Perhaps the BEST B1G Forum anywhere, here at College Football Fan Site, CFB51!!!

This reminds me a bit of a totally unrelated story.  Where I worked for a while was on the Greater Miami River and across from a bridge built in around 1910.  At one point, the bridge was to be replaced.  So, at lunch, a bunch of us would gather to observe, and then opine about what was happening.  None of us were engineers, but nearly all "highly educated", and we'd say "Oh, they are doing X", another would say "I think it's Y".  I think we were all wrong, in every case.  (When the bridge footings were in place and they started in the superstructure, it was obvious what was being done.)

My learning was "experts" in one field can be woefully ignorant in another.  And I learned a little about how bridges are built.

It would be political suicide even to try for the Cabinet members and KH.  They won't want to risk that.  And it doesn't really solve "the problem", which is the nomination.

Now, maybe if Joe has more really bad days in public, they might be forced to attempt it, but it would have to be several really bad public days.  The story to date is "Everything is fine here."

There would first be multiple high level efforts to get him to retire and resign quietly. 

Since it has been brought up repeatedly, the 25th Amendment has four Sections:

Section 1 clarifies that the VP takes over in the event of the death, resignation, or removal of the President. 

Section 2 lays out the procedure for filling a vacancy in the office of VP. The procedure is that POTUS nominates and BOTH Houses of Congress confirm by simple majority. IIRC, before the 25th Amendment the Senate alone filled vacancies in the office of VP. Gerald Ford became President when Nixon resigned. He had previously become VP under this section.

Section 3 lays out a voluntary procedure for temporarily transferring power to VP. This section has been invoked multiple times by Presidents starting with Bush II for things such as surgeries requiring general anesthesia. 

Section 4 is the procedure for an involuntary transfer of Presidential power but note that this section transfers the powers, NOT the office. Ie, if it were invoked Harris would become "Acting President", NOT President. That may seem semantic and in a way it is but it matters because the invoking Section 4 would NOT create a vacancy in the office of VP. Biden would continue to be the President and Harris would continue to be VP, while acting as President. 

Here is the text of Section 4:
Section 4
Whenever the Vice President and a majority of either the principal officers of the executive departments or of such other body as Congress may by law provide, transmit to the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives their written declaration that the President is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office, the Vice President shall immediately assume the powers and duties of the office as Acting President.
     
Thereafter, when the President transmits to the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives his written declaration that no inability exists, he shall resume the powers and duties of his office unless the Vice President and a majority of either the principal officers of the executive department or of such other body as Congress may by law provide, transmit within four days to the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives their written declaration that the President is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office. Thereupon Congress shall decide the issue, assembling within forty-eight hours for that purpose if not in session. If the Congress, within twenty-one days after receipt of the latter written declaration, or, if Congress is not in session, within twenty-one days after Congress is required to assemble, determines by two-thirds vote of both Houses that the President is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office, the Vice President shall continue to discharge the same as Acting President; otherwise, the President shall resume the powers and duties of his office.

My guess is this was due to a phenomenon called sundowners. It is typical for those with dementia to have lapses in the evening.

Yes, it is.

The German Chancellor apparently did not have jet lag.

But Biden’s performance and inability to articulate at times was stunning. Like I could not believe what I was watching,” he said.

Apparently, Jon hasn't been paying attention
I fully expected Biden's performance.  Actually thinking it might be worse

everyone around him should have known

delusional

I didn't. I didn't think his handlers would let him on that stage if this was even a remote possibility.

I have to think that everyone around him thought that this would be his triumphant way to prove he wasn't "Sleepy Joe". That was the entire point of getting him on a stage with Trump. Show the world that he's still got it, and immediately dispel the "he's too old and he's losing it" rhetoric that has been thrown around on the right for months.

But he's too old and he's losing it. And the debate, rather than dispel that, proved it.

This thought is what I keep coming back to.  

Politically, the people around him *should* have ducked the debate.  I'm honestly not sure that it would have cost them much.  The nation is so polarized that the people on his side certainly wouldn't have held it against him.  Look, if Biden had ducked the debate, the is literally zero chance that @OrangeAfroMan would have said "That is it, I'm voting for Trump".  It *MIGHT* have hurt a little with a few swing voters but I'm not even sure about that.  We don't need to see a debate to know what the candidates are.  

My theory (I introduced this WAY upthread) is that the people around him simply HAD to know that this was a distinct possibility and they put him up there as a means to get him off the ticket.  

As I see it, the only other possibility is that they rolled the dice.  Dementia patients typically have lapses.  Maybe they just figured they'd stick him up there and HOPE that he didn't happen to have any lapses on that particular evening.  

When my dad was at something similar to the stage of dementia that it appears Biden is at right now, he *DID* sometimes have a good evening where we'd talk with him and everything was normal.  The thing is, from my experience, when my dad was having lapses as frequently as it appears that Biden is now, the chances of him having a full 90 minutes of lucidity were REALLY low so if that is what they did, it was one heck of a gamble.  

Jon Stewart criticizes Biden's team over debate performance spin (thehill.com)
Jon Stewart criticizes Biden's team over debate performance spin (thehill.com)

I watched this on YouTube last night and I thought it was sad but hilarious.