“The Party told you to reject the evidence of your eyes and ears. It was their final, most essential command.”

― George Orwell, 1984

Surrounded by venal enablers, our two candidates have morphed into the same person. Oh, we always understood Trump’s pathology, fully on display in his convention speech. No amount of praise and false love will fill the hole in his soul. But Joe Biden fooled us, didn’t he? Clearly in steep mental decline, he has become what he claims to hate, the grasping narcissist, demanding we ignore what we see and exclaiming to the sky, in a messianic pose, that he is the only who can save us from evil. Saying only god can dissuade him. Think of it, “only God above.”

As I watch this tragedy unfold, I am drawn constantly to my recently departed father. We are car people, the Blackwood family. Dad was the icon. He and mom travelled hundreds of thousands of miles side by side. Going for a ride was how you relaxed, how you talked it out, and how you absorbed the world around you. In his mid-80s, dad decided he was going to drive from Southern California to Phoenix to see his beloved Dodgers at spring training. So, I got his tickets for him, then he loaded his walker in his car and set out. He saw the Dodgers, then made a side trip to see the Grand Canyon one more time. He was in his element behind the wheel.

One day, after that trip, dad announced he was selling his car because the pain in shoulder was so aggravated by the seatbelt. But here’s the nature we don’t see in Biden. He said he could bear the pain, but he needed to stop driving because he was worried his pain would distract him and he might accidentally harm someone else with his car. This is the grace Biden does not have. We should all be so aware of ourselves and others to make such a momentous decision.

Millions of Americans have experienced the dynamics that faced my father. There is that moment that for the sake of others, the family gathers and tells their elder that it is time to take the car keys. We all have seen this happen or heard the stories of friends who have had to do this. It is through these eyes that people, not elites, not the media, we normies living our lives, now see Joe Biden. He is a man who has done good work, and now, like all of us one day, the debt to father time must be paid.

Here, the stakes are mindboggling. It’s America that will pay if the other mentally decaying old man is elected. I called for Biden not to run in an essay over a year ago. I have gone from concern to frustration to rage at seeing him the last few months. How dare he say that if he loses, he will be satisfied if he did his best. That is a narcissist speaking. Worse, Joe Biden will be fine if Trump wins. He is just another rich, old white guy completely insulated from the impending disaster. I don’t give a damn about his feelings, Jill’s problem or the goals of is sycophants. If he is in anguish, he brought it upon himself. Be gone or be damned.

Clearly, the only path to stop Trump is a younger candidate. This was always true and is now in stark relief. Last night, in his speech, the evil MAGA icon rolled over and exposed his belly. He is vulnerable, waiting for a political pummeling. Yet today, what do we hear from Biden? He’s still in and will be back next week. NEXT FUCKING WEEK!!!? America has to wait for yet another recovery as Trump gains more momentum?

This is time for bold moves and chaos. The media loves chaos and dumping Biden for a new, younger candidate would suck in all the air in the race. Embrace chaos. Embrace change. The contrast in age and energy alone will give any candidate a 5 point bump. Harris? For every racist, misogynist we lose, we retake young people and independents among the 70% of voters starved for someone new. Right now, all is lost. President, House and Senate. We have the history. A presidential wipeout destroys layers of down ballot Democrats. If a new candidate merely keeps it close, we would could take the House as a bulwark to Trump. The math in the Senate was always awful. Democrats are toast there. But there we have the filibuster if we can keep it in range.

Since I was 12 years old, I have been a political junkie. I love it. I love America. I love the business of campaigns. But now, if Biden stays in, I don’t know. I may have to walk away from my passion to save my soul. We are hanging by a thread. Don’t ignore the evidence of your eyes. Contact your representatives and tell them Biden is done. This is a change election. Either Trump can be the change or a younger Democrat. Time to choose.