Biden's Make or Break Interview

I watched the ABC Stephanopoulos interview with President Biden, so you didn’t have to and…

It was...eh. Not meh, but eh.

He didn't look befuddled the way he did on debate night. He answered the questions, side-stepping a fair bit, but that's normal for a politician. He denied the legitimacy of polls that said he was losing, but that’s also normal for politicians who aren’t doing well in them! I didn't catch any big gaffes. I was expecting a more fragile Joe Biden than I saw. I didn’t cringe in psychic pain the way I did last Thursday.

But he was still subdued. He lacked the force you'd want to see in a leader. The most roused he got was when Donald Trump’s name came up, and Biden's clear loathing for his opponent energized him. “Trump is a congenital liar.” He said it with teeth clenched, and you knew it wasn’t an act. There were also a few classic Biden grins now and then to show the guy we used to know.

I liked Biden’s responses to Stephanopoulos asking if he would step down, assuming Democratic leaders asked him to. (I’m roughly paraphrasing these quotes from memory) “They aren’t asking me to; I’ve talked to all of them [he names a few].” Stephanopoulos pressed him, “Is there anyone who might convince you?” “I suppose if the Lord on High came down.” And then, “But I’m not going to answer these hypotheticals.” (Biden was not talking about the Lord there, to be clear, but about Democratic politicians!) There’s some fibbing in there (Biden knows some leaders are beginning to grumble), but that’s, again, standard for a politician.

He's absolutely not a vegetable, as some Biden-haters have claimed (have they actually watched the guy??). That’s pure nonsense. I saw no specific signs of dementia. Yes, I'm no neurologist, but I did see my own father fade in his late 70s and early 80s, and Biden wasn't at all like my dad.

I don't think he's wandering around the White House in slippers and a dirty bathrobe until they lead him off to Dr. Jill Biden, who gives him his "special shot" to perk him up for an interview or a speech. I'm sure he's in meetings with staff, as has been described, listening and issuing orders. In this interview, he was focused and aware and...

...and still kinda tired. I don't think this is "elder abuse," as some have opined. He's still Joe Biden. But I suspect that in some (maybe a lot) of those meetings, he fades a bit as age catches up and his body demands a nap. And at a certain point, far too soon, his day is over.

The interview did nothing to dispel the stories from a range of media outlets describing Biden in decline.

numerous aides, foreign officials, members of Congress, donors and others who have interacted with Biden over the last 3½ years, noting that he moves more slowly, speaks more softly and has moments when he loses his train of thought more often than even just a year ago
— Washington Post (July 5)

I can easily believe that is true, but also that

several senior White House aides who interact with Biden regularly said that he continues to ask probing, detailed questions about complicated policy matters and can recall facts from previous briefings in minute detail

So I imagine a Biden who’s usually there, making most of the decisions a president should be making, but at a slower pace, leaving a lot, probably too much, to staff. And then, sometimes, he fades into a daydream or confused jumble, especially as the day wears on.

Is my analysis true? Obviously, I can’t know. Nobody who isn’t close to him on a regular basis knows, and those in his inner circle aren’t the most reliable witnesses. All we can do is speculate. And that interview will do little to reduce speculation.

Biden needed to hit a home run and then hit a dozen more in the coming weeks. And he did not.

The interview reassured me slightly. I think he’s more functional than I had thought before, but that’s a low bar. I think he’s still making policy decisions, but age has clearly slowed him down a lot. And remember, four more years will inevitably see further decline. Even with this improved-from-the-debate Biden, I think the best choice is for him to bow out of the race.