Column By Mike Bibb
Nearly everyone knew then that President Joe Biden’s rash of last-minute Presidential pardons for members of his family and close friends was suspicious.
The question is, are they lawful?
Even more concerning, can a Presidential pardon absolve a person of a past or future crime that he/she hasn’t committed or been indicted for?
Do these pardons remain in effect if the President did not sign them, but by someone else using the President’s Autopen signature device? This mess may develop into one of Biden’s biggest scandals yet.
Finally, are the results of his efforts legally binding if the President was not cognitively aware of his actions?
Apparently, President Trump and several of his advisors are discussing these and other questions. Biden’s well-recognized mental flubs while President — now openly admitted to by members of the liberal press and Democrat Party — have sparked speculation that many of Joe’s official duties in his last year in office were carried out by associates and family members rather than himself.
Not surprising considering Joe’s propensity to ignore the truth or fabricate colossal-sized whoppers.
Joe’s televised disaster during the Presidential Debate with Donald Trump last July compelled the Democratic National Committee to remove him from seeking reelection. This was conclusive evidence that they had lost confidence in Joe’s chances of beating Trump.
Now, it seems, recognized names at CNN — one of the more staunch Biden news fans — have revised their previous opinions of Joe’s mental situation and are admitting they knew all along he was slipping and not in complete control of his cranium the last four years.
They’re being generous; the last 14 years would be closer to it.
Like CNN, other mainstream media outlets are also beginning to whistle a different tune. While some do not directly imply they have completely turned on the former President, they are questioning the judgment of many of his decisions and their repercussions.
The COVID pandemic, its mismanagement and misinformation, and the following economic debacle are being reconsidered as one of the early Biden Administration’s obvious missteps. The closing of schools, churches, and businesses, in conjunction with the obviously ridiculous plexiglass barriers, social distancing, and facemask mandates, and experimental vaccine injections that were only partially successful, eventually faced the reality that they caused more harm than good.
Joe’s convoluted reasoning that an open southern border was a positive thing because it permitted the entry of millions of undocumented people from every corner of the world to freely enter our country and, supposedly, assimilate and successfully contribute to society has also shown to be a complete miscalculation.
Who thinks a wide-open border is a good thing? If there was any doubt, Joe’s brain was misfiring, this was it.
Our country’s involvement in the Russia-Ukraine armed conflict has proven to be a continuing drain on our economy and relations with European countries. The war has dragged on much longer than Joe told us it would. As a result, maintaining military arms and financial assistance to the region hasn’t been popular, even among Democrats.
Whether Biden’s blunders were coincidental or on purpose remains a subject of much discussion, as the press is finally beginning to acknowledge the lauded aftereffects haven’t turned out as advertised. In fact, a growing segment of society decided in the 2024 election that they no longer had sufficient confidence in Joe to risk giving him another term.
A significant number of Democrats are included in this group. Trump didn’t win by pulling more Republicans than Democrats supported Harris (Biden). He was successful by tallying more from both sides because voters — Democrats and Republicans — were unwilling to continue down the path the Democratic Party was trying to lead them.
Folks asked themselves a single question: Were all these inexplicable blunders the result of Joe and Kamala being entirely out of touch with what was happening, or was someone else sitting behind the wheel?
This brings me back to the realization that only six months after last year’s election, the mainstream press seems willing to reevaluate some of its political positions during the Biden Administration and at least acknowledge that it may have been overly zealous in its endorsements.
Actually, it appears they were downright misleading and continued until Trump exposed their antics as “Fake news” — a popular slogan often voiced by numerous officials, politicians, and media outlets.
In response, Trump became Hitler 2.0, Biden went to the beach nearly every week, and the economy slid into the tank; a tangle of commotion reporters and talking heads gladly befriended until November 2024 came to bite them.
Of course, Special Council Robert Hur informed us in October 2023 that a trial jury would likely determine Joe was “a sympathetic, well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory” and would not be convicted of charges, if any were brought.
A polite way of saying Biden’s brain was too far gone even to bother indicting and prosecuting. The DNC concurred and soon replaced him with Kamala Harris and some goofy guy nicknamed “Tampon Tim” from Minnesota.
Not exactly an upgrade, but it was all the Dems could muster on short notice.
Reliving old memories, Joe desperately tries to remain relevant in party politics. The truth is, he is only a sideshow that very few insiders pay attention to. His title and connections are no longer a draw card in contemporary Democratic affairs. For better or worse, younger and more progressive faces have taken his place.
Joe’s 50-year public service career in Washington will probably result in a library being named after him, but that will be about the extent of his post-Presidency influence.
Most likely, it won’t be an extensive library. A ’67 Corvette stuffed with secret government documents, records, pardons, Hunter’s laptop, tax-concealed overseas business transactions, and an aluminum folding beach chair doesn’t require much room.
About the size of a single car garage with a copy of Joe and Kamala on the cover of Time Magazine’s “2020 Person of the Year” scotch-taped to the Pepsi soda machine outside the front entrance. Making it more official, #46 will be noticeably stenciled above the door. Dr. Jill can narrate the three-minute tour.
Donations would be greatly appreciated. The Cost of living isn’t what it used to be, and the market has collapsed for a signed copy of an original Hunter finger painting. Plus, there’s been limited interest in Joe’s $300,000 speaking gigs.
He might get some inquiries if he lowered his asking fees to about $150.75!
The opinions expressed in this editorial are those of the author.
