By Ray Cardello for August 28, 2021 Season 3 / Post 25

I wish I could smile and laugh as Joe Biden did during his meeting with the press on Thursday. I cannot. I cannot remember ever being this concerned about our country or feeling this helpless, no, make that hopeless, about our leadership. I watched Joe Biden address the country after a day when we lost at least a dozen members of the Marines and Navy. I imagined myself being the father of one of those fallen heroes and receiving a call of condolence from our President. I could not imagine anything he could say to make the sacrifice of my son or daughter meaningful. I would wish he would not even drop the dime to make the call.

The first words out of his mouth as he approached the microphone was “It’s been a tough day.” Really. Has it been tough for you or tough for the men and women you have put in harm’s way by your foolish plan to abandon Afghanistan? How about a tough day for the mothers, fathers, wives, or husbands who got the call that their loved one had been killed and their lives changed forever. What a shallow opening line and the rest of his speech did not get any better.

I am not sure what I was hoping for as I watched the news and waited hours for some word from the White House. I think I was looking for anger at the loss of life and remorse for Biden’s bad decision to put us in this “black hole,” as he described it. I did not get either. Instead, we got a monotone reading of a prepared speech that was filled with lies, yes, lies, and did nothing to heal a country from a day of tremendous loss.

He pointed the finger at Donald Trump for putting us in this situation of evacuation. He blamed the Afghans for deserting their responsibility to defend their own country. He claimed that there was unanimity around the world and amongst his advisors to evacuate and abandon Afghanistan. He took no responsibility for orchestrating the worst strategic military plan since Custer’s last stand at the Little Big Horn.

Biden claimed to be a student of history. What history did he rely on to shut down our remaining airbase in Afghanistan, abandon billions of dollars worth of military equipment, and withdraw the military before evacuating civilians? None that anyone can recall, but we can be assured that as a plagiarist, he will concoct something.

One of the more subtle and alarming things Biden said was as he prepared to take questions. He referred to a list and said he was told who to call on from the press pool. Who the hell is pulling Biden’s strings? Who has the power to direct the supposed leader of the free world who to call on for questions? He did call on Peter Doucy of FOX News for a final question and probably regretted the off-script adventure.

Doucy hit Biden hard with a question of accountability. Biden, at one point, put his head on the rostrum. He was backed into a corner and had to own the day. He deflected and again blamed Trump. He lauded his plan. He admitted that the loss of life was inevitable and that there would be more before pulling the plug on this fiasco in four days. God help us and protect the men and women who have been put in harm’s way. Put there by President Joe Biden.