About Biden’s “Cold”
Published at 20:37 on 28 June 2024
First, if Biden really was sick, why did we only learn this after the fact, when his team was desperate to make excuses for his poor performance? Why didn’t the White House warn us beforehand, so that expectations could be tempered?
Second, it is conceivable that he might have indeed had a cold (his voice was hoarse, after all), and his team wanted him to persevere because they were afraid of the damage admitting frail health might do.
Third, it doesn’t much matter in the end analysis whether or not Biden had a cold. He works at, and is campaigning for another term of, the hardest job in the world. One of the things that makes it a hard job is its physically demanding nature. You really don’t get much of a chance to rest and recuperate during physical illness. You are generally expected to plow through periods of sickness and keep working a demanding schedule.
Those are the terms of the job, and Biden just showed to all that he is no longer capable of them. And that is the most favourable honest assessment possible of Biden’s performance. If, as is more likely than not, he was not actually fighting a cold, he is even less up to the physical and mental demands of the job.