Biden's donor dilemma: Democrats brace for the big money dump
Folks, we’ve been here before. When Ronald Reagan bombed in his first debate against Walter Mondale in 1984, it prompted members of the press, some of the GOP stalwart supporters, members of the donor class and even some of Reagan’s Hollywood friends to question whether Reagan (seeking a second term) could handle the rigors of the presidency at the advanced age of 73.
In the next debate two weeks later when Reagan was asked about his age, he responded with a quip that even prompted Mondale to smile. “I will not make age an issue of this campaign. I am not going to exploit for political purposes, my opponent’s youth and inexperience.”
President Joe Biden, eight years older than Reagan was at the time of that 1984 debate, and just two weeks after his “stupid mistake” (his words, not mine) of a performance in his first debate with Donald Trump, faced reporters down Thursday night in a rare press conference. Afterward, a few in the punditry world declared him a genius, some declared him competent while more than half declared him non compos mentis and said he should be sipping his dinner through a straw while a nurse makes sure he shuffles back to bed.
Almost everyone acted as if we’d never seen Biden commit a gaffe before. Many of us conveniently forgot his blunders are nowhere near as bad as what Donald Trump says before he has his daily “hamberder.”
https://www.salon.com/2024/07/13/bidens-donor-dilemma-democrats-brace-for-the-big-money-dump/