Timothy Birdnow

Don't get used to this; it won't happen very often.

I come not to bury Biden but to praise him.

Seems Mr. Biden is taking some heat for bragging about being in possession of "the football".

BIDEN: "Look, my Marine has a code to blow up the world” pic.twitter.com/0k2efHB5Jj

— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) November 29, 2023


Most on the right is taking away from this that Biden is irresponsible and perhaps forgetful. While I agree he is both in this instance I think it purely strategic.

Biden is reminding our enemies we still have this power. And, given his declining faculties (something left unsaid) who knows what he will do with that power.

Sun Tzu, the ancient Chinese military philosopher, admonished generals to be unpredictable.

Sun Tzu said 'The whole secret lies in confusing the enemy, so that he cannot fathom our real intent.' and 'A military operation involves deception. Even though you are competent, appear to be incompetent. Though effective, appear to be ineffective.' also 'The whole secret lies in confusing the enemy, so that he cannot fathom our real intent.'

Mr. Biden certainly appears to be incompetent and ineffective, of that there is no question. But our enemies, particularly the Iranians, need a gentle little reminder of the awsome power that can be unleashed if Biden so chooses.

Donald Trump was a student of Sun Tzu, and he often employed Tzu's principles in his Presidency. America's enemies were afraid of him because they could never figure him out. (It was true of his political enemies at home, who were always shooting in the wrong spot.) This is very much like something Trump would have done - and been pilloried for doing. The media would have called Trump irresponsible and outrageous for saying this. But it is an effective thing to do.

Of course, as with anything else, you have to actually have a track record of using the power on occasion, something Mr. Biden has not done.

There was an old Happy Days episode where Fonzi was teaching Ritchie about fighting. He explained you don't have to actually fight - the threat alone is enough. But then Ritchie learned the one detail Fonzie forgot to mention - you must first actually win a fight to show you mean business.

Biden needs to actually win a fight before making such threats. But at least he's thinking, or someone in his staff is anyway.

As Lucy would say in Peanuts "he  may be a blockhead but  he at least did THAT right."

Posted by: Timothy Birdnow at 10:17 AM | Comments (5) | Add Comment
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