Trump is a hot mess. Every week he headlines rallies where he muses incoherently about Hannibel Lector’s lunch plans and whether he would rather be electrocuted by a fictional battery operated boat or eaten by a shark. And every time Democrats scream and point, while the media (mostly) shrugs and Trump’s base remains unfazed. They don’t care if Trump spends their money on lawyers to fight his many criminal and civil cases. They don’t care about the judgements against him and the criminal convictions.
Swing voters have long since pretty much tuned this out.
And then there are the Democrats. Fox news and Trump constantly wax poetic on Biden’s supposed lack of marbles. Other media outlets pick up on it. Every tiny Biden gaffe or semi-gaffe is exaggerated or in some cases even outright fabricated.
And what do Democrats do? They worry. They speak anxiously among themselves. And so to try to quell Democratic fears and Swing voter apathy, Biden’s campaign decides to create an event to bring their candidate’s true leadership qualities out in the open for all to see. Meanwhile, Biden continues his usual rigorous schedule. After all, he is leader of the free world during a time when freedom is under attack on many fronts. And then—a catastrophe. Biden gets sick at the worst possible moment.
What should the Biden campaign do? They can’t cancel, can they? After all, it was their idea. Canceling would just confirm the worst suspicions about Biden, wouldn’t it? Everyone will say that he is too old and weak and feeble-minded to serve. So they pump Joe full of Gatorade and hope for the best. Instead, the worst happens. Joe is unfocused and lacks energy. He is almost gasping for air at times. He falls into Trump’s traps and gets defensive instead of just telling the American people, “This guy is lying to you. Here is how my second term will help you have a better life.”
Trump, meanwhile, is having a pretty good night—energy-wise, at least. He’s not slurring words or relying on the podium for support. Trump doesn’t have much to say but he says he angrily and forcefully. He lies his ass off and insults his opponent. And Biden gets flustered. He stammers and gets off message.
Clearly nobody on the Biden team saw this coming. If they had, they wouldn’t have proposed the debate in the first place. These are folks who work with Biden day in and day out. Based on reporting and on the fact that they like to put him front and center see him as sharp and focused, with a handle on everything important. I’m guessing it is because most of the time, that’s true.
So what happened? Joe had an off night. A really off night. The combination of his illness and Trump’s attacks threw him for a loop. And so what do Democrats do? They throw him under the bus immediately. They join the media in calls for him to step aside. On Daily Kos, people create fantasy running mate pairs not unlike fantasy baseball teams. They convince themselves that these new candidates will win in the swing states where people have never heard of them and not just the blue states, and try to argue this to other Democrats.
Why do we do this? Why do we throw our candidates under the bus like this? I’m serious. I mean, Republicans are starting to sour on Trump after eight years of Trump shenanigans, but Democrats are freaking out after one bad night. Yes, it was an unforced error. Clearly Biden’s team missed the moment in a big way. But the fantasy of a younger, better team of candidates winning the Presidential election is just that...a fantasy.
How bad is Biden is Biden’s health really? I don’t know because I don’t work with him personally, but I’m guessing from all the available information that most of the time he is just fine.
Democrats are supposed to be the rational party, so please, let’s be rational together for a second. Why would the Biden campaign have engineered this early debate two days before the quarterly fundraising deadline if they weren’t confident that this would be a home run? I mean, yeah, they didn’t learn the lesson of the incumbent suffering a first debate curse until Biden blew it big time just like every other incumbent, but let’s be real. If Biden wasn’t on top of things in general they would never have put this debate together and proposed it to the Trump campaign.
I’m just going to say it: Republicans are too loyal, but Democrats are not loyal enough.
Do I wish we had two different candidates running for President? No. Really no! I wish Trump wasn’t running, but Biden has been so outstanding that I want him to remain President for as long as possible. I trust that he will step aside if he can’t complete his term. But although he didn’t seem healthy or energetic last night I’m sure he has some good years left, and I’m happy that he still wants to bring his wisdom and experience to the job of the Presidency.
One of our greatest Presidents, Franklin Roosevelt, died of illness while he was still in office. Do I wish he had not run for that final term? No, I do not. I am glad Roosevelt lived in a time and place when such was possible. Yeah, he kind of faked being vigorous and healthy, and it was easier to do before television and 24-hour news cycles. But I also think that Democrats were better at sticking together and sticking to the plan back then.
Come on, guys. Let’s stop panicking and wait a few more days to see what happens next.