Shhhh. Grandpa needs his nap, apparently:

Biden has called a lid for the day.

— Zeke Miller (@ZekeJMiller) September 24, 2020

This raises two important questions. How many days are there before the election? And has anyone told Joe Biden the answer to that? (The answer is 40 days, by the way.)

Hugh Hewitt sees strategy behind the fade:

I think the former Vice President is quite shrewdly lowering expectations for next Tuesday debate. @GOP and @realDonaldTrump should be talking about his strategy, not his absences. @JoeBiden will be very well prepared and very ready to mix it up next week. https://t.co/gDr1zqLGur

— Hugh Hewitt (@hughhewitt) September 24, 2020

Er, okay, but … does Biden need eight hours of prep a day for several days? After all, this is hardly the first early lid that Biden’s media team has gotten, and Charles C.W. Cooke sees history repeating itself:

Those with suspicious minds have started to wonder if there is something wrong with Biden. Perhaps he is unable to work every day? Perhaps his schedule needs to be set up in such a way as it can be amended without notice? There are, of course, other explanations for Biden’s absence. It may be that he is determined to avoid contracting coronavirus, or that he has noticed that he’s winning from his redoubt and so wishes to avoid rocking the boat. Irrespective, the dynamic surely has to be worrying some observers. The dirty little secret of 2016 was that Donald Trump outworked Hillary Clinton. Trump held more rallies, visited more states, and made himself more available to the press. This worked. It could plausibly work again.

From the perspective of Democrats, that would fit the formula of history repeating itself — first as tragedy (Hillary), and now as farce. This is as farcical a presidential campaign as we have ever seen — no ground game, and a candidate who’s unwilling even to come out to the porch to meet with reporters. It’s the first Vaporware Candidacy.

Update: Time to update the Biden PTO calendar (via Twitchy):

This is every day so far in the month of September that the Biden Campaign has called a full lid before Noon pic.twitter.com/dqdJlqdjMc

— Alec Sears (@alec_sears) September 22, 2020

Clearly, this isn’t just a debate-prep phenomenon. That makes nine part or full days off from making news this month. That would be notable in a primary; in a general election, with its compressed three-month window, it’s inexplicable.

Calling a lid so early in the day is extraordinary this close to an election. Reminds me of following Hillary Clinton in 2016, who had days when her handlers would hardly schedule any appearances. The campaign felt listless and complacent. Is Joe Biden falling into the same trap? https://t.co/Ki5ONrEALH

— Nick Bryant (@NickBryantNY) September 24, 2020