Fifty-two years ago, operatives of then-President Richard Nixon broke into a room at the Watergate Hotel, where they committed a seemingly minor crime: a bungled burglary, which would later be called "a third-rate burglary." 

Twenty-six months later, Nixon resigned the presidency in disgrace rather than face impeachment by the House with probable conviction by the Senate and removal from office.

The point? It wasn't the botched burglary that brought down Nixon — it was the cover-up.

This leads us to the Biden White House and its attempted cover-up of Joe Biden's striking decline in cognitive capacity.

Among the media outlets calling for Biden to drop out of the presidential race in the aftermath of his disastrous debate, The Economist was particularly brutal — every word of which was true, and every word of it deserved by Team Biden for attempting to conceal the president's steady mental decline. 

In a blistering editorial titled "Why Biden must Resign" with the subhead, "The president and his party portray themselves as the saviors of democracy. Their actions say otherwise," the outlet pulled no punches against "a befuddled old man."

The presidential debate was awful for Joe Biden, but the cover-up has been worse. It was agony to watch a befuddled old man struggling to recall words and facts. His inability to land an argument against a weak opponent was dispiriting. 

But the operation by his campaign to deny what tens of millions of Americans saw with their own eyes is more toxic than either, because its dishonesty provokes contempt.

The effect has been to put the White House within Donald Trump’s grasp. Fresh polls have found that voters in the states Mr Biden must win have moved against him. His lead may be in danger even in once-safe states such as Virginia, Minnesota and New Mexico.

The outlet argued that Biden "deserves to be remembered for his accomplishments and his decency rather than his decline." While some might believe that, a growing number of voters — both Republicans and Democrats don't — and neither do I. 

Still, said the editorial:

So it is right that the first senior Democrats have begun to call openly for him to step aside. However, their public expressions are nothing compared with the building wave of private dismay. More of them urgently need to face up to the fact that if they do not speak out now, Mr Trump will win. In order to bring about the political renewal that America now so clearly needs, they must call for change. It is not too late.

Democrats argue ... that Mr Trump is unfit to be president. But the debate and its aftermath have proved Mr Biden unfit, too. First, because of his mental decline. Mr Biden can still appear dynamic during short, scripted appearances. But you cannot run a superpower by autocue. And you cannot put an international crisis on hold because the president is having a bad night. Should someone who cannot finish a sentence about Medicare be trusted with the nuclear codes?

"Mr Biden is blameless for his failing powers," wrote the outlet, "but not for a second disqualification, which is his insistence, abetted by his family, senior staff and Democratic elites, that he is still up to the world’s toughest job."

Mr Biden’s claim that this election is between right and wrong is ruined by the fact that the existence of his campaign now depends on a lie.

'The Democrat Party Should Look in the Mirror'

The Economist is right, but it will never happen.

The Democratic Party should look in the mirror, starting with Mr Biden himself. He avers that he failed in the debate because he was tired from jetting around the world, as if his debility were evidence of his vitality. His supporters argue that those awful 90 minutes should not overshadow the past three and a half years. 

But what matters is whether they foreshadow the next four. Senior Democrats repeating these desperate talking points or waiting in silence for someone else to speak up first may think they are being loyal. Is that loyal to their country or their careers?

 As I wrote in wrote in a Saturday article:

Democrat lawmakers avidly support their Democrat colleagues, whether they're right, or wrong — until they don't. Disgraced Former Sen. Al Franken (D-MN) comes to mind. Franken's Democrat colleagues ultimately threw him so far under the bus, I'm pretty sure he hasn't crawled out yet.

Joe Biden might not yet be in Al Franken territory, but he appears to be getting damn close.

Somewhat simply, the outlet wrote: "Mr Biden should withdraw from the campaign. That way, the election might refresh the body politic." 

While the sharks swimming in the water around the embattled president continue to get closer and more numerous, the "befuddled old man" continues to dig his heels in. 

During a call on Wednesday, Biden declared, "I am running ... no one is pushing me out" — and then some.

Let me say this as clearly as I possibly can as simply and straightforward as I can: I am running…no one’s pushing me out. I’m not leaving. I’m in this race to the end and we’re going to win.

Democrats can push as much as hard as they can, but Biden has secured enough delegates to assure himself winning the nomination if he remains in the race.

Joe Biden Gives Definitive Answer About His Future, and Democrats Are Going to Need a Stiff Drink

At the end of the proverbial day, it's my belief that only pretend-Doctor Jill is capable of convincing Biden to end his reelection bid, and by the looks of her thirst for self-created power, I don't see that happening anytime soon, if at all.