We hope former President Joe Biden beats prostate cancer. But his diagnosis with the ailment, supposedly only recently and revealed just last weekend, raises legitimate suspicion. His staff, Cabinet, sycophantic news media, and the Democratic Party lied for years about Biden’s obviously failing capacities and attacked people who pointed out the truth. It would be no surprise to learn that Biden’s cancer, too, has been known for a long time and deliberately and dishonestly concealed.

Democrats may close their eyes and fool themselves that their credibility will magically regenerate without action. But they would be well advised instead to begin the hard work of holding specific people accountable for past fabrications that amounted to nothing less than defrauding the nation and its democracy. The party cannot expect people to “move on,” as it would like, if Democratic leaders don’t deal directly with the well-earned mistrust they have nurtured in the minds of all sensible Americans on most issues.