Democrats bet on Biden’s age and lost; it’s time to rethink

Thursday, June 27, will be remembered as one of the most memorable debates of the American election — perhaps even more so than the Nixon/Kennedy or Lincoln/Douglas debates.

Indeed, the CNN debate between President Biden and former President Donald Trump was an unmitigated and utter disaster for the American people, and it could single-handedly change the course of history.

On one side, a convicted felon, sexual assaulter, con artist and habitual liar, who lied more than 30 times in 90 minutes, an impressive velocity even for him.

On the other, a withered former boxing champion, sometimes lost, weak, now incapable of gaining momentum, let alone throwing a punch.

It was hard to watch on both counts, but for Biden, whose moments of glory have been largely in the spotlight, the shockingly horrifying performance felt painful, especially to his supporters.

The sadness was general and the chatter that followed the debate was reminiscent of a funeral wake.

My friend and colleague Van Jones, who worked in the White House under Barack Obama and Joe Biden, seemed on the verge of tears when he said on CNN: “I love this man, he’s a good man. He loves his country. He’s doing his best. But he had a test to face tonight. He had to restore the confidence of the country and the base, and he failed to do so. »

Kennedy family scion Maria Shriver also tweeted: “I love Joe Biden. I know he’s a good man. I know his heart is good. I know he is dedicated to our country and surrounded by good people. Tonight was heartbreaking in so many ways.

Tom Friedman, personal friend of the Biden family and New York Times columnist, was downright discouraged:

“I watched the Biden-Trump debate alone in a hotel room in Lisbon and it made me cry. I can’t remember a more heartbreaking moment in the US presidential campaign in my life – precisely because of what it revealed: Joe Biden, a good man and a good president, has no business running for office.

As a lifelong conservative who voted for Biden in 2020, convinced that another Trump term could be fatal to our democracy, I share that sadness. Seeing Biden fail so publicly and spectacularly to do the one thing Democrats had hoped to get out of the debate — allay concerns about his age — was indeed painful.

Watching Trump use this to his advantage, appearing ten times more convincing and competent than Biden while brazenly lying, was just as painful.

But sadness was not the emotion I felt most at the end of the debate. I was angry.

In voting for Biden – and Democrat for the first time in my life – even though I knew I would oppose many of his policies, I put my trust in an honest man who loved this country to do decent things because he loved this country. .

His policies have been worse than I anticipated. By inflicting economic inflation and excessive spending, by allowing a border crisis to spill over into our cities and towns, his administration has – rightly or not – led many Americans to believe that they were better off during the four years of Trump at the White House. This is despite a global pandemic, racial violence, two impeachment proceedings and an insurrection that took place under his leadership.

The second time around, I had hoped that Biden would step aside and let another, younger Democrat run — I had always imagined him as a transitional president, not a transformational president.

When he announced he was running, I was worried.

But even with all of this, I genuinely believed that Trump was and remains the most existential threat to America, and that if Biden was at the top of the list, he still deserved my vote.

But whether he deserves it or not, what we saw last night was a man who may not be able to finish his first term, much less last four more years. And more importantly, we saw a man who cannot possibly beat Donald Trump.

This was probably always going to be the case, but Democrats and Biden insisted that Biden was strong, that the polls were wrong, and that he was the best man for the job.

He isn’t, and many of them probably knew it.

The fact that they – and he – are gambling with America’s future is infuriating, unacceptable and a political mistake. They took my vote, my trust and my good faith for granted.

And it may be too late. Replacing Biden with less than two months until the convention is a huge risk.

But it’s something that self-inflicted Democrats must now seriously consider.

If Joe Biden is the good, honest, honest man that many say he is – and I believe he is – he should do the right thing for America and step aside.