Interesting Times

What am I missing? President Biden's performance released an avalanche of panic within the Democratic Party, especially among its big donors. I watched that "debate" - all 90 minutes of it (I wrote a blog post about it) and while I thought he did a bad job, and responded poorly to Losin' Don's barrage of lies I certainly didn't believe that it negated his overall solid performance as our nation's leader. Other than a few flubbed facts and some run-of-the-mill politician's exaggeration, I thought he did fine. Unlike his opponent, he actually answered the questions put to him. The only thing that I can think of is that his performance was part of a trend that went back at least a year, maybe longer, and that the Democratic leadership was either covering it up or were engaged in wishful thinking about Biden's ability to campaign effectively and win the election. If...and that's a big "if", either of those scenarios are true the conversations that have been taking place since last month's debate should have taken place long ago. 

Despite the chaos, I give the Democrats credit for addressing the apparent (yes, apparent) unfitness of their candidate, something that the Trumpublican Cult would never do, despite the nonsense that comes out of his mouth at his rallies. "The late, great, Hannibal Lector? Sharks and batteries? No water in washing machines and showers? Well, now that the major mainstream news organizations have amplified the worries about President Biden's age and mental agility, can we expect them to start beating the drum of Losin' Don's very apparent mental decline, as well as his age (only 3 years younger than Biden). Did we forget his inability to take a drink from a water bottle without using two hands? His shakiness on a not-very-steep incline and grabbing onto the U.K. Prime Minister in order to navigate some stairs is still something I recall. 

One of the criticisms I hear is that the Democrats, by pressuring Biden to drop out, are acting undemocratically, effectively cancelling the decisions of primary voters. But did they really? When an incumbent president is running for re-election it's extremely rare for there to be any serious challenges. Anyone from the president's party with presidential aspirations sits it out until the next election. There is no choice to speak of. (Not to mention how the very existence of the de facto two party system limiting choices by design). Could other Democrats theoretically have run? Sure, but it just isn't done. Of course they don't see the hypocrisy of accusing the Democrats of subverting democracy when plans are in full swing to challenge the results if a Democrat wins in November. (On a side note I've heard a few Sanders 2016 supporters popping their heads up to complain about Hillary Clinton and the party bigwigs giving the 2016 nomination to Clinton. They never really go away, those Bernie fans!)

This raises another question: if President Biden is unfit to campaign for re-election, and is unfit to serve a second term, is he fit to complete his current term? I'm not convinced that he is unfit to campaign or serve a second term, but if that is the prevailing opinion, is a call to resign next? If he does resign, Vice President Harris becomes President and goes into the campaign as an incumbent, with all attendant advantages. Since the president's dropping out is new news, we still don't know how the replacement candidate will be chosen. The Democratic National Committee has rules, and there is a process - I just don't know what it is. It's my hope that the party leadership and the delegates unite behind Harris and present a solid front against the Republicans. Harris was my first choice in 2020 and I was disappointed when she dropped out before the primaries.

Everything I have ever presented as reasons to defeat Losin' Don in November are still true. The assassination attempt didn't make him more fit for office, President Biden dropping out of the race didn't make him a better or more effective leader. He's still a horrible, hateful man who is in it for one person, and one person only. Let's make sure we can still call him Losin' Don in November.