(Biden family photos sat behind President Joe Biden as he delivered his address to the nation)

Ever since the Anita Hill hearings in October 1991 I have had little respect for Joseph Biden.  As chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, he was responsible for her receiving a fair and respectful hearing – a task that then Senator Biden failed at miserably.  The hearings took place during Clarence Thomas’ confirmation hearing for a seat of the Supreme Court, and one would expect that the chairman of the committee could assure that Ms. Hill’s complaints concerning Thomas’ sexual harassment would have been received with an open mind, but this was not the case.  The hearing was contentious, and I would categorize certain aspects particularly before the “Me Too” movement existed as somewhat misogynistic.  Biden’s refusal or inability to reign in the commentary of certain committee members reflect his membership in the “Senatorial Men’s Club” which downplayed any questioning and support for women who raised the kinds of complaints that Ms. Hill did against Thomas.  Fast forward decades and it is partially Biden’s fault that this partisan corrupt judge has a lifetime appointment on the Supreme Court and feels no obligation to conform to the expected behavior of a justice as he has accepted millions in benefits from his political cronies.

The second issue that concerns me involves Mr. Biden’s decision to run for re-election in 2024.  This is further borne out by CNN anchor Jake Tapper and Axios reporter Alex Thompson’s new book ORIGINAL SIN: PRESIDENT BIDEN’S DECLINE, ITS COVERUP, AND HIS DISASTROUS DECISION TO RUN AGAIN where the authors encapsulate Biden’s error, which in large part was driven by personal ego.  The end result was that when he finally showed how unfit he was during a June presidential debate he was forced to withdraw his presidential candidacy leaving Vice President Harris 107 days to run against the MAGA machine which had been preparing for the election for four years.  I am not saying Harris, or any Democrat could have defeated the current occupant of the White House, but at least they would have been given a more level playing field.  The end result is an autocratic presidency where masked men and the US military round up legal immigrants, US citizens, in the guise of deporting innumerable criminal migrants, which has been shown to be statistically false.  We now have the passage of the “Big Beautiful Bill” that will impact the poor in the name of rewarding the rich – thank you former President Biden.

(Mike Donilon (center) stands behind Biden, next to homeland security aviser Liz Sherwood-Randall in August 2024.)

The title of the first chapter says it all – “He Totally Fucked Us.”  The theme laid out by the authors is clear and is supported by over 200 interviews, many of which were key players on the inside of the Biden administration, congresspersons, senators, journalists, major players in the Democratic Party, and activists.  Despite reassurances that Biden could pull off his reelection, by 2023 it was clear he should have withdrawn any possible presidential candidacy and allowed a robust competition for the Democratic Party nomination.  His frailty, reduced cognitive function were attested to by many on the inside according to the authors and it was obvious he could not engage in an arduous campaign and for the matter serve effectively for another four years.  The authors point to the disinformation put out concerning Biden’s protectors – family, a close coterie of advisors, campaign staff and others led to a false sense that he could win reelection, despite this fantasy, there were a number of people who believed if reelected he would not live out his second term.

The authors argue correctly that Donald Trump won the election by 2.2 million votes.  However, his electoral college victory was based on about 200,000 votes in Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin.  Therefore, it was in the realm of possibility another democrat, be it Vice President Harris or someone else given the opportunity of a complete campaign might have won.

The book centers on the facts the authors uncovered pertaining to “Biden’s health and abilities; the silence of witnesses; the complicity of enablers; and the scheming of those who endeavored to hide it from others and from the public.”  Biden was in decline since 2022, and the authors set out to prove a conspiracy to hide his deficiencies all out of fear that Trump could return to the White House.

(President Biden meets with campaign advisor Steve Ricchetti)

It is common knowledge that the Biden family has suffered more than its share of loss and tragedies over the years.  But the mindset of not facing reality on their part on a number of occasions clouded Biden’s judgement as well as those around him.  There are two terms that the authors use that help explain what occurred.  The first was “Bideness,” which refers to Biden’s decline in mental acuity to the point of a perceived effort by Biden’s inner circle to conceal his struggles from the public and maintain an image of a sharp and capable leader, even resorting to methods like highly scripting events and limiting access to the president.  The authors describe a president who exhibited signs of cognitive impairment behind the scenes, such as failing to recognize longtime political allies, losing his train of thought in important conversations, and forgetting important dates.  The second term employed by the authors is the “Politburo” made up of a very insularized inner circle that surrounded and protected Biden made up of seasoned political veterans like Mike Donilon, Steve Ricchetti, Ron Klain, and Bruce Reed.  An outer layer consisted of Ann Dunn, and Bob Bauer.  Cabinet members and other policy advisors were excluded as the insularized group protected their influence.  One person described it as “Five people were running the country, and Joe Biden was the senior member of the board.”

I am not suggesting that the Biden administration achievement was not masterful.  The handling of the Covid 19, the Infrastructure Bill, Climate legislation, economic growth, Inflation Reduction Act, investment into semiconductor manufacturing and research, revitalizing America’s relations with its allies and strengthening NATO etc.  Some of this was even achieved with bi-partisan support, but the credit goes to Biden who was the head of his administration, but there are numerous others who deserve most of the credit.  The question must be asked: did Covid 19 provide the impetus and cover for much of the success and was it possible that a second term with a cognitively reduced president could achieve other important legislation.

(President Biden and Chief of Staff Ron Klain)

The overriding guide for Biden’s aides and officials that surrounded him was to defeat Donald Trump in 2024, seemingly at the cost of hiding the president’s loss of acuity and physical infirmities.  Most believed that Vice President Harris could not defeat Trump and many disliked her and her approach to politics.  The mantra was clear, no one could defeat the former president but Biden.  The result, according to the authors supported by people “who were in the room where it happened” (from the musical “Hamilton!”) was that Biden had difficulty focusing, forgot names and didn’t recognize people, exhibited a complete loss of energy, and had difficulty absorbing information.  The resulting speechwriters had to adapt to his diminishing capabilities; an increased reliance on note cards and teleprompters, and scripted meetings and interviews.  A case in point was Biden’s performance at the Normandy  D Day commemoration in June 2022.  Biden appeared stiff and according to the authors a number of Normandy survivors had more energy than the president.

One must realize in Biden’s defense that he was under extreme stress since the death of his son Beau in 2015.  As the years passed, he grew further attached to his surviving son, Hunter, whose personal issues including drug addiction, using the president’s contacts and family name to acquire wealth, tax evasion, and illegal weapons purchase resulted in a trial all weighing on the president’s mind.  Once a special prosecutor was appointed by Attorney General Merrick Garland and resulted at first in a plea deal related to Hunter’s purchase of a gun while addicted to cocaine was overturned and resulted in his conviction in a Delaware court, it knocked the wind out of the president as did his tax evasion trial in California.  Biden would say he only had one son left, and he would enable him the most.  Biden would blame himself for many of Hunter’s problems because if he hadn’t run for president, the Justice Department spurred on by Republicans would never have gone after his son.

Biden’s limitations are catalogued by Tapper and Horowitz by numerous examples supported by individuals who were present in National Security Council meetings, speech preparation, cabinet meetings, fundraising events, etc.  Aides used personal blinders to convince themselves Biden would overcome his shortcomings as they referred to his excellent State of the Union Speech in 2024, however within hours it was the same old infirm president.  This was compounded by the investigation into Biden’s possession of classified documents from his vice presidential years and the conclusion by special prosecutor that the case was not winnable because a jury would not convict an infirm man, with memory issues, well into his eighties.  The “Politburo” grew angrier and angrier at Garland who refused to back down.  They would freeze the Attorney General out of the administration as more and more Democratic stalwarts wanted Biden to drop out of the presidential race. 

(Biden campaign advisor Bruce Reed)

The June 2024 debate debacle which the authors relate in minute detail was the final straw.  Tapper and Thompson lay bare a sense of betrayal as Biden; his family and closest advisors dwelt in a world of alternative facts.  As Jennifer Szalai’s New York Times May 13, 2025, book review states; “Trump’s debate performance was of a piece with his rallies, a jumble of nonsensical digressions and wild claims. But for many Americans, the extent of Biden’s frailty came as a shock. Most of the president’s appearances had, by then, become tightly controlled affairs. For at least a year and a half, Biden’s aides had been scrambling to accommodate an octogenarian president who was becoming increasingly exhausted and confused. According to ORIGINAL SIN which makes pointed use of the word “cover-up” in the subtitle, alarmed donors and pols who sought the lowdown on Biden’s cognitive state were kept in the dark. Others had daily evidence of Biden’s decline but didn’t want to believe it.”  This created a firestorm within the Democratic Party that ultimately led to the nomination of Kamala Harris and her ultimate defeat.

(Hunter Biden, the son of President Joe Biden)

The book may come across as a polemic against Biden and those around him, however if their arguments and sourcing are correct then a grave injustice was  perpetrated against the American people.  In a sense the best way to describe the book is a story centered around willful ignorance that rose to the level of a conspiracy – the authors prove their case!

In closing, according to Jennifer Szalai; “Earlier this month, in what looks like an attempt to get ahead of the book’s publication, Biden went on “The View” to say that he accepts some responsibility for Trump’s victory: “I was in charge.” But he was dismissive about reports of any cognitive decline. In ORIGINAL SIN, Tapper and Thompson describe him waking up the morning after the 2024 election thinking that if only he had stayed in the race, he would have won. “That’s what the polls suggested, he would say again and again,” the authors write. There was just one problem with his reasoning: “His pollsters told us that no such polls existed.”

(President Joe Biden with family members nearby as he delivers remarks during an address from the Oval Office of the White House)