2024 Presidential Debate: President Joe Biden’s ‘Test Drive’ Resulted in a Six-car Pile-Up

From the moment President Joe Biden sclerotically took the CNN debate stage Thursday night one knew it was not going to be a good evening for him.

Understatement is the word best used to describe that first sentence.

It was like watching a person walk over their own grave – more accurately, it was like watching someone trip over their own grave.

Incoherent, shambolic, and clearly unsure of what was coming out of his mouth, Biden managed to look angry and baffled – often simultaneously.  The gape-mouthed, sideways, furiously blank stare Biden directed at Donald Trump throughout the evening was not pleasant to see.  

It was as if Biden was trying to silently convey a form of “just who the hell does this guy think he is?” righteous indignation but could only manage ”who the hell is this guy?”

And, at some level, he knew it.

Beyond the look of confused enfeeblement (it can only be assumed that the Trump campaign bribed Biden’s makeup team to give him that cancer patient pallor,) the words were not there either.  But they did match the appearance.

“We finally beat Medicare.”

Actually, as part of his answer to a question about the national debt, the entire sentence could be seen as even more troubling:

“…every single solitary person eligible for what I’ve been able to do with the – with – with – with the Covid. Excuse me, with dealing with everything we have to do with – look, if – (three blank stare beats pass)– we finally beat Medicare.”

On one the few issues the Democrats currently “own” – abortion – Biden managed to mangle it so badly he ended up talking about one issues the Democrats definitely do not own – illegal immigration.

“Look, there’s so many young women who have been – including a young woman who just was murdered and he – he went to the funeral. The idea that she was murdered by a – by – by an immigrant coming in, and they talk about that. But here’s the deal, there’s a lot of young women who are being raped by their – by their in-laws, by their – by their spouses, brothers and sisters, by – just – it’s just – it’s just ridiculous. And they can do nothing about it.”

Biden also could not say the word “trimester” – we can be rather sure it came up during the week of debate preparation – and eventually meandered into a claim that that third “symisters” abortions were a choice made by “the woman and the state.”

Thousands, millions, billions, trillions – all of these were interchangeable for Biden Thursday night and, for some reason, he stuck with a pair of anti-Trump myths (“fine people” in Charlottesville and dead veterans are “suckers and losers”) that have been proven false – even one just last week by a liberal “fact check” outfit.

But facts were not really on Biden’s side last night.  From “kids in cages” to getting out of Afghanistan without soldiers dying to cutting insulin prices to various and sundry job and economy statistics, Biden simply could not fathom the truth.

As for Trump – see, no one’s really talking about him today and that is the sign, in this case, of a win – he actually managed to projects a less bombastic-than-usual image for much of the evening.  Unquestionably one could see him starting to chafe at “be quiet, let Joe keep digging” strategy by the end of the evening, but for Biden the damage had already been done.

Liberal media outlets, of course, were incensed by the “dozens of lies” Trump told and it is true the former president is not a fount of exactitude.  But it’s almost a  verbal tic with Trump – everything is either the greatest thing ever or the worst ting ever; nuanced has never been a word that could be associated with Trump’s speaking style.  

It’s not the best attribute for a president to have, but his detractors – to their own detriment – still, after eight years, have not learned the most basic lesson about Trump:  His supporters (and there will be more today than yesterday) take him seriously, but not literally, while the press and his opponents take him literally, not seriously.

Biden did have a few bright spots.  The “convicted felon” line seemed to work as did the “alley cat” jab, and, um, well, he didn’t appear to pick his nose – but where does that leave the Democrats now?

As noted previously, the debate being this early was seen by many as a preview of the campaign, a test drive to see of Biden was up for it.  Rarely do test drives result in six-car pile-ups, though, and while every intellectually honest person knew he was not up for the job, now even the Democrats have to admit it.

So where do they go?  Swap out Joe for (an assuredly gleeful this morning) Gavin Newsom?  California’s is such a basket case the glow has definitely come off of that hothouse orchid. 

Kamala? Younger version of Joe. Pete Buttigieg? That dream went up in smoke in East Palestine, Ohio. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo? Too late for a candidate that everyone has to Google every time they hear her name.

And then there’s Michelle. She’s reportedly very irked with the Biden family but also reportedly hates, loathes, and despises politics and just wants to keep doing whatever she is doing now (not sure exactly what that is, but it involves having piles of money and a crystalline reputation.)

Right now, though, Trump hopes they leave Biden in place.

So do they just suck it up, toss this cycle away, and wait for four years all the while knowing they can make Trump’s second term – with the continued connivance of the press and the deep state – as difficult for him as they made the first?

Whatever choice is made by the nabobs and solons and party power brokers does need to be made quickly, both for logistics purposes and to exorcise the stench of last night.

You don’t wait a week to get the taste of sour milk out of your mouth.

Note – As to the golf thing – it was silly and childish and pointless but there is no possible way Biden has an 8 handicap.  And to golfers, discussions about handicaps are deadly serious, no matter where they occur, because being known to lie about your handicap is one of the worst attributes a golfer can be tagged with.  It’s not like lying about the size of the fish – it goes to the heart of the fairness – and self-policing nature – of the game.  Again, stupid, but understandable and every golfer watching “got it.”