Kelly sometimes uses really precise analogies to express her opinions. She came up with a great on the other day. We were discussing the pressure being applied to Joe Biden to drop out of the current Presidential race against Donald Trump.
Kelly’s analogy was very familiar. Biden being pushed to drop out is similar to any elderly man or woman being told by family or friends that they shouldn’t drive a vehicle any longer. Not an uncommon scenario and one Kel and I will likely have to face in a few years ourselves.
Her point was that a senior being told they shouldn’t or can’t drive any longer is seen as the first step is taking away their independence. They’ve lived an lifetime of being able to do what they want, when they want, including the ability to hop in their car and take off, hopefully without triggering a Silver Alert. Someone in that position, if honest with themselves, knows they probably should give up the keys. When their vision and hearing start to deteriorate and their reflexes slow, they can easily become a menace to themselves and others on modern American roads, already pretty dangerous places. Nevertheless, that person is likely going to be extremely defensive about that independence and refuse to comply until convinced or forced.
How does this relate to Joe Biden? Neither of us are Biden supporters – we’re both very conservative, but without the fire-breathing antagonism. Many Democrats have deployed a rapid and painful abandonment of Biden, everyone other than Doctor Jill and Six-Gun Hunter. As much as I find his entire presidency pretty horrible, Joe Biden is still the President of the United States, which affords him the right to make up his own mind, as addled as he might appear to be.
He spent a half-century holding public office, clawed his way up the ranks to senior status in the Senate and eventually ended up Obama’s safe pick for Vice President (safe for Obama – knowing no matter how bad things got, elevating Biden to the top job was just too frightening during those eight years – you know, sort of like Kamala Harris today). He benefited from four years of Trump fatigue and the cultural upheaval of the pandemic by managing to get elected President while rarely going outside.
He holds a position few can dream of attaining. Can you blame the guy for not wanting to let go? Hell, Donald Trump did everything he could to keep from giving up the office while continuing to be incessantly hammered by the media. Joe thinks he’s doing a great job and that there’s more to be accomplished. Jill and Hunter don’t want to give all this up, either, leading many to believe that they are pulling the strings hard and convincing him to stick it out.
Joe Biden is being asked to give up his keys. He wants to keep driving. But if he does and he loses control of a crisis or doesn’t react quickly enough to a threat, the nation is going to see a lot more than just a traffic accident.