St. Louis Post-Dispatch
With less than a month left now in Joe Biden性视界传媒檚 presidency, it might seem pointless to discuss yet again the president性视界传媒檚 cognitive fitness for office. But there are two reasons that discussion shouldn性视界传媒檛 yet be over:
One, there are serious questions right now about who is actually making decisions in the White House 性视界传媒 questions driven home by a devastating Wall Street Journal report last month indicating that Biden性视界传媒檚 age-related cognitive decline started much earlier and has been much deeper than has ever been acknowledged by the administration.
And, two, that continued lack of acknowledgment, even now, by White House insiders and top Democrats is adding to the already-incalculable damage the party has done to its credibility with the American public.
If Democrats are to have any chance of regaining the majority in at least one chamber of Congress in 2026 to put the brakes on the dangerous president who will be sworn in later this month, that trust must be restored. That must start with the frank admission that Biden and his circle have long been lying to the American people about the critical issue of his cognitive fitness.
Trump ... was surely helped by Biden性视界传媒檚 decision to stay in the race until his disastrous debate performance in June forced him out and left Democrats scrambling to build an 11th-hour campaign under a new standard bearer. With a normal primary and more time, Vice President Kamala Harris or some other Democrat might have fared better on Nov. 5.
Among the issues Harris never could put to rest was the now-obvious fact that she, along with the rest of the administration, had hidden Biden性视界传媒檚 declining condition from the public.
That性视界传媒檚 hardly news to anyone anymore, but the Journal性视界传媒檚 report adds previously unknown scope and detail to the issue. Based on scores of interviews with those around the president, including sitting congressional Democrats, it charts how Biden性视界传媒檚 team walled him off from even top lawmakers and cabinet members from the earliest months of his presidency.
性视界传媒淭o adapt the White House around the needs of a diminished leader, they told visitors to keep meetings focused,性视界传媒 reports the Journal. 性视界传媒淚nteractions with senior Democratic lawmakers and some cabinet members 性视界传媒 were infrequent or grew less frequent. Some legislative leaders had a hard time getting the president性视界传媒檚 ear at key moments, including ahead of the U.S.性视界传媒檚 disastrous pullout from Afghanistan.性视界传媒
That botched withdrawal, which cost more than a dozen American lives, came after the then-chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, Rep. Adam Smith, D-Washington, tried to warn the White House about defects in its plan. Though Smith was a key congressional figure from Biden性视界传媒檚 own party, with deep knowledge on the region, he couldn性视界传媒檛 get Biden on the phone, the Journal reported.
The piece outlines numerous other instances in which those who would normally have 性视界传媒 and need 性视界传媒 presidential access were prevented from directly communicating with Biden. As early as the spring of 2021, it reported, planned meetings were being routinely rescheduled around what one insider called Biden性视界传媒檚 性视界传媒済ood days and bad days.性视界传媒
What性视界传媒檚 most striking about the report is its multiple, consistent, patently implausible denials by current Biden staffers that he has mentally declined and that they are shielding his condition from public (and even private) view.
We get it. Having stuck with their official line for this long, acknowledging the coverup now would be an embarrassing turn indeed. But continuing to foist this obvious lie on a public that doesn性视界传媒檛 remotely buy it further damages what性视界传媒檚 left of Biden性视界传媒檚 legacy.
A little last-minute honesty from Biden on his way into the history books 性视界传媒 and perhaps an apology as well 性视界传媒 might salvage some of that legacy. It might also help his damaged party move past this issue to face the far more dire national threat that will soon occupy the White House.
