When Ronald Reagan faced questions about his age during his run for a second term, he ended all speculation in the first line of the debate with Walter Mondale by saying, “I will not make the youth and inexperience of my opponent an issue in this debate.”
The crowd laughed, even Mondale laughed, and in the first few seconds, the debate was virtually over. Reagan won a landslide victory.
But for Joe Biden, who entered Thursday night’s debate with questions about his age, there was no such moment.
Quite the opposite. Just watching him walk to the podium like the most elderly member of any family might have shuffled into place, and then hearing his raspy voice that we all recognized in a loved one who was more looking forward to the afterlife than the current one, the debate was also over in a matter of seconds.
While a more fiery Donald Trump might have absolutely embarrassed Biden, Trump let off the gas and let the world see Biden for what he really is, a man clearly suffering the ravages of age.
It would make little difference to me if it were Biden or Kamala Harris or Gavin Newsom or Michelle Obama. Whoever was in that position would have been pushing the same failed policies we have seen.
And this is the guy Gov. Laura Kelly and Sharice Davids continues to support to be the leader of the free world.
No one is questioning who is more capable of doing the job today, even if it was for the obvious reasons most of us have been pointing out.
Trump’s best line of the night was an indictment on the Biden presidency, “We’re calling this a debate? This isn’t a debate. His presidency has been a disaster.”
While the White House tried to play off video evidence of the deterioration of Biden as “cheap fakes” and “bad faith” videos, and the mainstream media took their marching orders and shared with the country not to trust what their eyes were seeing, there was nowhere to hide Biden Thursday night.
After eight days of preparing for the biggest night of his political career, Biden could not mask the changes brought on by time. The people who are in powerful positions in Washington propped up by a president who stayed in his bunker during the last presidential election continued to defend Biden because they profit from his presidency.
But the world saw what that risk has done to America. They saw who is negotiating international treaties, representing the United States at G7 meetings and other world events, and the inability to effectively communicate was on full display for the world.
In the kindest possible way in dealing with such a frail elderly man, Trump simply said, “I couldn’t understand what he said, and I don’t think he understands, either.”
The usual post-debate spin room, which usually declares both sides winners depending on the talking head saying it, the left-wing media was too exposed to try to defend the Biden they saw on stage.
From CNN to MSNBC and the rest of the far left media, their admissions were startling, not because the rest of us hadn’t already been telling them this was going to happen, but because they acted like it was news to them.
It wasn’t. This was predicted.
Democrats will now try to scramble to find another candidate before their convention, and Biden will have to refuse the nomination, which will take some days of prodding from Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton and perhaps some of his inner circle. They are gong to have to find a way to deal with Kamala Harris who has the most to lose. If she isn’t the heir apparent, Democrats will have a hard time accepting white Gavin Newsom or Gretchen Whitmer.
A brokered convention is now more likely than ever, and the mess that could bring to Chicago will be another spectacle.
Republicans should start making the case now that it doesn’t matter which Democrat stands in for Biden, their policies are the same, and if they protected Biden, they’ll lie for anyone. PrevNext
Earl Watt is the owner and publisher of the Leader & Times in Liberal, Kansas. Watt started his career in journalism in 1991 at the Southwest Daily Times. During his career, the newspaper has won a total of 17 Sweepstakes awards from the Kansas Press Association for editorial content and 18 Sweepstakes awards for advertising. Watt has been recognized with more than 70 first place awards for writing in categories from sports and column to best front pages, best sports pages and best opinion pages. Watt is a member of the Sons of the American Revolution and is the descendant of several patriots who fought for America's freedom and independence.
