“Perceptions,” by Gerry Warner

Op-Ed Commentary

A political lynching.

There’s no better way to describe it.

You could see the rope tightening almost from the moment President Joe Biden shuffled over to the lectern and attempted to speak in a raspy voice; completely incoherent and a face blanker than Donald Trump’s conscience.

“Old man vs Con Man,” CNN commentator Van Jones commented. “He had a chance tonight to solidify his base, but he didn’t do it.” Jones, who has said in the past, he “loved” Biden looked on the verge of tears as another off-screen CNN pundit exclaimed, “this is scary.” And considering the perilous state of democracy in the US at the moment, I reluctantly have to agree with him and suspect many others do too.

Even though Biden looked better in the second half of the debate, punching a few holes in Trump’s lying hot air balloon, it was too late. Far too late.

In his final submission, he feebly tried to make up for the verbal catastrophe he’d made earlier,  but slack-jawed and head shaking, he fell flat on his trembling face and didn’t even raise such issues as abortion, climate change or security on America’s southern borders, three of the strongest issues the Democrats have.

In response, Trump was slick, sly and surprisingly controlled as he mixed the occasional twisted fact with a deluge of lies while the best Biden could respond was that he was “full of malarky.” Biden didn’t even mention Trump’s recent felony conviction confirming his critic’s contention his age made him an “old man” unfit to govern. This even though Biden at 81 is only three years older than Trump.

So, what will the Democrats do after a painful debacle like this? Biden is clear he intends to stay on the ticket and won’t consider stepping down in favour of another candidate despite a growing chorus that he should gracefully back out of the race. But this flies in the face of how Biden came to be president in the first place.

When Biden won the Democratic presidential nomination in 2019, Bernie Sanders was leading the race and many Democrats feared a Sanders candidacy would fail miserably because he was a socialist and patriotic Americans would never allow a socialist to become Commander-in-Chief of the world’s leading democracy especially with Donald Trump breathing down their necks.

Democrats believed by choosing a new candidate they would “save the party.” At that point, Biden’s support surged and he  won the nomination handily.

But there was a critically important caveat attached to Biden’s victory although it was never acknowledged officially by the party. Approaching 80 already, Biden was to be a one-term, “transitional president” for the party and then step down gracefully and be the Grand Old Man of the Democratic Party while a new presidential candidate was chosen for the 2024 presidential race. But in politics as in life, things don’t always work out as planned.

However, things may not be as bleak for the Democrats as they appear in the wake of the debate disaster. With almost two months to go until their party convention Aug. 19, enough time remains to pick a new candidate. With virtually all polls saying a majority of Americans intensely dislike both Trump and Biden what better time to launch a fresh, new candidate for the Oval Office?

The rules would have to be bent a bit to make it happen but a new candidate would garner tons of publicity and possibly enough to win. Such a gift from heaven awaits the right Democratic candidate and could tip the proverbial apple cart in his or her favour. But never underestimate Trump. Like him or not, he’s the greatest political showman of our time and he showed that in the debate. He’s still a potential winner – and as a convicted felon – he’s got the greatest incentive to win ever.

Staying out of jail.

– Gerry Warner is a retired journalist, who knows how to stay out of the slammer.

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