After the debate: Is Biden really fit to be president?

After the debate: Is Biden really fit to be president?

6-30-2024

WASHINGTON — Most of a president’s actions and many of a candidate’s moves are carefully planned. That’s why any missteps, due to unscripted moments or unexpected improvisations, often cast a shadow over the course of a campaign. The last presidential debate was a case in point.

Bandow, a senior fellow at the Cato Institute and a former special assistant to President Ronald Reagan, says there was little objectivity in the debate. Both candidates are big spenders, though Joe Biden is significantly worse.

Biden has the United States facing an annual deficit of $2 trillion, without there being a financial crisis, a deadly pandemic, or a hot war. Without serious policy change, federal debt could reach twice gross domestic income by mid-century.

◄ One bad debate doesn’t mean Biden can’t make important decisions, but it does mean he’s unfit for the most important job in the world.

Both candidates are committed to running the world regardless of the risks, relying on Washington’s old and expensive alliances. Yet former President Donald Trump has at least occasionally criticized friendly countries that do not share enough of America’s costs. The international situation is worse now than it was when Biden took office, but Trump’s claim that he would end the war in Ukraine if he took office is more fantasy than reality.

Instead of talking about the substance of the debate, all of Washington is talking about Biden’s disastrous performance. That doesn’t necessarily mean he lost the election, and four months gives Trump enough time to regain office by reminding moderates why they don’t want him in office for another four years.

However, it is difficult to imagine Biden winning without Trump doing politically what the Japanese fighters did, killing themselves for fear of defeat.

There are three main points that can be drawn from the debate. The first, which has been largely lost in the chatter about Biden acting like a confused old man, is that Trump was surprisingly, even shockingly, disciplined.

It certainly won’t be until November 5. In any case, Trump has avoided repeating his disastrous performance four years ago, in which he ignored the agreed-upon rules and insulted Biden.

It seems clear that Trump can act in his best interests when it comes to winning the election. This means that he may run a more focused and intelligent campaign until November, despite widespread expectations to the contrary.

The second point, which is the clearest, is that Biden is not fit to be president. Now his inability will move from the political claim to the electoral campaign. Any future muttering or stumbling will be interpreted in light of his shaky debate performance.

One bad debate doesn’t mean Biden can’t make important policy decisions, Bandow adds in an analysis published by the American magazine The National Interest. However, it does mean that he is unfit for the most important office in the world. And that he is at least sometimes—and perhaps often—mentally unfit for this position. And everyone knows that his condition will surely get worse.

Third, and perhaps most damning for Biden, it is his own supporters who are openly questioning his fitness to be president now, even before January, when his new term begins if he wins. So Democrats who are dismayed by Biden’s performance, and who see no hope of him winning, are not only unlikely to vote for him but are also unlikely to give money to reelect him.

Moreover, talking about an alternative to Biden will prompt an objective discussion of all issues. Namely: Is there a chance that Biden will abandon his candidacy? Is there a way to force him to do so? How will the process take place? Who will be the replacement?

Bandow says any discussion that focuses on these and similar concerns reinforces the deficit issue and distracts from the campaign.

Bandow says that all of this clearly works heavily in Trump’s favor. But 18 weeks is still a long time in politics. Maybe Trump makes his big mistake? Or maybe Biden ends up dead—literally or figuratively—forcing a change in the Democratic nominee. In that case, the Democrats could still win, if not Biden.

The Democrats’ panic is justified, however, Bandow added in his analysis. What is most likely is that Biden will produce few repeat performances. The campaign will accelerate and he will have little time to repair his image. In that case, the election will likely be decided without much attention to the many serious challenges facing America in the coming years. The longer they are ignored, the greater and more certain the disaster that will befall Americans in the future.

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