LETTER: Joe Biden’s rope-a-dope
July 29, 2024 - 9:01 pm
Outside of right wing media and Republican campaign headquarters, no one is saying that Kamala Harris and others covered up Joe Biden’s “inability to serve.” Similar to Lyndon Johnson, Mr. Biden smelled defeat. It was a defeat that didn’t emanate from any very serious weaknesses. Instead, it was a perception of weaknesses that were promulgated by the media’s continued capitulation to Trump’s Republican Party mantra, a mantra that harped on every foible that comes with aging.
For the good of the country, Mr. Biden stepped aside. I pray history will show he pulled off the greatest “rope-a-dope” since Muhammad Ali’s 1974 defeat of George Foreman. (For younger, nonboxing fans, Ali leaned against the ropes for seven rounds and let Foreman wear himself out by throwing ineffective punches. In the eighth round, a still-strong Ali knocked out his wearied opponent.)