The PResident
(" What Success and Failure Looks Like for Biden and Trump on Thursday Night")
The PResident. Because, and Donald Trump more than anyone else has proven, it is about the PR.
Convince enough of America of what you are, and of what you are not. Use misdirection, misperception or whatever "mis" you can conjure up to portray your opponent as missing in action. And you as with but a single mission, to make America whatever it needs to be for you to place your aging rump in that chair in the Oval Office.
So Donald Trump, he of the Art of the Deal and the Apprentice, has spent a lifetime doing PR for himself. Calling in to newspapers to report on himself (in the guise of another) of page 6 pablum for the New York Post so to keep his name in the headlines. Painting his face in other worldly shades and bird nesting his hair just so, to create a very bad portrait of Dorian Gray.
And Joe, despite the hair makeover, looks and sounds like a person who is on the wrong side of mature. Mostly trying to keep from shuffling his way to the nearest sofa. And somebody put a little more color in his face please.
So despite the fact that Donald Trump is as the Wizard of Oz, pulling levers and hiding behind curtains so as not to reveal a wizened old guy, all fluff and no substance, he remains the clear choice for PResident of far, far too many. And Joe Biden, a lifetime of devotion to people and cause, hidden behind the look and sound of a man in need of a nap, not 4 more years running this country.
It is a cruel terrible universe, where Mr. Trump will use his PR skills to portray Mr. Biden as PRactically DOA. PResumed guilty. (A true irony when Mr. Trump, despite 34 guilty findings remains PResumed innocent by his adoring followers).
PReposterous.
The election is 4+ months away and anything can and will happen, especially with the two elderly men who are running, or, actually, doddering along. It is a sad commentary on American electoral politics that two more youthful and vibrant people could not have been chosen by their parties. I blame Biden, (as much as I like and admire him) for not making a succession plan a year ago. I would hate for him to cause the same problem for the presidency that Ruth Ginzberg caused for the Supreme Court. That said, there is nothing I can do about it except to let this thing play itself out. I blame the GOP for sticking by its candidate despite encouraging a riot at our Capitol, refusing to engage in the peaceful transfer of power and retaining top secret data so that he could presumably use it for leverage. I do not care that he consorted with whores or ran a rogue real estate business. So, Biden is the candidate who is avuncular and willing to make a deal with the opposition in order to get stuff done and the other represents performance art in lieu of competence with anger management in dire need. The race is a 50/50 proposition which means that Biden will likely win a very close race which means that the GOP will contest the results and rely on their plants at the Supreme Cour to overturn the results akin to the Florida debacle of 2000. Its all been set up to diminish our democratic underpinnings and establish a permanent plutocratic ruling class. Now their largesse will have to trickle down on to the 40% of white people and 60% of black people who are living in poverty or have low wage jobs. The others, like me, will continue to reside in a state of middle class malaise ever mindful that if we try hard enough we can join the elite class of billionaires as well. Of course, that could never happen for reasons that are too long to explain in this riposte. Next time, maybe.