BIDEN v. BIDEN

 For several days after the debate, I struggled with the question of whether Biden should withdraw. No more struggles. And his  interview with George Stephanopoulos clinched the deal for me.

Let's face it. Biden is an old man and his cognition is ailing. It happens to all of us though at different speeds. It is happening to Trump, it is happening to me, it is happening to Uncle Joe and there is not much any of us can do about it. An addiction to crossword puzzles or some over-the-counter snake-oil advertised on TV is not the answer.

What we saw in the debate last week was two old guys, one of whom was an aging man suffering from a pathological personality disorder that produced a bump stock of lies and fantasies. Any adversary with a fully active brain could have obliterated him on the debate stage. It was cross-examination 101: When the witness lies, you look down at your tabbed notebook containing the facts and let loose. But we didn't have such an adversary with such a notebook. We had an 81-year-old man who had trouble finishing his own sentences because he forgot the beginning of his own sentences. 

He was just unable to concentrate on the proceedings. While some people are still highly cognizant at the age of 81, Joe Biden is not one of them. It was an unnerving, pathetic performance. 

The Biden interview with George Stephanopoulos did nothing to change any fair appraisal of Biden's debate outing. I was shocked when Biden said he had not even viewed a tape of the debate, that he would not take a cognition test, and he would not leave the race unless the "Lord Almighty" tells him to do so. Biden told us what his adversary has been telling us all of it all along— that he does not believe in doing what's best for the country, he believes in doing what's best for his own ego. While Trump is a selfish grifter, I believe Biden is a nice guy who simply cannot see the reality that he is losing his grip. 

In the end, I was terrified that my choice for President of the United States was one of these two old men, each suffering from a different but equally disqualifying disability.

Biden said the reason he got into the race in 2020 was because it was vital to beat Trump. An excellent motive. What happened to that goal? His explanation for his debate failure was no explanation at all. All he would say is "I had a bad night". But the evidence is that he didn't have a "bad night": he had what is now a regular Biden display of mental lapse, the inability to finish a sentence, the failure to remember what it is he meant to say, and all of the other indications of age-related dementia.

 One of the things that shocks me about the media columnists' discussions about Biden is that for the most part, they focus on what's going on now. I have seen little discussion on what's likely to be the status of Biden's cognition in 2028. Let’s face it, this process goes in only one direction for everybody, including the President of the United States. The recent disgraceful Supreme Court decision about presidential immunity "for official acts" did not cover dementia.

 The threat of effectuating what the right wing calls Project 2025, the threat of Christian Nationalism, the deportation of millions, the deletion of such Constitutional imperatives of equal protection and due process of law, the threat of the Project 25 disintegration of the Constitutional wall between church and state, an independent non-partisan Department of Justice are all on the line. The cabal at the core of the Trump movement does not believe that "all men are created equal" and has promised to take steps to enforce their view. Joe, is it worth the risk? We are playing for all the marbles here.

Biden’s supporters say he is a good man. I believe that. But his vision is clouded and he cannot see what is happening to him. And he cannot appreciate the risk he is imposing on the country he loves by staying in the race and enhancing the prospects of a Trump victory. We need somebody to convince him of the truths he cannot discern. 

Obama, Clinton, Schumer, Jeffries? All of them? C'mon guys. You know what I'm saying is true.

A bientot.

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