Biden's Litany of Excuses
Plus: Illegal beach booze-selling, California's "tax apocalypse," and more...
Not making excuses! Yesterday, President Joe Biden continued his attempts to save face following a terrible debate performance that led many members of his own party to wonder aloud whether the presidential ticket ought to be swapped out.
Biden said he "fell asleep on the stage" because he'd gone "around the world a couple of times" in the two weeks preceding the debate. "I wasn't very smart," he said at a fundraiser in McLean, Virginia. "I decided to travel around the world a couple times, I don't know how many time zones."
Biden assured donors that this was "not an excuse but an explanation." Meanwhile, his press secretary kept repeating the line that actually, his poor performance is attributable to the fact that he was sick with a cold.
They should probably get their story straight. But also, though Biden had been in Italy, France, and Los Angeles in early and mid-June, he returned to Washington, D.C., on June 16—11 days before the debate—where he worked on debate prep for a whole week prior to the showdown.
It is implausible that Biden's jet lag lasted a full 11 days. And, if he is so worn out by that type and frequency of travel, he's probably ill-suited for another term in the White House, as this type of thing will be expected of him.
Biden in obvious decline: It surely comes as no shock to voters that the 81-year-old is not as cognitively sharp as he was four years ago. The White House physician, back in February, reassured the public that the president has no major health issues and that there were "no findings which would be consistent with" Parkinson's disease.
Not to belabor the obvious, but things decline quickly in old age. Just because a physician made that assessment back in February doesn't mean it holds true in July; besides, the White House has not made the physician available to reporters and has been quite tight-lipped about Biden's health status.
Now, the mainstream media omertà about Biden's decline is finally being broken. "People who have spent time with President Biden over the last few months or so said the lapses appear to have grown more frequent, more pronounced and, after Thursday's debate, more worrisome," reports The New York Times, on the heels of a Politico report about Biden's ultra-protective advisers who seem to be shielding Biden from the press.
Our nation's paper of record and its little D.C. cousin have both entirely reversed their narratives over the course of the last week:
NYTimes has some explaining to do. Complete reversal of a major story in a little over a week. pic.twitter.com/KZqHXcvAzO
— Alex Tabarrok ????️ (@ATabarrok) July 3, 2024
Two weeks ago, WaPo gave "Four Pinocchio's" to allegedly edited videos showing Biden clearly displaying cognitive problems, dismissing them as "pernicious" efforts "to reinforce an existing stereotype" while quoting the WH to say they were "cheap fakes" to mislead people. pic.twitter.com/wOFbVaHe1x
— Drew Holden (@DrewHolden360) July 2, 2024
Democrats' path forward: "Looking at polls beyond the straight horse-race numbers between Mr. Biden and Donald Trump—ones that include Democratic Senate candidate races in close swing-state races—suggests something even more troubling about Mr. Biden's chances, but also offers a glimpse of hope for Democrats," argues Nate Silver in The New York Times. "There is a silver lining for Democrats to be found in these surveys. Voters in these polls like Democratic candidates for Congress just fine. More than fine, actually: It's Mr. Biden who is the problem."
Silver goes on to describe that there are five presidential swing states this year that also have competitive Senate races: Arizona, Michigan, Nevada, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin. Of the 47 nonpartisan surveys conducted since March of likely voters, 46 show the Democratic candidate for Senate polling better than Biden.
Silver concludes from this that the party ought to "hold an open audition for the nomination process"—possibly allowing Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro or Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer a shot—in which new candidates could declare their intentions to run, give speeches, hold rallies, even debate each other. "Delegates could take this information into account at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago and make a more informed decision," argues Silver. Of course, "this plan would require Mr. Biden to declare his intention to exit the race sooner rather than later"—hardly a sure thing, as that requires putting ego aside in service of his party.
There's a tension between the standard Democratic line that "democracy is on the ballot" and Biden's discomfort with stepping aside so that a better candidate can emerge who can actually beat Trump. If democracy actually is on the ballot, then surely such personal sacrifice is worth it. If Biden can't stomach the thought of stepping aside, then it shows you just how little he meant it in the first place.
Scenes from New York: I've long wondered what beach vendors are actually selling in Rockaway when they advertise "nutcrackers." Turns out, they're illegal, homemade, rum-based drinks, but the operation to avoid getting in trouble with the cops is surprisingly sophisticated. Blessed are the freedom fighters!
QUICK HITS
- A note about Roundup: The newsletter will be on hiatus for July 4 and 5, so that I can sufficiently celebrate America. I wish each and every one of you (even the haters) a beautiful Freedom Day full of cold beers, delicious strawberry/blueberry-themed desserts, lake/ocean/river time, illegal Zyn pouches, American flag bikinis, and maybe a Bruce Springsteen song or two blasting from the speakers. Yes, it's a corny holiday, and, yes, I adore it.
- "Some [Federal Reserve] officials have begun to elevate the labor market as a point of concern," reports Bloomberg. "Hiring has also cooled, and the unemployment rate—while still historically low at 4%—has edged higher in recent months." And "San Francisco Fed President Mary Daly said last week that the job market is nearing an inflection point, where further slowing could lead to rising joblessness."
- "I don't think a cold, even a very bad one, could possibly account for the level of incoherence Biden displayed onstage," writes Intelligencer's Jonathan Chait.
- Honestly, a very fair question:
California is the hot, perennially unemployed girlfriend who relies on billionaire sugar daddies to underwrite her profligate spending. What happens when she hits the wall?
My latest ???? https://t.co/lMEryEm6mi
— Sanjana Friedman (@metaversehell) July 2, 2024
- Crying wolf, Washington Post edition:
Don't you guys literally say this like every four days pic.twitter.com/iYIVOIE0GB
— Liz Wolfe (@LizWolfeReason) July 2, 2024
