The Debate

For John, BLUF:  Who pushed this early Presidential Debate, and what was their motive?  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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They Knew

Here is the sub-headline:

Biden is no longer fit to be president. Last night’s debate exposed the lies we’ve been told.

From The Free Press, by Editor Bari Weiss, 28 June 2024.

Here is the lede plus one:

Rarely are so many lies dispelled in a single moment.  Rarely are so many people exposed as liars and sycophants.  Last night’s debate was a watershed on both counts.

The debate was not just a catastrophe for President Biden.  And boy—oy—was it ever.

But it was more than that.  It was a catastrophe for an entire class of experts, journalists, and pundits, who have, since 2020, insisted that Biden was sharp as a tack, on top of his game, basically doing handstands while peppering his staff with tough questions about care for migrant children and aid to Ukraine.

Anyone who committed the sin of using their own eyes on the 46th president was accused, variously, of being Trumpers; MAGA cult members who don’t want American democracy to survive; ageists; or just dummies easily duped by “disinformation,” “misinformation,” “fake news,” and, most recently, “cheapfakes.”

Were we shocked by the outcome?  I anticipted the outcome and wanted to skip the show, since I don't like watching people embarrass themselves in public.  However, my Wife said we should watch.  So we watched.  My response was not that of New York Times Columnist Thomas Friedman, but I understand:

"I watched the Biden-Trump debate alone in a Lisbon hotel room, and it made me weep," writes Thomas L. Friedman.  "I cannot remember a more heartbreaking moment in American presidential campaign politics in my lifetime."

But, back to Ms Weiss, I think she is correct in saying that people have been covering for President Biden and his decline.  For those of us who live long enough, decline will come.  My Mother passed from Cancer in her late 60s.  I visited her days before she died and she was sharp.  My Father lived to be 89, but it was agreed, at the end, by the three Sons, to take away the car keys.  Families have a role to play in how we deal with older people who have lost a step.

The question is the path forward.  There is time for the Democrats to replace President Biden on the 2024 ticket.  However, there is a stumbling blocks in the way.  One might think it should fall naturally to the Vice President, Kamala Harris.  However, she is not popular with the public, although more popular than some of the alternatives.  My Wife and I are thinking the Democrats will, after clearing away Ms Harris, settle on former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, who has been popping up in the news recently, after having gone to ground since he stepped down from the Governorship in August 2021.♠

As a note, I was pleased with the professional job done by the two CNN moderators, Jake Tapper and Dana Bash.

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff

♠  It is ironic that President Biden was one of those who called for Governor Cuomo to step down after the release of a report on his personal conduct by New York AG Letitia James.