Life follows fiction.
We have seen this before.
I loved "The West Wing." It was government by intelligent, honorable people.
In the second season of The West Wing we learned that President Josiah Bartlett has a progressive disease, described as "relapsing/remitting multiple sclerosis." It was diagnosed by his wife, a medical doctor, before he first ran for president. He and his wife hid it from the public, including his west wing staff . The show presented it as a major betrayal of trust when he announced the diagnosis to the public. Bartlett's health seemed OK now, but it might worsen during a second term.
The cliffhanger to end season two was question of whether President Bartlett would run for re-election now that the diagnosis was revealed. In season three we watch him face harsh criticism for hiding his diagnosis, but he wins re-election anyway. Bartlett emerged from the controversy still popular, but his wife paid a price for enabling the deception. Bartlett's wife was forced to give up the private practice she had while serving as First Lady because of the ethics issues involved.
The similarities are striking.
There are two big differences from our current situation. The fictional President Bartlett seemed absolutely competent to govern. He was vigorous and articulate. He had Aaron Sorkin writing the script, so of course he sounded articulate.
Biden, however, does not present as absolutely competent. He told George Stephanopoulos that he did not need a cognitive test because he took one every day being president. Alas, that is right. We saw a very public test at the debate.
A second difference is Biden’s staff. On The West Wing characters Toby Ziegler, C.J. Craigg, Josh Lyman and the others were lied to, up until the public announcement. In real life, the people who surround President Biden facilitate the cover up of Biden's decline. They are doing their jobs, helping Biden do and look his best. They "spin," saying that he was still jet-lagged from a trip ten days prior. I suppose I was an inadvertent part of the coverup. In 2019 and 2020 I got close up and took photos and videos. But when I saw Biden in Portland last year we were forbidden to record him or photograph him. In hindsight, the real story wasn't his support for infrastructure in Oregon last year. It was his heartfelt but rambling speech we couldn't record.
Biden is fully competent to be the head of state, a role Queen Elizabeth did for decades as a frail, elderly woman. Biden leads a staff. After the debate American voters and the leaders around the world are re-calibrating what a Biden presidency means. It refocuses attention on to the administration and less on Biden himself. Biden is more a head of state than an operational manager, now more than ever.
There is another TV show that sheds light on this, Succession. Biden is still credible as a chairman of a board or the controlling owner of a large enterprise. Biden's primary task is to see to an orderly succession and avoid an ugly fight that destroys the business and turns customers over to the competition.
Biden can avoid a Succession scenario. The Constitution has a plan in place. We have a vice president. She is a former district attorney, former state attorney general, former U.S. senator, and someone elected on a national ticket by the American people. Maybe Biden's incapacity is less of a problem than I feared, if Democrats embrace it rather than cover it up and deny it. Yes, he is frail and in decline, but he will be leaving soon. Don't talk about serving out a four-year term. No one believes it. As Nikki Haley said, "A vote for Joe Biden is a vote for Kamala Harris." Don't fight it. Acknowledge it. Make it a virtue.
Kamala Harris represented the "law-and-order" lane within the crowded scrum of Democratic candidates in 2019. That was out of fashion then, but that position has aged well, and it makes a good contrast with Trump.
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Kamala Harris tried, and thanks to Tulsi Gabbard largely failed, to live down her War on Drugs law and order history during the 2020 race. As Veep she expressed support for BLM rioters, even urging support for bail funds for those arrested for looting and property destruction. If she does replace Biden, I would expect her to stay to the Left on law and order and crime and punishment.
ReplyDeleteThose clean scrubbed idealistic “West Wing” staffers stand in contrast to reports that Hunter Biden has been prominent in the White House, helping in debate/interview prep and sitting in on policy meetings. Leaving his wife for his brother’s widow before leaving her in turn to do drugs with strippers and racking up criminal charges smacks more of “Succession” dysfunction.
Even in his dotage, it should be obvious Biden is a better choice for our country than the deranged leader of a coup attempt, but incredibly they’re running neck and neck. Unfortunately, Harris is even less popular than Biden.
ReplyDeleteAs Franklin said, “It’s a republic, if you can keep it.” Oh well, it was nice while it lasted unless you were indigenous or Black.
I hope I'm wrong.
ReplyDeleteIt's my view that those around the President decided long ago that the politically expedient strategy would be press on no matter what. Anything else doesn't make sense.
The gamble was that Trump would be so burdened by his legal woes that Republicans would abandon him, and consequently be in such disarray that they couldn't mount a challenger. There's some evidence, Nikki Haley's support, to this thesis.
Maybe, the VP taking over was Plan B, but so far it doesn't appear so. The problem, of course, is that there wasn't 100% buy in to this strategy and now it's fracturing the party. It also appears that Biden has declined more rapidly than expected and is in denial of his own capabilities.
Save a collapse, and this doesn't rule out a manufactured one, I believe only a direct 25th Amendment threat will change this strategy.
Peter wrote: "But when I saw Biden in Portland last year we were forbidden to record him or photograph him."
ReplyDeleteThat is very telling.
Yes, perhaps Biden is like Queen Elizabeth, a head of state in name only, with a competent staff to take care of the day-to-day running of the US Government. For us, though, is that we don't really know who is making the decisions. And that they lack accountability.
Here is another video from years past about how the President may actually operate behind the scenes:
President Reagan, Mastermind - SNL
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b5wfPlgKFh8
President Reagan, Mastermind - SNL
Art and theater imitate life, or at least in the two shows you use for your examples.
ReplyDeleteBiden can win IF the party supports him, which is a true statement. That is the concern. We are thinking and not feeling. Biden's record is excellent and in stark opposition to the Republican candidate. As a Nation, we are approaching the abyss. We must choose both joyfully and wisely. Let's see how Joe performs over the summer. The convention is the place for correction and maneuvers, if necessary.
Until then, let's enjoy the summer and see where we are in the fall.
Kamala flamed out in Democratic primary of 2020, and has flamed out as vice president. She has shown zero charisma. There is no reason to believe she would be a winning candidate for president this fall.
ReplyDeleteIf the Democrats want to win, they need to pick someone else, and soon.