![\"\"](\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/533\/2020\/07\/Biden-1024x683.jpg\")
Warning \u2013 this is long.\u00a0 I won\u2019t take offense if you skip to the bottom, for the bottom line, if you want.<\/em><\/p>\n As seems to be necessary, let me preface my comments by saying that I don\u2019t like Trump.\u00a0 But Biden can\u2019t simply build a case based on being \u201cnot Trump.\u201d\u00a0 He has to be better than Trump.\u00a0 So far, he has taken his primary campaign of \u201cI\u2019m the safe moderate\u201d and upended that into \u201cI\u2019ll be the most transformative president since FDR,\u201d so the case for supporting him for his policies is weak.\u00a0 If his pitch to independents or wavering Republicans is, \u201cI am morally better, more human, more competent than Trump,\u201d then, likewise, he has to be so, and if the pitch is, \u201cTrump is so immoral and that you need to suck it up an accept policies you don\u2019t like (or even strongly disagree with) by voting me into office rather than him,\u201d then, well, I\u2019m sorry, but Biden has to be a lot better<\/em> than Trump on these \u201cmoral\u201d grounds, rather than simply being able to say nicer things.<\/p>\n Let me also remind readers that this is a blog, not a newspaper.\u00a0 I am no one\u2019s source of news.\u00a0 I try to persuade, when I think I have some ideas that others are worth reading.\u00a0 Other times, I try to engage in discussion (though admittedly, since my focus is writing at Forbes about the retirement topics which I have some genuine expertise in, I don\u2019t try to promote this as heavily as I used to).\u00a0 And sometimes I just want to vent, especially when it\u2019s something that I think too many people are getting wrong.\u00a0 I do this as a hobby, not as a money-maker.\u00a0 Sometimes I get accused, in the comments or on twitter, of being secretly not anti-anti-Trump but genuinely pro-Trump, a closet MAGA-hatter, as if I have some sort of moral obligation to criticize Trump\u2019s every word.\u00a0 Sorry, plenty of other people do that and the world does not need another Trump critic.<\/p>\n So that being said, I have written about Biden and dementia at The Federalist<\/a>\u00a0\u2014 and that was meant to be my contribution to the discussion, since what I said was mostly just that I\u2019d like to see the entire discussion shut down by means of Biden taking the same screening test that Trump did, a screening test which, I added, I have seen someone take, and knowing the particulars of the test as well as that experience made it clear to me that it is by no means an IQ test, a high score on which indicating that you\u2019re particularly \u201csmart,\u201d but that it does indeed diagnose dementia.\u00a0 Remember 5 words, yes.\u00a0 Draw a clock face.\u00a0 Identify a picture.\u00a0 These seem like trivial tasks but for someone with dementia, they aren\u2019t.<\/strong><\/p>\n And in the meantime, I do find it concerning that Biden has refused to take the screening test (or refuses to reveal the results of it).\u00a0 First he said, \u201cI am tested all the time,\u201d which some fools took as a claim that he has taken the Montreal cognitive screening test, but, reading the whole statement, it is clear that he meant, \u201clook at me campaigning for president.\u00a0 I couldn\u2019t do this if I had dementia.\u201d\u00a0 The second time, he said to the interviewer, paraphrased, \u201chow dare you suggest that!\u00a0 It\u2019s as insulting as if I were to ask you to take a drug test\u201d (because the interviewer was black, I think).<\/p>\n Here are some prevalence statistics<\/a>:\u00a0 a person in the age group 75 \u2013 79 has a 7% probability of having dementia.\u00a0 In the 80 \u2013 84 age group, that increases to 12%.\u00a0 The rate for Mild Cognitive Impairment<\/a>, for the 75 \u2013 84 age group, is 22.6%.\u00a0 (When I dug into this at Forbes, I wasn\u2019t able to find a finer breakdown for this piece.)\u00a0 Both Trump and Biden have a significant risk of these impairments simply because of their age \u2014 and, yes, in both cases, I would prefer we had younger candidates.\u00a0 (With Trump, there was so much Trumpiness that his age didn\u2019t even factor into the discussion; with Biden, I disliked, as it was occurring, the consensus by Democrats, other Democratic candidates, and the media, that Biden\u2019s age was not to be discussed and in any case was not disqualifying.)<\/p>\n And I\u2019ll also add that the early stages of dementia, or more narrowly mild cognitive impairment, does not mean a blabbering fool who doesn\u2019t know where he is or who anyone is around him.\u00a0 In the early stages, an individual can present as perfectly normal in many respects; it\u2019s only when they\u2019re challenged in one way or another that it\u2019s clear things are not right.\u00a0 Ask a question and you\u2019ll get a reasonable-sounding answer \u2014 unless you know that it\u2019s wrong.<\/p>\n That being said, let\u2019s parse the most recent Biden speech, on Friday, in which he talked about the economy and the pandemic, and took questions.\u00a0 The speech first made the rounds on twitter in the form of a tweet observing that many of the questions were fawning invitations to criticize Trump and some seemed pre-planned; plus, there was an odd excerpt from the planned remarks that was also shared.<\/p>\n But let\u2019s look at the full speech, both the recording and the transcript<\/a>.<\/p>\n Biden starts by energetically criticizing the statements Trump is accused of making about American troops, calling them \u201csuckers.\u201d\u00a0 (This is with reference to an article in The Atlantic, with anonymous sources, where, at least with respect to one incident, sources who are not particularly known as Trump sycophants, rebutted the claims.)\u00a0 He continues with the same stump-speech claims that Trump mismanaged the pandemic and the economy.\u00a0 We\u2019ve heard this before, in the same way as, well, any candidate has a stump speech \u2014 it\u2019s just usually delivered to cheering crowds than an echoing empty room.\u00a0 He seems to mumble or slur his words sometimes, but I\u2019m going to hazard a guess that a Biden supporter won\u2019t notice this at all, or will attribute it to his otherwise-conquered stutter.<\/p>\n Then we come to the first bit in the remark<\/a>s that is a bit of a head-scratcher (25 minute mark):<\/p>\n In the meantime, Trump and his friends have strong views about what the rest of America should do. Quote, \u201cCut unemployment benefits to force people to go back to their jobs,\u201d end of quote. \u201cDefund social security and eliminate Obamacare in the middle of a pandemic,\u201d end of quote. Reopen public schools without resources or guidance. Reopen main street business without protection for workers so corporations can continue to soar. This is their plan?<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Now, this is a transcript of the remarks as delivered.\u00a0 I assume that the teleprompter text he was reading off of had quotation marks, which is a bit odd in the first place, but I guess the idea was to read it in a snarky tone of voice to indicate it\u2019s what Republicans want.\u00a0 (The speechwriter didn\u2019t do a good job here, to be sure; in that situation, I would have written\/said something like, \u201cthe Republicans are saying, \u2018Let\u2019s cut unemployment benefits to force people to go back to work.'\u201d)\u00a0 Biden didn\u2019t do that\u00a0 He literally said \u201cquote\u201d and \u201cend of quote\u201d but didn\u2019t change his tone of delivery.<\/p>\n Biden supporters will, I\u2019m sure, not perceive this as anything unusual at all, and I wouldn\u2019t myself claim it\u2019s a \u201cgotcha\u201d proof of dementia.\u00a0 But in assessing, \u201chow probable is it,\u201d that Biden has dementia, cognitive impairment, or just \u201che\u2019s tired, and 80 year olds shouldn\u2019t run for president\u201d, these sorts of things add up.<\/p>\n And then we get to the questions.\u00a0 He starts in a way that raised questions:\u00a0 \u201cThank you all, and I now take your questions. I guess\u2026 Are you calling on people or how am I\u2026 I don\u2019t have a list, so you go ahead and call.\u201d \u2014 which sounded to people like certain people had been identified in advance to ask questions.\u00a0 We don\u2019t know who was in the room, nor how the questioners were identified, and, to be honest, I don\u2019t know what the usual practice is in this respect.\u00a0 (The transcript also doesn\u2019t identify who the speakers were.)<\/p>\n Question 1:\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong>The speaker asks about the Atlantic<\/em> article (and we later learn that this individual was from The Atlantic<\/em>)<\/p>\n \u00a0You\u2019ve talked about this as a different view of how you see the job as the president, but when you hear these remarks, suckers, losers, recoiling from amputees, what does it tell you about President Trump\u2019s soul and the life he leads?<\/p><\/blockquote>\n This question is certainly the one that most suggests a pre-planned response.\u00a0 His rhetoric:\u00a0 \u201cHow would you feel if you had a kid in Afghanistan right now? How would you feel if you lost a son, daughter, husband, wife? How would you feel, for real?\u201d doesn\u2019t sound like something off-the-cuff.\u00a0 Oddly, he is very careful in his prepared remarks (or at least his speechwriters are) to say, \u201cif these remarks are true\u201d repeatedly \u2014 but now he says \u201cI believe the article is true.\u201d<\/p>\n As a follow up, that same questioner invites Biden to bask Trump for \u201cnot rejecting that conspiracy and the people who believe in it,\u201d and Biden is willing to take that opportunity to say \u201cit\u2019s embarrassing, and it\u2019s dangerous.\u201d\u00a0 He then references endorsements from Republicans.<\/p>\n Question 2:<\/strong><\/p>\n Again, an invitation to bash Trump, complaining that Trump isn\u2019t wearing masks and \u201cmocked\u201d Biden for wearing a mask.<\/p>\n Biden responds briefly, that<\/p>\n There\u2019s some reports that say another 100,000 dead, as many as a 100,000 dead, more by the end of the year. I mean, I don\u2019t get it. I mean, I just\u2026 Anyway, it\u2019s hard to respond to something so idiotic.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Question 3:<\/strong><\/p>\n Same questioner, asking Biden if he\u2019s been tested for covid.\u00a0 Honestly, this is a dumb question.\u00a0 Can\u2019t we just assume he\u2019s being tested routinely rather than spending time asking about this?<\/p>\n Question 4<\/strong><\/p>\n Asks about whether he agrees with Attorney General Barr\u2019s statement that China is a greater threat than Russia.<\/p>\n No, it\u2019s not consistent with the briefings I\u2019ve received. And he\u2019s a lousy enough attorney general, but he\u2019s a really bad intelligence officer. . . .\u00a0There are a lot of countries around the world, I think, would be happy to see our elections destabilized, but the one who\u2019s working the hardest, most consistently, and never has led up is Russia.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n I honestly don\u2019t know what\u2019s up here as I haven\u2019t followed this, but it just seems very ironic to me that the Democrats are now so anti-Russia that they don\u2019t seem to give credence to a threat from China, where, yes, in 2012, Romney was mocked for being concerned about Russia.<\/p>\n Question 5:<\/strong><\/p>\n Where is Kamala?<\/p>\n Sir, it\u2019s been a couple of weeks now since you announced Senator Harris as your running mate and we haven\u2019t seen her out very much including yesterday in Kenosha, why is that? And what role do you see her playing in the final [crosstalk 00:13:33]?<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Biden takes this question as \u201cwhy aren\u2019t you campaigning together?\u201d and responds that she is campaigning, but not together, and that \u201cit\u2019s about being able to cover more territory.\u201d<\/p>\n Did Biden misunderstand the question?\u00a0 It seems to me that the questioner wanted to know why, in general, she hasn\u2019t been actively campaigning, and Biden took it as asking why they aren\u2019t campaigning together.\u00a0 But the question was poorly phrased by asking about Kenosha, as if they both should have come, so it\u2019s hard to make too much of that.<\/p>\n Question 6:<\/strong><\/p>\n When\u2019s your next COVID test?<\/p>\n Yes, asking about this a second time is foolish.\u00a0 I don\u2019t know that this feeds into any claim that the questions are pre-planned (\u201clet\u2019s have two of the questions be easy to answer\u201d) or not but it\u2019s a waste of time, especially if there was a limit to the questions or the time allotted.<\/p>\n Question 7:<\/strong><\/p>\n The president said \u201chis supporters . . . should consider voting twice, if they\u2019re in one of those states that can allow you to request an absentee ballot.\u201d\u00a0 What do you think of that?<\/p>\n Ugh.<\/p>\n The president did not say \u201cvote twice.\u201d\u00a0 He said, paraphrased, \u201cvote by mail, then see if your vote was received, and if it hasn\u2019t, by election day, vote in person.\u201d\u00a0 Now I don\u2019t see what the point of that would be \u2014 maybe he imagines that you can call ahead, or stand in a shorter line, but I guess I assume it would be a lot of hassle for a poll worker to figure out whether your ballot had been received and you\u2019d stand in just as long a line to figure this out as to vote.\u00a0 Maybe it\u2019s simple \u2014 maybe their voter lists are printed that morning and record this already; I don\u2019t know.\u00a0 But he doesn\u2019t say, \u201cvote twice.\u201d\u00a0 In any case, Biden took full advantage of the opportunity to criticize Trump, but there\u2019s no reason to think it\u2019s a planted question rather than a fawning press.<\/p>\n Question 8:\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n Why aren\u2019t you angrier?<\/p>\n Again, probably fawning journalist rather than planted question.<\/p>\n Question 9:\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n Are you concerned at all that this messaging [about mail-in voting security] may be working, that your supporters may give up on voting by mail because they\u2019re concerned that it may be rigged?<\/p><\/blockquote>\n His answer is odd:\u00a0 \u201cevery time I speak about it, I feel like I\u2019m playing into his game.\u201d<\/p>\n There\u2019s two things he wants us to talk about, is the election legitimate? And the whole country is up in flames. Everything\u2019s burning, law and order because he doesn\u2019t want to talk about anything, anything at all about the job he hasn\u2019t done.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Given that at the same time as Trump is talking about mail-in ballot security, Democrats are talking about Russian interference, and spreading fear that Trump is causing the post office to fall to pieces in order to be unable to deliver ballots, this seems a bit fishy.\u00a0 Not dementia-fishy, but no different than other politicians ignoring the games their side is playing and only criticizing the other side\u2019s similar games.<\/p>\n Question 10:\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n What do you think the 1.4 million added back in August says about just the general direction of the economy?<\/p><\/blockquote>\n He begins:<\/p>\n I think any job added back is positive. I think it matters to the people who got that job back.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n And then he rambles, pulling in people worried about Obamacare being wiped out, and talks about anxiety, and he says the press are \u2014 well, I think what he\u2019s trying to say is that because reporters are, by definition, employed, they don\u2019t understand how worried people are.<\/p>\n Question 11:<\/strong><\/p>\n There\u2019s a lot of talking in the background, not being picked up by mikes.\u00a0 The transcript says \u201cone more on the economy\u201d \u2014 but it\u2019s not clear if that\u2019s a Biden staffer saying that or a reporter trying to get called on.\u00a0 They we have:<\/p>\n Mr. Vice President, if I may ask. President Trump has just announced Kosovo and Serbia deal. President Trump has just announced an economic normalization deal between Serbia and Kosovo. And part of that deal is Kosovo and Israel having diplomatic normalization. You have stated that you support a two state solution in the Middle East. Would you support more Muslim majority countries normalizing relations with Israel, even though it may mean that the Palestinians will lose leverage in their fight towards a two state solution?<\/p><\/blockquote>\n And he answers:<\/p>\n Well, first of all, I don\u2019t know what the deal is you\u2019re referring to. Okay. What I have argued relative to Serbia and Kosovo, is that Kosovo should be an independent country, not a part of Serbia. I\u2019ve spent a lot of time there. And so I don\u2019t know how \u2026 I assume that would reinforce that independence, but I don\u2019t know, based on what\u2019s being said. I think normalization of relations among countries is a by and large an almost every instance, a good thing to have a Muslim majority country normalizing relations with Israel. And in a generic sense seems positive to me, but I have to know the detail of what\u2019s happening, what\u2019s going on. And I don\u2019t know that and it may, you may be right, that, that would cause the Palestinians to lose leverage in a decision on a two state solution. I\u2019d have to look \u2014 [interrupted]<\/p><\/blockquote>\n And finally we get to what\u2019s most interesting to me.<\/p>\n The deal was announced just earlier that day, so there\u2019s no reason to be concerned that Biden didn\u2019t know about it.\u00a0 It\u2019s also clear that this question was not pre-planned, though, as the last question, and with the bit of uncertainty preceding it, it may have been that they had gone through \u201cthe list\u201d of reporters pre-chosen already, if such a list had existed, rather than simply a list of who\u2019s present.\u00a0 The reporter also clearly had an accent, but I can\u2019t tell what sort of accent it was, whether her perspective was the Serbian\/Kosovo one, or the Palestinian one.<\/p>\n But for Biden to say, \u201cKosovo should be an independent country, not a part of Serbia,\u201d when that is a long-established fact, is a concern.\u00a0 The United States has recognized Kosovo<\/a> as an independent country since 2008; it is officially a candidate for accession to the European Union<\/a>.\u00a0 While Serbia does not recognize Kosovo as a sovereign state, as Wikipedia reports<\/a>,<\/p>\n In April 2013, Kosovo and Serbia reached\u00a0an agreement<\/a>\u00a0to normalise relations, and thereby allow both nations to eventually join the\u00a0European Union<\/a>. Under the terms of the agreement, \u201cBelgrade acknowledged that the government in Pristina exercises administrative authority over the territory of Kosovo \u2013 and that it is prepared to deal with Pristina as a legitimate governing authority.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n It\u2019s a small, small comment.\u00a0 And Biden supporters will say it means nothing, and Biden opponents will say it means everything.<\/p>\n Me?\u00a0 I say merely that, to me, it means concerns about Biden\u2019s cognition are legitimately-raised.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Warning \u2013 this is long.\u00a0 I won\u2019t take offense if you skip to the bottom, for the bottom line, if you want. As seems to be necessary, let me preface my comments by saying that I don\u2019t like Trump.\u00a0 But Biden can\u2019t simply build a case based on being \u201cnot Trump.\u201d\u00a0 He has to be […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2209,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[1466,1459],"class_list":["post-17504","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-dementia","tag-joe-biden"],"yoast_head":"\n