Long before his ashes were placed in a Westminster Abbey vault, Christian clergyman Frederick Lewis Donaldson enumerated the seven social sins: Wealth without work, pleasure without conscience, knowledge without character, science without humanity, worship without sacrifice, and – saving the best for last – politics without principle. This final maxim appears to be tripping up the man currently occupying the Oval Office, and Democrats who once lauded him are slowly but surely distancing themselves from Joe Biden.
After Mr. Biden's personal attorney, Bob Bauer, revealed on Saturday evening, Jan. 21, that the Justice Department had searched the president's Wilmington, DE house the previous day, recovering yet more classified documents, one wonders how much longer the top dogs in the party will be inclined to indulge him.
These same Democrats once believed the classified documents found in an FBI raid of Mar-a-Lago would be the final nail in Donald Trump's coffin. But now their man appears to be in the same boat and could suffer a worse fate than Mr. Trump. With classified documents popping up everywhere save Mr. Biden's sock drawer, the Dems have found a perfect excuse to rid themselves of the president. It's a not-too-subtle effort gaining steam with each passing day.
News of the DOJ search, which likely included even the aforementioned sock drawer, could give additional momentum to Democrats who want off of the Biden train before it derails entirely. That is if one is willing to assume it hasn't already.
Classifying Joe Biden
The legacy media appears to be in sync with this overture. The pro-Democrat media first tried the old standby: These two cases have significant differences, but when they found the people were not buying what they were peddling, party strategists tacked in another direction. Why not use it as a reason to dump the slumping president? Now, that's something worth considering.
Joe Manchin (Photo By Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
Virginia Senator Tim Kaine (you'll remember him as Hillary's running mate) called Biden's sloppy handling of classified documents "extremely irresponsible and disturbing." Author and MSNBC contributor Jonathan Alter penned a piece for The New York Times titled, "Oh, Biden, What Have You Done?" He opined in the Gray Lady, "If you went into a G.O.P. whataboutism lab and asked for a perfect gaffe, you'd come out with the president snapping last week to a Fox News reporter, 'My Corvette is in a locked garage.' Well, the storage room at Mar-a-Lago is locked, too." Then he put the hammer down, "it's hard to exaggerate the level of Democratic exasperation with him [Biden] for squandering a huge political advantage on the Mar-a-Lago story and for muddying what may have been the best chance to convict Mr. Trump on federal charges."
Well stated, Mr. Alter. This might be an opportune time to resurrect the adage “When your enemy is in the process of destroying himself, stay out of his way."
Indeed, there is much more coming from the president's party. Katie Porter, a House Democrat from California, asserted, "Good oversight means you're willing to hold any rule breaker to account," she told Fox Digital. Then Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) chimed in, "The reports about President Biden's mishandling of classified documents are extremely irresponsible and disturbing. These allegations should be investigated fully."
Fiery Democratic strategist, James Carville, couldn't resist stating the obvious, "No one's going to say this is helpful." And another Dem analyst, Josh Schwerin, doubled down with, "[this development] is certainly not ideal." Of course, there are plenty of Dems still carrying water for the president, but their buckets are beginning to leak - and all this criticism came even before the surprising news of Friday's DOJ search.
A Bad Time to Be a Mess
It might be too much to say timing is everything in politics. Still, the optics of Special Prosecutor Robert Hur digging into this just when Biden is expected to announce for another term is not the kind of media attention a candidate seeks. As Alter pointed out in his Times rant, "the Biden documents story may give new life to unproven allegations about his connections to unsavory Chinese executives in business with members of his family." If the point he makes is that Biden's classified documents scandal could become the figurative opener for the Hunter laptop can of worms, he has lurched uncontrollably into the GOP narrative.
While it would be irresponsible to say Joe Biden's political goose is cooked, the pot is on the burner, and House Republicans are poised to turn up the heat with a plethora of investigations – none of which are designed to make the president look good. That's expected in politics. But when one's own party stands over their man like a hungry carnivore waiting to pounce on red meat, it would be fair to say Joe Biden is in a lot of hot water.
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