There is a reason the left has never been able to consolidate a firm grip on power in this democracy, at least one reason, anyway. There are more. One clear proclivity they exhibit is their willingness to eat their own, rather than rally behind the wounded party and throw a lifeline. Precipitous emotional outbursts either fractures their coalition, or, once a single splinter group takes the first bite it gives permission to more disparate factions to take a bite, too. They coalesce around the meal and have at it. Group think turns to ‘group eat’ - the rest follow suit - and consume the rest of the offender bit-by-bite.
The right, on the other hand, will dress up a dead person in the finest uniform, prop it up on a white horse, with a frame supporting the corpse upright, and make everyone sign a N.D.A. swearing that the person is not only alive and well, but could kick your ass on the golf course. They will, further, turn on the klieg lights, sing a paeon, and march that horse down main street while people on either side of the avenue say to their neighbor, “Wow. Doesn't its complexion look young and rosy?"
Biden had a horrible debate on June 27, 2024. Horrible. He looked old and frequently flummoxed. The left could not take their eyes off him, could not see the equally horrible performance offered by Trump. Eyes only on their meal: Biden. They've never liked him, anyway. Some say, Biden should do what Washington did. Walk off the public stage like Cincinnatus. Burnish his reputation for the ages. Cap his career in laurels. But exit stage left. Now! No fallback plan. Typical. No heir apparent; just scurry off the stage and we will worry about the mess later. Chuckleheadedness.
The same thing that happened to Washington will happen to Biden if he gives in to this pressure to retire to Delaware. In Washington's case, the Virginia mafia, comprising the downright duplicitous Thomas Jefferson, and his protege Madison, and their little brother in all things Virginia, Monroe, actively diminished Washington's reputation for the rest of their careers, abetted by John Adams, who never met another human being that he liked, with the possible exception of his more talented wife, Abigail.
Washington's time in the wilderness lasted the entire 19th century and more than half of 20th century. His reputation was not resuscitated, and he was not resurrected by historians, until his papers were published. Then we came to see him as the Indispensable Man that he was, not some doddering old fool who was in the right place at the right time. Not someone that fortune made great, but the bold lead actor in his own action drama. For goodness' sake he was only 67 when he died.
I say: "All hail, Washington!"
Biden is no Washington. Not by a long shot. I make no comparison, other than the circumstances rhyme. Biden has run a competent government and transformed the economy. Mostly, Biden beat Trump. Even if the best we can hope for is a government that limps along through the next four years; it will be better than Trump, who will use his anger plow to churn the earth making way for an authoritarian desert.
What's the alternative? It's three weeks before the Republican convention. What is the Democrat's counter program? A squad of lefties gnashing their teeth on the national stage, arguing for their favorite stalking horse [fill in the blank] and pointing fingers every which way.
Biden is tanned and tested. Biden may be old, he may be feeble, but he is not stupid, and he is certainly not senile. He's serviceable and he has surrounded himself with a good team. Why surrender one's dignity and legacy to die in Delaware in obscurity?
In for a penny, in for a pound. They could tell me that Biden is outside the polling place in a pine box, and he'd still get my vote, because as Biden frequently says, "Don't compare me to the All mighty, compare me to the alternative."
Fingers crossed.
