The fight of our political lives

I think of myself as fairly tuned in to the political crisis in America, and fairly clear eyed about the dangers, and the opportunities. I worry a lot about widespread misperception of Biden as impaired when he is (I hold, obviously) pretty darn sharp, even not taking his age into account. The media, and not just Newsmax and Fox, are selectively focusing on images that appear to show a bumbling old man when what he actually is is an old man with normal frailty of age, but mental acuity and comprehension and level of energy that many forty year olds lack. And he is clearly, domestically at any rate, the most progressive president since Johnson, maybe even since FDR. And of course, you have to get folks to ask themselves, compared to what? Compared to the wannabe dictator malignant narcissist convicted criminal serial abuser crook in rapid decline with what appears to be vascular dementia, himself 78 and not looking well physically at all? Who cannot focus his mind on a single subject for the length of a sentence and actually has no ideas, no understanding of policy, and no respect or even awareness of the principles of democracy on which our republic is supposed to operate? Yeah, that one. 

I'm hoping the debate (if Schlump shows up) will put this contrast in stark relief. There are hints that the obvious, and I mean obvious, contrast between these two people, and the really revolting egotism and sheer nastiness that is all he is these days, will be just unavoidable to see. I suspect even if he does show up, there will not be another debate. This will be it. 

I also worry about another egotist with no real understanding of the stakes or the historic predicament we find ourselves in; someone who has obviously gone down the rabbit hole of conspiracy theories and junk science to the point where his judgment, and even his mental health, appear to be compromised to the point of failure. I speak of RFK Jr. of course, who has no chance at all of winning even one state, but who has a lot of money and who could, just could, drain away enough votes from Biden that Biden could win the popular vote by 10 million votes and still lose this election. That would be a terrible tragedy, and I have no real idea what to do about it, other than to hammer away at why unity matters so much and why this is a classic case of a spoiler. I keep saying to people I think might be susceptible to the allure of the Kennedy name, his own family is working to defeat him, and a vote for RFK Jr is a vote for Trump. (The same being true of votes for Cornel West or the Putin stooge Jill Stein...it's just the way our elections, unfortunately, are structured constitutionally). 

In the meantime, I'm using what money I feel I can spare not only to contribute to Biden's campaign but to tight Congressional and Senate races around the country. We have a chance here to not only save Democracy but actually have a governing majority starting in 2025. Courage my friends. Much is at stake. Victory is far from assured. But the fight, and the sacrifice, is worth it.