Today’s Morning Jolt, discussing the end of the Assad regime in Syria, notes that we’ve heard little about the crisis from our president or vice president about the events beyond a nine-minute statement read off a teleprompter yesterday afternoon.

This morning, Politico notes that Biden, who seemed semi-retired for much of the past two years, is particularly low-profile and inaccessible in the final months of his presidency.

Joe Biden is president of the United States for 42 more days. But within the Democratic Party, on Capitol Hill — and even within his own administration — it feels like he left the Oval Office weeks ago.

Biden has effectively disappeared from the radar in the wake of Democrats’ bruising electoral loss. Since Nov. 5, he’s largely stuck to prepared remarks, avoided unscripted public appearances or press questions and opted to sit out the raging debate over Donald Trump’s victory, policy conversations in Congress and the Democratic Party’s future.

“He’s been so cavalier and selfish about how he approaches the final weeks of the job,” said a former White House official.

Across nearly two weeks abroad since the election, Biden spoke just seven words to the media traveling with him. He has yet to schedule a post-election press conference, as Presidents Barack Obama and George W. Bush did when they were on their way out of office.

…“There is no leadership coming from the White House,” one Democrat close to senior lawmakers stated bluntly. “There is a total vacuum.”

…“In conversations that I’m having, they don’t even mention the president. It’s kind of sad,” said the Democrat close to senior lawmakers. “It feels like Trump is president already.”

…“Democrats in Washington just want to get him and the people around him out the door,” said the former White House official. “All he’s done in the last year has hurt the party every step of the way.”

For starters, this is a cautionary tale about octogenarian presidents. Around the time of the president’s disastrous debate, White House officials told Axios that “from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Biden is dependably engaged,” a mildly terrifying concession that the commander-in-chief has maybe thirty good hours in him each week. (Donald Trump will turn 79 next June.) It’s fair to wonder if Biden still has that many awake, energetic, and lucid hours in him each week.

Second, it is another vivid illustration that for all of Biden’s talk of duty and honor and integrity, he’s effectively checked out of his day job — “quiet quitting” was the hot term a couple years ago. Biden still shows up for the occasional event like the lighting of the White House Christmas Tree or other events that don’t require interacting with reporters. Today at the Department of the Interior, he will offer remarks at a Tribal Nations Summit, and tonight at 6 p.m., the Bidens will host a Holiday Ball for members of Congress. But it’s minimal hours, minimal appearances, almost no interviews, certainly no questions from the press. This is the lamest of lame ducks.