Michael Goodwin: White House aides were hiding Bidens mental decline, but we all saw it in plain sight

There are media bombshells and then there is The Wall Street Journal report that Joe Biden is so mentally diminished that aides have isolated him to hide his decline from the public and even key members of his administration. Cabinet secretaries and congressional leaders find it next-to-impossible to get in-person meetings with the president, and full cabinet gatherings are rare.As the years have passed, phone calls with Biden grew increasingly unusual, with most communications made through intermediaries. “There were limits over who Biden spoke with, limits on what they said to him and limits around the sources of information he consumed,” a team of Journal reporters wrote. Truth be told, this is one of those situations where something is simultaneously shocking but not surprising.

Anyone paying even cursory attention knows Biden’s not all there and hasn’t been for years. All along, his rare public appearances were usually punctuated by stumbles, gibberish and a dazed, confused look.To hide his infirmities, every move and word were scripted, which explains why he gave far fewer interviews and press conferences than his predecessors. When he did appear in public, he usually carried cheat sheets with stage directions and talking points.

He sometimes revealed the short leash by saying “I’ll get in trouble” by answering questions. Aides also had to retract some wild statements he made, including one where he suggested regime change was US policy in Russia. Last June, weeks after the Journal reported that people who had seen Biden said he was slipping, the whole world saw what a mess he was in the disastrous debate with Donald Trump.The president had trouble forming sentences and several times trailed off into incoherence. That performance led to his withdrawal from the presidential campaign, but White House aides have continued to insist he is fine and able to carry out his presidential duties.

They stuck to that story again last week. They ar...