Washington is confused these days. this Atlantic Learned. When Washington is full, I love it. Let's jump right in. Why is it buzzing?
Because obviously, Joe Biden is still very old. Bigger than last summer, when Washington was even more bored with the age of the 46th President and whether he was suitable to lead the country, running for re-election, defeating Donald Trump, thwarting fascism, and more.
Or three years ago, when the Ultimate Americans had already said in the polls that Biden should never seek reelection. Or two years ago, when he announced that he would actually seek reelection, Democrats suffered (record; you I didn't hear my voice) If Biden continues his campaign, it will certainly end in disaster. Or six months ago, it actually ended in disaster.
Or, for that matter, on Sunday, Biden announced that he had been diagnosed with aggressive prostate cancer, a clear marker of his age.
Do you know what else is old? A story about Biden’s old.
For the latest chapter of this legend, we would like to thank a new book Today, whose arrival is around Washington and Mrs. Sundae’s expectations in the premium residence are like Sundae. The title of the Bible original sinThis Book - CNN host Jake Tapper and axisAlex Thompson - presents the latest behind-the-scenes report on Biden's career disastrous. The book depicts a kind of West Wing Weekend in BernieBiden plays a vulnerable, proud and self-deceiving leader.
original sin Including necessary Shocking new details- Many of them have been pre-circulated and selectively leaked, probably publishers to attract the book's even more excitement. (Do you think the buzz will come on its own?) Oh, you can read AtlanticExcerpts from this book are here.
David Plouffe, one of Kamala Harris's top campaign aides, told the author that he was referring to the president's refusal to resign until it was too late. Other Revelations: Biden usually forgets the name of his top aide. His personal doctor advocated him to rest more. "Internal Discussion" about putting him in a wheelchair. A Democrat told the author that referring to Biden's state, "It's incredible," it's like looking at Grandpa who shouldn't be driving. "Four years later, Biden seems to have met the handsome actor on many occasions, but does not seem to admit George Clooney. "Clooney was shaken by his core. ”
original sin Focus on how Biden, his family, his White House staff, and many senior Democrats hide the degree to which the president has deteriorated the public. It describes how journalists who dare to report on the matter were bullied, frozen and gased by the White House. A little breathing term cover up In the promotion, a lot has been thrown away original sinincluded in the book's subtitles (President Biden's decline, covering up and his disastrous choice to run again).
The author made some strategic contributions, including at the White House reporter dinner last month. In this speech, Thompson mocked the previous administration for covering up the president's complete decline, but his fellow journalists did not report more forcefully on Biden's decline. Thompson, who received the Aldo Beckman Award in his work at Biden, took some responsibility for his confidence in the media. "Thompson mentioned that it was about a minute original sin He “can book now” (as always proved that if shamelessness is not the “original sin” of book promotions, it is definitely the top three.) He adds that “being truth also means speaking our truth” and “we should do better.”
I should point out that everything Thompson said is true, even if it is somewhat obvious, and Biden and his aides and family (the cover cultist) are worthy of blame for the history of this episode. But, as the former president might say (probably between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m., his peak sensitive hours): politicians and their self-sufficiency are not always on the level. No one will "shake their core" of this statement. Just as Trump suffocated with rhetoric smos in the record, dozens of Republicans in Washington have been privately feared over the years, Democrats secretly expressed a sense of consistency about Biden’s weak state, but claimed to be in the opposite direction in front of the camera and microphone.
Here is the deal, Part Two: The important goal of any White House is to make the principal look as good as possible. This is done with basic Flackery, GobbledyGook, selective disclosure and rampant omissions. We should not expect aides or congressional allies to run out and announce to the state that the president (any president) seems to be in his economic briefing at lunch, or throwing ketchup on the wall, or messing with interns.
Yes, it's a cynical business, but that's why I think Biden's "covering" of "real situation" is next to it, and why I'm not really about the rise of Montbrac: it's almost impossible to "cover" something hidden in a plain sight. Democrats can expel White House officials they want to claim I was with the President this morning, and he was very sharp and a tack, running around his employees below half of his time. But whenever Biden is allowed to go out in public (which is a dangerous banner in itself), the public consensus on his own weakness will only be strengthened. Biden has no power in view of his situation, which is obvious to most people who even occasionally pay attention to it. Observable facts, people: they may mask real pain.
In a fulfilling spirit (yes, shameless), I have an obligation to inform readers that I have been observing these facts in my coverage for years. (Without me, the American public might never have encountered the ancient Biden!) In June 2022, I wrote an article this Atlantic The title is "Why Biden shouldn't run in 2024." It begins, "Let me speak out: Joe Biden shouldn't be re-elected in 2024. He's too old." You have points. I am a brave and brave teller of truth.
Although Tapper and Thompson interviewed about 200 people, I had less than 12 conversations on the story, relying primarily on my own two eyes and some obvious data points, for example, at the end of his hypothetical second term, Biden was 82 at the 2025 and 86th inauguration. A senior administration official told me at the time: "He seems to be old." Over the next two years, I contributed regular entries to the "Biden is too old" Canon. A story requires some Democrats or several Democrats to be the main one for him. Another is about him looking destined to be the presidential version (a more disastrous version) of Ruth Bader Ginsburg. In the hours after Biden's debate last June, I wrote an article about "Joe's Time, Joe" and Joe still hasn't disappeared, nearly two weeks later, another titled "Come on, man."
Yes, at the time, many White House and Democratic agents were upset with me. They insisted that I was wrong very early (I'm with him this morning), ageism, unfairness and ignorance. Over time, several people in the Biden world accused me of being obsessed with the president’s age and “beating a dead horse.” It turns out that I barely had my hands on the right hand, given that Biden's store was smashed after his debate collapsed, when he effectively sent his legacy to the glue factory.
The story of the Biden era will certainly last. In recent comments original sinmy colleague Tyler Austin Harper correctly praised the author for "describing a creepy political car accident in creepy clinical details". He also called it "the latest and most important book of Biden's cognitive decline to date." I found Harper’s two words to be ominous: So far.