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I think, if I was “King of the Forest” (alá the Cowardly Lion in Wizard of Oz), I’d much rather people were against me, than disappointed with me.  I mean, how deflating to discover that the vast majority of voters (not merely just citizens, which any Tom, Dick or Harry can claim, apparently) just shook their heads and said “too bad, so sad.”  Wouldn’t it be better to have vast swathes of the populace voice a heartfelt opinion – pro or con – than to have them heave a collective heavy sigh and shake their heads in disappointment?

Wouldn’t an epithet of “At least he tried” be better than “When is he going to show up?”  I do think so, but never having been within a stone’s throw of the White House, all I can do is try to imagine what it must feel like.

However, Joe Biden continues the Jimmy Carter legacy (Full Disclosure: I did vote for the peanut farmer) of “what a waste.”  (Yes, the same can be said of Donald Trump; but I don’t think anybody wondered if he had seen the football after the kickoff.)

How many people and how many millions of dollars are invested in what is arguably the “Top Job” of this country?  All of that investment in Joe Biden has been tossed into the wind and gone forever (unlike the Edsel, Joe will never be a good investment).  True enough: like Donald Trump, Joe stopped something dead in its tracks.  But where do we go from here?  Not only did the Demos manage to lose to someone who had never been elected to any public office, but they got elected an anybody who couldn’t possibly lose to Donald Trump (could Hillary have beat Donald after his four years in office?  Probably.)

But after a year of Joe listening to “who are those people?,” We The People have the rather uncomfortable prospect of having not a clue where we go from here.  One can only applaud Stacey Adams for having a “scheduling conflict” when Joe came to town* (would you ever – I mean ever – have a “scheduling conflict” if the President of the United States dropped into your little (and I do mean little) corner of the world?  That absolutely defies imagination. Kudos to Stacey, if not for elegance, then for chutzpah, or should that be integrity?).

“John, we hardly knew ya,” was said of JFK when his life, both personal and political, was cut short.  No one should ever hope for such end for anybody.  But, Joe, who are are you?  I mean, I would really love to love you.  Really.  Quite some time ago, I was a card-carrying Democrat, precinct committee-man, active campaigner for the likes of Morris Udall (I still haven’t washed that hand).  Now, I can’t think of Democrats without thinking of used-car salesmen, and putting my hand on my wallet.  Thanks to the Demos I am proudly deplorable.

Yes, I do think Donald Trump could have gotten re-elected; but he got in his own way – he didn’t know when to shut his mouth.  No, I do not think Joe can be re-elected for, ironically, he doesn’t know when to shut his mouth.  When will people in positions of power learn to exploit that position, instead of squander it?  Is there any better job than being the former president?  The two-term former president?  A one-term former president probably gets the same bennies, but he somehow failed at a gimme: how can you screw-up so badly that the most common voter learned to hate you?  Success Joe, is not just one term as prez; it is two terms – or does that math escape you?

If Joe Biden is on the next ballot, it would be only out of respect.  His current Veep should be investing in her retirement portfolio – she is most definitely a lost cause.  Between the headless Demos and the non-existent Republicans, I can only thank my lucky stars that I am not invested in either political party.  At this point in time, both are losers.  Perhaps the Demos can take a step back and ask, “What do you propose?” of the Republicans.  Sadly, the Republicans can only reply, “We asked you first.”

And we all lose.

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* Gerald Baker, “Biden Goes for Broke. He’s Broke. Now What?”, Jan. 17, 2022 12:59 pm ET