In 1859, Abraham Lincoln related the tale of an Eastern monarch who charged his wise men with discovering words that would everywhere and always be true.

The wise men went away and returned to present the monarch with this six-word sentence: “And this, too, shall pass away.” So, the question: How long will Sen. Joe Manchin’s hour of power last before it, too, passes away?

Manchin is the man in the arena, the indispensable senator. He can make or break the entire agenda progressives had anticipated whistling through both houses. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer must meet Manchin’s demands or see their initiatives fail, one by one, in the U.S. Senate. What has given this moderate Democrat from West Virginia such an opportunity to write himself into the history books? As long as the 50-50 Republican-Democrat balance holds in the Senate, Manchin’s power to decide the fate of the Democratic agenda is unrivaled. If Manchin votes against a liberal initiative, he can kill it simply by denying it a Democratic majority. And even if a piece of legislation is supported by a slim Senate majority, Manchin can kill it by refusing to strip Senate Republicans of the right to filibuster it, to talk it to death. The only way Democrats can be assured of victory in a Senate vote is by persuading Manchin to vote for the bill and to strip the Senate GOP of their filibuster rights. This last thing Manchin has pledged he will never do. Democratic colleagues on Capitol Hill are frustrated at Manchin’s stance, denouncing him as a self-centered obstructionist. That hardly seems the case. Manchin is putting his power behind his principles, and Senate practice and tradition, and voting both his own and his constituents’ convictions.

He is placing his belief in bipartisan support on major legislation ahead of any particular piece of Democratic legislation. He is refusing to provide his 50th vote in the Senate to bring about an outcome that he believes would further contribute to the division of the country.

Manchin made clear his intentions when he declared he will vote against the House-passed For the People Act, and against ending a Republican filibuster designed to kill it. Manchin is setting up a high hurdle for Schumer — to round up 10 Republican votes to achieve passage of agenda items, or those items probably ought not to become law. We must not use our temporary majority, Manchin is saying, to destroy what the Senate has historically been. Is it too much to ask, before we enact a voting rights law that would strip the 50 states of their constitutional powers to set the rules and regulations for elections within their borders, that significant sectors of both parties in Congress should support it?

Rev. Al Sharpton threatened to charge Manchin with “supporting racism” if he refused to help kill the filibuster for the For the People Act. Does this sentiment not prove Manchin’s point?

If the senator, who has voted for his party’s agenda, can be charged with racism for standing on principle and tradition, does that not suggest Manchin is right about the poisoned character of our politics? History is not going to condemn Joe Manchin for voting his conscience and convictions in the face of the abuse he is receiving. History is likely to judge Manchin’s actions as meeting standards President John F. Kennedy set for senators in “Profiles in Courage.”

Pat Buchanan is a nationally syndicated author.