The Pandemic Is Over!

As the saying goes, you don't have dementia if you forget your keys. You have dementia if you forget what your keys are for. President Brandon seems to have stepped all over not just his allies but his diplomatic advisers in Sunday's 60 Minutes interview , but I see no signs of dementia.

The reaction at the Daily Kos was predictable to his announcement that the pandemic is over: 'You’re counting votes.' We are 'counting bodies': Experts outraged at Biden deeming pandemic over. But nobody seems to dispute that he was aware of his surroundings, knew this was a television interview, and was more or less aware of the questions and giving answers that reflected the overall context.

The problem was that he basically hadn't done the prep. The public health establishment is at the very best deeply divided over what to do next with the pandemic; over the summer, it became clear that the public is fed up with vax and masks, and it quietly backed off on threats to reimpose indoor masking in LA County. On the other hand, the FDA has just authorized yet another set of COVID boosters, and the CDC is beginning the push for a new round of vax. From the redoubtable Dr Walensky:

“The updated COVID-19 boosters are formulated to better protect against the most recently circulating COVID-19 variant. They can help restore protection that has waned since previous vaccination and were designed to provide broader protection against newer variants. This recommendation followed a comprehensive scientific evaluation and robust scientific discussion. If you are eligible, there is no bad time to get your COVID-19 booster and I strongly encourage you to receive it.”

Think of the hit to Big Pharma's bottom line if COVID goes away! Nobody seems to have briefed the big guy about this, or if they did, he didn't listen, or he didn't think of it when it came up. He forgot the keys, but he didn't forget what the keys were for. The same applies to his remarks on Taiwan:

President Joe Biden in an interview that aired Sunday said US military personnel would defend Taiwan if the Chinese military were to launch an invasion of the democratically ruled island, in comments that yet again appear to venture beyond the longstanding US policy on the issue.

The comments on CBS’s “60 Minutes” reiterate a pledge to defend Taiwan that Biden has previously made, though Sunday he specified that “US men and women” would be involved in the effort.

In an interview, Biden was asked whether “US forces, US men and women, would defend Taiwan in the event of a Chinese invasion,” a prospect US officials privately fear is becoming more likely.

“Yes,” Biden said.

It’s not the first time Biden has gone further in his public comments than the longstanding US approach of “strategic ambiguity” when it comes to the defense of Taiwan. Most recently, during a visit to Tokyo in May, Biden said the US would intervene militarily if China attempts to take Taiwan by force.

The White House has been quick to downplay Biden’s previous comments on Taiwan, reiterating that US policy hasn’t changed, and on Sunday, “60 Minutes” reported receiving a similar response to Biden’s answers in their interview.

I would actually say that in both cases, Biden's remarks reflect sounder policy than the conventional wisdom with which he may have been briefed, and it's very likely in the interests of everyone but Beijing to have US policy on defending Taiwan a worrisome matter. And beyond any question, not only do we need to be done with COVID, but everything from the lab leak to the lockdowns needs to be thoroughly investigated to prevent it happening again, something on which Biden will never follow through.

None of the excitement, though, means there's any actual daylight between Biden and the public health or diplomaic elites. Biden isn't any sort of closet moderate. In a meeting with his handlers the next day, he'll be just as likely to insist the pandemic is raging on, and nobody with any sense would promise Taiwan will be defended with US troops. The problem is that Biden isn't much different from his vice president when it comes to reading his briefings, and when he gets out in public without his minders, he simply wings it. He's just unprepared. This applies as well to his warning to Putin about nukes:

", , , I wonder, Mr. President, what you would say to [Putin] if he is considering using chemical or tactical nuclear weapons."

"Don't. Don't. Don't. . . " Mr. Biden said.

"Don't. Don't. Don't," is what victims say just before they're shot. One of the talking-head retired generals, I forget which, remarked that it would have been much better if Biden had said nothing. But it was what it was.

I'm not sure if, on balance, Dubya was much smarter than Biden, but he was at least more diligent, he did his homework, and he listened to Dick Cheney, for whatever that was worth. Biden's problem is that he's dumb as a rock and lazy, and beyond that, he's entitled. He's all those, but none of them is a medical issue.