The Incredible Shrinking POTUS

29 March 2021

One of the things that impressed me early on in the business world was the command that the CEO or someone in a similar position had over the whole spectrum of his responsibility. Finance, marketing, legal, personnel, market place numbers, stats, and strategic positions were all within his mental grasp. There were no notes, crib sheets, or teleprompters. Just raw memory and acumen. The ability to answer questions on a wide range of topics without hesitation gave the single impression that there was someone in positive control with a competent level of cognition holding the leadership position for whatever was going on. One didn’t have to agree with everything the leader had to say or positions he or she took but there was a sense of confidence that someone skilled was in charge.

I don’t get that feeling these days from America’s Commander in Chief and his team in the Executive Branch. President Joe Biden’s first press conference on 25 March, 2021 provided no relief from the uneasy feeling that I (and likely many others) have had about President Biden’s level of cognition, ability to communicate simple ideas, answer easy questions, or finish a sentence. Americans elect and then expect their president to command a presence of someone who is deemed to be the most powerful person in the free world. He failed on all counts. In fact, President Biden appeared to be a very small and confused man; a frail leader that had been coached extensively, had practiced but failed to deliver even canned answers, and exercised a beautifully composed cheat sheet of talking points prepared by his staff from which to display his command of the issues. Imagine shareholder concern if Elon Musk, Tim Cook, Satya Nadella, or FedEx’s Fred Smith conducted an important meeting with the same level of function that Joe Biden just conducted his first press conference as President of the United States.

New York Post 3/25/2021

But it really doesn’t matter anymore because everything in The DC Swamp is kabuki theater these days with the major media outlets and the Washington Press Corps acting as Executive Producers. It conjures up memories of the 1993 movie Dave, starring Kevin Kline who stands in as a stunt-double president after the real president suffers a stroke. ‘Dave’ holds the title but knows literally nothing about being the President. All ends well in the movie but sadly, this is where any analogy ends. The Biden tenure as President of the United States will not end well for the Republic.

Who is pushing what buttons in the Oval Office? What person whom nobody has ever heard of, let alone elected has access and is advising the President? Is this an administration by committee where the committee chair does not have an original idea, vision or a clue as to cause and effect relationships of his ultimate decisions and promulgations? One has to ask who is actually running the country right now? In any case, Joe Biden and his thoughts keep getting smaller and more irrelevant with each passing week.

This sense of unease started for me midway through the run-up to the November 2020 election. For a national campaign wherein, the presidential candidate did little to no substantive campaigning, often appeared confused and overwhelmed, never established a national vision for the future and yet won an election handily is weird in and of itself. To not look with a slanted eye at the inconsistencies and questions surrounding it is to divorce oneself from any form of objective reality. Kudos to the Biden campaign manager to have pulled off one of the most incredible political strategies ever. But then again, it may have been an easy decision based on what we have seen of Biden’s ability to focus, strategize, and communicate vision.

One has to ask some pretty in-depth questions to ascertain where all those Executive Orders and cabinet nominations that rolled out in rapid fashion came from. The cynic in me thinks that powerful, anonymous Democrat pols working tirelessly behind the scenes persistently make their cases to forge Joe Biden’s malleable course. His well-documented history of changing policy positions based on wind direction gives the impression that he is less motivated by his own deeply rooted core beliefs than he is with the loudest voices that surround him. But then again, what else should one expect from a life-long politician?

I doubt anyone would say the same thing about the leadership of Barack Obama, Bush 41 or 43, or any other president including Donald Trump. All had their own vision and could command it with confidence.

So, who is running the country right now; Pelosi and Schumer? Kamala Harris? Special interests? Deep State? Administrative staffers? Who tells press secretary Jen Psaki what to say?

The days of Joe Biden being seen as the career political heavyweight from the smallest state are over. So are his tough guy days when he dreamed of taking bullies behind the gym to punch them in the face. It’s difficult to believe ambitious Democrat Party members see him as anything but their locum tenens. When they gather, it’s doubtful to think his own cabinet members and inner circle consider him the smartest guy in the room.

The countries of the world where the US remains in good standing are not oblivious to the current state of affairs in the White House. They’ll accommodate and play nice, albeit more nervously than they ever have in the past. But it’s those other countries with whom I become concerned; China, Russia, Iran, Turkey, Syria. The ones that watch our every move while they plan theirs as we show our weaknesses. They won’t be so accommodating.

Sure, this is all purely opinion based on the daily political observations I’ve made since Carter began his presidential downward slide in the late 70’s. Sadly, the smoke signals in 2021 don’t look good as I interpret them. When SNL devotes multiple bits to torch a new Democrat president, you know things aren’t on even keel.