WaPo Editors: Yes, Biden's Inner Circle Hid His Cognitive Decline, But #YOLO or Something

AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite

Give one cheer to the Washington Post editorial board for admitting what has become blindingly obvious. Deduct about 20 cheers for hiding this admission in a deluge of "special recognition" for Joe Biden in his resentful acceptance of the putsch that resulted in his sudden retirement. 

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Not for a moment does the editorial board consider the implications or the breadth of this cover-up, nor even how selfish Biden had been all along to pursue a second term. Instead, it's all about Biden's "profoundly selfless" choice, as a contrast to you know who:

And so, Mr. Biden reluctantly made a profoundly selfless decision: He stepped out of the ring. Speaking not as a nominee but as a retiring veteran, Mr. Biden received sustained ovations and cries of “We love Joe!” Mr. Biden might privately resent Democrats who helped push him off the ticket this summer, though he denied it — or, indeed, the Democratic convention leaders who let Monday night’s proceedings drag on so long that they inexcusably pushed the president of the United States out of prime time. When it was his turn to speak, however, he showed genuine gratitude for the valedictory cheers. His address, basically an amped-up version of a stump speech he has given many times, was notable mainly for its torch-passing praise of his replacement, Vice President Kamala Harris, whom he credited with casting the tiebreaking vote in the Senate on some of his signature legislation.

In retrospect, Mr. Biden should not have sought reelection. The June 27 debate was worse than just a bad night, as the president maintained afterward. The 81-year-old had shown signs of slipping for a long time, but his inner circle worked to conceal his decline. He and the country would have been better off if Mr. Biden had kept his implied promise from the 2020 campaign to be a “transitional” figure, perhaps by bowing out after the Democrats’ surprisingly good showing in the 2022 midterm elections.

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Emphasis mine. The editors claim that this creates a "favorable contrast" to Donald Trump, and that it enabled a "pathway for a new generation of Democratic leaders."

Did it? Did it really

What might have enabled a pathway would have been a competitive primary in 2024 for Democrats. Even though signs of Biden's cognitive decline had been public since at least April 2022 and the Easter Bunny Intervention, everyone denied the obvious. The DNC cooked its primary processes to keep Biden from facing real competition. Had they encouraged an open primary when Biden seemingly reversed course and decided to run for a second term, the "new generation of Democratic leaders" would have emerged organically, rather than with the unprecedented shelving of the results from 50 state contests -- not to mention the anointing of a nominee rather than an election process at the convention.

And that brings us to the cover-up that the WaPo editors concede and then hastily set aside for their hosannas. Every single Democratic leader repeatedly attested to Biden's superior intellectual skills and energy. The White House communications team repeatedly asserted that Biden could outlast staffers half his age when working behind the scenes, which left people wondering why he would get lost on stage and unable to complete sentences in public. And this "inner circle" cover-up most assuredly includes Kamala Harris, the anointed nominee, who talks with Biden every day and meets with him at least twice a week, according to the White House.

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And what does it mean to have "worked to conceal his decline"? It means that Biden doesn't have the capacity to execute the duties of his office, which is why it had to be concealed. And if Biden can't fully handle the duties of the office, who's running the executive branch? Who is making the decisions about the exercise of presidential authority? If it's anyone not named Joe Biden, then a soft coup has taken place and the inner circle are conspirators in it, including Kamala Harris.

So much for the contrast with the selfish Mr. Trump. The inner circle hid this decline so that they could take illegitimate control of the executive branch by using Joe Biden as a tool. The Post's editors can't be bothered to even wonder what that means. There is literally not one word regarding the implications of this admission, nor any call for accountability for it from the Bidens, Harris, the DNC, Nancy Pelosi, or the Cabinet. 

The Washington Post editorial board has no problem with that kind of coup, apparently. Presumably, they approve as long as the people who ran the country while propping up Biden follow their own political agenda. 

And that's why you can't possibly hate the Protection Racket Media enough.

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Ed Morrissey 10:00 PM | November 20, 2024
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