Back in 2008, Hillary Clinton had a notable advertisement called the “3 a.m. Phone Call.”
The idea is that she, Hillary Clinton — high-powered lawyer, board member, former first lady, and senator in her second term — is ready to handle an emergency at 3 a.m. The kind of emergency presidents handle. Barack Obama, merely a junior senator from Illinois, maybe isn’t. Voters disagreed.
But I couldn’t help thinking of the 3 a.m. phone call when White House staffers said this to media outlet Axios:
- From 10am to 4pm, Biden is dependably engaged — and many of his public events in front of cameras are held within those hours.
- Outside of that time range or while traveling abroad, Biden is more likely to have verbal miscues and become fatigued, aides told Axios.
Now, the truth is that the 3 a.m. phone call rarely or never comes for any president. They make critical decisions while awake, even if sometimes late at night.
Still and all. What are Biden’s aides thinking telling this to Axios? This is just not the description of someone who is fit for the presidency.