Joe Biden is the real Spoiler

Last Thursday President Biden may have made his last appearance on the debate stage

Like fifty-one million other people, I tuned in to watch the debate between Presidents Biden and Trump last Thursday and tuned out before the end. It was simply too painful to watch.

Trump and Biden entered and took their positions behind their respective podiums without shaking hands. They listened (sometimes) to the questions and gave one or two minute responses, sometimes shorter—so short, in fact, that they had to be reminded that they could say more if they wanted to. Interruptions were prohibited and enforced with dead microphones.

This was a debate? Where was the electricity we had been waiting for? Where were the calls to hold applause? Where was the audience?

If this were a boxing match, President Biden looked and responded like he had taken a cross to the jaw before the opening bell. Trump’s face, on the rare occasions when his eyes landed on his opponent, expressed a mixture of contempt (not unusual) and puzzlement. Is it okay to punch someone who cannot defend himself in a boxing ring? When would the referee step in to call the fight?

The presumptive candidates (recall that neither man has officially been designated their party’s choice) predictably offered very little to the audience with regard to policy and vision. Two men, each around the age of 80, took turns insulting each other’s competence, record and, as it turned out, golf game. This wasn’t a debate. It was a series of playground spats—whoever got the last word scores.

Trump: “You are the worst president ever”

Biden: “You’re a felon”

Trump: “What you have done is criminal!”

Two points for Trump.

Biden: “You had sex with a porn star”

Trump: “Your son’s a felon!”

Biden: “You have the morals of an alley cat!”

Two points for Biden.

There were, of course, slightly more meaningful exchanges. Trump focused on the rise in illegal immigration during the Biden presidency. Biden highlighted the drop in unemployment from soaring levels under the Trump administration. Trump countered that these were jobs that were lost during the Covid shutdown and therefore Biden cannot claim credit for creating any jobs.

Both had different ideas about how to stop the economic disaster vast numbers of people are facing today. Biden wants to tax the rich. Trump wants to lower taxes to stimulate growth. Both seemed completely unaware that they shut down the country (Trump) and bought useless vaccines while funding a pointless war in Ukraine (Biden).

It seems that neither candidate has any grasp of basic economic theory. When an individual overspends, they have nothing left in their wallet for what they need. When a country overspends the monetary supply expands and currency gets devalued. That’s why things are so expensive for the average person right now.

When each was asked about their age and competency, President Biden felt that his record stood for itself. Trump challenged him to take a competency test like he has done (and apparently aced). He also referenced his golf game, having, he claims, recently won two club championships. Biden claimed he had a six stroke handicap (very respectable for a club player) which Trump found preposterous.

Biden: “I told you before, I would be happy to play golf, if you carry your own bag. Think you can do it?”

Trump: “Now that’s the biggest lie—that he’s a six handicap—of all. I’ve seen your swing. I know your swing. Let’s not act like children Joe.”

Biden: “You are a child.”

Sigh…

In the end, it didn’t matter what they said. The three year age gap seemed more like thirty, and that made all the difference.

Some of the Biden faithful acknowledged that their guy had a bad night but blame Trump for lying throughout the event. However CNN “fact-checked” both candidates and found that both misrepresented reality. According to CNN Trump made more than 30 false claims and Biden made at least 9, confirming that the election will be a matter of choosing between the lesser of two evils.

Presidential debates usually spawn week long exchanges between the designated pundits over who really won. Not this time. Left leaning NYTimes called for Biden to step down the next day. CNN ran this story, “Biden’s disastrous debate pitches his reelection bid into crisis”. The Associated Press and Reuters ran similar articles.

The Dems aren’t just conceding; they are throwing in the towel.

But this couldn’t have been an unexpected loss. It’s simply not possible that Democrat Party insiders did not see this coming. What about Democrat voters? Surely some must have been shocked that the leader of their party was so frail. Are they angry that they were kept in the dark this whole time?

One must ask whether this unprecedented pre-convention debate wasn’t held to kick off the general election but instead to convince the Biden-faithful that they have to get behind a different person while they still have time to make the swap.

But who?

The next afternoon Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. appeared on NPR’s All Things Considered for an eight minute interview with host Scott Detrow about his impressions of the debate and why he was running for POTUS. The transcript of the interview can be read at the page linked above, but it is worthwhile to listen as well.

Detrow’s tone was dry and almost dismissive. He seemed slightly annoyed to be assigned this story. He challenged Kennedy to convince him that he could somehow win 270 electoral votes. Says Detrow about Kennedy’s chances given how he has been polling (emphasis mine):

“It's about 10 to 15 percent in the national polls, which is historically good for a third party. But I don't see, sitting here, a path to winning states. Tell me why I'm wrong.”

Scott Detrow wasn’t even interested in hiding his bias. He has an opinion and is willing to be talked out of it. That would be admirable for an exchange on social media, but totally unacceptable for an organization doing journalism on a show called “All Things Considered” ironically. Then again, this is NPR…

Kennedy cited the obvious problem: legacy media like CNN, MSNBC, The Washington Post and The NY Times won’t interview him, and these are the sources that baby-boomers watch and read. Boomers don’t and can’t resonate with his message because they never hear it.

Detrow: Well, Mr. Kennedy, you're on All Things Considered right now for an extended interview.

RFK Jr.: And this is the first interview I've done on All Things Considered for many, many years.

Kennedy concluded with his strongest argument:

“70 to 80 percent of Americans said they didn't want to be forced to choose between President Trump and President Biden. So I think I offer a choice. People are voting for them out of fear. Fear that the other guy will win. And if I can persuade people to vote out of hope rather than fear, out of inspiration rather fear and trepidation then I'm going to win the election.”

The Kennedy campaign confirms that over 10 million viewers watched The Real Debate, where he answered the same questions posed to Biden and Trump. You can watch it here on Rumble.

Here’s how Kennedy would have responded if he were invited to debate:

30:00- Kennedy puts this debate into context: “this is the first time a private corporation owns the debate”. CNN has an incentive to collude with the other two candidates to keep him off the stage.

36:30- Why are prices higher now?

43:30- Taxes, spending and Covid

50:30- Roe v Wade and medical autonomy

54:30- Limits on late-term abortion

58:00- Border security

1:05:00- Immigration policies

1:13:00- Putin and Ukraine

1:20:00- Israel/Hamas

1:24:30- NATO

1:31:30- January 6 and the transition of power

1:37:30- Trump’s Lawsuits and the abuse of political power

1:44:00- Who would make the worst President?

1:51:00- Treatment of minorities

1:59:00- Climate and Environment

2:06:00- Social Security

2:14:00- Economic crisis and raising children

2:21:00- Opiod crisis

2:28:00- Physical fitness and competence

2:35:00- WWIII?