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The Need for Speed and Other Petulant Tales
So much has already been said about President Biden’s dementia (no, I’m not going to use some other politically correct term) that I won’t belabor the fact that we can plainly see his limitations. But there is a larger issue that, coupled with his dementia, puts the country at serious risk.
The man is seriously immature.
Now many of us know people who lack immaturity into adulthood and they often make a mess of their lives. They are impatient, irrational, and petulant; they often lack the ability to weigh consequences or develop a long-term picture; they live in “the now.” They are idealists. They are disrespectful to others and demand that their needs and expectations be met.
Does this sound like someone we all know?
Joe Biden has demonstrated all these attributes (or drastic limitations) on multiple fronts. To enact 61 Executive Orders, many of them on his first day of office, shows his lack of patience; that several of the Orders reversed Trump orders shows a petulance of the first order. His impatience was also present in his insistence to hold to the August 31 deadline to leave Afghanistan, removing all troops and leaving behind the very people we promised to save. We also saw his impatience when flights left Afghanistan in such a disorganized fashion, removing unvetted Afghans and deserting our countrymen, just to “get people out.” (When General Milley proudly explained our extensive vetting through terrorist databases of the Afghans who mobbed the planes to leave, he neglected one detail: many of the terrorists may not have been apprehended by the government and therefore don’t appear in any database.)
Then there are Biden’s many distortions of and the confusion about the Covid-19 pandemic. He just couldn’t wait to impose mandates on the unvaccinated, when all the data suggests that most of the country is vaccinated; that according to the original criteria, herd immunity has been met; that many people (including many who’ve not been tested for antibodies) already have the more powerful natural immunity. But Biden was going to show us who was boss. So, all the unvaccinated needed to get in line for vaccination or risk losing their jobs.
When it comes to his being irrational and petulant, I propose that insisting on the August 31 deadline in Afghanistan fit both. He wasn’t about to change that date for anyone. I’m not convinced that he couldn’t have simply told the Taliban that he was going to cancel that deadline until everyone was evacuated. But of course, that would have taken too much time. (I guess I forgot “impatient” for this point.)
Looking at the reversal of the Keystone Pipeline approval, the canceling of the wait-in-Mexico law, and his insistence at reviving the Iran agreement, you could point to all the attributes identified: his reversals showed his immaturity, since they showed his petulance in reaction to Trump actions; that he didn’t weigh the long-term consequences of his actions was obvious, given that he didn’t plan for energy shortages or the alienation of Canada; to pursue an agreement with Iran in spite of their refusal to stop their efforts to produce a nuclear bomb, and their other aggressive actions, we demonstrated that nothing could deter us from working with them and that over time, they could betray any agreement.
* * * *
There’s a lot more evidence for Joe Biden’s immaturity and the role it plays in his decision-making. Some people will say that those attributes can also show up with dementia, and they can. Joe Biden, however, has shown these attributes in spades for most of his adult life, and in his new role, they’ve been exacerbated. And they have made the conditions in the United States more dangerous when you couple his behavior with his lack of mental capacity.
We are more at risk than ever before.
Published in Politics
You see one leftwing extremist, you’ve seen ’em all.
It sounds like our entire society.
They are the only five that I could pick out of a lineup … although I look forward to the day.
He’s also quick to anger and strikes back at people who disagree with him. The man is dangerous . . .
Again, all this sounds like what Trump was painted with.
So odd that those voices are silent now.
In the words of Senator Roman Hruska, commenting on Nixon’s nomination of Harold Carswell to the Supreme Court:
“Even if he were mediocre, there are a lot of mediocre judges and people and lawyers. They are entitled to a little representation, aren’t they, and a little chance? We can’t have all Brandeises, Frankfurters and Cardozos.[11]”
He has always been a braggart of mediocre accomplishments who compensates through serial plagiarism.
I seriously doubt Biden was anywhere near that decision. Most likely the call was made by the CENTCOM commander.
Very insightful post. I’ve known people like this, they can’t leave anything for further thought or further information, but must do something NOW.
Several years ago, the CEO of one of the heavy equipment companies (John Deere, maybe) had an interesting comment on decision-making. Something like:
“You have to wander through the thicket of complexity and ambiguity for a while…and then come out the other side.”
I think he said it was. General McKenzie. (Too many
ChiefsGenerals and not enoughIndiansGrunts. I fixed it so it’s not racist to say that anymore.)A Powerline post outlines the matter, and the accumulation of false premises and mistakes.
Stu Scheller would like to file charges against General McKenzie for dereliction of duty resulting in the death of 13 service members. (For something claled “Culpable Inefficiency,” which I assume is a UCMJ term.) I don’t know how far he’ll get with that, or whether anyone will take the case) before someone throws him in the brig, but I do admire his persistence. Just hope his internals are OK.
It would be nice to see anyone who actually caused this disaster being held accountable for it.
Susan, as always a splendid post. You have expressed thoughts I’ve had in a way that is better than I could. I should send you a royalty check.
If one set out to capture the image of a Cabal of elitists you couldn’t have done better. This looks like it was provided by central casting.
“Okay guys. We need to set up a really evil looking syndicate.”
“I know just the thing!”
Is this a hostage photo?
We can only dream…
I just can’t grasp the point of any photo of people wearing masks. Or burqas.
Especially vacation photos. “Remember those terrible years when everything sucked.”
Mistakes in judgment are not a UCMJ offense.
it would be nice to see someone held accountable, but it’s 2021, not 1941.
Not really.
And that stuff on their faces isn’t eggs . . .
LOL. Gross.
They only wear them when there are journalists around.
Bullseye Susan. Great post. I hate these photos with masks. It’s all “theater”. They don’t believe in them but must wear them! On Ted Cruz’s recent “Verdict” podcast, he commented that you could tell the GOP staffers from the Democrat staffers throughout Congress and the Senate because they all wear masks. The GOP staffers don’t. Nor do any Senators and Congressmen either unless the cameras are on. As I say – it’s all theater…
Thanks, @maxknots. I agree. The problem is that they want to drag us into their theater to be extras, and we aren’t interested! Sigh…