Life follows fiction.
We have seen this before.
I loved "The West Wing." It was government by intelligent, honorable people.
In the second season of The West Wing we learned that President Josiah Bartlett has a progressive disease, described as "relapsing/remitting multiple sclerosis." It was diagnosed by his wife, a medical doctor, before he first ran for president. He and his wife hid it from the public, including his west wing staff . The show presented it as a major betrayal of trust when he announced the diagnosis to the public. Bartlett's health seemed OK now, but it might worsen during a second term.
The cliffhanger to end season two was question of whether President Bartlett would run for re-election now that the diagnosis was revealed. In season three we watch him face harsh criticism for hiding his diagnosis, but he wins re-election anyway. Bartlett emerged from the controversy still popular, but his wife paid a price for enabling the deception. Bartlett's wife was forced to give up the private practice she had while serving as First Lady because of the ethics issues involved.
The similarities are striking.
There are two big differences from our current situation. The fictional President Bartlett seemed absolutely competent to govern. He was vigorous and articulate. He had Aaron Sorkin writing the script, so of course he sounded articulate.
Biden, however, does not present as absolutely competent. He told George Stephanopoulos that he did not need a cognitive test because he took one every day being president. Alas, that is right. We saw a very public test at the debate.
A second difference is Biden’s staff. On The West Wing characters Toby Ziegler, C.J. Craigg, Josh Lyman and the others were lied to, up until the public announcement. In real life, the people who surround President Biden facilitate the cover up of Biden's decline. They are doing their jobs, helping Biden do and look his best. They "spin," saying that he was still jet-lagged from a trip ten days prior. I suppose I was an inadvertent part of the coverup. In 2019 and 2020 I got close up and took photos and videos. But when I saw Biden in Portland last year we were forbidden to record him or photograph him. In hindsight, the real story wasn't his support for infrastructure in Oregon last year. It was his heartfelt but rambling speech we couldn't record.
Biden is fully competent to be the head of state, a role Queen Elizabeth did for decades as a frail, elderly woman. Biden leads a staff. After the debate American voters and the leaders around the world are re-calibrating what a Biden presidency means. It refocuses attention on to the administration and less on Biden himself. Biden is more a head of state than an operational manager, now more than ever.
There is another TV show that sheds light on this, Succession. Biden is still credible as a chairman of a board or the controlling owner of a large enterprise. Biden's primary task is to see to an orderly succession and avoid an ugly fight that destroys the business and turns customers over to the competition.
Biden can avoid a Succession scenario. The Constitution has a plan in place. We have a vice president. She is a former district attorney, former state attorney general, former U.S. senator, and someone elected on a national ticket by the American people. Maybe Biden's incapacity is less of a problem than I feared, if Democrats embrace it rather than cover it up and deny it. Yes, he is frail and in decline, but he will be leaving soon. Don't talk about serving out a four-year term. No one believes it. As Nikki Haley said, "A vote for Joe Biden is a vote for Kamala Harris." Don't fight it. Acknowledge it. Make it a virtue.
Kamala Harris represented the "law-and-order" lane within the crowded scrum of Democratic candidates in 2019. That was out of fashion then, but that position has aged well, and it makes a good contrast with Trump.
Perhaps your distinction of Biden as an operational manager is an important one, Peter. And, probability indicates that Kamala may in fact become President into Biden’s next term, if he’s elected. But I’m willing to take that chance because either of these competent people are preferable to the alternative.
It's two boats and a helicopter.
President Biden has stated that he's in this race until "God Almighty" tells him to get out.
In this atheist's opinion, God has already voiced His opinion; I'm very much reminded about the parable of the drowned man (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parable_of_the_drowning_man):
A storm descends on a small town, and the downpour soon turns into a flood. As the waters rise, the local preacher kneels in prayer on the church porch, surrounded by water. By and by, one of the townsfolk comes up the street in a canoe.
"Better get in, Preacher. The waters are rising fast."
"No," says the preacher. "I have faith in the Lord. He will save me."
Still the waters rise. Now the preacher is up on the balcony, wringing his hands in supplication, when another guy zips up in a motorboat.
"Come on, Preacher. We need to get you out of here. The levee's gonna break any minute."
Once again, the preacher is unmoved. "I shall remain. The Lord will see me through."
After a while the levee breaks, and the flood rushes over the church until only the steeple remains above water. The preacher is up there, clinging to the cross, when a helicopter descends out of the clouds, and a state trooper calls down to him through a megaphone.
"Grab the ladder, Preacher. This is your last chance."
Once again, the preacher insists the Lord will deliver him.
And, predictably, he drowns.
A pious man, the preacher goes to heaven. After a while he gets an interview with God, and he asks the Almighty, "Lord, I had unwavering faith in you. Why didn't you deliver me from that flood?"
God shakes his head. "What did you want from me? I sent you two boats and a helicopter."