A Bad Night vs a Bad Life
"The Horror. The Horror."
What we saw last night leaves us with a contrast between a terrible, horrible, no-good, very bad night or a terrible, horrible, no-good, very bad person.
“Not an ideal start,” a Biden aide said after last night’s debate. That is a monumental understatement.
There is no point in trying to sugarcoat it. Though he improved later in the debate (except for flubbing his closing), President Biden had a disastrous performance—and that’s the key word.
It was a disastrous performance vs a disgraceful performance.
Had President Biden been like he was in the State of the Union address a few months ago, the election would be all but over. Trump gave a nonstop firehose of lies. He said he had been president, which is true. It would be difficult to identify anything else he said that was not a Bold-Faced Lie. He is shameless. His return to the presidency is unthinkable.
Trump came across as the fraud he is.
An Arizona voter interviewed on MSNBC after the debate summed it up perfectly: Trump? an angry “Hell no!” Biden? a sad “Oh no.”
It was the Unthinkable v Unable to Think Clearly.
It is unlikely that the debate changed many minds. It is hard to imagine anyone who was not already in the Trump Cult having been persuaded to vote for Trump on the basis of his lies last night.
The election is still about whether the United States will remain a democracy or become a dictatorship. The question is not about voting for Biden; it is about voting against authoritarianism and the end of America as we know it.
Watching Joe Biden last night was heartbreaking. If he has nights like he did last night, there is something wrong with him, at least on occasion. A dear friend of mine who is familiar with the disease thinks he may have Parkinson’s. If he has even one night like that on such an important night at age 81, how will he be over the next four years?
In the real world, that may not matter. He will be surrounded by excellent people and will be directing them to work for the good.
But it is essential for the survival of America and the world that a Democrat be elected and voters cannot unsee or unhear what we saw and heard last night.
We can win with Biden. If he stays in the race, we must win with Biden. The only alternative would be for him to decide to step aside.
Would the President consider stepping aside? That is not likely, but his main motive has been to assure that the country does not fall again into the hands of Trump and authoritarianism. If he is persuaded that the best way to accomplish that end is for someone else to pick up his winning message, he is a patriot and may do it.
There are many Democrats who could be that messenger. Here are a few:
Vice President Kamala Harris, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, Maryland Gov. Wes Moore, Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg, California Gov. Gavin Newsome.
Vice President Harris is the only one that could step in without a chaotic convention. Could she win? Who knows? She has improved in her communication ability in recent months. All other things being equal, my first choice would be Governor Whitmer. (For what it’s worth, which is absolutely nothing, I had a long dream last night in which I was conferring with her and others on how to make her the nominee.)
Joseph R. Biden, Jr., has been among the greatest presidents in American history. He may recover in coming days and polls may show no significant damage from his debate performance. If not, the time has come to give him the unmitigated praise he so richly deserves, retire his Number 46 jersey to a place of high honor, and get a Democratic candidate who can carry forward his brilliant legacy and our democracy and freedom.