One More for the Road

“…So, set 'em up, Joe, I got a little story I think you should know. We're drinkin', my friend, to the end of a brief episode, so make it one for my baby and one more for the road…” One More for the Road…Written by Johnny Mercer, made famous by Frank Sinatra…President Joe Biden has come full circle. In 2019, avoiding COVID, he was campaigning from his basement in Delaware. Today, having contracted COVID, he’s back in Delaware to step aside. He just announced he won’t run for a second term due to health issues. He was done, you could stick a fork in him. The debate, the follow up interviews and the evening news video of him walking down the steps of Air Force One didn’t paint a good picture- an elderly man whose mental acuity and physical stamina weren’t up to the demands of being president. You’ve gotta’ cut the guy a little slack, being president is the highest pressure, most stressful job imaginable and he’s tired. He’s 81 years old, the biggest decision most 81-year-old guys make on any given day is what shirt to wear to Walmart. So, what happens now? He’s endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris, she’ll apparently inherit the money, the campaign machinery, pick a running mate, and off she’ll go in a seamless transfer- it would do everyone good to remember the same people that’ll be doing this seamless transfer planned the exit from Afghanistan. The liberal media is treating her like duct tape, the answer to everything, just slap her on and its problem solved. Alexander Bolton writing in The Hill said, “…alums of former President Obama’s 2008 and 2012 winning presidential campaigns are prepared to help Harris get her own presidential campaign operation up and running if Biden agrees to step aside…” But, not everybody in congress, or the Democratic Party, is enamored with Kamala Harris. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) said, “… many of those who were calling on him to end his reelection bid are not interested in having Vice President Kamala Harris replace him on the ticket, they are interested in removing the whole ticket...” Harris apparently has other problems, including a history of high staff turnover and is not well-liked by some Biden loyalists. Other Democrats have questioned Harris’ abilities. An unnamed Michigan Democrat, quoted in a February New Yorker article, cited her disastrous 2019 campaign and lack of campaigning skills. You can chalk up some of the commentary to racism or sexism, both subjects are an integral part of American politics. A New York Post contributor last week said, “Biden only chose her as a running mate because she was a Black woman and concluded…we may soon be subjected to the country’s first DEI president”. But when The Atlantic runs a long magazine article asserting that few people think she’s (Harris) ready to be president, it gets attention. As Alexander Bolton wrote, “… so what, exactly, is so bad about Kamala Harris? Is there some long, horrible list of terrible things she has done? The short answer is no. She’s made some gaffes as vice president. Sure, she repeats herself on occasion, has some odd vocal mannerisms, laughs awkwardly and sometimes delivers rambling “word salads,” or says something that’s just plain wrong…” Is Harris worse than, say, Biden, a famed gaffe machine, who nevertheless managed to get elected to office again and again for more than 50 years, or Trump who can’t tell the truth on much of anything? That question should and will be answered by the voters. Nobody expects her to be JFK in a dress, charismatic and quotable, she just must be passable, because her name’s not Trump. She’ll own the black vote and should carry the youth and female vote with her solidly pro-choice stance. Trouble will begin when the conversation turns to the southern border, national debt and government spending. Give her a VP running mate like Senator Mark Kelly of Arizona, a former fighter pilot and astronaut from a border state to toughen up the ticket a little, and who knows, it’ll be close, but this thing might work. Either way, it’ll be interesting to watch. (There I go using “interesting” again!!) I guess she could always just ignore the question and change the subject when the border or deficit spending comes up- Hey! How about them Cubs?! …It might work, I have no idea, I’m just glad it’s not my problem…