The Rich Proud Cost of Out Worn Age
Yesterday was the worst day of the Biden Administration, hands down. Can the President possibly survive?
Robert F Kennedy, Sr. popularized the following quote, often attributed to an ancient Chinese saying, but the origin is unknown:
May you live in interesting times
Wednesday, February 8th, 2024 was one of the most interesting days in recent memory. The quote above can be interpreted as a blessing or a curse depending on your point of view, and was certainly both yesterday.
We began the morning listening in to oral arguments at the Supreme Court for Trump v. Anderson, the case which will decide whether the state of Colorado (and presumably other states) can unilaterally remove a candidate from office due to Section 3 of the 14th Amendment, which bars any person from holding any office, “hav[ing] engaged in insurrection or rebellion…or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof.” Every single Justice sounded skeptical of the state’s case and it is likely the Court will issue a 9-0 ruling in favor of the Plaintiff. The question remains whether the scope of the ruling will be expansive or narrow. An expansive ruling by the Court would for instance declare that only Congress can make such a determination of disqualification as the Amendment seems to recommend; Section 5 of the 14th Amendment states “The Congress shall have power to enforce, by appropriate legislation, the provisions of this article.” The language of Section 3 also states, “But Congress may by a vote of two-thirds of each House remove such disability.” Likewise, there was much discussion in the oral arguments about the existing Insurrection Act which has been law since just after the Civil War, predates the 14th Amendment and provides the process by which an insurrection disqualification can be executed. In contrast, a narrow ruling could simply reject Colorado’s disqualification of Trump on technical or procedural grounds and leave the large Constitutional questions open for political resolution, through Congress or (God Forbid!) an election.
Justice Kavanaugh raised the issue that to this writer seems most relevant, which questions whether a State can make such a ruling when Mr. Trump (or any other office seeker) can be disqualified from an election under the 14th Amendment without being charged and convicted of Insurrection, presumably under the Insurrection Act. Without such a conviction, to this observer, that would not seem adequate due process. And it begs the question “what is an insurrection?” Is it really any time an office holder defies the Constitution of the United State? That interpretation can lead to chaos, as Presidents, Congress and all office holders regularly test the limits of their power under the Constitution. For example, the Biden Administration has twice implemented policies later found unconstitutional by the Supreme Court, including the moratorium on eviction during the pandemic and his initial student loan forgiveness policies. Shall the current President be disqualified from office for Insurrection against the Constitution for these willfully Unconstitutional acts? Of course not.
Then, just after the daily White House Press Briefing where John Kirby answered some Israel questions and then Karine Jean-Pierre once again said little of value, stumbling through platitudes about the Trump case and President Biden’s recent references to conversations with long-dead global leaders, the Hur Report dropped. Only the Mueller Report can be compared to this Presidency-changing moment. The stunning treatise from Special Counsel Robert Hur detailed how President Biden “willfully retained and shared classified information.” But the major news was not that Biden had broken the law, nor even the conclusion (which reminded everyone of James Comey’s Hillary Clinton email report) that the Special Counsel was not recommending charges, but the reason for doing so: President Biden would likely not be convicted because of his failing memory. Read the damning evidence:
The report went on to say that the President’s memory “appeared to have significant limitations,” and that because, “Mr. Biden would likely present himself to a jury, as he did during our interview of him, as a sympathetic, well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory,” the prosecutor did not believe he could win at trial.
The consequential day continued to not disappoint, as President Biden took an ill-conceived victory lap at an appearance with Congressional Democrats, seeming to believe he had won for being deemed mentally unfit to stand trial for his clear violations of the law. As others have said, it would have been less damaging to the President had he been charged for the crime.
To end the day, Mr. Biden held an impromptu 12-minute Press Conference at the White where he seemed to seal his fate. He was testy with reporters, spent what seemed like minutes looking dumbfounded as he lost control of the briefing and reporters shouted questions with no response. The President also took this opportunity to take no responsibility for his actions in the case, repeatedly blaming “my staff” for the felonies.
At two points he confirmed his mental state (read: lack thereof) when he could not remember the name of the the Church from which he wears a rosary calling it “Our Lady Of….” then trailing off and starting a new sentence. He then famously stated that the President of Mexico was named “El-Sisi” (the Egyptian President) explaining to an astonished audience that Mexico had a border with Gaza that Mr. Biden helped to open for Palestinian aid to get through.
His main defense of the charge that he had forgotten when he was Vice President and when his son Beau died were that he met with Mr. Hur on October 8th and 9th, directly after the Hamas attacks in Israel. He blamed the crisis for his inability to remember basic facts, but failed to explain his forgetting these facts in 2017 when out of office.
The notes I took as the President spoke last night summarize his defense this way:
I can’t be expected to remember basic facts during a crisis
President Trump broke the law much more than I did, citing Trump’s alleged Obstruction of Justice
My staff did it, it wasn't me
The President of Egypt is the President of Mexico
The defense rests
It was a disaster (taken with the rest of the day’s occurrences) of epic proportions. No one in their right mind could support a conclusion that this person should be reelected President, let alone be allowed to continue in that office.
The Democrats have a real choice to make. If Biden were to declare he is no longer seeking reelection, another candidate (Michelle Obama, Gavin Newsom, and other marquis names) could win this election by 10 points. The only thing saving Mr. Biden right now is the fact that the Democratic Party so loathes Mr. Trump they would support a lukewarm potato over the former President. They are not thinking clearly. When cooler heads prevail, it is my hope they conclude as I have that President Biden can not serve five more years as President.