Properly Subversive
David Axelrod, the brains behind Barack Obama’s rise to the presidency, spoke truth to power. It all went down last week as Mr. Biden celebrated his 81st birthday.
First, Axelrod has been very public advocating Biden gracefully move aside and let younger candidates take a shot. Biden is then reported to have said: “David Axelrod is a prick,” to which Axelrod said: “I don’t care about them thinking I’m a prick — that’s fine. I hope they don’t think the polls are wrong because they’re not.”
So, here Americans sit less than a year away from the general election, faced with the prospect of voting either for an old man in clear mental decline or Donald Trump, the weirdest dude – though I must admit strangely entertaining – to ever inhabit the White House.
I’ll leave Mr. Trump for another column.
Let’s talk Axelrod. Is he right on the polls?
Bet the mortgage on it. He was right down the line in guiding the first Black American into the White House. No small feat. And he’s right today on Biden.
Consider the latest national poll meant for general consumption. NBC News’ poll dropped last week, showing Biden’s approval rating declining to the lowest level of his presidency — 40%. And for the first time in NBC polling, Biden loses to Trump in a hypothetical matchup.
This is concerning if you identify with the Democratic Party’s side of things because the NBC poll is likely just the tip of the iceberg. The kinds of polls David Axelrod relies on are the kinds of polls privy only to insiders.
Here’s what he told Maureen Dowd last week:
“I think he (Biden) has a 50-50 shot here, but no better than that, maybe a little worse. He thinks he can cheat nature here and it’s really risky. They’ve got a real problem if they’re counting on Trump to win it for them. I remember Hillary doing that, too.”
What he’s saying is that as wild as Trump can be, the bigger risk is more evidence Biden is not up to the task. Yes, there’s the tripping. We’ve all seen that. I’m not the first to say that we’re one slip and fall away from President Kamala Harris. But it’s his consistent inability to get on and get off stage that gives the average voter cause for concern. He looks confused. He walks with the stiff gate of an assisted living refugee headed to the 3 p.m. dinner buffet.
Also, in speaking on the world stage, Biden can barely utter a coherent sentence. He mumbles. He stumbles through compound sentences. He repeats whole stories back to back, not realizing he just told that story. He doesn’t just occasionally lose track of a thought, he does it almost every time.
These features will repeat themselves as he toggles between world events and a long campaign. By November 2024, American voters will be painfully reminded that Mr. Biden is absolutely, 100% not all quite there.
This is why Axelrod is right to sound the alarm. It will get worse as his 81st year progresses.
TRUMP POLL
While we’re talking polls, if you are, like me, hoping Ron DeSantis might save the Republican Party from Donald Trump, think again. In a new University of North Florida poll of Florida voters, DeSantis loses to Trump by 39 points. The words of old Monday Night Football commentator Don Meredeth come to mind: “Turn out the lights, the party’s over.”
ONE MORE THING
– Word of the day is “Hurkle-Durkle.” It’s a 200-year-old Scottish word meaning to lounge in bed long after it is time to get up. Happiness is hurkle-durkling.
Thanks for reading a Battle Born Media newspaper. Until next time, avoid soreheads, laugh a little and always question authority.
“Properly Subversive” is commentary written by Sherman R. Frederick, a Nevada Hall of Fame journalist and co-founder of Battle Born Media, a news organization dedicated to the enhancement and preservation of community newspapers. You can reach him by email at shermfrederick@gmail.com
