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It’s tough not to feel bad for Joe Biden on some level (to the extent that one can feel bad for a millionaire who is one of the most powerful people in the world).
He is a decent man who has had to endure a lot in his life, first and foremost the loss of his first wife and two of his children. And, of course, his remaining son is dealing with all kinds of legal problems and fighting addiction.
In spite of those challenges, over the course of a long and (mostly) distinguished career in politics, Biden has risen from being the senator of a small state all the way to the White House.
That’s a legacy to be proud of.
Now, there is just one thing left to do: Manage a graceful exit.
Like a former star athlete who has lost a step but doesn’t want to walk away from a game he loves, the president is clearly having trouble with that last bit, which is a real shame.
Because he risks tarnishing that legacy by being responsible for reversing his signature accomplishment: the defeat of Donald Trump in 2020.
It is ironic that these two men will be linked forever in history books because, apart from an outsized ego and ambition, they do not have a lot in common.
Then again, every hero needs a villain… as long as that villain doesn’t win in the end.
Regrettably, in this case, that is where we are headed.
It hardly seems fair. None of it.
Take last night’s press conference.
What most people will focus on are his gaffes, like mixing up Trump and his own vice president or, earlier in the day, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Is that evidence that he is unfit to lead the US? It is. This isn’t the kind of error you can routinely make on the world stage. What if he were in face-to-face talks with someone like Zelenskyy and promised him the wrong weapon system, for example?
However, Trump does these things all the time.
He recently mixed up Nancy Pelosi and Nikki Haley because, in his addled mind, they are both sorted in the category of “enemy, female.” And last month, he couldn’t get the name of his former physician right.
However, when Trump does these things, people are largely shrugging their shoulders… not only because they are so used to these gaffes but also because it is not the mixing up of names that disqualifies him, it’s everything else.
For example, the former president could never have answered policy questions in detail as Biden did in Thursday’s press conference.
Instead, he would just say, “I did the greatest this,” and “I am the greatest that.”
It seems ridiculous that Biden would be compared to such a schmuck. But here we are.
It’s also unfair that the president is scrutinized more than Trump. This is a complaint we often hear from his allies.
“Why don’t you cover Trump the same way?”
“Why won’t you focus on Trump’s age?”
The answers are simple. It’s not (just) Trump’s age that disqualifies him, it’s everything.
The question of whether the former president is fit for office was answered a long time ago.
But when it comes to Biden, people have to parse all of the signals to figure out if he is still up for the job… and whether he can defeat Trump again. It doesn’t seem like he can.
That, too, is unfair.
How is it that Republicans defend every crime Trump commits, and every crazy thing he says, but Democrats seem ready to push their candidate out of the race just for aging?
After all, Biden isn’t being tripped up by an admission of sexual assault, a felony conviction, or an attempted coup.
He’s just old.
But the GOP has become a cult, and their allegiance is to a person.
For Democrats, it is also obviously about winning, but, one would hope, also about some higher ideals like protecting democracy.
They understand that the country needs a president at the height of his abilities.
Biden is not.
He is like an elderly driver who still likes the independence a car affords but, every time he takes it for a spin, comes home with a new dent or scratch.
And his family cannot be sure that, next time, it will be “only” more light damage or whether Grandpa will plow into a group of people.
That’s not a risk anybody should take.
Of course, in a situation like that, the family hopes that the elderly driver recognizes reality and doesn’t overestimate his own abilities.
For now, that’s what Democrats want.
Last night’s press conference was another dent in their car. Undoubtedly, they all watched it with bated breath to see how bad things would get.
Would this be just a scratch or would Biden total the car?
But that can’t be the expectations of a president.
The standard can’t be, “Phew, that was only somewhat bad.”
Because it won’t always go so “well.”
Biden has earned the right to think about this for a few more days.
However, if he doesn’t come to the conclusion on his own that he is not the right guy for the job of defeating Trump, then it’s time to stage a tough-love intervention and take away the keys.
