The shooting that has made the news is an attempted assassination. It’s a comment on the nature of the victim that most commentators agree the shooting was a stroke of good luck. However, I can’t see that it will matter much in the long run. Sure, it makes fine news that a great NRA supporter got shot by a member of his own party with a semi-automatic assault rifle. So much for reality. As far as his election chances, it doesn’t change much. His followers are close enough to a cult that a bit more frenzy won’t add to his ballot total. The real battle is for the undecided voters in the swing states, and this bit of theatre won’t mean much to voters who are honestly trying to make up their minds what is best for America.
War Terminology
Biden’s unfortunate comment about “putting a bullseye on Trump” was unremarked at the time, which shows how ingrained gun culture is in American society and language. It also proves the point I have made before, that politicians have to watch what they say, because the crazy who will do the next shooting is listening for instructions.
No, the attack that will do the most harm is the Democratic party shooting itself in the foot. Many Democrats are so keen on winning their point that they have lost their sense of perspective. The reality is that there are two stories and two audiences here, and if they had any sense, the Democrats would keep them completely separate.
Question 1: Can Biden run the country? The answer to that is yes. All presidents haven’t worked as hard as Joe has. A reasonable leader with a good backup team can do just fine. Remember, 80 is the new 70 these days. Anybody remember Ronald Reagan? He started his second term at 73. Biden is 83.
This is the argument that should never be in question when communicating to the general public, no matter what concerns are voiced to the party faithful in private.
Question 2: Can Joe Biden win the election? Answer: quite possibly not. He has a condition that affects information retrieval in his brain. Sometimes he simply cannot come up with the right word. This doesn’t mean his thinking is impaired, but it does mean that he seems hesitant in tense situations. The problem is getting worse, no doubt about it. Biden confused Zelensky with Putin and VP Harris with Trump lately, and thus embarrassed his party and his country in front of the world. Whether it’s fair or not, that sort of failure cuts a lot of ice with voters.
The big mistake is to run both of these together and simply say, “Is Biden too old?” and spread that argument to the public. The contenders in the Primaries did this, because they wanted to win at all costs, and thus the members of his own party fueled the flames of the Republican attack.
If they had stuck to, “He might not win the election,” and blamed it on the voters, then they could switch to supporting him if he did run, and the party would be united. Now, the anti- Biden faction is still singing the same song. They’re forgetting the endgame here, which is to beat Trump, whoever the candidate is. They’re doing the Republicans’ job for them, portraying Biden as simply “too old.”
The Bottom Line
The Democrats would be much better off restricting their public comments to concerns about the President’s public image and keep their reservations about his abilities behind closed doors. Otherwise, they are sabotaging their own objectives.
Middle- and left-wing voters in France got together and foiled a charge by the Right last week. American Leftists would do well to pay attention.