Thank you again, Dr. Lee. I'm so glad there has finally been publication of your truly important message in major news sources. Biden has shown his integrity, while Trump continues to show his depravity. As for those who've fallen for the Trump contagion, "If you don't recognize the con, then you're the mark"! I continue now more than ever to hope the Democratic candidate will have the majority votes yet again (as in both 2016 and 2020), as well as enough for the Electoral College (as in 2020). Vote Blue!
Yes. That warmed my heart about the interviews. l had the impression that you had been kept out of the media mix after the adversity with the A.P.A. and certain unscrupulous rivals. ✌️
Biden ending his re-election bid is both heartbreaking and wonderful at the same time. Little in this world is about what we want or can do. Often, we're limited by what colleagues can comprehend.
Dr. Lee asks: "Who is accustomed to dealing with such disorder and dysfunction, without being a psychiatrist?"
I'd suggest people capable of dealing with such disorder and dysfunction are those in responsible positions who must successfully deal with evil. If we define an evil person as someone who consciously and willfully violates the appropriate boundary of another person, then those who keep evil from hurting others, without violating more boundaries, are exceptionally valuable people who perform a difficult soul-wrenching task that should never be taken-for-granted.
Competently containing and managing evil is physically and psychically dangerous.
My sense of Biden during the debate was that he was not prepared for being alone in the same room with Trump intently attacking him. Biden was used to dealing with people who treated his presence with a degree of respect, good-faith, and even loyal opposition not only because he is President, but also because this is how healthy people treat others.
Biden is rarely alone with someone outside his close circle. Yet here he was on-stage having to manage a vicious, evil presence that has no sense of appropriate boundaries, that lies with impunity, and has zero sense of rational discussion or decorum. Trump's superpower is that he's a rich, hardcore 100% Egoic presence in a world that is mostly ignorant about such phenomena. Evil is banal when exposed. I believe that, among other considerations, the experience sucked all life out of Biden.
What I found most telling about Biden was that he didn't try to out-Trump Trump, or fight fire with fire. He did what most healthy people do when in the presence of evil: he withdrew.
Although she will go through hell for it, I hope Harris becomes the nominee. She's a successful prosecutor, which is a task in the hands of a good-person that challenges the soul. So far, she seems up to it. Her first real test will be alone on a debate stage with a phenomenon like Trump.
Could I ask that you send out a notification on Substack when you are in a published interview? Now that the media is giving you some coverage I would like to not miss an article that you are quoted in.
Secondly, it would be immensely helpful to the public if, when you are interviewed, you would detail what the criteria are for the different ''cognitive tests'' that are being discussed. People generally have no idea what the difference is between what Trump boasts about vs the assessment you did using the Mueller report - it would be easy for them to understand if you described or even listed the criteria.
Third, I hope you are not saying that people who question whether it was an actual assasination attempt or a staged ruse are mentally ill. There are many questions outstanding, including statements Trump made right before the event. He has a history of fooling all of us with strange scams, such as substituting fake Melania stand-ins during his presidency (confirmed by his former Apprentice TV producer Noel Casler who says that's where he learned this trick), and ruining the Rose Garden in order to produce a television shot with an authoritarian tone for a television event. You have told us he will stop at nothing to ''win''!
1 in 3 Dems believe the assignation attempt was staged ? ee, fundamental rule "association is NOT causation".
I posted the likely Dem Ticket a week ago VP Harris- Governor Whitmer on the Ticket. Lawful nomination rules MUST be observed. Harris is already on the Dem Ticket. In Biden's speech to the Nation later this week, I expect the President Biden to emphasize medical reason likely his 3rd positive Covid & the need to run the Country responsibly now.
Yes, of course, the Dem Ticket will be attacked. Thus, assemble sound procedural defenses BEFORE the Dem Convention. Expect litigation -- vanquish litigation. The other side is 0 for 63.
Thank you Dr. lee in your continued work and efforts to expose Trump's unfitness as our country's leader. I am heartened that Kamala Harris, a former prosecutor will be just what we need.
"I am rejoicing, not because Joe Biden has dropped out, but because he has shown the flexibility and the consideration of national interests—and, therefore, fitness—to be able to do so. This is a sign of health that gives us hope." A lovely statement, a gracious statement, Ma'am.🤝
It hearkens back to your other advanced degree: "And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity." -- Saint Paul's Letter to the Corinthians. 💖
-----------------
I noticed the mention of your reading the Mueller report; I read much of that report, too. It galled me to my own near unfitness for human affairs when President Trump declared himself exonerated of the Russian hoax.
That report made it clear that President Trump had committed much wrong-doing.
Director Mueller decided not to proceed owing to unanswered requests, perhaps subpoenas, and a White House legal opinion, written at the height of Watergate, stating that a sitting President could not be indicted. And it seemed that no one in the mass media tried openly to contest President Trump's assertion.
My feeling had been that President Biden had earned the dignity to decide for himself, which he did. The last President to step up by stepping back was President Johnson, my proxy grand-dad. That felt sad, too. But, for me at least, the best Presidents in my living memory served four years, or less:
1st, President Gerald Ford;
tied for 2nd, President Jimmy Carter; and
tied for 2nd, President George H.W. Bush.
President Biden is headed toward that mix, maybe tieing President Ford for #1!
Notice the stark difference between Trump and Biden.
Biden already had the delegates and DNC was a formality to get nomination and go on to contest against Trump. BUT Biden realized that it's not good for the party and it's not good for the country, he realized he's not the best choice (& not in the best shape) and Dems cannot afford to lose to Trump. So he stepped aside.
Now look at Trump. Frankly speaking, he's an Armageddon candidate (like Greg Stillson), a disaster for America. Someone who exists purely for sadistic pleasure, retribution and feeding his malformed narcissistic self. His track record on Pandemic, insurrection, criminality, frauds, rapes and countless illegalities speak for itself. He should never be President. He should never even be a janitor in Parks department of local municipality. He's incompetent and completely unfit for any & all jobs. But Donald Trump craves for power. Like an addict who craves for his next dose when he's missed their last one.
Lesson - Do not ever give power to Donald Trump. He craves for it only so he can abuse it.
Let's not be happy too soon. Why would the people and the media who so aggressively pushed out Biden get behind Harris? It was never about Biden's age or mental fitness. The New York Times has had a vendetta against Biden that has nothing to do with him not agreeing to an interview. And the rest of the media fell in line like sheep. Dr. Lee, thank you for putting the focus on Trump's mental/ emotional unfitness. If the media wasn't in the tank for Biden, they would have been interviewing you for 5 years. There's something rotten under the surface.
That’s all well and good, but Biden was in no danger of losing at any time. In point of fact, tossing him out and replacing him with Harris has slightly diminished the odds the Democrats will remain in power in November. She’s still in the plus category, but not as much as Biden was.
Dr. Lee’s main point in this newsletter, that the nation’s professionally informed awareness of psychological unfitness in officials is essential to democratic governance, is of the greatest importance. That is why her unique public service is so vital. It is more than frustrating that such awareness has been blanked out in the mainstream media. The Washington Post openly insults its readers by running a large sidebar of advice-to-the-lovelorn articles on its main webpage alongside its news articles. Democracy Dies in Kitsch.
While Dr. Lee’s main point is of the greatest importance, it is also an important question whether, as she writes of Biden, he actually “has shown the flexibility and the consideration of national interests—and, therefore, fitness—to be able to do so. This is a sign of health that gives us hope.”
It is hard to see how this conclusion is supported by the evidence. While it is essential to be aware of psychopathology, it is also essential to be realistic about the world outside the mind. By all available evidence, Biden, rather than exhibiting a “consideration of national interests” for the last three weeks, has exhibited only a consideration of Joe Biden’s interests. This is consistent with Biden’s conduct throughout his Senate career. To cite one example of many, in the 2000s he spearheaded legislation that enabled extreme, predatory collection practices by the credit card industry; this legislation so outraged Elizabeth Warren, a specialist in bankruptcy law, that she left the academic world to enter politics.
We will learn definitively only in the future (which may mean years from now, or perhaps never) what actually motivated Biden to withdraw his candidacy. There have been many partial accounts in the media, but the most comprehensive, detailed, and persuasive one I’ve seen appeared on Politico over the weekend. The reporter had obviously been in close contact with at least a couple of dozen important political figures in Washington since the June 27 debate. Other outlets had already reported on what former House Speaker, Nancy Pelosi had been doing. Pelosi is nothing if not ruthless and lethally effective. (Her own daughter said that you will be talking to her and think all is well, when she will suddenly “hand you your head on a platter.”) It was reported that Pelosi had been operating behind the scenes since the debate to get Biden to drop out, working the phones with dozens of Democrats. According to Politico’s report, she had in effect offered Biden two ways to withdraw: “the easy way and the hard way.” She had given him three weeks to take the easy way. Time for replacing him was running out, so this coming week she was going to do it the hard way.
As you may recall, the Democrats’ efforts to get Biden to withdraw seem to have fizzled out just before Wednesday, July 10. It appeared that he was going to succeed in running out the clock till he became the official nominee. Then Pelosi surprised everyone by saying on national TV, “It’s up to the president to decide” whether to continue—despite the fact that he had repeatedly been saying that he had already decided, and that he expected the issue to be considered closed.
You may then have seen reports at the end of last week that Biden was feeling angry, abandoned, and betrayed because his one-time allies, including his till then “spiritual sister” Pelosi, were orchestrating efforts to get him to withdraw. That seems to be because that’s exactly what they were doing—particularly Pelosi, Senate Majority Leader Schumer, and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries. You may recall that Jeffries was continuing to say publicly that he supported Biden when on Friday, July 19, he told his caucus that if they wanted to publicly say Biden should withdraw, now was the time to do it. Inviting people to help push someone off a cliff is not what you say when you’re supporting that person. Schumer had also been reported as believing Biden should drop out, but didn’t believe it was appropriate to say so publicly.
The moment I will always remember is Pelosi’s saying, on a phone call to Biden last week, “Put Donilon on.” Donilon is one of Biden’s very closest advisors, in what has been revealed to be an excessively insular inner circle. Donilon’s reputation now is that he was one of the chief offenders both in concealing Biden’s real condition from the public, and in concealing political reality from Biden. In Pelosi’s phone call with Biden, she told him the polls showed that he now had almost no path to victory in the Electoral College. Biden retorted that he had seen polls that showed he could win. Pelosi’s reply was, “Put Donilon on.” Pelosi is not merely ruthless; her life’s work has been knowing the minutiae of elections, down to the level of individual districts, candidates, fundraising, local issues, poll results, and so forth; that is a foundation of her being, by reputation, the most successful and effective American legislator of her time. Neither of the two articles I saw that reported her statement, “Put Donilon on,” reported what she said next, but the reader could readily imagine it. She must have demanded that Donilon tell her about these imaginary polls that he had been telling Biden about.
According to the Politico article, if Biden didn’t drop out over the weekend, then “the hard way” was going to be put into operation beginning Monday, July 22. First, senior Democratic elected officials, presumably including Schumer and Jeffries, were going to say publicly on Monday and Tuesday that Biden drop out. Later in the week, Pelosi was going to say the same thing. Except that she was also going to publicly reveal the internal Democratic Party polls that came in last week, which show not only that Biden was losing in all the swing states, but was in danger of also losing in states Democrats should be able to take for granted; and that he would likely take down-ballot Democrats down to defeat with him. Presumably Pelosi was going to refute another of Biden’s excuses for continuing as well. Biden claimed that only the Party elites wanted him to drop out, while the people supported him; but a top-tier poll showed that 65% of Democrats wanted him to drop out. And presumably Pelosi would also have pointed out that major-donor contributions had dropped by at least half (major donors had a new slogan, “No more dough until no more Joe”); and that it is impossible to run a major-party presidential campaign without major-donor contributions. The Politico article said Biden’s campaign became aware over the weekend that “the hard way” was going to be put into operation beginning Monday, July 22.
Biden did not withdraw because he had any consideration for the national interest. His own narcissistic pathology has come into view in the last three weeks. He must have approved the hardball plan, justified with a lie about Ohio election law, to officially declare him the nominee next week by means of a digital vote of the electors, thereby unilaterally preempting and denying the desires of his party and the nation. This plan was quashed by alarmed party leaders, acting together with a great many rank-and-file. According to Biden, the crisis following the debate on June 27 was the fault of everyone but himself; in reality he was the person responsible for it: he never should have run for re-election. It is a moot point whether he is capable despite outward appearances; it is patently obvious that millions of voters are never going to accept a presidential candidate in such a condition. In every statement Biden made for three weeks until he withdrew, it was all about Joe Biden, never about the nation: the elites have always been against him; he’s been counted out many times before; he’s gotten where he has because he’s always believed in himself and fought back; if he lost in November, he would have done his best, and that’s what counts. He also said a couple of weeks ago, “I run the world.” This statement would have been an expression of crazy grandiosity in the 1950’s, when America was the only industrialized nation in the world that had not been devastated by WWII, produced half the world’s economic output, and did indeed dominate the world outside the Soviet bloc. Eisenhower never claimed to be the emperor of the world. Now in 2024, America produces only 9% of the world’s economic output, and it has half China’s manufacturing capacity; twenty years ago the ratio was the reverse. Anyone who imagines that America or its president “run the world” should take a look at what China, Russia, India, Brazil, South Africa, and other increasingly wealthy and powerful nations outside the NATO nations have to say on the subject.
The reason Biden finally withdrew on Sunday is that if he had not, then he would have left his Party's leaders no alternative except to humiliate him into doing so—unless they wanted to allow Trump to win a landslide victory, and claim he had been given a mandate to remake America into a fascist nation. Biden knew that if he did not withdraw on Sunday, then the “hard way” of doing things that Pelosi would orchestrate and finally enact herself in the following week would have made his position completely untenable. He would have been forced to withdraw in abject humiliation, slinking offstage with his tail between his legs. It took Pelosi’s political power, skills, determination, ruthlessness—and willingness to be brutal, if necessary, to a selfish, greedy old man, and old friend and ally—to get him to withdraw.
As Dr. Lee has pointed out many times, America has not gotten into its current condition overnight, or since 2016. Its condition is the result of long-term factors. In order to create a healthier America, it is necessary to have political parties better than either the Republican or Democratic Party have been for several decades, if ever, and leaders better than either Donald Trump or Joe Biden—and better than any of the politicians who are likely to replace Biden as the Democratic candidate. Making America a healthy nation, instead of a nation drunk on the military and economic grandiosity and resentment of a dying empire, must be a long-term mission, and must be based on a vision far larger than that of politicians or electoral politics.
To some from outside of America, the withdrawal of JR Biden from the presidential contest against DJ Trump at a crucial fork in the road comes across as more than musical chairs. JR's withdrawal appears to be more of a legal, tactical maneuver than a populist voting strategy, in order to preserve the bounce back ability of his party, as against a manifested rigidity in DJ's party, regardless of electoral outcomes. That is, JR's withdrawal on the grounds of frivolous criticisms strenghthens the legal grip of the court cases against DJ on much more serious and many more allegations. Hopefully, the Democratic Party of America will follow up on this legal-ethical maneuver by electing a running pair for the November 5 elections that will continue to manifest its flexibility, gender inclusiveness and ethnic diversity. It should be kept in mind that maturity and recognition on the political landscape remain key factors for Democrats to acquit themselves well in the USA presidential contest. Some of the scandals wracking the Republican Party center on sordid sexual escapades and sexual violence. This appears to be one reason why much has been made of JR'S age, as it is implausible to paint the average octogenarian as suddenly going out of character and having the ballast, or lack thereof, to deviate into sexual adventures and aggression. It is doubtless doubly ballistic, excellent and elementary, to band together against physical dominance, aggression and violence, maintaining sound minds and clear perspectives on the progressive maturing of peace and progress. As both JR & his Deputy have proven track records and publicly scrutinized profiles, the running team nominated by the Democratic Party for the November 5 election needs to extend this dignity and imperviousness to low down behaviors, in order that the legal processing of persons involved in such wrongdoing may not lose momentum through a free for all or diving in scenario. G-d bless!
Thank you again, Dr. Lee. I'm so glad there has finally been publication of your truly important message in major news sources. Biden has shown his integrity, while Trump continues to show his depravity. As for those who've fallen for the Trump contagion, "If you don't recognize the con, then you're the mark"! I continue now more than ever to hope the Democratic candidate will have the majority votes yet again (as in both 2016 and 2020), as well as enough for the Electoral College (as in 2020). Vote Blue!
Yes. That warmed my heart about the interviews. l had the impression that you had been kept out of the media mix after the adversity with the A.P.A. and certain unscrupulous rivals. ✌️
Biden ending his re-election bid is both heartbreaking and wonderful at the same time. Little in this world is about what we want or can do. Often, we're limited by what colleagues can comprehend.
Dr. Lee asks: "Who is accustomed to dealing with such disorder and dysfunction, without being a psychiatrist?"
I'd suggest people capable of dealing with such disorder and dysfunction are those in responsible positions who must successfully deal with evil. If we define an evil person as someone who consciously and willfully violates the appropriate boundary of another person, then those who keep evil from hurting others, without violating more boundaries, are exceptionally valuable people who perform a difficult soul-wrenching task that should never be taken-for-granted.
Competently containing and managing evil is physically and psychically dangerous.
My sense of Biden during the debate was that he was not prepared for being alone in the same room with Trump intently attacking him. Biden was used to dealing with people who treated his presence with a degree of respect, good-faith, and even loyal opposition not only because he is President, but also because this is how healthy people treat others.
Biden is rarely alone with someone outside his close circle. Yet here he was on-stage having to manage a vicious, evil presence that has no sense of appropriate boundaries, that lies with impunity, and has zero sense of rational discussion or decorum. Trump's superpower is that he's a rich, hardcore 100% Egoic presence in a world that is mostly ignorant about such phenomena. Evil is banal when exposed. I believe that, among other considerations, the experience sucked all life out of Biden.
What I found most telling about Biden was that he didn't try to out-Trump Trump, or fight fire with fire. He did what most healthy people do when in the presence of evil: he withdrew.
Although she will go through hell for it, I hope Harris becomes the nominee. She's a successful prosecutor, which is a task in the hands of a good-person that challenges the soul. So far, she seems up to it. Her first real test will be alone on a debate stage with a phenomenon like Trump.
Just what Trump needs: another prosecutor!!!
First, Biden would have won, handily!
Second, I agree that this moment is a
HUGE OPPORTUNITY!
VP Harris represents a draw to every single minority group-Women, Blacks, Asians, LGBTQIA+, but especially WOMEN, &
super especially-BLACK WOMEN!
Now it would be good to get the running mate of OUR DREAMS!
PETE BUTTIGIEG! A Military Veteran who just happens to be a brilliant Married GAY Father!
They hated Obama, let’s give them our best-
The gQp NIGHTMARE ticket!
If not BUTTIGIEG, then GAVIN NEWSOME!
Dr. Lee,
Could I ask that you send out a notification on Substack when you are in a published interview? Now that the media is giving you some coverage I would like to not miss an article that you are quoted in.
Secondly, it would be immensely helpful to the public if, when you are interviewed, you would detail what the criteria are for the different ''cognitive tests'' that are being discussed. People generally have no idea what the difference is between what Trump boasts about vs the assessment you did using the Mueller report - it would be easy for them to understand if you described or even listed the criteria.
Third, I hope you are not saying that people who question whether it was an actual assasination attempt or a staged ruse are mentally ill. There are many questions outstanding, including statements Trump made right before the event. He has a history of fooling all of us with strange scams, such as substituting fake Melania stand-ins during his presidency (confirmed by his former Apprentice TV producer Noel Casler who says that's where he learned this trick), and ruining the Rose Garden in order to produce a television shot with an authoritarian tone for a television event. You have told us he will stop at nothing to ''win''!
1 in 3 Dems believe the assignation attempt was staged ? ee, fundamental rule "association is NOT causation".
I posted the likely Dem Ticket a week ago VP Harris- Governor Whitmer on the Ticket. Lawful nomination rules MUST be observed. Harris is already on the Dem Ticket. In Biden's speech to the Nation later this week, I expect the President Biden to emphasize medical reason likely his 3rd positive Covid & the need to run the Country responsibly now.
Yes, of course, the Dem Ticket will be attacked. Thus, assemble sound procedural defenses BEFORE the Dem Convention. Expect litigation -- vanquish litigation. The other side is 0 for 63.
Subtitle: He made us gag. Now impose the ultimate gag order! Or, perhaps, Sit down! Mr. Tramp!
Thank you Dr. lee in your continued work and efforts to expose Trump's unfitness as our country's leader. I am heartened that Kamala Harris, a former prosecutor will be just what we need.
"I am rejoicing, not because Joe Biden has dropped out, but because he has shown the flexibility and the consideration of national interests—and, therefore, fitness—to be able to do so. This is a sign of health that gives us hope." A lovely statement, a gracious statement, Ma'am.🤝
The President's stately leatter: https://x.com/joebiden/status/1815080881981190320 🙏
It hearkens back to your other advanced degree: "And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity." -- Saint Paul's Letter to the Corinthians. 💖
-----------------
I noticed the mention of your reading the Mueller report; I read much of that report, too. It galled me to my own near unfitness for human affairs when President Trump declared himself exonerated of the Russian hoax.
That report made it clear that President Trump had committed much wrong-doing.
Director Mueller decided not to proceed owing to unanswered requests, perhaps subpoenas, and a White House legal opinion, written at the height of Watergate, stating that a sitting President could not be indicted. And it seemed that no one in the mass media tried openly to contest President Trump's assertion.
My feeling had been that President Biden had earned the dignity to decide for himself, which he did. The last President to step up by stepping back was President Johnson, my proxy grand-dad. That felt sad, too. But, for me at least, the best Presidents in my living memory served four years, or less:
1st, President Gerald Ford;
tied for 2nd, President Jimmy Carter; and
tied for 2nd, President George H.W. Bush.
President Biden is headed toward that mix, maybe tieing President Ford for #1!
Notice the stark difference between Trump and Biden.
Biden already had the delegates and DNC was a formality to get nomination and go on to contest against Trump. BUT Biden realized that it's not good for the party and it's not good for the country, he realized he's not the best choice (& not in the best shape) and Dems cannot afford to lose to Trump. So he stepped aside.
Now look at Trump. Frankly speaking, he's an Armageddon candidate (like Greg Stillson), a disaster for America. Someone who exists purely for sadistic pleasure, retribution and feeding his malformed narcissistic self. His track record on Pandemic, insurrection, criminality, frauds, rapes and countless illegalities speak for itself. He should never be President. He should never even be a janitor in Parks department of local municipality. He's incompetent and completely unfit for any & all jobs. But Donald Trump craves for power. Like an addict who craves for his next dose when he's missed their last one.
Lesson - Do not ever give power to Donald Trump. He craves for it only so he can abuse it.
Let's not be happy too soon. Why would the people and the media who so aggressively pushed out Biden get behind Harris? It was never about Biden's age or mental fitness. The New York Times has had a vendetta against Biden that has nothing to do with him not agreeing to an interview. And the rest of the media fell in line like sheep. Dr. Lee, thank you for putting the focus on Trump's mental/ emotional unfitness. If the media wasn't in the tank for Biden, they would have been interviewing you for 5 years. There's something rotten under the surface.
That’s all well and good, but Biden was in no danger of losing at any time. In point of fact, tossing him out and replacing him with Harris has slightly diminished the odds the Democrats will remain in power in November. She’s still in the plus category, but not as much as Biden was.
Just published - Biden Steps Down: Ageism, Anxiety, Antagonism, and Grace | Psychology Today https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-pacific-heart/202407/biden-steps-down-ageism-anxiety-antagonism-and-grace
PART 1
“PUT DONILON ON”
Dr. Lee’s main point in this newsletter, that the nation’s professionally informed awareness of psychological unfitness in officials is essential to democratic governance, is of the greatest importance. That is why her unique public service is so vital. It is more than frustrating that such awareness has been blanked out in the mainstream media. The Washington Post openly insults its readers by running a large sidebar of advice-to-the-lovelorn articles on its main webpage alongside its news articles. Democracy Dies in Kitsch.
While Dr. Lee’s main point is of the greatest importance, it is also an important question whether, as she writes of Biden, he actually “has shown the flexibility and the consideration of national interests—and, therefore, fitness—to be able to do so. This is a sign of health that gives us hope.”
It is hard to see how this conclusion is supported by the evidence. While it is essential to be aware of psychopathology, it is also essential to be realistic about the world outside the mind. By all available evidence, Biden, rather than exhibiting a “consideration of national interests” for the last three weeks, has exhibited only a consideration of Joe Biden’s interests. This is consistent with Biden’s conduct throughout his Senate career. To cite one example of many, in the 2000s he spearheaded legislation that enabled extreme, predatory collection practices by the credit card industry; this legislation so outraged Elizabeth Warren, a specialist in bankruptcy law, that she left the academic world to enter politics.
We will learn definitively only in the future (which may mean years from now, or perhaps never) what actually motivated Biden to withdraw his candidacy. There have been many partial accounts in the media, but the most comprehensive, detailed, and persuasive one I’ve seen appeared on Politico over the weekend. The reporter had obviously been in close contact with at least a couple of dozen important political figures in Washington since the June 27 debate. Other outlets had already reported on what former House Speaker, Nancy Pelosi had been doing. Pelosi is nothing if not ruthless and lethally effective. (Her own daughter said that you will be talking to her and think all is well, when she will suddenly “hand you your head on a platter.”) It was reported that Pelosi had been operating behind the scenes since the debate to get Biden to drop out, working the phones with dozens of Democrats. According to Politico’s report, she had in effect offered Biden two ways to withdraw: “the easy way and the hard way.” She had given him three weeks to take the easy way. Time for replacing him was running out, so this coming week she was going to do it the hard way.
As you may recall, the Democrats’ efforts to get Biden to withdraw seem to have fizzled out just before Wednesday, July 10. It appeared that he was going to succeed in running out the clock till he became the official nominee. Then Pelosi surprised everyone by saying on national TV, “It’s up to the president to decide” whether to continue—despite the fact that he had repeatedly been saying that he had already decided, and that he expected the issue to be considered closed.
You may then have seen reports at the end of last week that Biden was feeling angry, abandoned, and betrayed because his one-time allies, including his till then “spiritual sister” Pelosi, were orchestrating efforts to get him to withdraw. That seems to be because that’s exactly what they were doing—particularly Pelosi, Senate Majority Leader Schumer, and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries. You may recall that Jeffries was continuing to say publicly that he supported Biden when on Friday, July 19, he told his caucus that if they wanted to publicly say Biden should withdraw, now was the time to do it. Inviting people to help push someone off a cliff is not what you say when you’re supporting that person. Schumer had also been reported as believing Biden should drop out, but didn’t believe it was appropriate to say so publicly.
The moment I will always remember is Pelosi’s saying, on a phone call to Biden last week, “Put Donilon on.” Donilon is one of Biden’s very closest advisors, in what has been revealed to be an excessively insular inner circle. Donilon’s reputation now is that he was one of the chief offenders both in concealing Biden’s real condition from the public, and in concealing political reality from Biden. In Pelosi’s phone call with Biden, she told him the polls showed that he now had almost no path to victory in the Electoral College. Biden retorted that he had seen polls that showed he could win. Pelosi’s reply was, “Put Donilon on.” Pelosi is not merely ruthless; her life’s work has been knowing the minutiae of elections, down to the level of individual districts, candidates, fundraising, local issues, poll results, and so forth; that is a foundation of her being, by reputation, the most successful and effective American legislator of her time. Neither of the two articles I saw that reported her statement, “Put Donilon on,” reported what she said next, but the reader could readily imagine it. She must have demanded that Donilon tell her about these imaginary polls that he had been telling Biden about.
PART 2
According to the Politico article, if Biden didn’t drop out over the weekend, then “the hard way” was going to be put into operation beginning Monday, July 22. First, senior Democratic elected officials, presumably including Schumer and Jeffries, were going to say publicly on Monday and Tuesday that Biden drop out. Later in the week, Pelosi was going to say the same thing. Except that she was also going to publicly reveal the internal Democratic Party polls that came in last week, which show not only that Biden was losing in all the swing states, but was in danger of also losing in states Democrats should be able to take for granted; and that he would likely take down-ballot Democrats down to defeat with him. Presumably Pelosi was going to refute another of Biden’s excuses for continuing as well. Biden claimed that only the Party elites wanted him to drop out, while the people supported him; but a top-tier poll showed that 65% of Democrats wanted him to drop out. And presumably Pelosi would also have pointed out that major-donor contributions had dropped by at least half (major donors had a new slogan, “No more dough until no more Joe”); and that it is impossible to run a major-party presidential campaign without major-donor contributions. The Politico article said Biden’s campaign became aware over the weekend that “the hard way” was going to be put into operation beginning Monday, July 22.
Biden did not withdraw because he had any consideration for the national interest. His own narcissistic pathology has come into view in the last three weeks. He must have approved the hardball plan, justified with a lie about Ohio election law, to officially declare him the nominee next week by means of a digital vote of the electors, thereby unilaterally preempting and denying the desires of his party and the nation. This plan was quashed by alarmed party leaders, acting together with a great many rank-and-file. According to Biden, the crisis following the debate on June 27 was the fault of everyone but himself; in reality he was the person responsible for it: he never should have run for re-election. It is a moot point whether he is capable despite outward appearances; it is patently obvious that millions of voters are never going to accept a presidential candidate in such a condition. In every statement Biden made for three weeks until he withdrew, it was all about Joe Biden, never about the nation: the elites have always been against him; he’s been counted out many times before; he’s gotten where he has because he’s always believed in himself and fought back; if he lost in November, he would have done his best, and that’s what counts. He also said a couple of weeks ago, “I run the world.” This statement would have been an expression of crazy grandiosity in the 1950’s, when America was the only industrialized nation in the world that had not been devastated by WWII, produced half the world’s economic output, and did indeed dominate the world outside the Soviet bloc. Eisenhower never claimed to be the emperor of the world. Now in 2024, America produces only 9% of the world’s economic output, and it has half China’s manufacturing capacity; twenty years ago the ratio was the reverse. Anyone who imagines that America or its president “run the world” should take a look at what China, Russia, India, Brazil, South Africa, and other increasingly wealthy and powerful nations outside the NATO nations have to say on the subject.
The reason Biden finally withdrew on Sunday is that if he had not, then he would have left his Party's leaders no alternative except to humiliate him into doing so—unless they wanted to allow Trump to win a landslide victory, and claim he had been given a mandate to remake America into a fascist nation. Biden knew that if he did not withdraw on Sunday, then the “hard way” of doing things that Pelosi would orchestrate and finally enact herself in the following week would have made his position completely untenable. He would have been forced to withdraw in abject humiliation, slinking offstage with his tail between his legs. It took Pelosi’s political power, skills, determination, ruthlessness—and willingness to be brutal, if necessary, to a selfish, greedy old man, and old friend and ally—to get him to withdraw.
As Dr. Lee has pointed out many times, America has not gotten into its current condition overnight, or since 2016. Its condition is the result of long-term factors. In order to create a healthier America, it is necessary to have political parties better than either the Republican or Democratic Party have been for several decades, if ever, and leaders better than either Donald Trump or Joe Biden—and better than any of the politicians who are likely to replace Biden as the Democratic candidate. Making America a healthy nation, instead of a nation drunk on the military and economic grandiosity and resentment of a dying empire, must be a long-term mission, and must be based on a vision far larger than that of politicians or electoral politics.
Ever Onward!
To some from outside of America, the withdrawal of JR Biden from the presidential contest against DJ Trump at a crucial fork in the road comes across as more than musical chairs. JR's withdrawal appears to be more of a legal, tactical maneuver than a populist voting strategy, in order to preserve the bounce back ability of his party, as against a manifested rigidity in DJ's party, regardless of electoral outcomes. That is, JR's withdrawal on the grounds of frivolous criticisms strenghthens the legal grip of the court cases against DJ on much more serious and many more allegations. Hopefully, the Democratic Party of America will follow up on this legal-ethical maneuver by electing a running pair for the November 5 elections that will continue to manifest its flexibility, gender inclusiveness and ethnic diversity. It should be kept in mind that maturity and recognition on the political landscape remain key factors for Democrats to acquit themselves well in the USA presidential contest. Some of the scandals wracking the Republican Party center on sordid sexual escapades and sexual violence. This appears to be one reason why much has been made of JR'S age, as it is implausible to paint the average octogenarian as suddenly going out of character and having the ballast, or lack thereof, to deviate into sexual adventures and aggression. It is doubtless doubly ballistic, excellent and elementary, to band together against physical dominance, aggression and violence, maintaining sound minds and clear perspectives on the progressive maturing of peace and progress. As both JR & his Deputy have proven track records and publicly scrutinized profiles, the running team nominated by the Democratic Party for the November 5 election needs to extend this dignity and imperviousness to low down behaviors, in order that the legal processing of persons involved in such wrongdoing may not lose momentum through a free for all or diving in scenario. G-d bless!