Hazy, crazy days in America

Cycling through the five stages of grief, Joe Biden finally did the right thing for the country and himself.

So now Americans face a stark choice: do they really want to elect a 78-year-old convicted felon who claims an attempted assassination changed him, then offered this comment on Biden’s decision:

“Biden will go down as the single worst president by far in the history of our country. Crooked Joe Biden was not fit to run for President, and is certainly not fit to serve - And never was! He only attained the position of President by lies, Fake News, and not leaving his Basement. All those around him, including his Doctor and the Media, knew that he wasn't capable of being President, and he wasn't - And now, look what he's done to our Country, with millions of people coming across our Border, totally unchecked and unvetted, many from prisons, mental institutions, and record numbers of terrorists. We will suffer greatly because of his presidency, but we will remedy the damage he has done very quickly. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!""

Trump’s nasty, mean-spirited statement is exactly what happens when a narcissist constantly stares into a mirror at his reflection.

There’s no question “Uncle Joe” had to be dragged kicking and screaming to the decision he announced on social media in the middle of a July Sunday. The pressure had been mounting, first from a media feeding frenzy following his disastrous June 27 debate with Trump — then from party leaders fearful of a wipe-out that would cost them the House and Senate too.

You don’t strive all your adult life to be “Leader of the Free World” without an ego.

There should and will be a look back at Kamala Harris’ record — as California attorney general, U.S. senator and vice president. It will show she ran an awful 2020 Democratic primary, despite a memorable moment in a debate when she zinged Biden over his stance on busing and desegregation:

"There was a little girl in California who was part of the second class to integrate her public schools and she was bused to school every day. That little girl was me."

She will be tarred with the same criticisms as Biden over the administration’s immigration policy, despite continued Republican efforts to stymie reform in favor of a political hot button issue.

She began to emerge as a forceful voice for women’s reproductive rights, in contrast to GOP vice president nominee J.D. Vance, who calls himself 100 percent pro-life and Trump, who offers his usual word salad.

As usual, a lot will depend on what the media focus will be.

Now that they can stop their Javert-like pursuit of Parkinson’s experts to investigate Biden’s health, perhaps they can check with trauma experts about the true nature of Trump’s wounded ear?

To date, the only information has come from Admiral, er, Captain Ronny Jackson, a demotion that followed the Pentagon inspector general’s report that substantiated allegations about his inappropriate behavior as a White House physician.

Prior to Jackson’s one-page letter all we heard from the newspaper of record was this credulous report:

Representative Ronny Jackson, Republican of Texas, was on Donald J. Trump’s plane on Sunday afternoon, the day after the former president survived an assassination attempt, when he quickly reverted to his role of doctor.

No mention of Jackson’s stewardship of the White House physician’s office or, more importantly, the fact he gave up his Virginia medical license and was authorized to only provide emergency services or medical treatment on military facilities.

Since then it’s been crickets from the paper that pursued the visiting neurologist story that first appeared in Rupert Murdoch’s New York Post with Jackson as the principal source. Without apparently bothering to do any detailed confirmation.

It’s long past time for the political press corps to stop simply accepting as fact anything that comes from what’s now the Trump-Vance campaign, which is continuing its fun house mirror efforts to distort reality.

Take for example, the duo claiming that Democrats staged a “coup” in forcing Biden to step back. Said Trump campaign adviser Chris LaCivita:

“This is nothing more than an attempted coup by the Democratic Party.”

Who better to know what a coup is? After all January 6th, 2021 was a coup, a date Republicans work hard to ignore while aggrandizing the rioters.

Truth be told (but not by the Trump campaign), the dynamics of this race have shifted. The candidate who fell asleep in court during his trial, who rambles through his greatest hits list of grievances is now the old man in the contest.

Voters who wanted no part of a 2020 rematch now have their wish. While nearly two-thirds of voters polled said they wanted Biden out, 60 percent expressed the same opinion about Trump.

The Hunter (pun intended) has become the hunted (not an endorsement of violence). Here’s a tip for the political press corps.

Do a deep dive on Harris. But don’t fall asleep on Trump and Vance.