Feebleness v volatility is choice facing US voters as world looks on aghast

Speculation is feverishly growing about US President Joe Biden’s political future. Unsourced stories have appeared claiming top Democrats are threatening to pull support. Others assert former president Barack Obama and former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi have privately said he should fall on his sword.

The 81-year-old is isolating at his vacation home in Delaware after testing positive to COVID-19. Since his poor showing in the first presidential debate late last month, Biden’s frailty and shuffling missteps in recent interviews and appearances have caused anxiety about his ability to stay the course and prompted frenzied rumours that his grip on power is growing more tenuous. Further, he will make a major decision this weekend on his race to the US White House. And opinion polls are growing increasingly bad for the president.

Against all this roiling turmoil within the Democrats over Biden’s fate, his challenger, Donald Trump, now seems an upright walking counterpoint of unity and stability. The conservative political commentator Tucker Carlson revved up the Republican National Convention for Trump’s acceptance speech on Friday (AEST) with the words “God is among us right now”. Trump then emerged, like a kind of Mount Rushmore Jesus exuding patrician calm following his near-death experience last weekend to tell the faithful “I stand before you by the grace of Almighty God”.

Trump’s rampant ego and scattergun of misinformation, lies and inanities flared occasionally in the parts of his record-breaking 93-minute speech that were his usual boilerplate speciality, but there was also a new personality, sombre and bandaged on display for the first time.

In contrast, Biden is stuck with his same old self, one that has misnamed a president here, committed a gaffe or two there, yet one that has generally remained lucid on policy. But such old-time politics is not enough now.

With an average of national polls reportedly showing Trump at 43.2 per cent support, compared to 40.1 per cent for Biden, the assumption after the weekend shooting is that Trump is going to romp home. That may be open to question, but the new reality is that the longer the “Biden Agonistes” crisis lurches on, the more Trump is provided with a free limousine ride to the White House.

Democrats powerbrokers are to blame for the dilemma they find themselves facing for not hard-heartedly evaluating the president’s fitness for future office long before the campaign began. They must back Biden’s candidacy unequivocally or end it quickly. He has to get onto the front foot, although there is little sign he can.

It is a tragedy it has come to this, not only for the US, but for the world that looks to America for leadership, protection and hope. To function fairly for all, democracy needs a strong contest where ideas and polices are debated and is ill-served by any candidate romping home. But the future is now so uncertain in a US election carelessly permitted to have devolved into a contest between two elderly men suffering from feebleness and creepiness.