As you may know the fallout from the fall of Kabul is continuing. In the past few days the Taliban has taken over the vast majority of Afghanistan. We have seen the chaos at the Kabul airport with people falling off of planes to their deaths. And now we are seeing people getting murdered by the Taliban while somewhere between 10,000 and 40,000 Americans still trapped in the country with only the good will of the Taliban keeping them alive.
You know what we didn't see? Joe Biden and his team. Biden was on vacation last weekend as Kabul fell. His Vice President, Kamala Harris hasn't made a public appearance since. And his Press Secretary, Jen Paski, was on vacation too. Biden was finally shamed into making a short statement, where he blamed everyone but himself and then... went back on vacation. He's back now and gave another update, but completely ignored the elephant in the room, the fall of Kabul. And now I hear he is heading back to Delaware this weekend.
This is a total lack of leadership. You can argue that Afghanistan was always going to end badly and the Afghan government was always going to fall. You could even argue that Biden really was caught off guard or blame the intelligence community, though that probably isn't accurate. But what you can't argue is that Biden's behavior has been in any way Presidential.
What should have Biden done? He should have been in DC through the whole crisis. He should have told Americans that there was a decent chance that the government would fall. He should have done everything he could to get Americans out and he should have said to the world that he would not rest until every American was safe. But instead? He went on vacation.
I always knew that Joe Biden was going to be a mediocre President but I didn't think he would be this bad. After all he was Vice President and a Senator for a long time. You would think that he would have learned how to be Presidential. I mean, I am no fan of Obama, but I can't imagine him fleeing town during a crisis like this.
Of course, the problem may be Biden's obvious declining mental health. He appears to be afflicted by some kind of dementia and the amount of decline has been obvious. He's not the same man he was as he was when he was a Senator or Vice President. He's not even the same man he was during the campaign. It's possible his decline is even worse than widely realized and his handlers knew that he just wasn't capable of handling the crisis.
I struggle to think of other reasons why Biden just fled town. Part of me thinks that he never really wanted to be President. Supposedly he ran because he just hated President Donald Trump that much. Perhaps when he got into office he just decided he didn't want to actually do the work.
Regardless of the reason it's clear that people are turning on him. His approval rate plummeted this week, even among polling firms that usually spot Democrats several points. He's getting criticism from the media, who had in the past worshiped the ground he walks on. And even Democrats are starting to whisper about the 25th Amendment.
So is there any chance that Biden pulls out of this tailspin? I don't think so. Indeed, I think things are going to start getting a lot worse before they get better. Though Afghanistan was the dam breaking, it's far from the only pressing issue for Biden that he is mishandling.
Obviously the pandemic has been a total mess. We went from the virus being over and ignored to absolute tyranny. People are barely tolerating mask mandates (and in some cases they aren't) and the vaccine mandates are probably going to end with violence. People remember that the virus was mostly gone and Biden was in charge when it came back. And people are sick and tired of the restrictions and they are going to blame Biden.
And the economy? It's in shambles. Inflation is starting to hit and it's only a matter of time before that results in stagflation. People aren't spending as much money because it's not worth as much and the higher inflation. And it's Biden's economic policies that are causing it.
I just don't see a way out for Biden, short of resignation. There is a Chinese concept called "the mandate of heaven". In short it means that if a country experiences some kind of disaster, be it man made or natural, it's a sign that the gods no longer respect the government and it's time for a new one. If I was Biden, I would be realizing right now that the mandate is no longer with him...
Still, it's hard to predict the future. Biden's a stubborn man and I can't see him resigning. And removing Biden would destroy the Democrats chances of accomplishing anything before the 2022 midterms. And don't underestimate how unpopular Kamala Harris is. Even her own staff hates her. So even though Biden is a joke right now, I don't see how anyone else can step up to the plate. He might end up sticking around. But even if that happens, he's a lame duck president now.
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