Joe Biden may be holding on to power, but it seems unlikely that he will get another term. - REUTERS
Joe Biden is flailing. After his series of stumbles, verbal and physically, the fall of Kabul proved to be more than just the straw. It was the sledgehammer that broke the camels back.
The president has caused a humanitarian crisis through his incompetence. Now he is trying to pretend that it's not happening. He hid at Camp David for several days initially. He didn't mention Afghanistan in his Monday speech of 12 minutes. It seems he wishes it all would just disappear. It seems that his aides are afraid to tell him that he doesn't have clothes.
Although Mr Biden will continue to stumble after this disaster, the possibility of a second term which he so desperately wants seems distant.
Many people want his presidency to end sooner because of the other unanticipated catastrophes that await America and the rest of the world over the next three-years. The Republican drumbeat for the 25th Amendment has started.
Rick Scott, a Republican senator representing Florida, stated what many thought. He said that we must face a serious question. Is Joe Biden capable or unable to discharge the duties of his office? Or is it time to apply the provisions of the 25th Amendment.
Kamala Harris would need to be a majority in the Cabinet and two thirds of Congress to oppose Mr Biden. This is extremely unlikely (although Ms Harris had previously pushed the boot into Mr Biden).
The fact that the topic is now in mainstream discussion shows how low Mr Biden has fallen in such a short time.
Biden is being excused by the media
According to the latest poll, 51% of Americans don't want him back in office in 2024. Only 34% do. Many Democrats feel buyers' remorse.
This is despite the fact that US media continue to heavily promote the false narrative that Mr Biden is America's steady hand in steering America away from chaos caused by Trump.
A form of omerta about the Biden administration still exists in the US media after Trump's election.
This week, the White House press secretary claimed that no Americans were stuck in Kabul. That is clearly wrong. A news anchor said that people have been working hard and excused it. Another said semantics.
Continue the story
The treatment Mr Biden received by the US media has been compared to Franklin D Roosevelt's hero. News photographers did not show the president in a wheelchair back then. A corollary to this is how the French media avoided Francois Mitterrand’s private life.
There is clearly a double standard. It is easy to see why there has been so much speculation and fevered coverage about Donald Trump's health. He used only two hands to lift a glass or walked awkwardly up a ramp.
The advanced age of Ronald Reagan (a Republican) was also not out of bounds. Spitting Image joked that the president's brain was missing.
As his reputation crumbles, President looks grumpy
Joe Biden seemed lively enough when I met him on the campaign trail last summer. Eighteen months later, and now at 78, the responsibilities of the job are already clearly taking their toll.
It was a job that made Barack Obama's hair gray and Bill Clinton's hair white.
His temper, which has been there all his life, seems to be growing worse. Biden snaps at journalists, even those chosen to ask him questions.
The carefully constructed image of him as a global master operator, which he had created through his campaign, is now completely shattered.
Allies, including British officials, believed the illusion.
They were surprised to see that Mr Biden would abandon desperate Afghans at the mercy of Taliban.
Reported by REUTERS: US soldiers assist Kabul Airport evacuees - REUTERS
They may not have known that a 32-year old US senator from Delaware spoke these words at the end Vietnam War.
The senator did not want to evacuate any South Vietnamese refugees.
The young Senator Biden said that he may be the most moral son of a gun in the room. I am sick of hearing about morality and our moral obligation.
It seems that Mr Biden still has a moral obligation to his friends half a century later.
It seems that he still believes, as he did in 1975, that Americans don’t care what happens to a country far from their home after they leave the military.
Harris could be at risk from a catastrophic error
However, Mr Biden's political antenna has been faulty for a long time and has failed again.
Middle America does care. It is very disturbing to see the Taliban running amok after their children and sons have fought and died in Afghanistan.
Robert O'Neill, a US Navy Seal, said it best: "Are you kidding me?" The president gave in to the Taliban. It doesn't get more embarrassing.
Is Kamala Harris now the president-in-waiting? REUTERS
O'Neill stated that he and other veterans felt gross, and that Mr Biden should be impeached. This is a grave indictment that Mr Biden will not be able to escape.
The White House is trying to shield Ms Harris from all the negative consequences.
The Vice President is currently on a trip in Southeast Asia, including Vietnam. She has been virtually invisible to Americans during the crisis which has gripped her boss.
Weak evidence of her involvement in the chain of terrible decisions that led to this current situation is available.
Someone made sure that Mr. Biden is the sole responsible for the Afghanistan catastrophe
