The house I grew up in, a small, snug house on the banks of Bear Creek in Allamakee County, Iowa, was heated in winter by a combination of an LP gas furnace in the basement and a hand-built limestone fireplace and chimney, which required 4-5 cords of firewood a year to get the house through the winter. After I was grown and gone, Dad usually got in that firewood by himself, felling the trees, cutting and splitting the wood into fireplace-sized chunks, and stacking it, by himself. He outdid himself the last year my parents lived in that house, cutting, splitting, and stacking nearly six cords. 

He was 85.

The point is, not everyone ages at the same rate, in the same way. Dad was physically robust and smart as a whip at 85. But at 81 years old, Joe Biden, the President of the United States, is clearly and undeniably failing. Even steadfast never-Trumpers and Democrats are starting to wonder what is to be done with poor old Joe:

Billionaire Bill Ackman, a longtime Democratic Party donor, put a spotlight on a recent video of former President Obama appearing to guide Biden off the stage at a recent campaign donor event.

"Some people are old at 81 and others are sharp, vigorous, and impressive. Compare Warren Buffett at 93 and Biden at 81. Biden is an old 81 who can’t find his way off a stage or stay present and focused at a G7 conference. Is that who should be the leader of the free world for the next five years? A president should not have to be led off stage by hand or with an arm wrapped around him. That is the not the image of strength and leadership we need as a country," Ackman posted to X on Sunday.

The White House is, of course, whistling past the graveyard. They insist the president is sharp; they accuse people of fomenting fake videos of the shambling wreck that is supposedly the leader of the free world. But even some among the ranks of long-term Democrat donors, like Bill Ackman, have eyes with which to see the farce that the Biden presidency has become - and the danger it poses. He continued:

"Look at what is going on in the world. The perception of weak leadership in the United States has led to global chaos. The reality of weak leadership is a long-term serious and continued threat to our country. The Democratic Party is destroying itself by advancing Biden for a second term," Ackman continued. "This is the Emperor’s New Clothes in real life. But it is not a children’s book or a joke. The world is at great risk, and a Biden second term is a grave threat to global security and prosperity."

Ackman followed up by stating, "Biden is unfit to be president now and inarguably for another term."

That's true - but it sure doesn't look like old Joe intends to step down, or that his esteemed First Lady, Frau Doktor Professor Jill Biden, who, by the way, has a doctoral degree, will allow it.

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Even "progressive journalists" are seeing the light - or, rather, the light that is missing from the president's eyes:

On Monday's "Piers Morgan Uncensored," progressive journalist Cenk Uygur was critical of Democrats for not recognizing Biden's mental fitness issues, saying "we do all have eyes and ears."

"The guy is in terrible, terrible shape, and if he has dementia, they get more stubborn," he said. "What if he digs in, and he's like, 'I don't care,' and his mind is actually affected by the ailments that we’re seeing with our own eyes?"

To which I would reply: "If?"

How can anyone qualify this with an "If?" There's no "if" about it. He is in terrible shape, and he gives every appearance of digging in his heels and powering through his increasing mental decline. As I write these words, he is at Camp David, and his staff and debate coaches are doubtless having conniptions trying to figure a way to get Joe Biden through a 90-minute debate with Donald Trump, who is still capable and fully equipped with a sharp mind, and a tongue to match. The debate, worse still for the Biden people, will be unscripted, with no teleprompters; that's not exactly Joe's best setup. 

In fact, the debate may well be the Pickett's Charge of the 2024 Biden reelection campaign. But I will not wager one thin dime on the Biden people getting the message; old Joe, Frau Doktor Professor Jill, and all the king's horses and all the king's men sure seem like they intend to hang in there until the bitter end.

And bitter it may well be, if current swing state polls hold into November.