For months, observers have noted how rare (and dismally attended) are Hillary Clinton’s public appearances.

Some have attributed this to the notion that she is so unappealing that the less she appears in public – especially before the entire presidential press corps – the more likely she is to win.

Others attribute it to a carefully-crafted strategy of coordination with a fawning media and a bevy of advisers (some two hundred or more), an approach that spares Mrs. Clinton the burden of lowering herself from her lofty perch to play the pol.

A third interpretation, for months dismissed by Clintonites as the prating of “alt right conspiracy theorists,” now steps to the fore at a most Crisis of Character: A... Byrne, Gary J. Best Price: $1.88 Buy New $10.99 (as of 10:40 UTC - Details) importune moment for her campaign – as the candidates enter the stretch and the race enters its final stage.

In a word, as the candidates head for the finish line, Hillary Clinton is finished.

Her candidacy is over.

They can’t hide “Hidden Hillary” any more. Sick, tired, and disabled, she deserves our prayers and compassion now, not our ire.

For Campaign Hillary, from here on in, it’s all show, no go. RIP.

Enter Joe Biden.

And Joe is ready. It is he who has hidden, and he’s done it well.

Joe is a crafty critter. As Vice-President had he entered the 2016 primaries as the natural successor to Obama, the country would have been treated to a litany of his flaws, lies, and disasters that would have put him at a distant third, far behind Bernie and Hillary. Joe would have had to leave the stage in disgrace, a has-been, a tired also-ran. Instead, he stayed in the wings, suited up, rested, respected, and ready.

Joe has always been lazy – which is why he turned down Obama’s offer to be Secretary of State in 2008. After all, being Veep requires less travel, less work, and more time for schmoozing (George H.W. Bush wrote the playbook in the 1980s, thrilling county chairmen with a phone call from “Air Force Two” and sending autographed pics to countless donors. After al, he didn’t have much else to do). Clinton Cash: The Unto... Schweizer, Peter Best Price: $4.38 Buy New $10.56 (as of 01:15 UTC - Details)

Today its clear that Joe made the right choice – one needs merely to observe the profound wear and tear of eight years that finally, and literally, brought Hillary Clinton to her knees at Ground Zero on Sunday.

When Joe takes the stage, he will remind us that Hillary needs our prayers and our compassion. Hillary is just worn out. She needs a well-deserved rest.

And the country needs Joe.

Hey wait – what about Tim Kaine? Isn’t he Hillary’s heir apparent? After all, he sure would be if she could make it to January 20^th.

Sorry, Tim. Joe has been situating himself very carefully to outflank you. He’s already officiated at a gay “wedding” – all you’ve done is complain about the church’s teaching on marriage.

For the religious vote, Joe, Kaine’s fellow Catholic, has just received the highest award that the University of Notre Dame has to offer – bought for thirty pieces of silver, admittedly, but hey, who cares? All Tim Kaine has to offer is his dithering about the Hyde Amendment.

So Tim is out and Joe is in, and Donald Trump had better be ready because Rollin’ Eyes Joe is going to be hard to beat.

Joe is a glib as Trump and as dishonest as Hillary. Yes, he’s dumb but he admits it (I was there when he said that he wasn’t smart enough to be a federal judge). And he has health problems as severe as Hillary’s, but it’s guaranteed, there won’t be time for the public to ask how profoundly his brain aneurysm has affected his health, his mind, and his often erratic and even offensive behavior. Hillary the Other Woma... Dolly Kyle Best Price: $0.25 Buy New $5.44 (as of 08:25 UTC - Details)

In fact, there won’t be enough time for much of anything: Hillary’s decision to leave (or to be pushed out: the Deep State will see to that in short order) – by September 21. A week of national mourning for Hillary’s exit puts us on September 28. The battle between Biden and Kaine to claim the top spot on the ticket will take a day or two, and we’ll need another week for the chaotic ballot arrangements required to make it “legal” (Homeland Security to the rescue).

That puts us at October 8, the day on which Joe Biden inherits all of the momentum that the hard-core Democrat voting blocs provided for Hillary, minus the fatal ball and chain of Hillary.

Joe can coast. He can sail. Joe won’t have to change a thing.

But Donald Trump will.

For more than a year, Trump has brilliantly created a crucible into which Americans can stuff all they know (a little or a whole lot) about Mrs. Clinton.

It’s labeled “Crooked Hillary.” She has proven incapable of responding without lies so transparent that she’s becoming a laughing stock. Her record is a thousand points of pain, and Trump has masterfully branded it all: she’s crooked.

Think of it. Clinton Cash. Indictment scandal. Emails. The Clinton Foundation. Benghazi. Huma. Bill. Paula. Juanita. The spider was wound up in her own web like a shrouded moth struggling to escape the fatal sting. The Clintonsu2019 War ... Roger Stone, Robert Mo... Best Price: $1.79 Buy New $12.98 (as of 05:05 UTC - Details)

And now all that work goes out the window.

How will Trump label Joe?

Perhaps better said, how can he label Joe? The cadaver of Hillary’s political career will still be warm on October 8.

“Please, Mr. Trump, show some respect! For at least another month!”

Bu that gracious pause works only one way. In the meantime, Joe can gaily bash Trump from day one, trash talk with a media lapdog chorus resonating every line. And Trump is going to have to be very careful indeed, because suddenly the usual suspects will be demanding dignity, honor, and decorum – of Trump, of course, but not Joe.

Joe Biden for President. It’s a perfect formula for extinguishing Trump’s surging campaign with a fire hose.

Trump had better be ready.

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