Biden, Democrats Must Keep Eye On The Prize To Defeat Madman Trump
Democrats led by President Joe Biden have for too long ignored the giant, elderly elephant in the room and they have to make a change, the nation’s future is riding on it.
During and after the so-called debate, I went through a whole lot of feelings.
First, I felt sadness, heartbreak, fear and resignation for myself, my family, America and Joe Biden, in that order. That morphed into despair for the future of this nation and the world if the unimaginable happens and trump is catapulted to fascist leadership.
It was a Shakespearean tragedy in much the same way that Edgar advised his struggling father, the Earl of Gloucester, that “Men must endure their going hence, even as their coming hither; Ripeness is all.” Biden needs to heed Edgar’s words but instead he ignores them.
I felt pity for Biden, who has done so much for the nation for so many years, has so much to offer with his wisdom and experience and who represents a hope for continuing progress. But I also was angry watching an old man who found it hard to express himself, even to the point of not finishing sentences. It may have been caused by his stutter, intensified by the stress of the moment. Or it may be the onset of a serious condition like Parkinson’s, a long-term neurodegenerative disease of mainly the central nervous system that affects both the motor and non-motor systems of the body. Or maybe something worse.
Whatever the cause, Biden’s dismal performance may likely be the tipping point for undecided voters to pull trump’s lever on election day. An example of what Biden said makes the point.
“For example, we have a thousand trillionaires in America — I mean, billionaires in America. And what’s happening? They’re in a situation where they, in fact, pay 8.2 percent in taxes. If they just paid 24 percent or 25 percent, either one of those numbers, they’d raised 500 million dollars — billion dollars, I should say — in a 10-year period. We’d be able to wipe out his debt. We’d be able to help make sure that all those things we need to do — child care, elder care, making sure that we continue to strengthen our health care system, making sure that we’re able to make every single, solitary person eligible for what I’ve been able to do with the — with, with, with the Covid. Excuse me, with dealing with everything we have to do with — look, if — we finally beat Medicare.”
What I do know is that Biden’s difficulties did not start yesterday and I cannot help feeling that Biden and his inner circle have betrayed and lied to the American people. Whatever the motivations, a failure to be open and honest is a huge problem. Honesty is the biggest weapon the Democrats have and Biden may have just blown a huge hole in the arsenal.
Quickly, came anger at trump who acted in character, like the smug, smirking, ignorant bully that he is, who was given free reign to pile on outrageous lie upon outrageous lie without a challenge by CNN’s so-called moderators. Trump’s ridiculous delusions could have easily been debunked but they weren’t. I understand how difficult it must be to play Whack-a-Mole in responding to trump’s incessant drivel but a fit Biden would have done much better.
The headlines after the debate should have focused on trump’s deceptions, incoherent ramblings and refusal to directly answer critical questions about climate change, the war in Gaza, whether he would accept the results of the 2024 election, and his outright refusal to accept responsibility for the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol by his supporters. Instead, virtually every story led with Biden’s raspy voice and unsteady gait.
And so much worse is that Biden’s dreadful performance made trump look strong to many people. Trump may yet self-destruct but if the election was held today, he would win.
Anger turned to rage a day later when the rabid, leading Republicans called for Biden to be removed under the 25th amendment. Circling like scavengers while the blood was still warm, House Speaker Michael Johnson, R-La., and Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, joined in the attempted lynching, while totally ignoring trump’s persistent, treasonous, unhinged lies.
Johnson said members of the president’s cabinet should “search their hearts” and “do our duty to do best by the American people.” Johnson, a Christian nationalist, has cozied up and given up any semblance of ethics in his supplication for trump. Johnson has close ties to leaders of the New Apostolic Reformation, which seeks to establish Christian dominion over all aspects of society, and end or weaken the separation of church and state. He believes in creationism and not evolution and questions the scientific basis of climate change caused by human activity.
Roy told reporters that, “I think anybody with eyes and anybody observing objectively last night saw an individual that is not capable of carrying out the duties the commander-in-chief in a world in which we’re, you know, facing increasing dangers.”
In his best hypocritical Texas drawl, Roy said “it has been very clear the declining status of the of the capacity of the president, but last night put it all out for all to see. Our colleagues on their side of the aisle can’t hide from it.”
Roy exercised gall of trumpian proportions when he said he was not acting through a “political lens, right. I mean, I don’t view it through the lens of well, is the timing good and bad for what happens in November or anything else? It’s just the simple fact of the matter is the president of the United States is not capable of doing the job.”
That is the same Chip Roy who conspired with Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, and trump Chief of Staff Mark Meadows to overturn trump’s loss in the 2020 presidential election. Roy and Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Kent., also were the only House members to vote against The Emmett Till Antilynching Act, which passed the 117th United States Congress.
But a day after the debate debacle my anger congealed largely against Biden and his coterie who are often no less sycophantic than those surrounding trump. Biden’s condition did not suddenly materialize and a simple cold does not make sense. The only conclusion is that Biden and his closest advisors knew of his deteriorating condition and tried to conceal its extent. As far as motivations, who knows, but I do know that hiding Biden’s obvious physical issues may drag the country into the abyss that is trump.
Now, my anger at Biden has largely passed and I have been reading the many opinions about what comes next. Biden has done so much damage that there is no alternative but for him to step down. He had a relatively successful campaign appearance the day after the debate but he had the help of a teleprompter, prepared statement and a supportive audience. It’s not enough proof that he may not lose stamina and faculties at some critical point in the future.
There is historical precedent over presidents who persevered and ran for reelection in the face of serious health issues while others acknowledge their infirmaries and refused to seek another term.
President Franklin D. Roosevelt hid his serious medical condition when he ran for a fourth term. Roosevelt was convinced that he had to lead the allies to victory in World War II which was still being waged. Roosevelt also was convinced that only he could personally appeal to Soviet leader Joseph Stalin in order to ensure Soviet cooperation in both the war against Japan and in the founding of the United Nations.
Roosevelt’s medical condition was so acute that a month before D-Day, the frail president was able to work just four hours a day. Roosevelt was reelected for a fourth time, but just 82 days into his fourth term, he died of a cerebral hemorrhage.
Other presidents declined to run for reelection for various reasons.
James K. Polk chose not to seek reelection in 1848. Polk was in poor health near the end of his term and died of cholera shortly after he left office in 1849. Rutherford B. Hayes chose not to run for a second term in 1880, following through on his earlier promises to serve only one term as president.
Calvin Coolidge succeeded to the presidency when President Warren Harding died in office in 1923. Coolidge was elected in 1924, but declined to run for a second elected term in 1928. Harry Truman became president after the death of FDR and was elected in 1948 in an upset victory over Thomas Dewey. Truman also decided against running for a second full term.
Lyndon Johnson took over the nation after President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in 1963. Johnson was later elected for a full-term in a landslide victory in 1964. But, with the Vietnam War raging, and Johnson’s health declining, he decided against seeking reelection in 1968.
In his 2021 inaugural address, Biden eloquently remarked, “When our days are through, our children and our children’s children will say of us: They gave their best, they did their duty, they healed a broken land.” Biden could be remembered as the president who led the country out of the deadly, COVID-19 pandemic, who rallied the West to defend Ukraine against the ongoing Russian onslaught and who led passage of major climate and infrastructure efforts.
Biden could be a modern day Cincinnatus, the legendary leader of the Roman Republic from 519 to 430 BC, who became an embodiment of civic virtue. Cincinnatus was a farmer when he was called to lead Rome. He defeated an uprising by Spurius Maelius in just 16 days and then unselfishly, gave up his power to return to his farm.
None other than George Washington was compared with Cincinnatus after Washington gave up control of the Continental Army and refused to take on the powers of a monarch. After two terms, Washington stepped away from politics and return to his farm.
Biden gave his best, did his duty and labored to heal a broken land. And now it is time to do the honorable thing, to step down and have his epitaph read that he did many great things and not that he refused to surrender, thereby turning the nation over to a madman.