By Tim Stanley
Joe Biden might not remember his debate performance, but the world does, and it’s etched on our memory as a symbol of national decline. As the Democrats discussed who might replace him on the ticket – “Can Jimmy Carter still walk?” – I thought, “They’ll have to prise it from his cold dead hand.” For this tragedy is about a man in total denial, enabled by a system steeped in paranoid fantasy. The Democrats kept us distracted with Russiagate, January 6 and “Trump humped a porn star” while the world’s last superpower was being run by a zombie.
The American empire looks old. Old and tacky. If Ronald Reagan was, to quote Gore Vidal, “a triumph of the embalmer’s art”, Joe resembles an ostrich stuffed by an amateur – his eyes black marbles, the sharp teeth set in an alarming grin. The president belongs to a vain generation that thinks it figured out how to run the world in 1968 and now won’t let go. Senator Dianne Feinstein passed away in office at 90. Nancy Pelosi stepped aside as Speaker at the tender age of 82. Biden, 81, has done nothing but politics, having entered the Senate in 1973 and run for the presidency three times – dropping out on the first go because he was caught stealing his lines rather than fluffing them.
So, we are where we are because of Joe. Feel no pity: he’s a narcissist who can’t see his limits. A truly wise, compassionate and patriotic man, to borrow some of the titles bestowed on this Caesar Arthritis by his courtiers, would’ve settled for one term and used it to groom a successor. Instead, he insisted on entering the 2024 primaries practically unopposed, putting him in control of almost every delegate at the August convention.
This left no practical way to remove the old fool from the nomination without his consent. Even if he gave it, the prospect of an unplanned “open” convention has long filled the Democrat leadership with dread. They are control freaks. They fear the delegates who hate Netanyahu and love Bernie Sanders. But most importantly, they’ve seen the polling and know that, even on a sad day, Biden polls slightly better than Kamala Harris, Gavin Newsom et al. That’s why they’ve stuck with him for so long.
The party that thought Hillary Clinton could beat Donald Trump in 2016 prefers mediocrity to risk. Besides, nobody wants to pick a fight with Jill, Joe’s terrifying, Cerberus-like wife. She introduced him to a post-debate crowd with the words: “You did such a great job, you answered every question!” He also finished his cookies and went to the bathroom all by himself.
Jill reminds one of Edith Wilson, the wife of president Woodrow Wilson, who, when Woodrow had a stroke, locked her husband in the bedroom, pretended he was fine, and took over the management of the country. All government, one might say, is a conspiracy – power consolidated, hoarded and clouded in spin. Biden’s White House is run by a tiny group of fierce loyalists. They have disagreements but circle the wagons once policy is decided, which is why they stuck so doggedly and stupidly to Joe’s bungled dash from Afghanistan.
Of the debate, they said immediately that “he had a cold”: a bad night, yes, but we’ve months to recover. Someone tipped off journalists that the president gets tired after 4pm, a detail published as if it were a stunning revelation.
We’ve known his work patterns via the White House logs for ages. There’s a reason why Trump nicknamed him “Sleepy Joe” in 2020 and accused him of hiding in his basement – but the US media joined the administration in closing ranks. People who pointed out the president’s obvious decline were accused of taking moments out of context, being mean or even displaying an anti-age prejudice akin to racism (yes, that card was played).
Journalists gaslit America. TV host Joe Scarborough described Biden four months ago as “far beyond cogent, in fact I think he’s better than he’s ever been, intellectually, analytically”. Only after the debate did he suggest that his friend consider retirement.
The U-turn is as preposterous as the original direction. A thousand articles have been published to say “Dear Joe, we love you so, but you need to go – to save the world from Trump.” But wasn’t the time to tell grandpa he needs to take a rest before he secured his delegates for renomination?
The “be kind” crowd has participated in one of the most shocking cases of elder abuse in history, driven by the lunatic consensus that even someone incapable of doing the job would be better than a Republican nominee. They have charged the GOP with cowardice for sticking with Trump, yet done exactly the same themselves – labelling anyone within their own ranks who dared to question Biden’s faculties a far-Right stooge.
A New York Times editorial finally argued, long after the damage was done, that Biden should step aside. It also said that if he didn’t, it would still support him “unequivocally” over Trump, preferring senility to criminality – a new twist on “Better Dead than Red.” With such low expectations, why not hand the nomination over to Jimmy Carter? He has the age of an Old Testament prophet, yes, but also the wisdom and character, having spent his retirement building houses and overseeing elections. A man from a better age, when public servants put the people first.
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