over the next four years.

Joe Biden seems to have granted this pardon out of love for his son. Who knew he had that in him? All his life, the president seems to have put political ambition and greed before his family. With forgiveness, he reversed the equation. It may not have been a noble act for a commander in chief, but it was the only one understandable for a father. Most parents would have done the same thing. It would have been difficult to admire someone who did not do so, ideals of justice aside.

If Mr. Biden wants to redeem himself as a leader, whoever he may be, what he can do now is extend his newfound compassion for his own son to the sons and daughters of the many others his administration has locked up. The non-violent Americans who broke through the open doors of the Capitol on January 6, 2020 are still sitting in the cells that Hunter Biden would have called home if not for his father’s position. Paulette Harlow, seventy-five years old, could also benefit from a pardon. She was sentenced to two years in prison for praying outside a Washington DC abortion clinic. Will Mr. Biden add it to his list?

It’s not likely. It took this long for Joe Biden to conjure up the basic human instinct to protect his own offspring – what chance is there that he has evolved enough to feel that kind of responsibility to others that he has injured?

Hunter alone will benefit from his father’s repentance for a lifetime of parental failure. American citizens will not be so lucky, as Joe Biden shows no signs of atoning for his presidential failures.