In the old joke, a group of elderly women are playing cards in the day room of the senior care facility they live in. Between hands, one complains of chronic pain in her lower extremities. The woman to her right protests, “You think you have it bad? My arthritis is so out of control that I can barely hold these cards.”
A third woman shakes her head in commiseration, then speaks up. “Ladies,” she says, “I hate to gloat, but I’m the picture of health. I have no aches and pains, my blood pressure is normal, and my mind is as sharp as it’s ever been. Knock on wood,” she concludes, knocking on the table three times. Then she calmly turns to the doorway of the room and says, “Come in.”
This joke came to mind as I watched the following video from today’s “Fox News Sunday.” It was near the end of an interview with Vice President Joe Biden, who scored his first primary win — a big one — in South Carolina yesterday. The subject was Donald Trump’s assault on Biden’s mental alertness while speaking at CPAC. Trump’s comments, which included the observation that Biden belongs in a home, were frankly a little cruel. Declining mental health is nothing to poke fun at.
Biden, to his credit, did a fairly good job of defending himself. Right up until the end of the segment, when host Chris Wallace thanked him for his appearance. Without missing a beat, Biden replied, “Thank you, Chuck.”
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You can’t make this stuff up.
