The Way We Were
I’ve just seen the first video of Joe Biden’s campaign to be reelected President of the United States on November the end 2024. Less than half a minute long, we see Joe Biden sartorially resplendent, looking utterly calm in command of all he surveys. His face was shining: he looks 20 years younger than he is (He has yet to attain the golden tiger hues of his predecessor, but in the words of Nobleist songwriter, Bob Dylan, “it’s getting there.”
His message is short and powerful. He asks us to remember the way we were a short time ago (just before he was elected to take office) and reflect on just how far we have come (he means, from the terrible dark days of his predecessor). He then, very simply, asks for our vote.
His message struck a chord in me. In my mind, I resolved to honor his request. I asked myself how I would compare where we were to where we were just before Biden upset Donald Trump in the 2020 election. But, I did not want to use the Donald Trump yardstick — that all things bad are things that remind us of Trump and all things good are things that do not remind us of Trump. For years, I have found myself increasingly sick of such self-serving comparisons. Instead, I wanted to pretend — as the prospective jurors in the ongoing hush money criminal trial are currently being asked to do — that the reality show star, Donald Trump, did not exist. It was an impossible request but I was happy to give it a go. I would refuse to judge Biden — as he and the Democratic party so clearly wanted me to do — solely on how what he did stacked up with his predecessor. By way of contrast and in defiance of being put in the Democratic straight jacket, I would apply my own standards. I would consider what I regarded as the most fundamental, indispensable, ethical, and humanist values of a self-determining, free Democratic society. At the top of that list I would put what would be reverence to the sanctity and worth of all human life, whether American or not. And, I would judge Biden — by how far and to what extent he had helped America realize those goals. Given the temper of the times, I will be giving special attention to the Israeli Hamas war that is very much ongoing.
With that caveat — during a brief time, just before Biden won the 2020 Presidential election, there was: There was peace. There were no World Wars going on. No Super Power was invading a much weaker country and claiming that they were only on a super peacekeeping mission. No SuperPower, stunned (understandably) by an horrific unthinkable terrorist attack (October the 7th), was readying what would be a six-month genocidal reign of terror and calling it an act of self defense.
33,000 unarmed Palestinian civilians (men, women, teenagers, children, babies) who were now dead were variously engaged in their intrinsic right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
There was no undreamt of invasion of northern Gaza. There was no encirclement of Gaza: no monstrous blockade to deliver necessary food and Aid. There was no daily bombing of Northern Gaza; no unending air strikes; no dropping of 2,000 lb bombs. There was no uprooting of more than 1million Norhter Palestinians who were driven like human cattle to Rafah, a city in Southern Gaza already dangerously overcrowded.
Just before November 2020 was a time when there were no daily horror stories of homeless Palestinians travelling — with their belongings (and sometimes their donkeys) along bombed out roads.
Most upsetting was the alliance between Biden and Netanyahu that became glaringly apparent immediately after October the 7th. We see Netanyahu doubled over with (theatrically maximized) grief, his head on Biden’s chest. Who, on the day after October the 7th, jumped on a plane and flew immediately to Netanyahu’s side. There are tears in both their eyes. But Netanyahu is looking up to Biden, as though he is an adored big brother. Biden is looking down on Netanyahu as though he is a long lost soulmate. There is a look of profound compassion on Biden’s face. It is a magnificent photograph. Neither of them at this point (October the 8th) seemingly know what is about to unfold. To understand what happens, it is helpful to bring in New York Times journalist Thomas Friedman (who has three Pulitzer Prizes for his ongoing coverage on Israel in the mideast for the past twenty years.) His view of Netanyahu is sobering: “I think Benjamin Netyanyahu is the worst Prime Minister in the history of Israel, ready to sell Israel down the river in order to stay out of jail.”
Amazingly, that is what happens! Israel declares war on Palestine. Daily, unrelenting bombing immediately follows. Hamas flees. Israel announces, in order to achieve its goal — to ensure that never again will Israel allow itself to be blindsided by such a vicious terrorist attack on October the 7th — it will be necessary to completely destroy Hamas. And to do this it must invade Northern Gaza.
And here we have a classic fork in the road with no middle ground. On the one hand is the path (the invasion of Northern Gaza) that violates every single Democratic principle of the right to self-determination; of the sanctity of every single human life, of the freedom to exercise free will and to express themself in a safe place without fear of reprisal. These are the core principles to which Joe Biden has devoted his political life over the past 50 years.
As President of the United States, he knows he cannot tell another country what it can and cannot do. He also knows, as Israel’s greatest ally to a country crucially dependent on America for Billions of dollars annually in aid and weapons of self defense, he has leverage. He has more leverage, outside of Netanyahu, than anyone in the world.
So, why doesn’t he use it? Why does he stay passively on the sidelines, as Netanyahu massacres over 33,000 innocent civilians? As Netanyahu violently displaces 1 million innocent Palestinians from their ancestral homes, the only homes they have ever known? As Netanyahu, blockading any infusion of food and medicines, systematically begins starving a helpless nation? Why does Biden say nothing as the starvation level in Gaza (according to The UN) reaches critical famine levels?
And when Biden does talk, after months and months of daily genocidal, demonic bombing does he say things, over and over again, like:
Israel has every right to defend itself. We stand by Israel and always will. I have always been a strong, strong, strong, strong, strong supporter of Israel.
And the answer, the simple horrific answer is that Biden wants to be reelected President of The United States, 2024! He is afraid that if he should say the wrong thing, if he should rub Netanyahu (and the millions of Pro-Israel Jewish voters who still support him) the wrong way, then, in a Presidential race that is uncomfortably tight — he could lose. He could alienate the American Pro-Israel voters to create a negative tipping point.
Just think about that! Biden, in order to nail down his likely bid to be reelected President of the United States is willing to stand by and — even though he has more leverage with Netanyahu than any single person on the planet — not to do or say anything that in any way is politically risky!
So, Biden, biding his time — until the political pendulum swings his way and it is safe to come out of his bunker — around the time of his State of the Union Address says: “ There must, must, must, must, must, must, must, must be a cease-fire! He does not say, but his real message is: “You must, must, must, must vote for me in November!”
After six months of passively standing by as Netanyahu presides over the most horrific genocide committed by a Western-style superpower (according to The UN) since the Second World War. Biden, taking his courage in his hands, finally dares to criticize Netanyahu, “Israel has made a mistake in the handling of Palestine!” This is followed by, at the very end of his State of the Union Address: Israel must be more discriminant in its bombing!”
If ever there were a petit protest, a snowflake of a protest that was more like a wet kiss, this was it (not exactly what you would expect from the fearless, red-blooded, Irish American, afraid of no one and nothing: who always stood his ground, the proud blue collar son of a Scranton car salesman {it was more what you might expect from someone like Oscar Wilde}).
There’s still time for Joe Biden. For once in his life — he can take the road less travelled. For once in his life he can put the interest of America first and his legacy last. For once in his life he can stop talking about his predecessor and start thinking about his successor. Biden, who prided himself on having his finger on the pulse of grass-roots America and his ear to the ground can listen to the voices of America. Much as they appreciate what he did for them they do not want him to be reelected!
Too Little Too Late
The man you see jonesing for the Presidency doesn’t really want to be President of the United States! He is too gutted, too burned out and bankrupt in his spirits.
But he feels he has no choice. He must, must, must, must, must, must, must be reelected in the November 2024 election. He cannot survive without a sense or an aura of majestic power. He craves grandiosity like he needs oxygen. He knows on some level (unconsciously) that he is too exhausted to function autonomously in any sustained productive way, at the extraordinarily high level required by the Presidency. He knows that he is not qualified for the position of the Presidency. But he is frightened by a haunting sense of his growing impotence. He knows he has been violating, over the past eight months, every single principle in which he believes. He knows he may not have the magic bullet but he has the leverage. Why doesn’t he use it? The only possible answer is that on some level — although he really doesn’t want to be President — he is being driven to pursue it.
In Sunday’s opinion section of The New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof writes about how: “The war in Gaza is now Joe Biden’s war.” Kristof, is implying how profoundly and compassionately Joe Biden has been affected by the accidental casualties in Palestine. He talks about Biden’s great sorrow over civilian deaths as though he is a good and profound man caught in a tragic, Shakesperian trap. I ask myself how does Biden manage to pull this off? How stupid does Biden and his team think we are? In my mind, I think back to my recent article Good Cop/Bad Cop — Sometimes You Have to Choose. Kristof is one of my favorite columnists but I cannot read the article. Next to it we see a picture of Biden standing overlooking a desolate empty bridge. Next to that we see a photo op of Biden talking to a young black family. He is portrayed as listening intently to all the benefits that have befallen this family as a result of the passage of his relief bill for young Americans. We hear how Biden wishes America would talk more and show more appreciation for all of his wins. (By wins he means giveaways.) Like all Democratic populist leaders he is a big believer in giveaways (as vote-getters). Like all campaigners, he believes there is plenty of blame (for any inevitable screw-ups) to go around- just not for him. Biden talks about the terrorist group Hamas, which claims responsibility for the horrific acts of October the 7th — as pure evil. By contrast, when he alludes to Israel’s response (33,000 civilian deaths, 6,000 air strikes, 2,000 buildings utterly leveled: 1 million Gaza civilians driven from their ancestral homes like human cattle, to an already dangerously overcrowded Rafah — he says simply “Israel has every right to defend itself.”
The View from Behind the Couch
There is a distinction in psychology between wanting and caving. Wanting is choosing. Craving is needing. The Joe Biden, who was nominated in 2020 to be the Democratic candidate for the Presidency of the United States of America, neither wanted nor chose to occupy the Oval Office. But it was an offer he could not refuse. Not surprisingly (as I’ve written) he ran, one of the most passionless, anemic campaigns in the past 50 years. He was the oldest candidate to run for the Presidency of the United States and he looked it. Upon accepting the nomination, he immediately retreated to his bunker and was rarely seen. He had a clear lead and seemed content to sit on it. When he did speak — at the height of the worst pandemic in 100 years, he said child-like things (meant to be cutesy and folkey): I am just staying indoors — throwing candy down [from his second story bedroom window] to his beloved grandchildren who came daily to visit him…doing what the docs tell me to. He was running against a man who will be almost unanimously judged to be the worst President in the history of America; a man whom he loved to haughtily refer to as his “predecessor.” He played not to lose and won comfortably, (despite almost psychotic pushback from the radical right).
Mania
Once ensconced safely in the Oval Office — after 50 years of dreaming the impossible dream, of climbing the impossible mountain — he allowed himself to drink the Kool-Aid. And a wonderful thing happened. The depression that had been haunting him since his son, Beau, had died of brain cancer, combined with the burned out, spiritually-bankrupt feeling of being an Oval Office alsoran — lifted. He was infused with a wave of magical energy such as he had never experienced before. When he had joined the senate, yet considered himself a “poor man who was broke.” But, now trillions of dollars (none of which he had earned) were floating within reach. When someone showed him a picture of FDR, he suddenly cried, “that’s the kind of President I’d like to be!”
Fast Forward to October the 7th
Did it really take six months for Biden to realize that Netanyahu was someone who in no sense of the word could be trusted (eg. as New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman succinctly put it: “I think Benjamin Netanyahu is the worst Prime Minister Israel has ever had, ready to sell Israel down the river in order to stay out of jail!”
Why then did Biden join forces with Netanyahu? Why did he stand meekly on the side lines (like a political wall-flower) as Netanyahu proceeded to reign havoc on Northern Gaza? Why did Biden say nothing for six months? Why, when he did speak, did he say things like: My support is rock solid for Israel and will never change as long as the war is ongoing.
As I write this, Biden continues to almost unconditionally support Netanyahu. Israel continues to bomb Gaza; to regularly supply 2,000 lb bombs; ammunition; financial support. The toll now is: 34,000 Palestinians dead; 1 million Palestinans permanently uprooted from their ancestral homes: preparations steadily mounting to invade Raffa. During the past 6 months, Joe Biden has violated every single humanistic principle he has espoused over the past 50 years. The only explanation that I can think of — is he is terrified of being stripped of his power if he is not reelected.
There’s still time for Joe Biden: if, for once in his life, he can put what’s best for the country, ahead of what’s best for his career. If, for once he can take the road less travelled: i.e. to stop talking about his predecessor and start talking about his successor.
As for myself, I write this secure in the knowledge that almost no one will read it (I have no aspiration or ability to be a political pundit). This however, is not an opinion; it’s a belief. It is therapeutic to express it. That is my writing after all. Like you, I am a free American in a free Democracy. There’s no other place I’d rather be.
- Gerald Alper is the author of Portrait of Artist as a Young Patient (Psychodynamic Studies of the Creative Personality), and his latest book: God and Therapy (What We Believe When No One is Watching).
