Never interfere with an enemy who is in the process of destroying himself.
Napoleon Bonaparte
It would seem former Vice President Joe Biden is taking that advice to heart. His public appearances have been few and far between the last three months, or so. The White House has denounced what it refers to as his, "basement campaign," while claiming Biden's people are desperate to keep him from speaking to reporters and crowds because of his penchant for misspeaking and blurting out gaffes.
There might be a small grain of truth to that, because Mr. Biden has been known to insert his foot into his mouth on occasion. However, the truth is probably two fold. First, unlike Big Don, Biden and his campaign realize the nation is in the middle of a deadly pandemic and the body count continues to grow. You really can't criticize the President for holding contagion ridden rallies if you're doing it too. Second, considering what Mr. Trump has said, done, and not done since January the old Corsican's adage is spot on advice.
And right now, in the last eight national polls, Biden's current strategy appears to be working.
RealClearPolitics put together this compilation:
June, 17--Biden 50--Trump 41 per Economist/YouGov
June, 17--Biden 51--Trump 41 per CNBC/Change Research
June, 18--Biden 49--Trump 41 per Quinnipiac
June, 18--Biden 50--Trump 38 per Fox News
June, 23--Biden 56--Trump 44 per Harvard/Harris
June, 24--Biden 49--Trump 41 per Economist/YouGov
June, 24--Biden 50--Trump 36 per NYT/Siena
June, 25--Biden 47--Trump 38 per CNBC
Of course, as we learned four years ago, polling is not an exact science. Toward the end of the 2016 campaign Hillary Clinton had the lead in 10 different polls. There are a couple of differences between then and now though. As Delaware Online reports, Clinton's lead in eight of those polls was by four points, or less, some within the margin of error. Plus she was only at 50% in one of them. Still she won the popular vote, but lost because she didn't carry key electoral states like Wisconsin, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Florida, and North Carolina--a couple of them by a whisker.
This news has not gone over well with The Big Orange Guy. The June surveys are, he says, suppression polls, meant to convince his supporters the cause is lost so they will lose hope, stay home, and not contribute to his campaign. It is all part of the nefarious deep state, mainstream media plot to destroy his presidency.
According to Trump, his campaign's internal polling shows him in a comfortable lead--everywhere. He has yet to reveal those numbers, but he assures us they are real. You know, just like he assured us the crowd at his inauguration was the largest in the history of all presidential inaugurations.
Meanwhile our man in the Oval Office plows forward through the storm just like Captain Queeg in Wouk's, "The Caine Mutiny." His only advantage over the demented commander in the novel being his officers refuse to question his orders while nearly a third of his crew believes every increasingly bizarre thing he says.
A lot is going to happen between now and November. Even more might happen afterward given Trump's disregard for the constitution, the law in general, and his propensity for litigation. Not to mention how the crazed and desperate loons in camo, aloha shirts, and pink polos with all those guns could react if he loses.
Yes things could get more than weird in the days following the election, but one thing is for sure right now. The lying and corrupt fucker is in huge trouble and he, more than anyone else, knows it.
sic vita est
6-30-20
Biden is doing a very smart thing - keeping his mouth shut while letting the other guy hang himself. Unfortunately, he will have to begin campaigning soon, and I hope he listens to his advisors better than his opponent does. But, in this crazy year, maybe a non-campaign is the wisest thing to do. Suppose they had a campaign and nobody showed up, another reminder of a 1968 anti-war slogan, pointed towards a 2020 concern.
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