Dark clouds contain silver linings and when I heard of Joe Biden’s prostate cancer diagnosis my first thought was, “The poor dear man.” I have known people with that diagnosis and it is a grim one. But my second thought was, “The timing is perfect. Maybe this is God’s way of telling the wolves to leave Joe the hell alone and in peace, which he deserves.” This past week the New Yorker has run a couple of pieces on Jake Tapper’s upcoming book Original Sin: President Biden’s Decline, Its Coverup and His Disastrous Choice To Run Again. The articles pull no punches and neither does the book. It frames everything in the worst, most damning terms possible and demonizes Joe Biden.
The one gigantic factor that is overlooked by Tapper’s book is that people age differently and nobody knows when their particular “decline” will come or what it will look like. Many’s the time people will face egregious health episodes, heart attacks, strokes, operations, and they bounce back again — until the episode occurs from which they do not bounce back.
A great many of the people who come to this site are boomers. Our generation, being as huge as it is, has led to a massive expansion in the field of geriatrics and geriatric psychology. And the more that is learned, the more questions arise. Simply, aging, whether physical or mental, is not a quantifiable or predictable process. It is one fraught with variables.
In Tapper’s hit piece, which is how I view it, Biden is depicted as some selfish megalomaniac who didn’t know when to stand down. I disagree wholeheartedly with that characterization. I’ve always liked Biden and I believe that he loves public service and got into it for all the right reasons. Biden never exploited public service, as so many have, for wealth. He was one of the least wealthy members of the Senate for decades. He started making “real money” when he published a book after being Obama’s vice president, but prior to that he was not a wealthy man. He didn’t have a vacation home, any of the indicia of wealth that so many others in politics have. That said, here’s a taste of how he has been disparaged as the countdown continues to the release of this book, when the simple fact is that if Biden is guilty of anything, it’s of wanting to stay in the game. But that is not how it’s being reported.
“We got so screwed by Biden, as a party,” David Plouffe, who helped run the Harris campaign, told us. Plouffe had served as Senator Barack Obama’s Presidential campaign manager in 2008 and as a senior adviser to President Obama before largely retiring from politics in 2013. After Biden dropped out of the race, on July 21, 2024, Plouffe was drafted to help Harris in what he saw as a “rescue mission.” Harris, he said, was a “great soldier,” but the compressed hundred-and-seven-day race was “a fucking nightmare.”
“And it’s all Biden,” Plouffe said. By deciding to run for reëlection and then waiting more than three weeks after the debate to bow out, Plouffe added, “He totally fucked us.”
The real issue wasn’t his age, per se. It was the clear limitations of his abilities, which got worse throughout his Presidency. What the public saw of his functioning was concerning. What was going on in private was worse. While Biden on a day-in, day-out basis could certainly make decisions and assert wisdom and act as President, there were several significant issues that complicated his Presidency: a limit to the hours in which he could reliably function and an increasing number of moments when he seemed to freeze up, lose his train of thought, forget the names of top aides, or momentarily not remember friends he’d known for decades. Not to mention impairments to his ability to communicate—ones unrelated to his lifelong stutter.
It wasn’t a straight line of decline; he had good days and bad. But, until the last day of his Presidency, Biden and those closest to him refused to admit the reality that his energy, cognitive skills, and communication capacity had faltered considerably. Even worse, through various means, they tried to hide it. And then came the June 27th debate against Trump, when Biden’s decline was laid bare before the world. As a result, Democrats stumbled into the fall of 2024 with an untested nominee and growing public mistrust of a White House that had been gaslighting the American people.
“It was an abomination,” one prominent Democratic strategist—who publicly defended Biden—told us. “He stole an election from the Democratic Party. He stole it from the American people.” Biden had framed his entire Presidency as a pitched battle to prevent Trump from returning to the Oval Office. By not relinquishing power and refusing to be honest with himself and the country about his decline, he guaranteed it.
And the tone gets a lot worse from here. This book is a blame game and Joe is the villain. I don’t see it that way, I never did. His decision to run again was made at a time when he was feeling up to the task. Joe Biden had no way of knowing — as none of us do — what will happen to complicate our lives and our health picture.
I was friends with a wonderful couple from the WWII generation, Duane and Lucile, and they were cooking along in perfect health in their 80’s. Then within 90 days of one another, she had a slight car accident coming out of the parking garage and he accidentally fell on another resident, in the seniors gated-community in which they lived. Lucile was diagnosed with Alzheimers and Duane with Parkinsons. They were both dead within 18 months. I guarantee you that if you had asked them, prior to the fender bender and fall, “How do you feel? How long do you anticipate living?” they both would have said, “Great. We’re going to be here a while, why not?”
We’re all taking in information, as we age, on a daily basis. Once you get past sixty, certainly past seventy, things wax and wane. Joe Biden is no different. Biden gave a tremendous State Of The Union speech in March. It was so good it had the right-wingers claiming he was on drugs. And yes, there was the disastrous debate in July. Hindsight is always 20/20. Maybe he should not have exhausted himself with that level of a travel schedule. Maybe his cold and frail voice should have moved him to reschedule the debate to the following week. It would have been an understandable move to make. If you can’t talk, how can you effectively debate? Maybe a lot of things. Say what you will, there was a confluence of events that led to the disastrous debate night and then a lot of crazy, desperate backtracking that happened later.
[George] Clooney and [Julia] Roberts were doing the work of charming the attendees and posing for pictures when they heard the crowd starting to murmur. Clooney looked to the side and saw Obama walking in, grayer but still spry and electric. A few minutes later, Secret Service agents entered the room and announced that President Biden had arrived.
Biden hobbled out from around the corner. Clooney knew that the President had just arrived from the G-7 leaders’ summit in Apulia, Italy, that morning and might be tired, but, holy shit, he wasn’t expecting this.
The President appeared severely diminished, as if he’d aged a decade since Clooney last saw him, in December, 2022. He was taking tiny steps, and an aide seemed to be guiding him by the arm.
“It was like watching someone who was not alive,” a Hollywood V.I.P. recalled. “It was startling. And we all looked at each other. It was so awful.”
“Thank you for being here,” the President said to guests as he shuffled past them. “Thank you for being here.” Clooney felt a knot form in his stomach as the President approached him. Biden looked at him. “Thank you for being here,” he said. “Thank you for being here.”
“You know George,” the assisting aide told the President, gently reminding him who was in front of him. “Yeah, yeah,” the President said to one of the most recognizable men in the world, the host of this lucrative fund-raiser. “Thank you for being here.”
“Hi, Mr. President,” Clooney said.
“How are ya?” the President replied.
“How was your trip?” Clooney asked.
“It was fine,” the President said.
It seemed clear that the President had not recognized Clooney.
“It was not O.K.,” recalled the Hollywood V.I.P. who had witnessed this moment. “That thing, the moment where you recognize someone you know—especially a famous person who’s doing a fucking fund-raiser for you—it was delayed. It was uncomfortable.”
That’s the flavor of this book. Objectively speaking, Joe Biden had a successful presidency, one of the best, according to historians and analysts whose job it is to evaluate these things. For that to be true, a lot had to go right. Biden delivered for the American people and now, in his later years, he has to battle mean spiritedness along with cancer. Frankly, I think the mean spiritedness will kill him first.
I do not understand the willingness of Democrats to attack their own. I would think there’s plenty of fodder for them in the daily ravings of the current convict in chief. On the aging issue, I totally agree. I’m 74, and some days I feel like I could last forever, and others I’m not sure I’ll make it thru the day.
BTW, I’m heartbroken for Biden, and sure as Hell hope this shuts the vultures up.
I’ll again note for the record that debate performance was a debacle. He was way the hell overprepared. His staff should have focused on a few key points for him to focus on and advise him to react to Trump like he would have in private – ‘What a load of Malarkey’, or ‘Do you realize how stupid that is?’, or ‘Now your just making crap up.’ Trump would have lost hit having Biden literally poke fun at him right there live on national TV.
I again want to note the masterful command Biden showed during the NATO summit shortly after the debate. It was in freaking DC and ALL the journalists were able to cover goings on in detail. So were any Democrats who wanted to see firsthand how things were going. NOBODY raised a single concern about his stamina or mental acuity. Rather it was a case of them being quietly impressed and the critics feeling embarrassed about the trashing of Biden they’d been doing. If there had been anything, and I mean ANYTHING negative, some tip about some Biden gaffe during all those meetings with all those leaders you can be goddamned sure it would have been ALL OVER the news.
THEN there was that prime-time press conference. A no holds barred ask anything on any topic and HE schooled the vaunted Washington (and national) media! Clearly he was no doddering old fool in his dotage. He demonstrated he knew as much if not more on any issue even some of the “experts” who tried to trip him up.
He broke his foot in a fall (something I can relate to because I did too) and unlike me who followed every doctor’s an nurse’s instruction didn’t fully comply with his own rehab program. Frankly, even though I did exactly what I was told I’ve never been the same mobility wise since. (I was already disabled when it happened to me) Biden’s foot didn’t heal quite right and it affected his walk and balance while walking. He was noticeably slower and more careful. No more bouncing up steps and ramps. Still, a comparison to TRUMP lurching about, needing to lean on his lecturn, dragging a leg sometimes was never done. Had the media showed them side-by-side I truly believe it would have curtailed a lot of the crap said about Biden.
As for easing up on him, I wish. I don’t see it happening. An awful lot of Democrats feel guilty about what they did to Biden, whether they took active part or just sat quietly by as it all was going on. And, despite appearances some didn’t put in the full effort they should have for Harris. A few were butt-hurt over him so quickly saying she should succeed him, and so were THEIR donors and staff!
Now? They’ve dug a hole in the pile of shit they created and I think they still want to come out clean. THAT means no, they won’t give Biden a break. If anything the trashing of this good and decent man will get worse. Too many Democrats and too many smug assed journalists have too much invested in the “Biden Blame Game” to stop now. They will EAGERLY kick him while he’s down! And that my friends is our problem. This could be a chance for the Party to rally. However that means some high profile people will have to eat some nasty crow and I don’t see that happening.
It will be up to us rank and file Democrats to pressure our elected leaders to STFU with the trashing, and get OFF the “Blame Biden for everything” bandwagon.
To the MAGA’s out there, how can you be so cruel when someone is ill. I am Pagan and I will pray that ALL of you NEVER have to suffer this. Those of you who are celebrating this are just EVIL!!!
For MAGAs, cruelty is the point. Don’t expect anything else from them.
I don’t know when Democrats will finally realize that there is nothing, no disability, no personal characteristics, no scandal even, which loses more votes for a candidate than misogyny? I hope to God it is soon. I’m tired of seeing brilliant women put into positions where there is no way they can win no matter how good they are – destroying any possibility of future public service which we so desperately need brilliant people to be doing. I agree with Joe that he could have won – if only Democrats had just let him run. Even after he debate. We lost because misogyny. End of story. I’m also tired of losing. I’m 78 myself so I don’t know how much longer I’ll be around -but I still care about other people, the United States, the Constitution, the earth, and a dew other things. I don’t want bad things to happen to them even if I’m not here to see it.
I never had kids of my own. That doesn’t mean I haven’t loved and enjoyed the hell out of kids most of my life, watching them learn and grow. Mentoring when I could and it was heart warming to learn some years back how without realizing it I inspired guys years younger than me to both practice, practice and practice (sports) but also enjoy more than sports. To take part in other activities as I did and some did. Also to work hard in school because I took to heart something legendary Bears running back Gayle Sayers spoke about when he was our featured guest at the annual fall sports banquet when I was a h.s. freshman – I don’t recall the numbers/percentages he cited but it was sobering. Even for those who were h.s. “stars” or would become on the odds of getting an athletic scholarship were small. Even smaller were the odds of playing four years in college and even getting drafted or a tryout with a pro team, much less making a roster! In other words he told us DON’T ignore your studies because your education will be what allows you to have a decent job and life. I never knew how many younger guys looked at me as an example for those things. So I did make a difference.
Not to mention so many friends had kids and kids like me, although at first very young ones were intimidated by my height. I’d just sit and let them warm up to me in their own time. The point is that “Uncle Denis” was a favored babysitter back in the day, and I’d try to support kid’s parents in teaching them the right values as they grew up. As an adult and in two instances a homeowner in Fairfax County Virginia I’d bitch about my real estate taxes like everyone else. It’s expensive to have one of the best public school systems in the country BUT I never bitched at the School Board or the County Commissioners about my taxes because mostly they funded that school system. I believed and still do that a good education for young people is a great investment. A good education leads to productive citizens who work and pay taxes for government services all of us utilize, and on which many of us at some point depend.
I’m not as old you you but I’m a senior citizen myself now. At times I weep over the tragedy that the country we are leaving to younger generations, the American Dream that each of us had an actual chance to do a little (at least) better than our parents is broken. Perhaps beyond repair. Maybe some event will take place that shakes everyone up and back to reality and the realization of all the damage that’s been done not just in the last eight years but starting with Reagan and Reaganomics. It will take generations to fix, and we will never be trusted in the free world like we were for all those decades after WWII. Like lost virginity, that status is forever gone and can be regained.