Dr Todd Grande On Biden

I often follow the popular YouTube psychologist Dr Todd Grande, in part because he gives insightful presentations on well-known criminal cases. Like many professionals in various fields who make regular YouTube commentaries, though, I suspect he makes more money from YouTube than from his day job, and I take that into account. Nevertheless, beyond his often entertaining analysis of con artists and celebrities, he's also given several discussions about Joe Biden and his leadership qualifications. The most recent, linked above, is from yesterday, in which, after enumerating a list of gaffes Biden has made since assuming the presidency, he concludes, "It's hard to imagine how he is fit to be president under these circumstances."

At about 5:30, he explains,

In my opinion, the age of a president does not matter as much as the condition that they are in. I've seen people in their 90s that are sharp as a tack, and I've seen people in their 30s who were frequently confused. There is definitely such a thing as highway miles versus city miles when it comes to human lifestyles. Certain experiences will age people prematurely and dramatically, like alcohol and drug consumption, spending time in prison, and watching the Kardashians. Again, I don't think that age is a big deal, which means we have to look specifically at Joe Biden's condition to answer the question. There are three main concerns with somebody serving as president as they grow older. The first is mortality -- that is, will they continue to live? The second is physical performance -- like, can they keep up with all the activity? And the third is mental acuity -- are they cognitively able to do the job? . . . This is the one that is of concern to many people. I'm not aware of anything majorly wrong with Joe Biden. Some people have talked about dementia, but there's not a lot of evidence to support that conclusion. Joe appears to have some reasoning and memory limitations that are consistent with his age. Of all the Joe Biden mistakes, the ones that are the most worrisome involve his aggressiveness with reporters and how he is easily confused. It's clear that his performance in the areas of reasoning and memory are [sic] impaired. It's hard to imagine how he is fit to be president under these circumstances.

On August 28, 2021, he posted the episode below, "Is Joe Biden a Failed President?"

In it, he focuses on character and leadership issues, rather than questions of cognitive ability, which I actually think are closer to the mark. At about 1:30:

I don't think it's the withdrawal of military forces is what is making people so upset with Joe Biden, rather, it's really about how he handled the withdrawal. The strategy of having people running to the airport in danger of losing their lives did not seem to be well thought out. This brings me to the question, was Joe Biden demonstrating leadership? There are a few items that speak to leadership that I will review here. One, in spite of taking ownership of the problem, Biden has blamed just about everyone else. He said his advisers did not warn him of the situation, when in fact they did, although it may be true that there was some disagreement among the advisers; Biden blamed the president of Afghanistan for fleeing; Biden portrayed the Afghan security forces as incompetent' one could argue that he implied they were cowards; Biden seemed more fascinated with blaming tghe people of Afghanistan than helping them. He abandoned people who had helped the United States' he basically is telling them "tough luck". A key part of leadership is accepting responsibility. It is the only way to instill confidence. Biden simply can't view himself as the problem. He believes no one has the right to doubt his superior leadership qualities.

At about 7:30, he concludes,

With all these factors in mind, what are my thoughts on Joe Biden's leadership ability? I can appreciate that Joe Biden has trouble adjusting to being president. He doesn't like questions from reporters, probably because he doesn't have good answers, he doesn't like being held accountable; foreign and domestic policy are more complicated than he originally imagined. Even still, he promoted himself as a leader. Unfortunately, the evidence doesn't support his assertion. . . . I think the reality is simply that Joe Biden is the person who is in charge. That's different than being the leader.

It does seem as though episodes of Biden's on-stage confusion are becoming more frequent. Yesterday, for instance, as reported by Nick Arama at the Red State blog

During an event at the White House on Friday for Rosh Hoshanah, . . . I . . . found it intriguing that they are putting a mark on the floor for him to know where to stand. You can see him looking for it on the ground . . . . after Joe Biden finished his remarks, he seemed confused and delayed leaving the stage. Jill looked testy when he asked her something, and she said, “No.” Then reporters began shouting questions and Biden seemed to point at something. That’s when Jill looked worried — perhaps not wanting him to answer any questions– and started pushing him off the stage. You could also see both Kamala Harris and Doug Emhoff looking like they didn’t know what to do with Joe. Emhoff pointed off stage for Joe to know which way to go.

We’ve seen how much he seems to be deteriorating. But you know it’s getting worse when the handlers like Jill seem to be fraying at the edges now as well. She doesn’t look at all happy in her position. Even Kamala and her husband looked uneasy here. Everyone knows there’s an issue. Imagine how wearying it must be to wonder, “What will Joe do next?” and how they might have to head it off. But they’re the ones who put us all in this position of having someone in this condition in office.

Dr Grande seems to be of the opinion that Biden doesn't have serious cognitive issues, but on a day-to-day basis, his public appearances are becoming hard to manage. I would think this is partly a question of character -- he simply doesn't like being told what to say, where to stand, or where to go -- and partly an issue of bad habits carried into old age, but not a question of full dementia.

But I can't disagree with Dr Grande that maybe this isn't what we want right now. I would slightly disagree with him on the point that he's in charge, but not a leader. I'd say it's more likely he's neither. My guess is there's a good angel whispering in one ear -- Secretary Blinken -- and some bad angels whispering in the other, including Speaker Pelosi. But I'm inclined to invoke Stein's Law: That which cannot continue must stop.