by Ron Raskin
This Thursday, the debate between Trump and Biden concluded with Trump being declared the victor. This outcome wasn’t due to Trump making particularly smart statements or presenting a strong factual basis for his policies. Instead, it was attributed to Biden’s performance.
There is widespread agreement that Biden appeared too old and too tired. The real question, however, is whether Biden’s performance was worse than expected. Some doubted he could last until the end of the debate, let alone continue to fight. Others may have hoped to see a glimpse of the younger Biden. However, those close to him must have noticed that Biden is already 81 years old, a fact known to the vast majority of Americans and people worldwide. Given this, isn’t it peculiar that just minutes after the debate ended, the Democratic Party and Democratic-leaning media declared Biden’s performance as poor? A declaration based primarily on the premise that Biden is too old, coming from within the same party that has been dismissing such claims for months.
Bad performance and good performance are subjective and relative to our expectations. Was Biden’s performance significantly below the average expectations of those around him? Biden likely should have stepped down months ago, but replacing him now feels like a coup and brings to mind Shakespeare’s King Lear, as any replacement would not have been elected through the primaries process.
Whether the shock within some parts of the Democratic Party was genuine or preplanned, the dilemma is clear: “Whether ’tis nobler in the mind to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune” and give up on the upcoming elections, or “to take arms against a sea of troubles” and replace the aging leader.
If the latter is chosen then, voters will face a choice between Donald Trump, who might not be ready to accept elections results unless he wins, and a candidate who bypassed the democratic process in the Democratic Party.
The world’s strongest democracy seems to be struggling through increasingly tough conditions. If it fails, the entire concept of democracy might be at risk.
God Save America…