CNN debate raises concerns about Biden’s mental health

My father, my sisters and I spent most of those three years with our mother, on that slow, hesitant walk toward her sunset. There were moments of joy and memories, good days and bad days… it was hard with each visit, to realize that a little less of our Shirl was still there.

Nearly every American family has experienced this type of loss. And today, as First Lady Betty Ford publicly admitted her alcohol addiction, we are once again confronted with the reality that our leaders are aging, declining, and failing, even when the timing is politically inopportune.

Debate performance creates ‘crisis of confidence’

Last week’s presidential debate on CNN between the party’s two presumptive nominees, the earliest since the first televised debates in 1960, confirmed what many Biden detractors and conspiracy theorists have been saying for months: that President Joe Biden is operating at a reduced capacity. By comparison, it certainly made former President Donald Trump look like Jack LaLanne.

It was the Biden campaign that sidelined the Presidential Commission on Debates, chose the dates, venues, and media outlets for the debates, and negotiated the more complex debate rules than usual. They really have no one to blame for the painful results but themselves.

I’m not a doctor or a trained gerontologist, but I’ve been around enough dementia and Alzheimer’s patients to know a sunset when I see it.

Go further: Read more of Bill Crane’s Rough Draft columns here.

Economic and pocketbook issues typically drive voter behavior in presidential elections, especially among independents, unless there is a war or national tragedy like 9/11. The Biden campaign has just embarked on a crisis of confidence.

“Total panic mode”

Editorial voices as diverse as the New York Times, the Atlanta Journal & Constitution, the New Yorker and HBO’s “Real Time with Bill Maher” are each arguing, in slightly different ways, that for the good of the nation and especially the Democratic Party, President Joe Biden must step aside, step down and pass the torch by the Democratic National Convention in August, if not sooner.

Those voices and echoes will only grow louder. The donor class and the elected officials are in a panic. With Joe Biden’s 2020 campaign struggling and reignited by a landslide victory in South Carolina, former President Barack Obama and other party leaders began approaching the remaining candidates to rally behind the vice president, release their delegates, and endorse Biden.

The echoes of the CNN debacle are unlikely to be replaced by a second debate, and Democrats won’t meet again until August 19 in Chicago. Joe Biden is not yet officially their party candidate for 2024. If he chooses to step down, the Democratic Party bench is weak, but one name clearly comes to mind.

The President, Reverend Raphael Warnock?

U.S. Senator Rev. Raphael Warnock of Georgia has won two Senate races in two years, in a state that is overwhelmingly Republican. Warnock is also the top fundraiser in the U.S. Senate, well-known to donors. Because of his other job as pastor of Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, Warnock is well-known in the civil rights community and is a passionate speaker, though he does not appear to be part of the left wing of the Democratic Party.

A 54-year-old Savannah native, he is a member of Generation X. Hard as it may be to remember, junior state Sen. Barack Obama was in his fourth year of service in the U.S. Senate in 2008 and 46 years old when he dominated a field of power, riding in part on the wave of national acclaim for his autobiography, “Dreams of My Father.” which he authored in 1995.

Warnock’s candidacy would require a quick introduction to the nation, while likely shoring up the party’s critical black voter base. In his last election, Warnock edged Stacey Abrams, seeking the governor’s seat by more than 130,000 votes. Warnock’s lead on the ticket also offers an opt-out option if Kamala Harris returns as vice president. Candidates can choose their running mates.

If the playing field remains unchanged, many voters may not participate in this election and this campaign will truly be grassroots driven. Since I still believe the American people deserve better choices, I leave you with the thought that IF the CNN debate was the kickoff to this election campaign, the phrase “And they left…” also takes on a new meaning from this election, applicable to both men… Unbalanced, off-kilter, off-topic and off-putting. As this election is likely to produce results, at every level, that we will not soon forget.