OPINION:
George Washington shed his uniform as a general in the Continental Army to become president of the United States. He proved that anyone without royal bloodlines who was willing to make extraordinary personal sacrifices could be the leader of a country.
Abraham Lincoln was born in a log cabin. He grew up a rail-splitter clearing land on the frontier. He proved that anyone — no matter how humble or hardscrabble your background — could rise to become president.
Franklin D. Roosevelt proved that physical disabilities were no obstacle. John F. Kennedy proved that his Catholic faith was no obstacle. And Barack Obama proved that race was no obstacle.
President Biden has plumbed the greatest depths to expose and remove every last barrier to the White House. He has proved that anyone can be president.
Literally, anyone. Like you can just pick up a shuffling, incoherently babbling hobo off the street and make him president. You could even wheel a cadaver out of the morgue, prop him up and pop in some googly eyes and — bam! — you have a leader of the free world.
Can’t speak? No problem. Just park him in front of a teleprompter.
End of quote. Repeat the line.
Can’t read? Here, take the keys to the White House anyway.
Can’t think? Even better! Give that man the codes to one of the largest nuclear arsenals on the planet.
Hell, you don’t even have to be able to ride a bike to be president anymore.
Hillary Rodham Clinton boasted that she put a million cracks in the glass ceiling for women — though she failed to win the presidency. Mr. Biden busted right through the glass ceiling for imbeciles.
No matter how slow, no matter how hopeless, no matter how limited you may be — this is America and you can still be president of the United States!
American voters — ever polite — feel sorry for the guy. So they just tell pollsters that maybe Mr. Biden is a smidge too old. They would rather not run through all the litany of ways Mr. Biden has personally made their lives more miserable.
And he has not even been in charge for two years yet.
What is so amazing about the Biden administration is how low the bar was set for the guy. The previous occupant of the White House left things running pretty good.
The 2020 election was the “Make it stop!” election. Many Americans who voted for Mr. Biden were just so tired of the relentless freakout by Democrats, the political media, swamp creatures and even establishment Republicans in Washington over the mere existence of former President Donald Trump.
It was like giving into the most epic temper tantrum your child ever threw. Maybe it wasn’t the best, most principled parenting move but you were exhausted and desperate for anything to shut the child up.
On the policies, voters were pretty pleased with Mr. Trump. And the economy was roaring — especially in the wake of the pandemic.
All Mr. Biden had to do was not touch anything. And act normal.
But he could do neither.
This is a man who has spent pretty much his entire adult life pretending to be a harmless old coot from Congress. Just sit back, say nice things and collect the biggest government bureaucrat paycheck of your life. And then retire the multimillionaire you made yourself off of five decades in Washington.
For some reason — a toxic mix of arrogance, stupidity and dishonesty — Mr. Biden just could not leave things alone. Or, at least, somebody in the White House could not. Because it sure doesn’t look like Mr. Biden could decorate Christmas cookies — let alone make all the devastating decisions that are being made in the White House these days.
The one thing we do know is the result.
At the border, there is an unprecedented invasion. Border Patrol agents on horseback are found to have not whipped illegal aliens storming into the country — yet are punished anyway.
The price of gasoline spiked so high that families driving home from church cheer when they see a sign for gas cheaper than $5 a gallon. Inflation is exploding.
American interests in Afghanistan and around the globe — an area of unrivaled expertise for Mr. Biden over the past 50 years — have cratered.
But we still do not know who it is that is in charge. As sure as voters are that Mr. Biden is too old to run for reelection, they are completely in the dark about who exactly is making all these insane decisions that are destroying the country.
It’s a rather alarming way to run a government — especially for a bunch of people who claim to be so concerned about insurrections.
But at least we live in a country where anybody — literally anybody — can be president.
• Charles Hurt is the opinion editor at The Washington Times.
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