by guest blogger David Gerrold

I know that a lot of people are impatient for Biden to come out swinging.

But …

Let me tell you a story. In 1968, George Romney was running against Richard Nixon for the Republican nomination. Nixon was holding back during the early part of the year and his advisors were a little worried. They wanted him to speak up.

Whatever else he was, Nixon was a very astute, calculating, poker player. He said, “Let the press chew on the other fellow for a while.”

Because Nixon kept himself out of the spotlight, the press focused on Romney — who seemed like a pretty good guy, until finally, he stumbled. In order to backpedal his position on the Vietnam war, he said he had been “brainwashed.”

Oops.

The press turned it into a big story and Romney’s campaign evaporated.

Nixon then had the field to himself without ever having to get his hands dirty. He had other tricks to pull. But in terms of managing his campaign, it was the right thing to do.

Biden is wise to avoid the attention of the press right now. It’s too early. The public will get tired of him in two months. But, after Labor Day, when the campaign starts in earnest, Biden and all the other Democrats, all the surrogates, etc. will start hammering their message like a battalion of blacksmiths.

But right now — let the press chew on the other fellow for a while. The Trumpalumpas have only one place to go — Fox Noise. All of the other media are reporting the bad news. It’s fun to watch some of those people trying so hard to keep a straight face when you know they really just want to smirk and grin when they report Trumplethinskin’s latest political face-plant.

And it’s only going to get worse for him. The pandemic is going to get worse. The economy is going to stagger into a depression. And all it takes is a couple more police murders and the summer of protests will escalate into a general strike. Oh, and SCOTUS might rule against him on keeping his tax returns secret. And Mary Trump has a tell-all too. And there are half a dozen other rough scandals slouching toward Washington, waiting to be borne.

The karmic chicken has come home to roost.

So why should Biden say anything.

“Never interrupt your enemy when he’s making a mistake.” — Napoleon Bonaparte

…

Nebula and Hugo award winning author David Gerrold is the author of over 50 books, several hundred articles and columns, and over a dozen television episodes. TV credits include episodes of Star Trek, Babylon 5, Twilight Zone, Land Of The Lost, Logan’s Run, and many others. His most recent novel, now available, is HELLA. Other novels include WHEN HARLIE WAS ONE, THE MAN WHO FOLDED HIMSELF, the “War Against the Chtorr” septology, The “Star Wolf” trilogy, The “Dingilliad” young adult trilogy, and more. The autobiographical tale of his son’s adoption, THE MARTIAN CHILD won the Hugo and Nebula awards for Best Novelette of the Year and was the basis for the 2007 movie starring John Cusack, Amanda Peet, and Joan Cusack. He also has stories in my anthologies BAKER STREET IRREGULARS, RELEASE THE VIRGINS!, and ACROSS THE UNIVERSE. His web page is here.