BY CINDI BRANHAM
President Biden’s performance in the first of two planned debates was disappointing, to say the least. Grounds for removal from the ballot, some say. I think the truth and the prudent thing to do is somewhere in between.
Let me start by asking this: Have you ever – ever – heard Joe Biden stutter that much?
Seriously, has his stutter ever been as bad as we witnessed?
He’s had a bad stutter since childhood and has worked his entire life to overcome it, successfully. Later that evening and the next day in Raleigh, he was back on his game.
So why, when it meant so much, did his stutter return so badly that it seemed he lost the debate?
I think there are a few reasons. One, he was sick with a cold, and may have been taking the same medications we all take in the same circumstances. Over the counter types, the ones that promise to open all the passages but inevitably fail, making it impossible to breathe through your nose. So, you function with your mouth open. And in doing that, the president seemed like a doddering old man. Score one point for the ones who think he’s too old for the job.
He’s not too old for the job. He still has a lot to do and can do it. His young and capable cabinet are experts in their fields and highly capable as well. Trump can’t hold a candle to Biden in governing, if you can call what Trump does “governing.”
Two, he had to have been exhausted. His campaign and work schedules have kept him moving, to include not one, but two recent returns from overseas trips. One, to celebrate the 60 th anniversary of D-Day (you remember what Trump said of our dead in Normandy, right?), the other for the gathering of the Group of 7…with 60 hours on the ground between them.
Three. Have you ever heard of “Gish Gallop?’ Funny Name, unexpected meaning. It’s a technique that American historian, author, and educator Heather Cox Richardson defines as “…a rhetorical technique in which someone throws out a fast string of lies, non-sequiturs, and specious arguments, so many that it is impossible to fact-check or rebut them in the amount of time it took to say them. Trying to figure out how to respond makes the opponent look confused, because they don’t know where to start grappling with the flood that has just hit them.
“It is a form of gaslighting, and it is especially effective on someone with a stutter, as Biden has. It is similar towhat Trump did to Biden during a debate in 2020. In that case, though, the lack of muting on the mics left Biden simply saying: “Will you shut up, man?” a comment that resonated with the audience. Giving Biden the enforced space to answer by killing the mic of the person not speaking…actually made the technique more effective.”
We know now why we were flooded with pictures of the former president playing golf instead of preparing for the debate. He knew he only needed to amp-up his normal rhetoric to throw Biden off. And it was successful, probably beyond expectations.
Trump knew he only had to lie – continuously and quickly – and to include some unfounded accusations of criminality directed at Biden, who was unable to both dispute the lies and convey his policies in the times allotted to him.
On the other hand, the Republican didn’t answer any questions and used every time slot to renew his lies and attacks. Also guilty, the CNN moderators let the lying and not answering questions go on without challenge, furthering Biden’s frustration levels. They did us all a disservice by not bringing up his felonies and Project 2025.
Four, Biden prepared for the debate by working on his policy messages. That’s what you do in a normal debate, right? Someone in the campaign overlooked who they were debating, and that he might resort to dirty tricks to get under Biden’s skin. (Did I really say “might?”)
Biden had a bad night. All of us in his corner had a bad night. But that doesn’t justify throwing the baby out with the bathwater.
I agree with California Governor Gavin Newsom’s take on the debate, that Biden won on substance. He described the difference between the two men as “daylight and darkness,” in matters of truthfulness, women’s reproductive rights, and more.
In urging us to “worry less and do more,” Newsom sent the message that you don’t throw out 50 years, plus the last 3.5 years for one bad night. You don’t, folks.
Tossing Biden aside as the Democratic nominee is not the right move now. It’s not the right move next week. The Democrats have a very healthy and diverse bench – leaders coming along who can win and are qualified to govern. But they’re not ready yet. And to change the top of the ballot at this point would be suicide, in a race we can win.
Biden is a master of reaching across the aisle and getting things done, as he proved in his first two years. The amount of legislation passed that benefitted everyday Americans was phenomenal, in areas that were most important to families: jobs, health (vaccines helped suppress COVID), a return of manufacturing, bolstering of small businesses, the highest levels of energy production and self-sufficiency… The list goes on. Even inflation, which is still high for reasons not attributable to Joe Biden, is at lower levels than all the world, post-pandemic.
If we want to live in a Trump-free world, we must be aware that everything we think, do and say between now and November 5 th can only be to get Joe Biden elected again.
If we don’t want to see Project 2025 implemented, we must elevate Joe Biden. (Look Project 2025 up; it’s a complete tear down of the democratic institutions and principles we hold dear. If the granting of immunity by the US Supreme Court didn’t convince you that Republicans can fully implement this plan, you’re not paying attention; I want us to all pay attention.)
We must worry less and do more. Every one of us. Maybe not in Alabama, but in swing states where our efforts can make a difference. The difference between daylight and darkness.
