I begin by making a confession. It is this:
I am not a doctor; I
never studied to be one; I’ve never been one. I don’t even play doctor on
television, on live theatre, radio or play-out the role in writing on my blog
or anywhere else. But I make an exception this time because I believe there is
something important to be said with regard to the matter I’m about to discuss,
and there is someone out there who ought to give it serious thought.
From my observations
of myself as both a forced participant and the afflicted; from my observations
of others who suffered the same fate, I’ve learned to spot the (usually) older
men and women who suffer from pain in one or both legs.
President Joe Biden
caught my attention. Repeated analysis of his walk convinced me that he suffers
pain at the level of the left hip, left knee or both. Whether or not he controls
the pain with painkillers, he will sooner or later have to submit to corrective
surgery.
Why is the President
reluctant to make that decision now?
From all indications,
President Biden must have reasoned that the brouhaha surrounding his advanced
age will be ignited, thus interfere with the campaign that’s unfolding in preparation
for the midterm elections. It is normal for him to feel guilty about the
possibility of his party and the candidates running on his platform, losing
because the electors will think he is no longer up to the job, and neither is the
party.
It is for this
reason that President Biden must have decided to postpone having surgery now, preferring
to wait till after the upcoming elections, and do it then. Whether he decides
after that to run for the presidency in 2024, will depend on how well he will
recover.
I happen to think
this is the wrong set of decisions to make.
As I see things: The
best course of action is for the President to go for surgery now even if he
will remain bedridden during most of the time that’s left for the campaign to exhaust
itself. Because the election is not about him, he will garner a great deal of
sympathy, without the electors taking into consideration his competence or lack
of it, either the physical or the mental. And that sympathy will rub off on the
members of his party who will benefit, without the drawback of the electors being
troubled by the President’s health or age.
And as we approach
2024, President Biden will have all the options open to him. From using the
excuse of his illness to bow out, having saved face and maintained his dignity …
to pulling a British style parliamentary coup and deciding – with the stroke of
a pen and some luck – who will be given the chance to succeed him in the While
House.
Here is how such
coups are pulled off in Britain and in countries like Canada and Australia:
A few months before the
end of their mandate, the reigning Prime Minister appoints as acting Prime
Minister the person they want to succeed him, having cleared the deck for the
appointee to put on a persuasive show till election day. If all goes well, the
appointee gets elected, and the outgoing Prime Minister would have scored the
coup that will extend his or her legacy a few more years.