The effort from some to try to rehabilitate almost 81-year-old Joe Biden from a man who should have long since retired so his problems wouldn't have been exposed into a wise old leader isn't going well. Mostly because we see what a mess Biden is every day and it's hard to get around the facts right in front of our eyes. 

But that doesn't stop the spin. The latest hilarious entrant is the New York Times with an effort titled "Now Is the Moment for Biden's Age to Be an Asset."

Now that's pretty funny and a tough argument to make when he's barely coherent half the time, and it seems to keep getting worse all the time. Even "60 Minutes'" Scott Pelley had to acknowledge that Biden seemed "tired" of having to deal with "directing" everything. I don't think he is directing much of anything, yet he still has great difficulty. 

The article by Lydia Polgreen is already on the bandwagon of Israel not going into Gaza calling it a trap. She chastises former President George W. Bush's take on the situation, then praises Biden as "older and wiser." 

“Don’t be surprised if Israel takes whatever actions necessary to defend herself, and it’s gonna be ugly for a while,” Bush said. “You’re dealing with cold-blooded killers,” he continued, accurately describing the terrorist group that attacked Israel, but apparently unconcerned about the heavy humanitarian toll on civilians in Gaza or the long run consequences of fighting there.

Bush, of course, was a president with virtually no prior experience in foreign affairs. His only qualification beyond his famous last name was a stint as governor of a state that had a notoriously weak governorship. In the aftermath of 9/11, he led the United States into a series of catastrophes from which we have not yet recovered, and may have permanently damaged America. Biden did his country a great service by ending the war Bush had so carelessly started.

Today, we have an older, wiser president. Biden’s age and tendency to speak too freely are often seen as weaknesses. Poll after poll has revealed that this is his Achilles heel, the thing that gives voters the most pause about giving him, who will be 81 on election day, another four years in the hardest job in the world. 

But in a moment like this age, experience and a willingness to speak uncomfortable truths are vital strengths, both practically and politically. Biden is a wise old man who has seen a lot of things. He can and does speak plainly, even when it would be narrowly more politic not to. He has a long history of stalwart public support of Israel coupled with sometimes tough criticism behind the scenes. It is time for him to speak those truths, loudly, plainly and publicly.

"Wise old man." That's one hot take there. Bush is right here, and the problem with Biden is not a "tendency to speak too freely" but being incoherent, incompetent, and getting everything from since he came into office as a senator in 1973 wrong. 

Then the very example Polgreen cites to prove her point goes all kinds of wrong. She notes how Biden spoke on Tuesday about his meeting with Golda Meir five weeks before the 1973 Yom Kippur War as a young senator. Biden called it “one of the most consequential meetings I’ve ever had in my life.” He said that Golda Meir told him Israel had a "secret weapon" -- that "we have no place else to go." Polgreen suggests that Israel keep that in mind now because she thinks the same is true of the Palestinians. While it's true that it could be problematic, the Israelis need to take Hamas out now, as the bad actors are gathering all around. 

On top of that, Polgreen is missing a big element of the story and it's important to note since she's making the argument about Biden's "experience." He was wrong about the situation at that time in 1973 as well. 

According to a classified memo of the meeting from a senior Israeli official, Biden tried to sell Meir a bill of goods about Egypt's intentions. The official said Biden told Meir that Egyptian officials had assured him during meetings in Cairo before he arrived in Israel, that they accepted “Israel’s military superiority.”

Translation: Biden was telling Israel Egypt wasn't going to attack, the opposite of reality. He was spreading Egyptian disinformation and he didn't even have the sense to realize it. 

The official added his own personal impressions regarding the young senator at the bottom of the document, saying Biden was full of respect toward the Israeli leader and repeatedly said he had come to learn, “and yet while speaking displayed a fervor and made comments that signaled his lack of diplomatic experience.”

Yes, we should look at his "experience." He's been wrong on everything for 50 years. Those are the facts. He's the opposite of a "wise old man." But imagine this is what you go with to try to overcome the constant incoherence and incompetence, as we saw from his "60 Minutes" interview where Scott Pelley had to finish his sentence for him and described him as "tired" with directing it all. Then he tried to hem Israel in as to how they should respond. 

As our sister site Twitchy observed, that headline made everyone laugh at how absurd it was. And make sure you click on the "translate" part of the tweet, as that's funny too. 

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH pic.twitter.com/GHiyAZoxuK

— Mollie (@MZHemingway) October 16, 2023

There are hot takes, and then there are “touching a hot stove” hot takes. Ouch! 🔥

“Now Is the Moment for Biden’s Age to Be an Asset” https://t.co/G0bAqnS27w

— Jason Miller (@JasonMillerinDC) October 16, 2023