My colleagues and I wanted to get in some liveblog practice before next week's Republican National Convention, so we decided to use Joe Biden's "Big Boy" press conference for a little tune-up. I couldn't stay for the whole thing because I had to shower, make dinner, and stave off existential dread whilst wondering if the Republic would ever be able to wash away the stink of Biden's half century in Washington.
Matt did a recap of the hot mess here, and I will have more to say about it in Friday's Morning Briefing.
I would have seen more of this oh-so-important press conference had it not gotten underway almost an hour late. It probably takes longer for his uppers IV to kick in after three-and-a-half years of this kabuki theater. That's the nature of substance abuse, after all; the highs get harder and harder to come by. That applies even when it's medically-supervised abuse.
The presser didn't go well. A case could be made that it was his best public appearance in weeks, but that's like picking your favorite herpes flare-up. "Less train-wrecky" isn't a quality associated with history's great leaders.
Even at his best, it's painful to watch Joe Biden, especially if you start thinking about how much more time in office he and his handlers have to wreak havoc.
Here's a tweet that Paula shared on the liveblog:
This is the second time in three weeks that I've quoted Meghan McCain, which means that things have gotten super strange. Her point about his family is one that's really come to the fore in the last two weeks, though. I've been writing since the 2020 campaign that it was obvious that no one loved him enough to spare him public humiliation. I've been referring to his family, of course, but it has recently hit me that it's bigger than that.
Democrats don't love him that much either.
Bear with me on this one.
Looking at the circumstances that got Joe Biden into the Oval Office, one can see that he wasn't carried there on a great wave of positive emotion.
Biden owes most of his political fortunes to the fact that he was able to keep getting elected to the United States Senate. He did that in Delaware, though, a state that has a population similar to that of my favorite local brewery on a Saturday.
He hung around long enough to become useful to Barack Obama in 2008. His High Holiness the Lightbringer needed a running mate who was older and had better Washington connections than he did. Actually, "wanted" is a better word than "needed" in this situation. There is a very real possibility that Obama could have chosen one of Zsa Zsa Gabor's furs as a running mate and beaten John McCain.
In 2020, it wasn't a great love of Joe Biden that motivated Democrats, but a deep, abiding hatred of Donald Trump. Biden had been hanging around longer than any other Dem in that race, so he was the safest bet for what Dem elites had planned. They knew that he would be grateful for getting a third shot at the office and — because he's never been the sharpest tool in the Beltway shed — easy to control.
Now, all of the Dem faithful who are asking him to step aside are telling us what a great guy he is for hanging around Washington all these years. It's crap.
Joe Biden has always been a combative, verbally abusive jerk. He's been tolerated because he was a great pit bull for the Dems. He may even be like by many. But loved?
No way.
Because they really don't have any better options, all of the power players in the Democratic party are fine with Joe Biden getting mocked after every public appearance. Like his wife, there isn't one important Democrat who cares about Joe Biden enough to want to keep him from further embarrassment. The only ones who are sincere about him stepping aside are those on the B Team bench who are waiting to replace him.
I think we know how they all feel about him.
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