Thinking about it some more. Biden’s performance in the debate inspired even many Democratic viewers to get angry and sad that the country is currently “led” by this man.
Most Americans above the age of twelve recognize the state Joe Biden is in. They’ve seen it in aged grandparents or in a neighbor. It is not a condition that improves over time, but worsens, usually precipitously.
Now, it’s possible Trump will undergo the same decline in the next four years. But so far, he’s still very recognizably the man elected in 2016.
Imagine if you abstracted away every other political question and position and simply asked, “Under which of these men do you feel safe for the next four years?” The comparison is between, on one hand, what people remember of Donald Trump’s foreign policy — which did include one frightening moment for Hawaii — but which was overall successful. And, on the other hand: What will Joe Biden be like in six months, or two years, or four years from now? That is really a Rumsfeldian “known unknown.” We know he will be in a worse condition than now, but we don’t know how much worse. And, in a real sense, we won’t know who is making the decisions for our country. Do we know now?