Good Old Joe

Good Old Joe

If things don’t happen in the next day or two, we may have to stop saying that. I have turned myself into a pretzel as many of you probably have, trying to show the respect and support I think Joe Biden deserves for the job he has done as president, while considering our best prospects for avoiding the dreaded unmentionable. In 2016, when in theory he should have been the logical next Democrat in the breach, he got bested by Hillary Clinton who’s family name and personal accomplishments as both a Senator and Secretary of State, not to mention being the first very viable female candidate, gave her the edge to be the Party’s nominee. Then in 2020, when it was clear that we needed a monster-killer to unseat Donald Trump from his throne, we did not turn logically to Joe Biden and the primary campaign season started off with Biden wondering if he was up to the rigors of a difficult race against the nastiest of opponents. But James Clyburn of South Carolina became the king-maker who brought the not-inconsiderable power of the Black, and especially Black female vote to the table for Biden and took him over the top. Many of us were unimpressed with Joe Biden in 2016 and then again in 2020 and felt he was perhaps too old for the job both times, especially in the face of the existential threat of a global pandemic. But Joe rallied. He used all the best and brightest and his years of Congressional experience to bring forth an aggressive agenda meant to change the course of America for the better after the misguided years of Donald Trump. In fact, it could be said that he attacked the even bigger beast of the Reagan era supply-side nincompoops. And here’s the first big thing…he did a magnificent job. The economy has recovered far more than anyone thought it could. He was able to restore the leadership of the United States on the international diplomatic stage after Trump plunged it into disarray and uncertainty. He also did a very respectable job of not engaging in finger-pointing and witch-hunting towards Donald Trump and let the processes of our rules-based democratic process take their course, as slowly as some of us think that happened.

But the rancor and great divide in the country did not allow his accomplishments to prevail and get the recognition they deserve. In fact, to my and many people’s amazement, Joe Biden has consistently had the worst approval ratings of any president in modern history. The country is in more despair than it deserves to be and he is the butt of all the blame, which he does not deserve to be. It amazes me that the working class people who have every reason to praise his accomplishments and direction are the very ones marking him down on issues like managing inflation and mismanaging the border. Those who clearly suffer under a Trump regime have still been dumping on good old Joe.

By any standards, I began this current electoral process far more positive about Joe Biden than I did the last one of these in 2020. He had done a good job and deserved a second term. As for his age, I still preferred a younger candidate, but accomplishments trounced age in my view and he was proving to be up to the task at hand, made all the more important by the still grumbling Trump machine pressing for another bite at the apple. I was pleased to hear that Trump agreed to a June debate. Trump had been ranting and raving and Joe was steady, if not vigorous. I was privately pleased that he was sequestered at Camp David studying his policy issues while Trump was declaring that he was born ready for the debate. If born ready means being an unabashed liar, I agree Trump was, indeed, ready. Then came debate night and from the first moments of Joe’s walk onto stage, I had a sense of impending doom. He was frail, his look was pale and wispy, he was as old as one could imagine, he was tentative and perplexed. He was unable to bring forward the simplest of cases to both prove the strength of his agenda and the dangerousness of Trump’s. It was an utter disaster. There was no other way to see it. Not just a bad night, a total disaster.

The last few weeks have been a whirlwind of conflicting feelings and views on what to do, what to do. The stalwarts held strong while the naysayers had a field day. And the negative momentum kept building and building. Et too George Clooney?! It is hard to say which was more painful to watch, Biden’s slow and steady decline or Trump’s quiet and uncharacteristically calm and balanced approach. The path was bad and getting worse. Nothing could make this worse right up until something made it worse. An attempt on any politician’s life is a major event. An attempt on Trump’s life is even worse. Few politicians have garnered more hatred, both in his opposition and in his own support. The man is a walking, talking hate machine. Few politicians could predictably become targets of an assassin more understandably than Donald Trump. But few could also be more perilous in whatever direction the attempt should take. There were three possible outcomes, a total miss, a direct and fatal hit and a minor hit that left the candidate martyred and well enough to proceed. We got the third door and what a display Trump made of it. If this were Dances With Wolves, his new indigenous name would be “Stands With Fist”. Trump could not help himself, his reaction of “fight, fight, fight!” Was at least right on message and without pseudo calmness and push for unity. To now hear Trump say he MUST be a president for all Americans is sickening for those of us who know that such an approach is beyond his capacity. Actually, once he finishes deporting and jailing all his enemies and scaring the rest into submission, then maybe he could do it.

During Trump’s convention acceptance speech, a rambling 90+ minute soliloquy that set records for longest and most pompous, the New York Times reported that inside sources were now saying that Biden would step down. Not should. Not might. But, WOULD be stepping down….exact timing to be determined. Last night felt like a moment of resignation. And then this morning it was Groundhog Day all over again. Sonny & Cher were singing and the hippy dippy weatherman was forecasting another blizzard during the day. Had we learned anything new or was it more of the same old same old?

The operative phrase today is “it’s no longer if, just when and how”. Of course, there is no hard evidence of that, but there never will be until it happens … or not. I believe it will and I, for one, am glad of that so that people can stop worrying seeing if Joe is more about ego than what’s right for the country. I desperately want us to get back to thinking he’s just good old Joe, and not the savior of the world as we know it.