Just two weeks ago, I penned a commentary with this headline. “It is increasingly obvious … Biden is losing it.” Many disagreed – accusing me of peddling political propaganda. Today, the truth is known – and Biden is further down the path of physical and mental decline than even I imagined.
President Biden’s abysmal –but revealing – performance on the debate stage is a game changer far beyond any pre-event observations. Stories about Biden’s declining physical and mental health have hitherto been ignored or dismissed as partisan chatter. They have been met with harsh pushback and assurances that Biden was not only well, but in exceptionally good conditions – “better than ever.” They knew better. For months, they lied … and lied … and lied. Hiding Biden’s condition from the public has been a grand political conspiracy – a disinformation campaign conspiratorially carried out by both politicians and the press. The cover-up has, ironically, now put the Democratic Party in a political pickle.
While we still do not know the extent of his disability, we do know it is significant. Both his current condition, the rapidity of his decline and his ability to serve four more years in the Oval Office all point to an obvious incapacity. As I have predicted in the past, if elected, Biden will not complete a second term whether or not he physically survives.
Currently, the BIG question is whether he will withdraw from the race – when and how. All indications at this moment are that he, First Lady Jill and his White House handlers are intent on digging in and carrying on. To do that, they will have to resist the enormous pressure coming from his side of the political divide.
Biden’s performance on the debate stage has created a major fault line in the Democratic Party – from high-level operatives … to the hitherto crony media … all the way down to the grassroots.
It was shocking to see Biden’s enfeebled performance in the debate – and also shocking to see the uncharacteristically harsh response from his loyalists on the left. You now have the hardest of the hardcore Biden sycophants on MSNBC calling for him to step down after spending months lying about his condition to the public.
The pressure seems overwhelming. But is it enough to overcome the dug-in heels of Biden himself … his wife … and the cadre of officials whose power, prominence and even profit are hitched to a political wagon with two wheels over the edge of a cliff?
To understand the “stay the course” side of the national debate, you need to understand motivation. The power of the presidency is like a strong magnet. The closer you stand to the center of power, the more difficult it is to escape – for any reason.
It starts with the President himself. They never want to give it up. President Franklin Roosevelt proved that – and Congress, recognizing the problem, passed the Twenty-Second Amendment to limit presidents to two terms.
You see that phenomenon in the fact that prior to 2020, Biden said he intended to only serve one term. He would be a transitional President. When it came to keeping his commitment, he went for the second term – and continues to maintain that position even in the face of disqualifying disability.
The next most important person in the decision-making process is First Lady Jill Biden. In a normal situation, one would expect a loving wife to encourage retirement, to escape the unbearable and punishing rigors of public office – and to spend his “long good-by” in the loving embrace of family and care of doctors – real doctors.
But Jill Biden also appears to be trapped by the trappings of power. Even if old Joe has to be wheeled in and out of the Oval Office for staged photo ops, she can still retain her exalted position of First Lady – with even more power. She becomes the power behind the throne much as was Mrs. Wilson after her husband suffered a debilitating stroke – and refused to resign.
The same attraction to status and political power keeps the Biden White House team fighting to keep their game going as long as possible. You have both press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre and Vice President Harris making absurd statements about Biden’s condition, abilities and future prospects.
Harris needs to keep Biden folks happy by playing the loyalist in the hope that Biden will not only drop out of the race but resign before the convention – elevating her to the presidency. Biden should be wary of any Harris request to meet her … at the top of the stairs.
Among the outer ring of Democrat operatives and supporters, you have those who truly believe that Biden – even a compromised Biden – is the only Democrat who can beat Trump. They believe that Biden is still the strongest candidate to oppose the deeply hated President Trump. Much of the polling at this point suggests that they may be correct. One of my Democrat friends said he would vote for Biden even if he arrived at the Democrat convention in a hearse.
There is another consideration that plays against withdrawal. It is very late in the campaign season and an open convention would put ambitious Democrats in a free-for-all fight with chaos reigning. It would fracture the party even more than it is at this moment. And none of the potential contenders are assured of beating Trump.
Everything above explains WHY there is enormous resistance to withdrawing from the race. But all those rational reasons – at least rational in terms of political realities – are now countered by unprecedented pressure to step down.
The bible of Democrat left-wing progressivism, the New York Times, has had their top columnists — including Biden’s favorite, Tom Friedman — call for the President to withdraw. The old “grey lady,” itself, has put its full influence behind the withdrawal movement with a painful editorial.
Among the more serious and pragmatic blows to any plan to carry on are the reports of donor concern. With the prospect of a Biden victory ebbing, betting on Biden is moved from a reasonable risk to money down the drain.
Still … at the time of this writing, it appears that Biden intends to carry on. That will be the case until it isn’t. Despite of – or in view of – the strong positions staked out on both sides, at this moment, the pundits and odds-makers are betting Biden stays. But that requires Biden to avoid any future demonstrations of disability. That requires keeping close to Trump in the polls. Preventing more debate night disasters is virtually impossible unless Biden is locked down in the White House basement and the visible campaign is handled by surrogates and virtual reality statements and videos.
But … every day Biden does not withdraw, and the message is that he will not withdraw, the prospect of replacement diminishes. There is no way to even speculate the final outcome of this political soap opera because the decision to stay or not to stay is teetering precariously at 50/50.
So, there ‘tis.