Barack Obama is meddling in the upcoming election
Barack Obama was never a traditional American president. After all, he was the only president ever to come to the White House manifestly disliking and being embarrassed by the country he was elected to lead. With that as a background, maybe we shouldn’t be surprised that he’s publicly meddling in the upcoming election in a way that even Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton didn’t try. (Former Republican presidents have more graciously stayed out of the fray.)
Both of Obama’s lines of attack are serious. First, he’s explicitly saying that Trump is trying to throw the election by putting his managerial skills to work to address a postal system that is in complete disarray. Second, he’s attacking his own former Vice President, who is now waiting in the wings to be officially crowned as the Democrat party’s presidential candidate.
The United States Post Office is a mess. In 2018, the Post Office had a net loss of $3.91 billion. In 2019, the net loss had more than doubled, reaching a staggering $8.81 billion. Even considering the claim that some of that money was a result of bookkeeping changes, the net loss was still almost $2 billion greater than in 2018.
Thanks to the Wuhan virus, 2020 is promising to be the worst year ever. At the end of April, the Post Office said that its first-quarter losses were already $4.5 billion. In the second quarter, the Post Office lost another $2.2 billion. It is a barely functional institution.
Nevertheless, Democrats are insisting that, come November, all voting in America must be done via the U.S. Mail, with states mailing ballots to every registered voter and the voters mailing them back. Others have pointed out that this will be a disaster, so I won’t belabor the point. It’s enough to say that the possibilities of fraud on a hitherto unknown scale are enormous. Moreover, with the Postal union just having endorsed Joe Biden, if Trump voters are forced to vote by mail, they'll have a reasonable fear that their ballots will never get counted.
Donald Trump, looking at this mess, decided to do what he’s done for decades: Install new management to make a business better. This isn’t just his avocation; it’s also his constitutional job.
In June, Trump appointed Louis DeJoy, an experienced businessman, as his Postmaster General. DeJoy immediately set about trying to slow the financial bleeding. Democrats, of course, complained. Things really went “postal,” though, on August 7, when DeJoy reassigned or removed 23 senior postal officials. Management shuffles are a logical step to take when an organization is dysfunctional.
In our politicized age, this was going to be a hot potato under any circumstances. Still, Obama, who should be staying out of things, turned it into a nuclear potato by accusing Trump of deliberately sabotaging the election:
Barack Obama slammed President Donald Trump for trying to ‘actively kneecap’ the postal service to disenfranchise voters.
Obama did not say Trump’s name but did refer to the ‘president’ in his interview on the podcast of David Plouffe, his former campaign manager, in some of his harshest, direct criticism of Trump to date.
‘What we’ve seen in a way that is unique to modern political history is a President who is explicit in trying to discourage people from voting,’ Obama said. ‘What we’ve never seen before is a President say, ‘I’m going to try to actively kneecap the postal service to encourage voting and I will be explicit about the reason I’m doing it.’’
‘That’s sort of unheard of,’ he added.
Ironically, Obama meddled on the same day that Dr. Fauci finally admitted that, if people could shop, they could also do in-person voting.
But that wasn’t the end of Obama’s meddling. There was a leak on Friday (that Obama might have planted) that Obama is unhappy with Biden’s candidacy:
[A] number of anonymously sourced quotes from Obama leaked out throughout the 2020 Biden campaign where the former president allegedly expressed doubts about his former running mates’ fitness for office.
“Don’t underestimate Joe’s ability to f--k things up,” one Democrat who spoke to the former president recalled him saying.
When lamenting his own diminishing relationship with the current Democratic electorate, particularly in Iowa, Obama reportedly told one 2020 candidate: “And you know who really doesn’t have it? Joe Biden.”
It sounds to me as if, with Kamala Harris now in place in the campaign, Obama is attempting to remove Biden from the picture entirely. Obama was never really going to let a senile man head the Democrat party ticket, and he may now be getting his ducks in a row to ease Biden out.
Put simply, Russia couldn’t have done a better job at interfering with a presidential election than Obama has done. Four years ago, his interference was covert and illegal. This year, it’s overt and disgusting.
Image: Obama and Biden, by Obama White House; U.S. Government work, public domain.
Maybe they just hope to defeat Trump by
any means necessary and plan to invoke the 25th Amendment elevating Kamala
Harris to the presidency -- someone who couldn’t convince more than 2% of the
primary voters to consider her for the nomination.
The Real Problem with Joe's Dementia
Many Americans seem to have understandably
concluded that Joe Biden has dementia based on his very public displays of
confusion, aphasia, and incoherence. But the question we should actually
be asking is What is going on with Joe out of public view?
Like many Americans who have cared for
parents with dementia, I witnessed my father’s decline firsthand and, sadly,
Joe Biden is presenting exactly as my father did in the early stages --
right down to the vacant look in his eyes. While I am neither doctor nor
expert, physicians and other medical professionals rely heavily on caregiver observations
because they monitor the disease’s progression 24/7 over the long haul, and can
add valuable input that is not always obvious at an appointment or measurable
with a cognitive test. I am relying on my experience as my father’s
caregiver, corroborated by medical professionals, health consultants,
literature, research, and the shared experiences of others. Of course,
not every dementia victim will experience every symptom, but the commonalities
are significant.
As the disease grabs hold of one’s
faculties, men like Biden and my father continue to view themselves as
experienced executives -- in control, commanding, and coherent; holding court
as the family patriarch; the old dude who’s seen it all. They don’t doubt
their ability to express complex ideas with the right words. And so, they
conduct business as usual and, for the most part, things go fine until they
stammer over a word, get frustrated, then confused, and either babble their way
out or shut down. It isn’t long before lost words, forgotten names, and
elusive ideas are replaced by whatchamacallit, whosimajig,
whatshername, and the thing.
These lapses can be easily hidden during
the early stages. It’s not uncommon for loved ones, spouses in
particular, to make excuses for the afflicted, cover up the messes, and run
interference with others. In those embarrassing moments when a dementia
patient fails to recognize someone he should know, the dutiful spouse (often in
denial) will swoop down, rush to his side, and handle the mishap. Of
course X remembers you. He’s just very tired from our trip. Can you
excuse us for a second? She will answer the phone and put the caller
on speaker to assist with answering questions her spouse might find
confounding. She will accompany him everywhere and serve as backup if he
starts to frazzle. But for those occasional “senior moments,” he seems
put together to the outside world.
That’s because sub rosa the
dutiful spouse makes sure medicine is taken, hygiene and grooming are attended
to, and meals are provided and eaten. She controls his schedule and
prepares him for the day’s events. She learns mornings are best, he tires
and gets confused as the day ensues, and that crowds and noise are
triggers. If she doesn’t manage his life, he won’t be able to manage it.
But the charade can only last so long -- she cannot anticipate everything
and the effects of the disease can be unpredictable.
As stress incidents accumulate over time,
anxiety increases. As anxiety builds, confusion mounts. Eventually,
it seems none of the brain’s electrical impulses can get where they need to go
and the individual devolves into delusions and hallucinations. It can
happen at the end of a “normal” day where the patient decompensates and becomes
disoriented, confused, anxious, belligerent, or agitated (“sundowning”) or
amass over months and give way to hallucinations. I call it the
anxiety-confusion-delusion loop but I honestly don’t recall if I coined that
caring for my father or if I read it somewhere.
What should give every voter pause is
the likelihood that Biden is already experiencing or, due to high stress
levels, has a very high risk of experiencing disorientation, crippling anxiety,
paranoia, serious behavioral changes, delusions, and intense cognitive
decline. Dementia
cannot be reversed and will only worsen. He might deliver a short speech
and take a few questions without incident, but he invariably falters as he
tires -- indicia of other symptoms that will intensify with the hourly rigors
of a campaign.
It isn’t far-fetched to anticipate a
president in the White House who forgets to dress, thinks night is day, wanders
aimlessly in the middle of the night looking out windows, opening drawers,
trying to get somewhere else. The laundry list of behavioral changes is
vast and not conducive to a functioning presidency. However, he will be
propped up by Jill and his handlers, groomed, medicated, and fed, and might
appear just fine at the next day’s events, even reading from notes and
teleprompters… until he forgets how to read, what the notes are for, or how the
teleprompter works. Forget about multitasking, handling complex
economic or geopolitical issues, and running the country 24/7.
With today’s technology, deep fake videos,
and a COVID-inspired virtual presidency, perhaps the DNC is confident they can
pull a fast one on the American people, run a shadow government with Joe as the
face of the presidency, and cover up his infirmity and ineptitude with the aid
of the press -- think Woodrow Wilson and FDR. Maybe they just hope to defeat
Trump by any means necessary and plan to invoke the 25th Amendment
elevating Kamala Harris to the presidency -- someone who couldn’t convince more
than 2% of the primary voters to consider her for the nomination. Or, they could be running
Biden-Harris knowing they’re unwinnable, but fully intending to contest
the election, accuse Trump of stealing it, calling (again) for his
impeachment/removal, and causing just enough bedlam to destroy his second term.
The Democrat-Media Complex has been
explicit about taking Trump down by any means necessary so
none of this is overblown or hyperbole. In fact, these tactics have
either been deployed during Trump’s first term (i.e., impeachment) or suggested
as potential tools against him in another context (i.e.,
25th Amendment).
Fortunately for Jill Biden and Joe’s
political handlers, COVID has played right into their hands, requiring limited
exposure to crowds, a controlled schedule, and scaled-back social interactions.
But lurking behind those senior moment-y, Joe Biden-y gaffes is his inability
to function independently for a full day at peak performance. Of course
they don’t want a normal campaign season. They just need to get Joe to the
finish line and, if they’re lucky, over it.
Image: Goodfreephotos
'Don't underestimate Joe's ability to f*** things up': Obama has shared private doubts about Biden's 2020 chances claim insiders - as tensions grow over ex-president's lack of support for Democrat candidate
- Barack Obama allegedly cautioned another Democrat not to 'underestimate Joe's ability to f**k things up'
- The former president was slow to endorse his VP as the Democratic candidate
- There are said to be tensions between the Biden and Obama camps over his lack of support
- Biden claimed Obama didn't 'lift a finger' to help him win South Carolina
- Obama discouraged Biden from a 2016 run
- He instead backed Hillary Clinton as his successor believing her more fit to take over his role
Barack Obama is sharing doubts about the ability of his former Vice President Joe Biden to win the 2020 election, according to a new report.
Tensions linger between the camps with the VP determined to prove the naysayers wrong after Obama backed former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton as his successor in 2016, Politico states.
While the former President has publicly backed Biden - albeit late in the day - he is said to be warning his inner circle that he may not be fit for office.
'Don't underestimate Joe's ability to f**k things up,' Obama has cautioned, according to one Democrat who spoke to Politico.
Obama allegedly cautioned insiders not to underestimate his VP's ability 'to f**k things up'
Obama is said to have bemoaned Biden's lack of understanding for much of the Democratic electorate.
The former president allegedly told one former Democratic candidate that he was struggling to understand voters in the likes of Iowa.
'And you know who really doesn't have it? Joe Biden,' they said he added.
Yet, Biden has pushed ahead despite knowing that Obama may feel he is not the right person for the job and disagrees with his governing style.
'He was loyal, I think, to Obama in every way in terms of defending and standing by him, even probably when he disagreed with what Obama was doing,' said Leon Panetta, Obama's secretary of Defense.
'To some extent, [he] oftentimes felt that that loyalty was not being rewarded.'
Biden is said to have hit out of the fact that Obama didn't 'lift a finger' to help him take the primary in South Carolina and that he had won the support of black voters in the state on his own merit.
'[Biden] did feel that he needed to go out and earn it himself, as opposed to having people see it as an extension of a third Obama term or having it be any kind of referendum directly on Obama,' Anita Dunn, an Obama administration aide and top adviser to Biden's presidential campaign, said.
The tension comes after Obama lined up Clinton instead of his own VP to be his successor, talking Biden out of a run in 2016.
Barack Obama was slow to endorse his former Vice President Joe Biden for president
While the move was linked to Biden's recent loss of his son Beau and it being too soon after the death for him to begin a grueling presidential campaign, insiders have said that Obama simply viewed Clinton as a better person to take over.
'Vice President Biden was devastated, as any parent would be, by the loss of Beau. It was excruciating to watch him suffer the way he did,' Valerie Jarrett, Obama's close adviser and family friend, claimed.
Yet Obama heaped praise on Clinton early after his own 2012 reelection.
'I was a big admirer of Hillary's before our primary battles and the general election,' Obama once said.
Biden revealed in his 2017 book 'Promise Me, Dad' that Obama encouraged him not to run in 2016. The president had backed Clinton
'You know, her discipline, her stamina, her thoughtfulness, her ability to project, I think, and make clear issues that are important to the American people, I thought made her an extraordinary talent. … [P]art of our bond is we've been through a lot of the same stuff.'
Obama is said to have viewed himself and Clinton as the ones that do 'the reading'.
'In Situation Room meetings, she had the thickest binder and had read it three times,' one Clinton aide told Politico.
While in office, young Obama aides are reported to have dismissed Biden, even 'eye-rolling' when the VP would begin speaking, while former members of the administrations have also treated Biden dismissively in their memoirs.
'In the Situation Room, Biden could be something of an unguided missile,' Ben Rhodes, Obama's former deputy national security adviser, wrote.
Former FBI Director James Comey also said that 'Obama would have a series of exchanges heading a conversation very clearly and crisply in Direction A. Then, at some point, Biden would jump in with, 'Can I ask something, Mr. President?'
'Obama would politely agree, but something in his expression suggested he knew full well that for the next five or 10 minutes we would all be heading in Direction Z,' Comey added.
'After listening and patiently waiting, President Obama would then bring the conversation back on course.'
Biden himself revealed that Obama 'had been subtly weighing in against' a 2016 presidential run in his 2017 book 'Promise Me, Dad'.
'I also believe he had concluded that Hillary Clinton was almost certain to be the nominee, which was good by him,' Biden wrote.
Obama and Biden shared a close friendship in office but that did not extend to a ready endorsement from Obama that his former VP should be the next U.S. President. Obama instead pushed for Hillary Clinton to be his successor. Pictured, Obama, Biden and Clinton
'I think there was a certain attraction to someone that would certainly break ceilings and kind of create the same kind of precedent that he created when he became president … as opposed to supporting somebody who's kind of your more traditional politician and, you know, a white Irish Catholic guy,' Panetta added of Obama's preference for Clinton.
'There was a feeling of inevitability about Hillary Clinton in every aspect,' added Jen Psaki, the former White House communications director.
'So it never felt to me like it was Obama choosing Hillary Clinton over Joe Biden. It was a feeling like it's inevitable after Hillary Clinton left the State Department that she will be the Democratic nominee, and she will become the next president. So Obama … was trying to play a part in being helpful.'
The tension becomes more clear when looking back at Obama's endorsement of Clinton in 2016.
'I don't think there's ever been someone so qualified to hold this office,' Obama said of former New York Senator.
In contrast he said of Biden this year: 'I believe Joe has all of the qualities we need in a president right now … and I know he will surround himself with good people.'
Biden is said to have hit out that Obama didn't 'lift a finger' to help him in South Carolina
Obama's dismissal of Biden comes despite Republicans recalling how they preferred to negotiate with the Vice President over the President, referring to Obama's know-it-all attitude which they felt spoke down to them.
'Negotiating with President Obama was all about the fact that he felt that he knew the world better than you,' said Eric Cantor, the Republican House majority leader from 2011 to 2014.
'And he felt that he thought about it so much, that he figured it all out, and no matter what conclusion you had come to with the same set of facts, his way was right.'
However Biden, he added, understood that 'you're gonna have to agree to disagree about some things'.
'Biden doesn't come from the wonky angle of leadership,' said a senior Obama administration official.
'It's different than the last two Democratic presidents. Biden is from a different style. It's an older style, of Franklin Roosevelt and Lyndon Johnson of 'Let's meet, let's negotiate, let's talk, let's have a deal.'
Yet some insiders believe Biden is set to surprise those who believed he was incapable of taking the Oval Office.
Biden 'might have the last laugh of everybody,' Philippe Reines, Clinton's former press aide said.
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