If you are a partisan and you’re not angry by the time you finish reading this, then I haven’t done my job.
After a special prosecutor recently made an issue of Joe Biden’s age and mental acuity, several reporters pressed him on the issue during a gathering at the White House. Biden fell into a trap and lost his temper. Who the Hell is prepping this guy? They aren’t doing their job.
The president could have responded with something like, “Most Americans might think it silly to ask me about my age when the former president is pushing sedition and fascism, backing up Vladimir Putin, putting our international allies – especially in NATO – at risk and there are two dangerous wars being waged; one in Gaza and one in Ukraine. At home, Roe V. Wade has been overturned, the Republicans have created a false narrative about the U.S. Southern border, and we have to deal with racism, misogyny and climate change. I’m dealing with real issues while you’re chasing shadows. Go ahead. Question my mental acuity. But are there any real questions from the press?”
I’d love it. You just know some reporter wouldn’t get it and would re-ask the question.
Sigh. But that didn’t happen.
We need to see younger, more vigorous candidates run for president. Of course, that’s not on the table right now. John Stewart just spelled out the difference between the two presumed candidates. So, let’s deal with what we’ve got: the choice between Donald Trump and Joe Biden.
“One of those guys has accomplished things for America,” Michael Cohen told me. “The other guy is a traitor and didn’t accomplish shit.”
Biden is an aging politician who in his hubris tells us he is more qualified than anyone else I’ve known in my life for the highest office in this land. Sure,he has served as president, vice president, a senator and is empathetic towards the needs of most Americans. He opposes monopolies, has brought down prescription prices, signed into law an unprecedented bipartisan infrastructure bill, supports marginalized groups and women,and has stood fast against our enemies. But there are others who could do his job and a few who could probably do it better than him.
Donald Trump, of course, is not one of them. Not even close, though in his hubris he claims he’s the only one who can save us.
When Biden was found to possess sensitive government documents that he should have turned over to the National Archives, he sat down and answered questions for five hours on two days during the middle of an international crisis, admitted his mistake, accepted responsibility, and thus avoided prosecution.
Special prosecutor Robert Hur found no reason to charge Biden with a crime, but according to former federal prosecutor Michael Zeldin,who served as special counsel investigating George Herbert Walker Bush, Hur also took a cheap shot at Biden in his report. “The biggest problem is this one sentence where he said (Biden) would likely present himself to the jury as an elderly, nice guy with a bad memory,” Zeldin explained. “Hur has no idea how Biden would present himself to a jury. So he's offering speculation and that’s not what his job is. His job is to say, ‘Did he willfully possess; did he willfully distribute? Can I obtain a conviction and sustain that conviction?’ And if he can't, then the case is done. We don't need him to editorialize about the mind of a hypothetical juror in a hypothetical case.”
Meanwhile, if you don’t want to vote for Biden, then you can vote for Trump. But he’s a traitor.
At a recent rally in South Carolina, Trump said that he would not do a damn thing to help a NATO ally who wasn’t current on their NATO dues if they were attacked by Russia. In fact, he said he’d encourage Russia to do whatever in the Hell they wanted. “You got to pay your bills,” he said. This from a guy who never pays his bills. So, he’s also a deadbeat traitor. Worse, he’s trying to blackmail our allies by threatening them with Russia and acts like our allies personally owe him money. What a rube. Biden, on the other hand, according to National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby, “will defend every inch of NATO territory,” no matter what.
As president, Trump promised us an infrastructure bill every week for four years and didn’t deliver. He was impeached twice, instigated an insurrection, and obstructed justice – according to his own Department of Justice. When Trump was found to have sensitive material that belonged in the National Archives, he lied and said he didn’t have it. Then he said the government planted the info. Then he said he had it, but returned it. Then he admitted he hadn’t returned it, but claimed he didn’t have to because he declassified the sensitive material with a Vulcan mind meld. He claimed unlimited immunity against prosecution for several felonies. His claimed immunity is so broad that his attorney said Trump could use Seal Team 6 to kill his opponents.
Trump cuddled with dictators, including Vladimir Putin. He had a private meeting while President with Putin and to this day no one knows what was said in it – not even his own staff. He tried to dismantle NATO and sided against supporting Ukraine after it was invaded by Russia. He took credit for repealing the landmark Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision. His infamous “tax break” was exclusively for the rich. His family personally made bank on patents in China. He has been found responsible in civil court for rape, defamation, and in New York, he’s going to pay a heavy fine for fraudulent business practices and perhaps will be banned from doing business in the state altogether.
Trump and Biden are the two oldest men to ever be sworn in as our commander-in-chief. Will they even survive the campaign ahead, much less the next four years in the most stressful job on the planet?
Trump is nearly as old as Biden and is also in questionable health despite former White House physician Dr. Ronny Jackson once telling us with a straight face that the former president could live to be 200. It only makes you wonder what medications “Dr. Feelgood” Jackson was ingesting the day he came to the briefing room and spread that charm. Those are some Hunter S. Thompson-grade hallucinogens right there.
Recently Trump has struggled with facts at his rallies, seems more irrational, doesn’t remember events of which he was a part of, and has looked sluggish and tired. He’s approaching 80 and the results of his annual physical more than 5 years ago showed signs of heart disease. His diet is disastrous and he gets little exercise. His cognitive abilities appear to be declining. He’s as unstable as uranium 238 and his anger and rage, combined with the fear he has of going to prison for the rest of his life, are stress factors that could severely limit his life span – no matter what Dr. Jackson claims.
And, of course, he’s a traitor.
The Democrats are a different brand of insanity. They are “Ridin’ with Biden.” Biden wisely didn’t commit to a second term when he first ran for president. His age is an issue as is his physical health. It’s as much of an issue as Donald Trump’s. But members of the White House press corps, including myself haven’t spent much time in front of Biden. I’ve asked every two months in the White House Brady briefing room for Biden to visit with us. I told former Press Secretary Jen Psaki this within the first six months of the Biden administration. Biden has refused. White House press secretary Karine-Jean Pierre claims we see him often, but we don’t.
This has caused Biden immense problems. On occasion, he looks physically fragile. Is he mentally competent? He certainly appears more so than Trump, though some of my colleagues in the press think otherwise – or are they pushing ratings by saying so? Do we know?
Not really. Hidin’ Biden or Biden hidin’ is killing Biden’s chances at re-election – and the administration either doesn’t understand that or does and is avoiding press interaction precisely because Biden is mentally compromised. It’s one thing to attend fundraisers and campaign events where your fans turn up and cheer your every word and forgive your gaffes. It’s another thing to show up and take questions from reporters who aren’t there to kiss your ring. The facts show Trump showed up in front of the press far more often than Biden has.
Trump, of course, lied about everything when he saw us. After all, he is a traitor.
But, Biden also has trouble with the truth in a few key areas. The first is when he speaks about his age. Jean-Pierre claimed Monday that Biden does more in an hour than most people do in a day. He could have said that himself if he had done an interview before the Super Bowl. It was a large, diverse audience in a perfect venue but he passed. So much for transparency.
The other key problem for Biden is in regard to the Middle East. The Houthis are firing at us. We’re firing back at them. We’ve expanded the scope of the conflict in the Gaza war to include firing at Iranian targets and assets. We’ve been told this is not an escalation of the war, and that by destroying military elements we’re actually contributing to a de-escalation. That’s just a bad lie.
Sure. We don’t have boots on the ground, and hopefully won’t in the future, but we have boots at sea and in the air. The conflict is volatile and appears to be growing. The Republicans have, rightly or wrongly (in some cases both) used this effectively against Biden. People are worried, especially because few believe Biden on the matter. As for the bombing of innocent civilians in Gaza? Biden won’t even address that issue.
There is further nuance here worthy of scrutiny. If the “No Way” I mean “No Good” or “No Name”, oh wait “No Labels” party jumps into the fall political race, well that could mix things up and strip the Democrats of their mojo – particularly in the seven states (Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Georgia, Nevada, Arizona and Minnesota) that many political pundits believe will decide the outcome of the 2024 election. The weaker Biden appears, the more “No Navels”, I mean “No Labels” will have an influence on the outcome of the presidential election.
Robert Kennedy Jr., 70, also threatens to make a difference in the race as an independent candidate. Then again, after plagiarizing one of his Uncle John’s television ads from 1960 and airing it during the Super Bowl, RFK Jr. seems less like a viable option and more like a manipulative lunatic.
That is where we are today. Three old white guys: one really old guy, one really traitorous old guy, and one really nutty old guy. All of them sound like a grumpy old fart who would open their front door and shout, “You kids get off my lawn!” How many voters this fall will do just that – and simply not show up to vote?
I don’t know about the “youthful” vigor of a man or woman in their mid-40s or 50s, but it’s better than most people in their 70s and 80s – unless you’re Keith Richards. And he can’t run for president; he wasn’t born here.
Unfortunately that only leaves Biden on the ballot as someone who can give us hope that our democracy survives another year. If that doesn’t reassure you, I understand. As a man wiser than I recently said it would be nice to have a president who, because of their age, will likely be around to see the consequences of their actions.
But, if you ever saw a plate spinner at the circus or on the old Ed Sullivan show, then you know that with this much going on, anything can happen and it usually does. Especially in the 2024 political circus of America
Nice to have John Stewart back.
