President Joe Biden is a shadow of his former self.  Long gone is the aggressive, pugnacious, and partisan Democrat who mistreated Supreme Court justice Clarence Thomas in the latter's confirmation hearings.  Today, Americans see a president who is clearly mentally diminished and is getting worse on a daily basis.

During the campaign, Biden refused to submit to a cognitive test.  When asked by CBS News correspondent Errol Barnett if he would take a test, Biden snapped, "No, I haven't taken a test.  Why the hell would I take a test?  Come on, man, that's like saying, before you got in this program, if you take a test where you're taking cocaine or not.  What do you think?  Huh?  Are you a junkie?"

Biden refused to take a test because it would show he is in mental decline.  His last medical report was issued in December of 2019.  While his doctor, Kevin O'Connor of George Washington University, labeled Biden "vigorous" and fit to successfully perform as president, other experts did not share that view.

Dr. David Scheiner, the former personal physician for Barack Obama, claimed that Biden is "not a healthy guy."  In fact, U.S. congressman Ronny Jackson (R-Texas), the former White House physician for President Obama and President Donald Trump, said Biden "does not have the mental capacity, the cognitive ability to serve as our commander-in-chief and head of state."  He also reiterated a concern shared by many Americans: "I really think that he needs some type of cognitive testing before he takes over the reins as our commander-in-chief."

Unfortunately, no such testing has been conducted in recent months.  Americans have no idea when Biden took his last cognitive test.  Biden is now president, and Americans are being subjected to the uncertainty of a person with serious mental issues serving in the most important position in the world.

Ever since his inauguration, President Biden has been making frequent misstatements and obvious gaffes.  The most recent episodes occurred on Friday.  Earlier in the day, he forgot to put on a mask after finishing a speech.  Then, after a trip to Houston, Texas, Biden made a series of troubling statements.  He referred to high-profile U.S. congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee (D-Texas) as "Shirley."  Also, he mispronounced the name of Congresswoman Lizzie Pannill Fletcher (D-Texas) twice.  After the mistakes, he asked, "What am I doing here?" 

Ironically, Biden stumbled upon the ultimate question that needs to be answered.  In his first two presidential campaigns, Biden was a stunning failure.  In 1988, he was forced out of the race after his repeated plagiarism was discovered.  In 2008, he bombed again as a presidential candidate, barely registering 1% support.

Biden was rescued politically when Democratic Party presidential nominee Barack Obama chose him for the vice presidential slot.  This selection was made not because of any great chemistry between the two men.  Obama chose Biden even though Biden had made a stunningly racist comment.  Biden referred to Obama as "the first mainstream African-American who is articulate and bright and clean and a nice-looking guy.  I mean, that's a storybook, man."

Clearly, Biden was chosen because he was born in Pennsylvania and could theoretically appeal to white, working-class voters in the Rust Belt.  During eight years on the same ticket, President Obama did not value Biden as a vice president and never invited him to his personal quarters in the White House for a visit.  Biden admitted this embarrassing fact in a recent CNN town hall meeting.

Obama held Biden in such low regard that he did not encourage him to run for president in 2016.  Instead, he endorsed Hillary Clinton.  In the 2020 election, Obama endorsed Biden only when it was apparent to everyone that Biden would be the Democratic Party's presidential nominee.

Obama's reluctance about Biden extended to many leaders in the Democratic Party. It was only after the surge of Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) in the presidential primaries that leading Democrats decided to rally around Biden.  Top Democrats knew that a socialist like Sanders could not win the presidency, and they reluctantly backed a mentally compromised Biden as their choice.

In the presidential campaign against Trump, Biden barely left the basement of his home.  He held few events and news conferences so he would have few opportunities to stumble.  Although he performed adequately during the two presidential debates, he made plenty of other verbal blunders and curious comments during the race.

After the election, his mental decline has become obvious.  To cover for his cerebral issues, he has not held a formal press conference and has been interviewed only a few times by friendly reporters.  His one town hall meeting was broadcast on CNN, a pro-Biden network that supports his agenda and uses most of its airtime to fume about President Donald Trump and his supporters.

On a typical day, Biden will make a statement or issue an executive order.  He will give a speech filled with bumbled or contorted language and then immediately exit the room as reporters are ushered out shouting questions.  This is in contrast to President Trump, who gave impromptu press conferences constantly.

Sadly, the liberal mainstream press is covering for Biden.  If Trump had acted in such a manner during his first five weeks, there would have been a press uproar.  Eventually, these mental problems will be too severe to hide, and even the liberal media will have to report on them.

Biden is mentally deteriorating, as most astute observers knew he would.  His condition has become so worrisome that 31 House Democrats are demanding the control of the "nuclear football" be removed from the sole authority of the president.  

In the background, smiling and patiently waiting, is Vice President Kamala Harris, a socialist with radical views on a range of issues.  To bolster her position, she has the full support of former President Obama and his political entourage.  

She knows that her ascendancy will come sooner rather than later.

Harris is biding her time, as the countdown has begun.

 Jeff Crouere is a native New Orleanian, and his award-winning program, Ringside Politics, airs nationally on Real America's Voice Network, AmericasVoice.News weekdays at 7 A.M. C.T. and from 7 to 11 A.M. weekdays on WGSO 990-AM and Wgso.com.  He is a political columnist and the author of America's Last Chance and provides regular commentaries on the Jeff Crouere YouTube channel and on Crouere.net.  For more information, email him at jeff@ringsidepolitics.com.

Image: Marc Nozell via Flickr, CC BY 2.0.