Note: when I put “current thing” in the title of a post, I am signaling that I may be reacting too quickly and too emotionally to an event that is receiving excessive attention relative to its long-term significance.
For some people staying in power is worth anything, any price. And the destruction of their country is a price they're also willing to pay.
At the moment, the left-of-center media is filled with stories about a Kamala Harris honeymoon. There is also a lot of praise for President Biden’s supposed selflessness.
I am, on the contrary, very angry about how we got here. As I see it, Mr. Biden remained in office for too long. And the timing and manner of his withdrawal from the Presidential race made it too awkward for anyone to contest Ms. Harris for the nomination.
Arnold Kling, hypothetical high official
Suppose that, contra reality, I were a high-level official in the Biden Administration. Or suppose that I were a member of the inner circle within Mr. Biden’s entourage.
Also suppose that, contra reality, I cared very little for the well-being of my fellow Americans. But I was intoxicated with the status that being close to power provides: riding in chauffer-driven limousines, attending receptions with celebrities and dignitaries, having my appointment calendar filled with important people seeking favors, seeing myself the subject of flattering stories in friendly newspapers and magazines.
Ask yourself: How would this hypothetical Arnold Kling, the power-intoxicated high official, have handled Mr. Biden’s feeble condition? What would I have done differently?
Nothing.
I would have done exactly what Mr. Biden’s entourage did. I would have propped him up for as long as possible. When this finally became untenable, I would have set up Ms. Harris to gain the nomination without a contest.
On the other hand, suppose that as a high-level official my dominant concern was with the welfare of my country. In that case I would have determined a year ago, or more, that Mr. Biden is no longer fit to serve as President. He is not capable of setting the direction of the Administration, and instead decisions that he should be making are being made by others, or not being made at all.
At that point, if I believed that Ms. Harris was better suited to serving as President, I would have leaned on Mr. Biden to resign. I would have encouraged like-minded members of his entourage to help me.
If, on the other hand, I did not believe that Ms. Harris was up to the job, then I would have done everything possible to talk Mr. Biden out of endorsing her. I would have advocated, both privately and publicly, for an open contest for the nomination.
We are being played
The foregoing analysis leads me to conclude that the Biden entourage is filled with the kind of people who put their own desires for remaining near the center of power ahead of what would be best for the Democratic Party and for the country. As I watch events unfold, the thought that keeps running through my head is: We are being played.
substacks referenced above:
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Biden was an ideal president for the modern Democratic Party. They don't want a president! They want diffuse decision making by unaccountable and hidden experts. Biden's only failure is that his ramblings might have gotten Trump elected. Without the election issue, he would continue to be their ideal president.
If you were in the entourage and chose to speak out about the elephant in the room, what would that have looked like? Would it have changed anything to have one person speak up or would that one person be squelched and have his/her career destroyed by the media while everything else would stay as it was originally? In other words, speaking up would have required a heaping dose of selfless naive courage. Any volunteers or do you decide to keep your head down and collect the paycheck?
That’s conformity bias working its very logical magic.