WHOA, JOE! — The Weekly Opine

A picture says a thousand words. Trump waits for another chance to lie while President Biden stands frozen, trying to remember what he was saying. (Photo credit CNN screenshot)

Steady, now…

A Youguv poll conducted the day after the presidential debate reveals lack of candidate appeal. A stunning 49% of Americans want President Biden to drop out of the race. And a stunning only 38% of Americans want Trump to drop out. Which begs the question: Are these candidates the best America has to offer? Frankly, both parties should be embarrassed by their choices, an infirm incumbent and a convicted felon, both too old in the eyes of many Americans.

President Biden wasn’t just off his game during the debate. He had no game. Several MSNBC show hosts claim Biden found his mojo near the end of the debate. That’s like saying a racecar driver who is five laps behind and then passes a few cars at the end of the race found his groove. Who cares? The damage was already done.

Biden spent much of the debate with a puzzled expression on his face, as if he knew not where he was. (It didn’t help that his face looked stretched and frozen, like he’s used too much Botox.) Often during the debate Biden looked surprised and/or confused.

Meanwhile Trump, lying prolifically, looked comparatively strong next to Biden’s weak voice and feeble physical appearance. Trump’s worn out, trademark lies – left unchecked by CNN’s moderators – were delivered forcefully, leaving Biden staring blankly with his mouth open, like a nursing home resident as his apple pie is removed from the table.

Observing Biden’s debate debacle, the realization set in that, if Biden wins in November, odds are that Kamala Harris will assume the presidency before four years expire.

So long Joe?

Despite immediate calls to drop out coming from many voters, from Democratic bigwigs and from the New York Times Editorial Board, Biden says he’s staying in the race. Still, California Governor Gavin Newsom’s name has been prominently mentioned, however, Newsom got waxed by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis when the two held a “debate” on Fox News several months ago. Strategically, it would make sense to choose Gretchen Whitmer, governor of key battleground state Michigan. (Clearly, there would be enormous administrative issues, i.e. having an “open” convention to pick the nominee.)

In the event President Joe Biden drops out, Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer should be first in line. (Photo credit Michigan Daily)

Thursday night, Biden was again exposed as a poor communicator. His administration has produced very good results, but Biden is unable to articulate his numerous achievements. And communicating your record is a candidate’s primary job, whereas once you become president your primary job is to make good decisions.

Biden has also proved incapable of prosecuting the case against Trump. Trump is wholly unfit – morally, ethically, and mentally – to be president. Yet, somehow Biden is in a virtual tie with Trump, according to numerous polls.

Helping to derail the debate, moderators Jake Tapper and Dana Bash were subpar. Neither one forcefully called out or fact-checked Trump’s lies. They should have turned off his mic when he refused to answer straightforward questions. Instead, they allowed Trump to launch into his grievance playlist.

Biden showed up as a feeble, stumbling, mumbling candidate who frequently rambled, lost his train of thought and looked befuddled. The torrid vigor Biden displayed during the State of the Union address, aided by a candidate’s best friend (a teleprompter), was replaced by passivity, awkwardness and confusion during the debate. After just 20 minutes, I wondered aloud if Biden, staggering like a punch-drunk boxer, could survive on his feet for another hour.

(Biden’s energy at a North Carolina rally the day after the debate seemed like a mirage. He was in front of enthusiastic supporters and had his best friend – a teleprompter – to steer him through the event.)

Then there is Trump, a habitual liar and convicted felon. The lies Trump tells, when left unchallenged by truth and facts, probably sound good to undecided voters. Maddeningly, undecideds choose to ignore Trump’s resume that includes failed businesses, a civil rape conviction, the stealing of classified documents, criminal felony conviction, and a treasonous insurrection. (If you are still undecided then you are, at best, uninformed and at worst just plain ignorant.)

Weak-kneed Tapper and Bash allowed the felon to escape without aggressively probing Trump about his criminal background. Despite a jury finding Trump guilty of 34 felonies and another jury finding him liable in a civil case of raping E. Jean Carroll, and a grand jury finding evidence to indict Trump for attempting to overturn an election, Tapper and Bash barely mentioned Trump’s mountain range of legal troubles. The debate was (pardon my language) a shit show.

Amazingly, despite their combined more than half century of journalism experience, Tapper and Bash failed to understand that Trump is not a normal candidate. They failed to seize the opportunity to lay bare for the large television audience the truth about Trump; that he is keen on destroying American democracy. The moderators apparently are unaware that, if Trump wins, journalists could end up in prison, or worse. Tapper and Bash paddy-caked when they should have tap-danced all over Trump.

CNN’s Jake Tapper and Dana Bash flopped as moderators. (Photo credit CNN screenshot)

For example, when Biden reminded us that Trump recently said Hitler “did some good things” why didn’t the moderators force Trump to own up and explain himself? Add Tapper and Bash to the long list of people who inexplicably accommodate Trump to the detriment (downfall?) of our country.

Why the DNC and Biden’s handlers agreed to debate is beyond me. Maybe they wanted, strategically, to find out what their man has left in the tank prior to the DNC Convention, so they’d have time to course correct.

Some of Biden’s staff should be fired for how ill-prepared he appeared. During the border debate Biden never reminded voters that in 2016 Trump literally ran on the boastful (and failed) promise to build a 2,000-mile-long wall that Mexico would pay for.

It was also mind-blowing when Trump said – more than once – that Biden’s mismanaged removal of troops from Afghanistan was the worst day in American history. Equally mind-blowing was Biden never pushed back to remind voters that Trump’s Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol was arguably the worst day in American history, a day far worse for our democracy than the Afghanistan troop withdrawal.

Eyes on the prize

Still, our duty has not changed. If he remains, we should all feel duty-bound to vote for Biden. Who wants to live in a country led by a collection of fascist felons? Furthermore, one cannot argue democracy-loving Biden is unfit without arguing that fascist, felon Trump is more unfit.

Big picture-wise, the debate changes nothing. The shock concerning Biden’s terrible performance could ease. And our eyes must remain on the prize. In other words, when compared to the felon Trump, the choice is still crystal clear. Electing Trump would be tantamount to suicide for American democracy.

There is a silver lining for Democrats. Republicans have hooked up with the most unqualified presidential candidate in our history, a convicted felon who was voted America’s worst-ever president (46th place) by a bi-partisan group of 159 presidential historians. (Biden was ranked 17th.)

While he did perform poorly in the debate, Biden believes in America. On the other hand, Trump repeats over and over how horribly awful America is, which is what fascists do to justify dismantling democracy.

Vote for the Democrat.