I remember watching the “there he goes again” presidential debate between Ronald Reagan and Walter Mondale in 1984. My wife was watching with me, and it was clear to both of us that the Alzheimer’s that would eventually kill Reagan was already progressing. Still, the after-debate reviews didn’t reflect our observations. “President Reagan’s age isn’t affecting him” seemed the general consensus among the pundits. My wife asked rhetorically: “Didn’t anybody see the candidate eat the rat?”
Now every verbal miscue and missed name from Joe Biden is critically discussed, while the torrent of lies and rage spewing from Trump every time he opens his mouth is ignored: It’s just Trump being Trump. Democrats who should be focused on making sure Trump is not re-elected are instead wetting their diapers over whether Joe should drop out of the race. The primaries are over, the candidate has been chosen. Any concerns about Biden should be aired behind closed doors, not in the headlines. Have we forgotten the SOTU so quickly? That was a remarkable demonstration of Biden’s capability, and it was not even six months ago.
Regardless of whether you liked the results or not, the Reagan presidency accomplished what it set out to do. It removed a Democratic hegemony in Congress that had persisted since Roosevelt, and remade the federal government into a form acceptable to the G.O.P. Ronald Reagan had little to do with those results. He was a front man, an actor playing a role, doing PR for deep changes accomplished by others. I remember a Saturday Night Live skit in which Reagan switched between an amiable dotard talking to Girl Scouts and a skilled multi-lingual diplomat dealing with world crises and financial matters. The sheer implausibility of that scenario made it comedic gold.
Biden’s presidency has already accomplished many of the goals that he set out for his first term. Despite a divided Congress, important legislation has been passed, the balance between labor and capital partially redressed, and the imperialist ambitions of Putin stymied. And unlike Reagan, we can assume that Biden has had at least some input into these results. Furthermore, it is clear that his advisors are competent individuals, and should age or infirmity finally force Biden to yield the presidency, the eminently capable Kamala Harris is ready to step in.
A presidency is much more than one person. It is an assemblage of viewpoints and skills that are directed at a common set of goals. Considering the composition of the last Trump administration, I contemplate with fear and loathing who might be invited to join a second one. There will be no adults in the room next time, only enablers and those who would use Trump’s gullibility and need for ego-stroking for their own ends. That, much more than whether Joe Biden is slower than he was in 2020, should be our greatest concern now.