Joe Biden's Bitter Old Growth Whine

The President exits left, pissed

As farewell speeches go, that was not a farewell speech. It was a fare the hell off speech, telling people that if you don’t appreciate Joe Biden, the real problem is you. Whoever thought this was a good idea? As Dana Perino said last night, it went over like the speechwriters have already left the building. And the tensions between Biden and his own party have never been more apparent, with Jill Biden complaining openly about Nancy Pelosi’s betrayal and Kamala Harris resenting Biden’s insistence that he could’ve won re-election. But instead of capping his life-long political career with a unifying message, finding some kind of hope for the future, built on what he and his administration achieved as a new foundation, Biden just sounded like a mean, bitter old man, which is what he is.

Charles Lipson.

Here’s a prediction: Biden’s reputation, already in the drainpipe, is unlikely to recover. Indeed, it is likely to sink even lower as we learn more about his cognitive impairment, the ways it was hidden from voters, how some members of his family exploited their proximity to power during his years as vice president, and his recent decision to issue a sweeping pardon for his son after repeatedly denying that he would grant one.

The botched withdrawal from Afghanistan, the tsunami of illegal immigrants, and inflation outpacing wage gains are already well-known. Every time one of those illegal immigrants kills an innocent victim, every time they are involved in terrorist attacks on Americans, attention will turn to Biden’s failure to secure the country’s borders.

Biden did have some achievements, mostly infrastructure and extensions of his party’s long-term programme to fund and expand the welfare/bureaucratic state. Those bills produced mammoth deficits and high inflation during his early years as President.

It is unclear if voters and historians will focus on Biden’s fateful decision to run for re-election, only to drop out after a disastrous debate – too late to permit an open primary to pick a better successor than his inept Vice President, Kamala Harris. More likely, Biden’s effort to stay in the race will be seen as part of a larger, more serious problem: the President’s refusal to acknowledge his cognitive decline and its impact on his duties in office.

His embarrassing debate performance pulled back the curtain and ultimately led to his withdrawal from the race. He refused to exit quickly or easily, though, and we still don’t know what pressure was exerted behind the scenes. It won’t be a pretty story.

Biden’s tenure, like that of most defeated, one-term presidents, will be seen as a failure.