Americans have been here before; remember 2016. When former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was weak from the flu and exhaustive campaigning and was seen being helped to her SUV, the press and skittish liberals jumped to the GOP narrative that she was hiding a fatal illness and unfit to be president. Fox News breathlessly advanced the story that she was either possessed or gravely ill with one foot in hell and the other in the backyard of Florida Congressperson and former Democratic National Committee chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz. Of course, eight years later, Ms. Clinton is alive and well. As it turned out, the people who said the Clinton story had no basis were correct. It turned out to be unsubstantiated and cruel rumors fueled by speculation. My former mother-in-law would say that it only takes one time to touch the stove, followed by the admonition, “That’ll learn ya.”
Apparently, we have not learned. The latest attempt to disqualify the Democratic and incumbent president from serving a second term is that he is too old and, therefore, unfit to serve. Admittedly, he is old, but since when is old, effective, and competent a disqualifier? Furthermore, President Biden is being asked to disprove a negative. There have been no Mitch McConnell frozen moments or confusing a picture shown to him in court of his sexual assault victim with one of his former wives.
No matter what Biden accomplishes, he is not going to get any younger. Maybe the time has come for Democrats to accept yes for an answer. I await the day when we ask Mr. Biden when he stopped beating his wife. When the question is asked of his detractors for examples of his policy failures due to his age, doubters say we do not know what goes on behind the scenes. Multiple members of his staff, from the Joint Chiefs to members of Congress, say he is engaged, aware, and “sharp.”
Still not good enough,
It must be his strong staff covering for him or, as MAGA thinks, former president Obama is acting as the shadow President. Anyone capable of commanding a large staff (in the case of the presidency, a humongous staff) is generally perceived as a strength. Contrast that with the previous president, who handpicked his close subordinates. Many of them were forced to resign or jailed for corruption or illegality, even those who were just coffee boys. Even if one believes that Biden is a product of a strong staff, our previous experience should tell us that pulling together a support staff is a talent. Donald Trump hurried through multiple chiefs of staff. Meanwhile, most would have trouble naming Biden’s chief of staff [Jeff Zients] because the principal [Biden] picked a real patriot, and Zients is not willing to help overturn a legal election.
Donald Trump is again showing his weakness in the face of murder and violent autocracy. We saw the death of Washington Post writer Jamal Khashoggi met with shrinking cowardice rivaling Neville Chamberlain’s appeasement to Hitler. One week before the death of Russian dissident Alexei Navalny, Mr. Trump encouraged Vladimir Putin to do “whatever the hell they want.” A week later, after his last public appearance, Russian officials said Navalny dropped dead while walking in a Russian gulag. After three days, Mr. Trump finally issued a statement blaming America in a self-pitying screed. The choice is simple: a kindly old man with a list of policies or a cruel old fascist with blood on his hands and retribution in his heart.
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