Whether we know it or not, we have actually born witness to a phenomenon that symbolizes the quintessential American condition, and to think that we have Joseph Robinette Biden to thank for it! I'm speaking of a cross between a case of inbred childhood trust in the goodness of man mixed together with the knowledge (gained years later) that evil actually exists and that man should not be trusted.

One would think that from that duality, one of the two would win out over the other over time but they haven't. In fact, they seem to co-exist, side by side, like double beds in a dingy motel in "It happened one night" separated only by a single, thin, gossamer sheet of time to give the illusion of a distinct border between the two poles of reality. Before I get too doctorish on the subject, let me just say that we Americans have a powerful urge to preserve our childish notions when it comes to our leaders. We want them to be better than us, to possess qualities that are noble and worthy of emulating. We want them to respect us and know, instinctively, what we want without having to tell them straight out. We also want them to be more human than us in some ways and to see the 'big picture' and make decisions based on their loyalties to the country…and to our values.

Sorry, they don't. They aren't, and can't, but we still keep hoping, and that anyone who can persuade us of that can have our vote. Our realistic, time-traveled side warns us to beware, that politicians aren’t the good guys in white hats that will save us from ourselves or from those who would do America harm. Yet, we give them the benefit of the doubt, and when they fail, we give it to them again. Such is the case with our current president. Mr. Biden has been around the political arena since the mid-seventies and has a track record of mediocrity and of prevarication to suit his needs, but many Americans ignored his track record in 2020 because they didn't want Donald Trump to get another chance at making America great again.

The interesting aspect of Joe Biden's victory over Trump was that Americans were so steeped in their Progressive ideology (and hatred for Trump) that they knowingly chose a professional, self-serving, corrupt politician with a sub-stellar history to lead the country. It was not a case of the blind leading the blind; it was the blind voting for a man they knew despised the blind!

That strategy is commonly known as a 'death wish' and is often an integral part of a very complicated personality. After watching Biden and listening to him for nearly half a century, I've come to realize what he truly is: a person with a dissociative identity disorder (did), sometimes called a split personality - a person that routinely possesses two or more distinct sets of thoughts, actions and behaviors, sometimes completely opposite from each other.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that he's necessarily schizoid or dangerous. I just believe he has a curious mix of characters and personalities living inside his head, and that every once in a while he lets them out to do their business like walking the family dog. The way I see it, Joe has a few core personalities that he channels. One is Moses who is intent on leading his people to the Promised Land. Another is Abraham Lincoln who feverishly fights slavery. Remember Joe's "Gonna put y'all back in chains"? A third is a blend of FDR who believed in the power of big government to solve America's problems and his fifth cousin Teddy R. who was ready to take on all comers with his soft walk and his "big stick." Joe assumes the latter persona whenever threatened. He bristles and challenges voters to a push-up contest or calls a college student a "lying, dog-faced pony soldier" something nobody has heard since the 1952 Tyrone Power film, 'Pony soldier.'

Then there's the 'Father knows best" family man Joe Biden who launches into romanticism, recalling a bygone era of family values back in Scranton, PA while siding in the present with those actually seeking to destroy those family values. If that were not enough, he waxes on about 'relationships being the glue that holds our country together' while supporting nationally-authorized and nationally-funded abortions.

Occasionally, his Dr. Kildare personality will emerge, especially if he thinks it's time to lock down America and force Americans to roll up their sleeves and take experimental vaccines because "that's what we did to cure polio," no matter the two are worlds apart.

Finally, deep within Joe is a Messiah longing to break free from all the others - a Messiah that once unleashed, will earn him a place in the annals of history as a 'true leader of men.' The trouble is that all the other personalities are constantly at war with 'Messiah Joe' and are preventing its emergence. I realize that all this sounds pretty otherworldish and more like a bad Hollywood script than a plausible explanation for why Joe Biden continues to challenge our concepts of leadership, but perhaps we need only look at another leader who also exhibits some personality traits that don't fit the profile of the 'perfect president' and from that gain some insight. I'm speaking of course of Donald Trump, the head of the MAGA movement. All Joe's personalities know that Trump must be crushed, that "this town ain't big enough for the both (or all) of us." Sooner or later, one of those multiple personalities will get the contract to put him away for good in order to "protect America."

Before you reject my layman's diagnosis of split personality disorder out of hand, stop and think of all the times Joe did or said something that made you say, "Wow. Where did THAT come from?" Then look at your circle of friends and family to see if there is anybody who thinks they can save the world, cure cancer, part or walk on water or who believes they were predestined for greatness. Then get back to me, that is if Joe hasn’t sicced his thugs over at the DOJ on me for practicing medicine without a license.

Stephan Helgesen is a retired career U.S. diplomat who lived and worked in 30 countries for 25 years during the Reagan, G.H.W. Bush, Clinton, and G.W. Bush Administrations. He is the author of thirteen books, six of which are on American politics and has written over 1,300 articles on politics, economics and social trends. He operates a political news story aggregator website, www.projectpushback.com. He can be reached at: stephan@stephanhelgesen.com

Image: Gage Skidmore, via Wikimedia Commons // CC BY-SA 2.0