If you think this post will end up recommending that Joe drop out—-spoiler—- that’s not going to happen. Nor will I say it’s all about Joe staying in the race. The whole point of my post here, is to speak to other Democrats who, like me, don’t know quite what to think. And to say, you are not alone.
So. Anyone who has seen my comments here knows that my initial reaction to the debate was basically, to calm down and carry on.
Since then, I have been more shocked by the reaction to Joe’s performance at the debate, than I was to his actual performance.
To be clear, yeah, I was shocked by Biden’s performance, as were many. But, I don’t see many voices asking why we were so shocked??? So, I’ll take a shot at it. Because we have not ever seen Joe fail us as he did in that debate. Not even close. And that’s an important thing to note, because the media certainly won’t.
And, I think the current reaction—-NOTE, mostly from Democrats,—-can be seen as the worst of double standards on our own part, and those going there need to acknowledge that problem. Makes me crazy. It’s just so damn unfair, infuriating, and grossly unbalanced (and all manner of adjectives you can throw at it) as per a Trump comparison.
And yet, it is hard to deny the amount of blood in the water right now, and those in my party who are really afraid that if Biden doesn’t drop out, we’ll lose.
I do understand that this is all fear based. And that in itself is so darn scary to me. FDR: “The only thing we have to fear, is fear itself.
BUT. Whatever and whichever, we cannot blame the republicans for our response. This is TOTALLY OUR GAME. And, imo, we all must own and accept that, no matter what side we fall on here. And if that’s hard for us, imagine what it might be like for Joe Biden. Still, this IS, first and foremost, Joe’s burden, and ultimately we will answer to what he decides.
I understand those who worry that between now and the election, Biden might make another bad showing—-god forbid it happens at the last minute—-October surprise!— as it did for Hillary. I get these scars.
OTOH, I see Joe more as the best he can be, because I have rarely seen him be anything less. And It just squeezes the hell out of my heart to see him rail-roaded on the basis of that debate, when we ALL KNOW how much more terrifying Donald John Trump is. Life is not fair, and this is a huge example of that.
So yeah, like I said from the get go here, I have no answers to offer. The whole point of writing this for me, is to reach out to others like me, who are willing to admit, we don’t know quite what IS the right thing to do at this moment in time. I am torn between perception and reality. Perception is against Joe. Reality is all for him.
And I feel for others like me, who are really struggling right now, desperately trying to do the right thing, and just humble enough to say we’re not quite sure what that is.
I hope we ALL see more clarity soon, and I hope we have the time to do so.