VIDEOS: Dems in damage control after debate disaster

It wasn't a good night for Sleepy Joe Biden. In spite of having everything set up to give him an advantage -- unfriendly network and hosts, no audience, only one live mic at a time, etc -- he has been revealed as not just "sleepy", but suffering from senile dementia. Millions of people must be saying "I didn't realize it was that bad."

Before we get to the videos, a comment about the debate as a whole. The strictures imposed by the Democrats and the format notwithstanding, it wasn't as bad as I anticipated. The anchors refrained from arguing with the candidates, and only pointed out that they weren't answering the questions a couple of times.

The anchors needed some coaching on the rules of order. In a proper debate of this kind, you put a question or a proposition to one party, let him answer, then let the other party reply. The first party might get a rebuttal, and that closes the topic. What you don't do -- as was done to President Trump twice -- is to pose a different question instead of letting him challenge the first speaker's answer.

Not a big deal, really, because the candidates stopped answering questions (or even pretending to do so) almost from the get-go. They had talking points they wanted to get out -- President Brandon even told us the number, "1 - 2 - 3" several times -- and said what they wanted, no matter what question was asked. After a while, the moderators didn't even bother to ask questions at times.

The "debate" -- quote marks are appropriate here -- wasn't really about the issues anyway. It was about image, about which one had the alertness, confidence and mental acuity required of someone who aspires to be the leader of the free world.  

That, dear readers, is where Joe Biden let himself and his party down. And badly! President Trump repeatedly attacked President Biden on the economy and his foreign policy record, while the latter took aim at his rival's criminal conviction and alleged attempts to overturn the 2020 election. 

The candidates accused each other of lying, and both were right. But the Donald was in "rally mode" -- as if addressing a friendly audience -- whereas Senile Joe gave a performance which can be called stumbling, at best. Democrats expressed concern at the President's weakness, with party insiders saying his early answers triggered panic. His supporters told the BBC his campaign team overworked the president -- a week of rest at Camp David is tough, eh -- and senior White House officials said they are meeting to discuss options. 

OK, let's go to some video. You've probably already seen this first one. President Biden opened the debate with a raspy voice and disjointed, rambling answers, reigniting Democratic concerns about his age and cognitive ability. Many of his answers were hard to follow. At one point, seemingly losing his train of thought, Brandon says, "we finally beat Medicare," -- his own policy on earned benefits. 

 

In text messages with Politico, Democrats expressed confusion and concern as they watched the first minutes of the event. One former Biden White House and campaign aide called it "terrible", adding that they have had to ask themselves over and over "What did he just say? This is crazy." 

But wait (as Vince Offer used to day), there's more! Here are some highlights [or lowlights? Ed.] from Sky News Australia.

   

And, from the same source, here's what you didn't see....

   

Cue the Warner Bros cartoon finish: Th-the-th-the-th-the... that's all folks! As in, the election is over. Joe Biden lost, right there. Walt's lifetime pct .987.

Further reading: 

"NYT editorial board calls on Biden to drop out". By Lauren Irwin, on The Hill, 28/6/24. Thanks to BCF.

And from the Babylon Bee: "Trump Indicted For Murdering Elderly Man On CNN", 27/6/24. Hilarious!