Please, America, Allow Joe to Get Sick and Tired. We've All Been There.
On Thursday, June 27, 2024, President Joe Biden got on stage with ex-’president’ Donald Trump for what some are still calling a ‘debate’, though any semblance of a real debate was apparently never in the cards. CNN anchors Jake Tapper and Dana Bash were the moderators but from the moment the mics were turned on Donald Trump took center stage, ready to fight against a wizened old man who appeared to have sneaked in and replaced Joe Biden that night.
It turns out it wasn’t much of a fight. Trump won handily, simply by being Trump. The same bold, nasty Trump who smashed down 12 of his would-be opponents at ‘debates’ in the early campaign months of 2016, mainly with silly insults, giving his rivals childish nicknames, to the delight of millions who saw that as comic relief.. The same creep who took on Hillary, stalking her on stage and calling her names, telling outlandish lies, and never, ever, in any of those ‘debates’ answering any hard question we all knew he could never answer in a million years.
It didn’t matter that Trump knew nothing about America or about politics. None of it mattered. He was and is the star. The press loved his bad boy persona. They ate up his insults, even those directed at them, and saw them as high entertainment. Donald Trump became their meal ticket. And he still rides high, safe in the knowledge that they need him more than he needs them.
Nothing has changed. And here we are, dutifully chastising Joe Biden for not winning against Trump on that all-important night when, apparently, the fate of our country hung on whether or not our president could best Trump in a shouting match.
Now Biden is persona non grata, his fate sealed even tighter by an unfortunate encounter with ABC News anchor George Stephanopolous, who had a one-on-one with Biden on Friday, July 5, where the main question, over and over again, was ‘Do you think you’re fit to serve?’. (Full ABC transcript here. I wrote my own thoughts about the interview here.
Again, Biden blew it. He seemed weak again. His answers weren’t acceptable to those who were counting on him to dig himself out of the debate mess.
Never mind that he went on the next day and the day after that and triumphed with speeches and appearances. Never mind that he’s back in fighting mode. Never mind that he sent a scathing but brilliant letter to House Democrats, outlining why he’s staying and who needs to back off, reminding the ingrates of what he’s done for the country and why he hopes they’ll join him in saving it from the marauding monsters threatening murder and mayhem if they manage to pound their way back into the White House.
It’s no secret I’m an old, unabashed liberal from the way back who will almost always support the Democrats running for any office. (I say almost because there was that one time back in the 70s or 80s when I couldn’t stomach the Dem candidate for governor in Michigan and I voted for incumbent Republican governor William Milliken. But you have to understand that that lovely man was nothing like today’s Republican. They would have made mincemeat out of him if he were running today.)
My first real vote was for JFK in 1960. I support my party. I vote for Democrats. I’m entrenched and I’m proud. But, damn, sometimes I want to take a paddle to their sniffy self-righteous backsides.
We’re on a winning track and they’re busy setting up obstacle courses.
And today I’m not just angry, I’m heartsick. And terrified. Some of the outside-the-beltway celebrities I admire are now turning against Joe, calling for him to resign. Venerable names like George Clooney, Rob Reiner, and Stephen King. People I never would have expected to turn. (I don’t count Michael Moore, John Cusack, or James Carville because they’ve never liked Biden and are entirely too thrilled to be on the “Resign now!” side.) WaPo gift article here.
I’m seeing signs that the list is growing. They’re talking behind closed doors.
I had hoped it wouldn’t come to this. But my honest fear, based on past Democratic elections (and Al Franken), is that it would. I was as surprised as anyone when Biden won against Trump in 2020. Those same factions were there trying to sabotage that election, too.
Apparently they hold grudges. Apparently Biden’s many successes, those whopping good things he’s done for the country, haven’t been enough. They’re back and they’re swinging hard. And they just may get what they’re asking for. Chaos at the convention. A sure loss for the Democrats but ultimately satisfying, because then they can just blame it all on Joe.
If only he had done every last thing they’d asked of him.
If only he’d performed like the vibrant young president they’d been hoping for.
If only he could have counted those jellybeans in that jar.1
An impossible test used during Jim Crow days to keep Blacks from voting.
For the right, it's loyalty. For the left, it's purity. For the rest, it's for the love of God get something done!
My first vote was for McGovern. We lived in Massachusetts and everyone we knew was voting for him. That was my first lesson in how the GOP could win. McGovern was a decorated WWII pilot with like 22 missions over Italy, and he thought the Vietnam War was a grave mistake. He was thickly painted as a weak-kneed pacifist weenie, and HE DIDN'T COME BACK AT THEM.
Then there was Al Gore, who didn't demand a recount in Florida "for the good of the country." Bush2 won by what? 1 vote in the Extreme Court? Imagine where we'd be in global climate action if Gore had been president! And no war in Iraq to regret...
Biden was great at the NATO gathering this week. He's got a ton of campaign money, a great administration team, and wonderful record to run on. The GQP has made it clear that they intend to make America an autocracy. The choice is plain: democracy or fascism. I'd vote for Joe if he were comatose. Get him in, trust the administration.
Ramona, I’m still in Joe’s camp but I am anxious. Not about Joe’s ability to lead, or even to win, but about all the constant histrionics in the press. And Nancy Pelosi’s statement yesterday. But last night an old friend called me out of the blue because she knew I’d be flipping out. Haven’t talked to her in 2 years. Not because of a falling out but because of life. She said, “Joe Biden in a coma is a better president than Donald Trump.” Then she said, “”He’s the only one who can beat him, and he’s going to win.” She was right in 2020, and in my heart I think she’s right today.