To hear the Democrats and the mainstream media tell the story over the past couple of days, it has become clear to everyone that Joe “Lennie” Biden has reached the end of his road here on this troubled earth, and it’s up to them to put him out of his misery. After years of traveling, working hard, and some occasional gaffes—call them “pinching the heads” of the mice he liked to pet—ol’ Joe finally went too far the other night. First, he crushed Curly’s hand. Next, he killed the puppy that Slim gave him. Then he snapped Curly’s wife’s spine when she freaked out while he was stroking her hair. And finally, he lost a debate to Donald Trump. They don’t want to do it, you see, but they have to. It really is for his own good:

Lennie said, “I thought you was mad at me, George.”

“No,” said George. “No, Lennie. I ain’t mad. I never been mad, an’ I ain’t now. That’s a thing I want ya to know.”

The voices came close now. George raised the gun and listened to the voices.

Lennie begged, “Le’s do it now. Le’s get that place now.”

“Sure, right now. I gotta. We gotta.”

And George raised the gun and steadied it, and he brought the muzzle of it close to the back of Lennie’s head. The hand shook violently, but his face set and his hand steadied. He pulled the trigger. The crash of the shot rolled up the hills and rolled down again. Lennie jarred, and then settled slowly forward to the sand, and he lay without quivering.

George shivered and looked at the gun, and then he threw it from him, back up on the bank, near the pile of old ashes.

Poor Joe. All he wanted was a cow, and a pig, and some chickens—and, of course, the rabbits—and to live off the fat of the land. But it just wasn’t to be. Those are nice dreams Joe had, and who wouldn’t want to live in a paradise where “Ever’body gonna be nice to you. Ain’t gonna be no more trouble. Nobody gon-na hurt nobody nor steal from ’em.”

The fly in the ointment here is Mean Mr. Trump. He isn’t going to let Joe’s infirmities go unaddressed. He is too cruel and too power-hungry to treat Joe fairly, to give him the grace that other, kindlier people feel he deserves. And so, somebody has to step in and intervene to save Joe from Trump’s cruelty. Sure, it may seem unkind superficially, but, in truth, it’s an act of selflessness and compassion.

Or at least that’s what they’d have us believe.

The problem with the Democrats’ and the media’s narrative is that it’s patently and ridiculously false. This isn’t about Joe Biden and saving him from the cruelties of Trump and another presidential campaign. This is about them and preserving their power. They don’t want to put Biden out of his misery. They want to put him out of their misery.

If any of them cared at all about Joe Biden, they would have intervened three months ago, when his staff started walking with him across the White House lawn to the presidential helicopter so that they could shield people’s view from him and thereby keep them from seeing how his gait had deteriorated. If any of them cared at all about Joe Biden, they would have intervened 14 months ago, when he announced his intention to run for reelection. “Joe…you’re 80 now. You’ll be 86 when your second term is over. Do you really think that’s a good idea?” Heck, if any of them cared about Joe Biden, they probably would have stepped in five years ago when he announced that he was running for president in the first place. They knew he was ailing then. Everyone knew it. They also knew that the presidency—the most powerful and stressful job in the world—would exacerbate and accelerate his debilities.

But they didn’t step in. They didn’t even think about it. Instead, they went out of their way to cover it up, to hide it from the American people. He’s fine, they’d say. He’s perfectly sharp and capable “behind closed doors.” This is all a trick being played on the American people by the Republicans, who are “deceptively editing” videos to make Sleepy Joe look even sleepier. In fact, it’s their guy who is showing signs of mental decline. Biden is fine. He’s great. He’s better than ever. Trump, on the other hand… is losing it.

They knew that this was blatantly dishonest and, worse yet, aggressively unkind to an old man who probably didn’t—and probably still doesn’t—know any better. For decades, Biden was among Washington’s boldest, brashest, and most overconfident figures. They knew they could get him to play along by feeding his ego. And so, they did. And it worked. Or at least it worked until this past Thursday night, when it all fell apart—wholly and irreparably.

Now, they come to us—more in disappointment than in anger—saddened and surprised at the decline of their old and dear friend. They have to do something, of course, for our sake and especially for his. Good thing they brought Carlson’s Luger with them. “Joe turned his head. No, Joe,” they’re said. “Look down there acrost the river, like you can almost see the White House.”

Shameful doesn’t even begin to cover it.