Who Is Running The Country?
Over the Fourth of July weekend, Fox News Tucker Carlson delivered a stinging rebuke of the presidency of Joe Biden  arguing in no uncertain terms that it was his second in command, vice president Kamala Harris, who is really running the country. We dont say a lot about Bidens decline on this show, because its depressing, Carlson said. And because our default position is always to respect old people, especially when they get a little soft, as we all will if we live long enough, so its bad karma to mock them for it. But in Bidens case, its demonstrably true, and everyone knows it, including his family.  According to the conservative talking head, Biden cant really do his job  describing the 46th presidents senility as causing a serious constitutional crisis. Personally, I think Bidens out-of-control spending is causing the real crisis  although to be fair I said the same thing about his predecessor. The question is, whos really in charge if Biden isnt? Carlson asked. Increasingly, it seems like Kamala Harris is running things.  In contrast to his depiction of the 78-year-old Biden  whom he likened to a doddering nincompoop  Carlson offered some particularly harsh invective for the 56-year-old Harris. They tell us Kamala Harris is very impressive but look at her. Shes a joke. She can barely get through the day. She has no idea what shes doing, he said. Point out that shes a power-hungry buffoon posing as a competent adult, and they will instantly denounce you as a racist. They do this because it works. A lot of people, particularly in the news media, still find the idea of being called a racist the scariest thing they can imagine. Scarier than dying. So they will do anything to avoid it, including ignoring Kamala Harris obvious mediocrity. So they barely cover her. Kamala Harris may be one of the least impressive people in public life, but on some days it seems like shes running our country anyway.  Or  not running it. To be clear: I dont know enough about the inner workings of the current administration to say whether Biden or Harris is calling the shots. And unlike a lot of other conservative websites (whatever that means these days), I do not mindlessly regurgitate Fox News talking points. In fact, I view them cum oceanum salis. I believe Carlson is correct more often than he is incorrect, but he strikes me as being either unable or unwilling to move beyond the role of a selective outrage peddler  which puts a ceiling on his credibility as a commentator. Anyway   The question is not really what Carlson thinks  or what I think  but rather what you think. *****  DONT MISS A STORY   SUBSCRIBE TODAY! *****  According to a survey conducted late last month by The Trafalgar Group (in partnership with Convention of States), the answer to that question would seem to be yes. Readers will recall Trafalgar is the Atlanta-based polling outfit run by Robert Cahaly  one of the only strategists who correctly called the 2016 presidential election for Donald Trump. His survey (.pdf) asked respondents whether Biden was fully executing the duties of his office. A total of 56.5 percent of respondents said no, expressing the belief that others are directing policy and agenda. Only 36.4 percent said they believed Biden was directing all policy and agenda for his administration. Among GOP voters, only 11 percent said they believed Biden was fully executing the duties of his office compared to 83.6 percent who said others were in charge. Meanwhile among Democrats, 58.6 percent said Biden was in charge compared to 31.7 percent who said others were running the show. Among those who declined to identify a partisan affiliation, 36.1 percent said Biden was directing policy and agenda for the country while 58.4 percent said others were responsible for those decisions  roughly consistent with the overall numbers. Its hard to believe there have ever been numbers like that in American history about the president, Carlson said, referring to the Trafalgar polling in his monologue. They tell us is that media storyline  Joe Bidens fine; hes just got a really bad stutter, so relax  isnt actually convincing anyone. But not for lack of trying.  The Trafalgar Group survey was conducted between June 23-25, 2021. It polled 1,086 likely general election voters and had a margin of error of 2.97 percent. Thank you for voting You have already voted on this poll! Please select an option! Joe Biden  Kamala Harris  Unsure  *****  ABOUT THE AUTHOR   (Via: FITSNews)  Will Folks is the founding editor of the news outlet you are currently reading. Prior to founding FITSNews, he served as press secretary to the governor of South Carolina and before that he was a bass player and a dive bar bouncer. He lives in the Midlands region of the state with his wife and seven children. And yes, he has LOTS of hats (including the above-pictured Carolina Mudcats lid). We have an open microphone policy here at FITSNews! Submit your own letter to the editor (or guest column) via-email HERE. CLICK HERE. CLICK HERE.