C’mon, Joe

Brave commentators or run-of-the-mill voters who challenge Joe Biden with a politically awkward question may find themselves answered with a familiar refrain, “c’mon man.”  That sarcastic nip hides the mental fog often evident in his expression and is used as a safeword for his spokespeople to put an end to further inquiry.  It is often followed by a quick retreat, a tug by a concerned spouse, or some other preplanned exit strategy.

Biden’s remarks can be imprudent if unscripted and he offers only a marginally better performance squinting in front of a teleprompter.  It bodes ill for America that this shortcoming is not commonly found among the rivals he must now face as praetorian of the free world.  Many of those big and small tyrants hail from cutthroat regimes such as China, Russia, and Cuba, where respect and credibility on a world stage hinges on hardball diplomacy and exploiting the weakness in one’s opponents.

Just a few days into the Biden presidency and the media are already chipping away at the granite on Mt. Rushmore.  They may have to stretch the yardstick for statuary fitness if they expect strokes of presidential greatness from number 46.  Close your eyes and imagine Biden delivering Lincoln’s address at the Gettysburg Cemetery, handling the Cuban missile crisis, or manipulating Gorbachev to advantage at Reykjavik.  Or, for that matter, building domestic prosperity, brokering a tricky Middle East peace deal, stopping China in its tracks, and bringing the brutal regimes in North Korea and Iran to heel.

Biden’s real power brokers are just downwind of the Oval Office. They entreat Congress, write speeches, pile on executive orders, and promulgate domestic and foreign policy. Biden, for his part, is the face and signature on an agenda far more radical than he would have tolerated in more temperate social climes gone by.

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