About Joe Biden’s Muted, Bland, Lukewarm, Largely-Inconsequential Speech.
Phu Quoc Island. Vietnam, July 25th, 2024.
Salaroche

No doubt Joe Biden is a man of moral and ethical principles. His overflowing pride in serving the United States, the country that he so deeply loves, is evident and undeniable. That he is a good man can only be denied by those who want to demolish the American Democratic and Judicial Systems.

Only the wicked see an enemy in virtue, which is why Donald Trump and his perverted MAGA Republicans hate Joe Biden. But as praiseworthy as Joe’s character may be, he is in no way immune to the exacting toll that the march of time inexorably exerts over each and every one of us and, as a 75-year-old man, I can personally attest to that.

Over the past few years, I have grown increasingly aware that my physical balance is no longer as steady as it used to be. I recently lived in Siem Reap, Cambodia, for a little over a month and while over there I used to ride a bicycle to go shopping or to go to a restaurant, etc., and every time I did so I had to first remind myself that my reflexes are no longer as sharp as they used to be and that, therefore, now I have to ride around rather slowly and defensively, particularly when doing a U-turn.

Now that I’m temporarily living on the Island of Phu Quoc in Vietnam, I ride around in a Yamaha scooter and still, whenever I start the engine, I always remind myself that I’m no longer 25 years old and that I have to be very cautious, as this time an accident might definitely be much more consequential.

As far as my mental acuity is concerned, I keep reading and writing, I still take pictures and put together photo albums (one of them coming up soon), and I keep writing music on my computer (a new piece coming up soon). What I mean is that age can be a determinant factor in our general performance, both personally and professionally and that older people like myself have to be extra careful when doing a few of the things we do.

What Joe Biden demonstrated in his speech from the Oval Office on July 24th, was a clear decline in his capacity to think and to articulate his thoughts, even as he obviously must have been reading a script. Evidently, his mind struggles with concentration and the inflection in his voice no longer fully correspond to the intended meaning in his words. However, as diminished as Joe’s mental and physical abilities may be, it wouldn’t be fair to compare his decline to that of Donald Trump.

Trump is a bully that doesn’t need to concentrate on any subject. He doesn’t need to care about the veracity of anything he pukes out. All he has to do to earn the applause of his cult followers is just shout out blatant lies and hateful fantasies and vomit hatred against foreigners and against the American Judicial and Democratic Systems and that is enough to qualify him as the GOP’s presidential nominee.

But for the rest of us who haven’t been fooled by any mendacious, insidious demagogue like Trump. For those of us who still live in a world where facts and the truth matter. For us, reality is of the utmost importance. And the reality I saw when watching Joe Biden speak from the Oval Office on July 24th tells me that stepping out of the race was the wisest decision he could have ever made.

Thank you Joe Biden for your long and illustrious service to the country but, most importantly, thank you for stepping out of the 2024 presidential race.

Salaroche