Biden Is the Brand

If you want some perspective on current events, try looking through old newspapers. I've done a few projects where I went through old newspapers looking for specific events and was struck by the fact that almost none of the issues that occupied issue after issue were remembered or discussed anymore. This too shall pass. But in my life, every now and then I have the feeling of living through something momentous—something that causes shifts in behavior and will be talked about, and written about, for a long time. Certainly the moon landing, Watergate, the fall of Communism, the 2008 financial crisis, the pandemic.

And now, the fall of Joe Biden. What has unfolded since June 27th has been quite amazing to watch, and even if he hangs on, he is wounded well beyond just being a lame duck. As someone said, no one will be listening to what he says from now on, just how he says it. Is he having a good day or a bad day? I don't know if it is dementia or some other neurological condition, and as I said in another blog, likely the only ones who do at this point are his family and they certainly won't talk. It is a sad fact that neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer's and Parkinson's are notoriously hard to diagnose by doctors in their early stages. I have an acquaintance who saw multiple doctors over several years before he was finally diagnosed with Parkinson's. This difficulty is one of the reasons that pharmaceutical companies are looking so hard for early biomarkers. The cognitive and behavioral changes come on gradually and I posit that it is the family that usually notices them first and it is usually a while before they seek medical advice. Why? 1) because they are on the spectrum of normal aging: forgetfulness, irritability, repeating stories, word-finding difficulties; 2) because they fluctuate day to day. So family members anxiously look for signs that it was just a temporary blip. Or, as supporters have said about the debate: "Anyone can have a bad day." The problem is that with aging or early neurological disease, you can't control when those bad days show up.

When my mother started to develop clear signs of dementia, she fooled everyone who did not know her and even some family members who didn't see her often. Her confabulations sounded plausible to her auto mechanic, her hairdresser and to the neurologist to whom I took her for an evaluation. But not to me. And, interestingly, not to her veterinarian. I got a call from her once after my mother reacted angrily to them missing an appointment she never made. She was very apologetic, but she wanted me to know that she thought my mother was showing neurological signs and that if she were her mother, she would want to be told. I thanked her and said that I knew but congratulated her that she was more perspicacious than the neurologist we had just seen. I think that may have been because as a vet, she looks at her patient's behavior rather than listening to what they say. To be fair to the neurologist, my mother probably was having a relatively good day so her answers may have been pretty good. Just like Biden's NATO press conference.

So unless Biden's family is in deep denial, they know he shouldn't run again. Whether it is dementia or just age, he is not fit. But they have a lot at stake. A lot of people have been talking about Jill Biden's thirst for the power and perks being the First Lady brings. But we also know Hunter is coming around regularly these days. Of course, the "tight-knit family" narrative is in full swing, and I will give Hunter the benefit of the doubt that he loves his father. But I also think that there is another angle at play: the end of the gravy train. Hunter must have realized that if Biden drops out, it is the end of Biden Inc. There is no more brand to sell. Despite what everyone says about Trump's toxicity, he raised capable children who can carry on his legacy. Biden? His legacy died with Beau. His other two children appear to be significantly damaged. So I'm speculating that it must be very hard for them all to face that the ride is over.

I don't feel sorry for Joe Biden—I believe he is reaping what he has sown. But he is being torn apart by all the factions with which he is surrounded. And that is sad to watch.