Why is this guy still around? Dr. Anthony Fauci, the former chief medical advisor to the president and main architect of the nation’s draconian COVID response, is supposedly retired, but he keeps showing up to preen and tell everybody what a great job he did. The facts belie him, however; he’s been accused of funding gain-of-function virus research, aggressively discrediting the lab-leak theory and trying to ruin the life of anyone who backed it, lying about the effectiveness of masks, and many other transgressions.

Aha, the tireless self-promoter has a new book; that’s why he’s making the rounds again. Despite being recently the highest-paid employee of the federal government and amassing a fortune worth an estimated $11 million, he wants more.

Appearing on ABC's "This Week" Sunday, he was asked about President Joe Biden’s mental capacity, and despite the obvious evidence of decline the world saw at Thursday’s debate, Fauci delivered a mealy-mouthed non-answer. Remember, this is supposed to be a medical expert, yet he refuses to give a coherent answer to a very simple query.

The last president he served under was Joe Biden. After a debate showing that has prompted calls from several Democratic pundits, opinion writers and The New York Times Editorial Board for Biden to step aside as the party's nominee this cycle, Karl asked Fauci if he was "surprised" by the president's performance Thursday night.

"I don’t want to comment on anything that would have any political implication. ... The one thing I can say and feel comfortable about is I have dealt with President Biden, and in my dealings with him, it's been really very positive," Fauci said. "He asked probing questions, he's right on point on things. So, my personal experience has been quite positive with him."

“I don’t want to comment on anything that would have any political implication.” That doesn’t sound like the Fauci we know and don’t love. 

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Pressed further, the good doctor gave another answer that seemed like it was written by a bad AI program:

When asked by Karl why someone in their 80s -- Biden is 81 -- would want to serve as president for another four years, Fauci said he thinks it is "an individual choice that you really can't generalize."

"You have to take each individual person," he continued. "You know, how they feel, what they feel they can do. You know, what their passion is, what their energy is, those are the kinds of things."

Watch:

Fauci is promoting his self-congratulatory new book, “On Call: A Doctor’s Journey in Public Service.” According to Substack author and noted critic of the nation’s COVID responses Alex Berenson, it reads more like a love letter that Fauci wrote to himself:

…auto-hagiography is a more accurate description.

For decades, Fauci was one of Washington’s most powerful bureaucrats. In 2011, the New York Times called him the “J. Edgar Hoover of biology.” Covid made him a household name and lightning rod worldwide. Now he has given the public an inside look at his unique career.

In theory, anyway.

In reality, readers looking for serious self-reflection in “On Call” will be disappointed. Fauci’s tome feels like nothing so much as a book-length cover letter from a job candidate who is very pleased with himself.

Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski posted a tweet Friday implying that Joe Biden should gracefully "ride into the sunset." It's far past time for Anthony Fauci to do the same.