This is not a “dump Joe” story. But I do want to ask what should be the easiest questions about leadership.
My basic measure of leadership ability is this:
- How, as a leader, do you handle news that you do not like or that you do not want to hear?
- How, as a leader, do you present news that your constituents do not want to hear?
This should be the easiest test when running against Agent Orange. He does not handle bad news well; you can think of a gazillion examples of that. And he REALLY doesn’t give bad news well! Just look at his one actual accomplishment, the Project Warp Speed fast track of the Covid vaccine (well, the parts he actually got carried out). Nowadays he can’t brag about it because his base hates the vaccine in all circumstances. When he bragged, he got boos, so he stopped bragging. Honestly, he has managed to set the bar so low that even a random indictable ham sandwich would win.
But there are serious questions now about Biden and his team. The debate was bad news. They have not handled it well. And have they given any sign of willingness to deal with the situation with integrity? It’s not looking good.
Make no mistake—compared to his opponent, Biden still comes out ahead. But against the ham sandwich? Not really. And that translates into uncertainty and anxiety. And against that same damn opponent, who radiates the complete certainty of the completely incompetent, that is a serious, serious weakness.
Don’t get me wrong. I would still, in a heartbeat, vote for Joe. But leadership is important. This needs fixed, even if the fix only comes down to facing tough news not with toughness but with skill and dexterity and, above all, integrity. Enough spin. Give us the tough news. We can take it.