BY WILLIAM JUNEAU
If you call 9-11 for help, expect a uniformed policeman and a psychiatrist at your door. The doctor's job will be to not only talk reason to the bad guys, but to prevent the police from using force. This is part of what befuddled Joe Biden and his socialist advisers, Bernie Sanders and Congresswoman Alexandria Occasio Cortez, have in mind for policing when the malleable Biden is in the Oval office.
Biden revealed the use of doctors as a part of the "reimagining" of policing during the recent debate with President Trump, who is seeking reelection. It was the first of three scheduled debates to be held before the Nov. 3 election.
However some rescheduling could become necessary, since President Trump tested positive for the Covid-19 virus on the third day following the debate. He is currently under close watch in Walter Reed hospital. Reports to the public are that, although he is in a risky demographic, he is doing well and physicians are optimistic the President will be back at his desk in the White House soon. As of now, the scheduled debates for Oct. 15 and Oct. 22 have not been canceled.
An estimated 73 million Americans watched on television as the incumbent President Trump and challenger Biden faced off in a Cleveland auditorium. It was a 90 minute slug fest with Biden and Trump exchanging insults and allegations of misfeasance. At various times, the former Vice president under President Obama, came so unglued that he told the President to "shut up," and called him a liar, and a racist.
As is his style, Trump counter-punched hard and interrupted frequently, clearly part of a strategy to unnerve the frail-looking Biden, while reminding viewers of the former vice president's questionable mental acuity. In one heated moment, Trump glared at his opponent, shook his head and said, "Joe, you are not smart"...never imply you are smart around me.
The President and his challenger for the office stood at a podium some 10 feet apart and faced the moderator, Chris Wallace of Fox News, who asked all questions. Wallace, 72, is a registered Democrat and has been a media reporter for many years. His late father, Mike, was with CBS and other stations for decades and was revered by Democrats. The senior Wallace always leaned toward the side of the donkey whenever political matters were on the table. Some pundits have said that Chris Wallace is a "chip off the old block" when it comes to politics, and his debate questions provided reason to support that assessment.
It was the topic dealing with 'law and order" and "protests" which generated a lot of the fireworks. Trump said that his opponent would not even say the words, "law and order," since doing so runs counter to the demands placed upon him by his progressive base. "Not true," Biden responded.
Biden, 77, opened up on his vision for policing after Wallace observed that he and Bernie Sanders had compiled a joint document (Trump labels it an insane "manifesto") on policing and the "reimagining" of police departments. The word has been used often by anti-police Democrats including Biden's running mate, Kamala Harris, who had been an Attorney General in California for six years, and whose vitriol for police is well known. So what does "reimagining" mean, Wallace asked Biden.
Biden then explained that policemen must become what they were in the past, a part of the community. One step would be to have a psychiatrist or psychologist on hand to "keep them (police) from using force and be able to talk people down." suggested Biden. In past years, Biden has supported the cop who risked his life to keep streets safe. But now, under the influence of the far left wing, he said he is "not totally opposed to defunding police departments."
Wallace noted that "protests" have swept the streets of major American cities and that "peaceful" protests have invariably become violent with lootings, arson, shootings and all-around lawlessness. In Portland, Oregon, the disorders went on every day for more than 100 days. These cities, as President Trump has said, are all controlled by Democratic mayors and governors, who did nothing to stop the violence.
"Did you ever telephone the mayor of Portland and ask him to bring a stop to the violence and crime; and to call out the national guard as a necessity?" Wallace asked Biden.
Biden squirmed a bit and then responded that "I don't hold public office...I am a former Vice President." He had no further explanation for his recalcitrance even though he had opened the debate asserting that "I am the Democratic Party," making it clear that he made the decisions on his own. "They can do the job, if he (the President) keeps out of their way," he added.
Trump,74, charged that Biden does not believe in "law and order" because his left wing extremists friends call the shots, and would have disowned him if he had ordered an end to the riots on the streets. Too risky for his political ambitions, Trump was suggesting.
Biden, a senator and then a vice president for 47 years, has been rejected by every police and law enforcement group in the country, charged Trump. Not a single one supports Biden in his bid to become the President. "Name one group---just one that is supporting you," said Trump. Biden responded with a not-too-loud "not true," and then Wallace moved the discussions onto other topics.
Early in the debate, Wallace asked Trump about his appointment to the Supreme Court, and why he does not allow it to be delayed until after he is reelected or after Biden becomes the President.
Trump said that he was elected for a four-year term which is not yet over; and that he has the constitutional right to make the appointment and have the Senate advise and consent. The election of 2016 has consequences. The President praised his nominee to the court. Amy Coney Barrett to replace Ruth Bader Ginsberg who died on September 18, as a highly qualified Appellate court judge, and as a professor at the Notre Dame Law school. He predicted that the Senate would endorse the nominee quickly, adding that there is plenty of time to do so.
Biden said that he considered Amy Barrett to be a good person, but that the process should be put off until after the election. If President Trump is reelected then Barrett will be the candidate. If I win, I will nominate a candidate. Biden declined to offer the name of any potential candidate whom he might nominate.
Biden also declined to say whether he would be in favor of "packing" the court with new justices as has been called for by radical Democrats and by members of his progressive base including socialist Sen. Bernie Sanders, and Sanders' close associate, AOC, a New York city bartender, elected in 2018. Biden's running mate, Kamala Harris, also favors putting more justices onto the nation's highest court, so long as they are pro abortion and liberal.
On other topics, Biden surprised and probably maddened his liberal base when he asserted that he does not endorse the so-called "Green New Deal." He boasted that he would bring an end to the pandemic, criticizing the president for mishandling the crisis. Trump countered that with Biden at the wheel, millions more would have died since he had insisted back in February that the nation's borders remain open to visitors from China and other parts of Asia.
Trump referenced the great economy and low unemployment before the pandemic and insisted he has done more for the USA in 47 months than Biden had done in 47 years as a senator and a vice president. Biden blamed President Trump for increasing racial tensions and said in America there is systemic injustice in law enforcement, work and education.
Wallace probably did his best to control the allotted time for answers, but his management skills were dismal. The Commission on Presidential Debates says that format changes are being made for the next debates.
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