NATO.

Remember NATO? It's that obscure alliance that supposedly exists to defend the security of the Western powers on European continent. 

There is a major war in which Russia--the country with the largest nuclear arsenal in the world and a slightly shaky government--you might be forgiven for thinking that the Biden Administration would be laser-focused on preparing for the NATO summit that begins in Washington on Tuesday. 

At least you could be forgiven for thinking that before the disastrous performance of the president in the debate with Donald Trump last Thursday. In this new reality, it is silly to think that anybody but a few obscure aides is making policy decisions in the White House. 

The fact that the president isn't engaged in preparations for this meeting now makes a lot of sense. Aside from showing up, wandering around, shaking hands with world leaders and imaginary friends, and reading words off a teleprompter (badly), he actually has no role to play in next week's meetings. 

I don't think it really has seeped into most people's minds that the real crisis right now is that there is no President of the United States and the world is still dangerous. People keep referring to U.S. leadership of the free world, but the truth is that the seat of power is empty. A few obscure aides are running things, and by all accounts, they are factotums loyal to Jill Biden. 

As Ed wrote earlier:

Democrats began doing a lot of throat clearing after the presidential debate about whether Joe Biden should run for office. They have remained steadfastly silent, however, on whether he's currently fit for duty as the leader of the free world. And a new report from Axios' Alex Thompson raises serious questions about who is actually the leader of the free world these days.

Thompson hears from his White House sources that three Biden aides have essentially cut him off from any real responsibilities, emphasis mine:

Many White House, Biden campaign and Democratic officials are increasingly worried that President Biden isn't up to continuing his campaign or finishing a second term, despite his insistence that he won't be pushed out. ...

• Those close aides have many duties. But officials recall instances of them helping Biden make up for mental lapses, including prompting him to remember people he has known for a long time.
• Such moments could be dismissed as normal lapses. But many Biden aides now wonder whether they were signs of something deeper.
• One former Biden aide told Axios: "Annie, Ashley and Anthony create a protective bubble around POTUS. He's staffed so closely that he's lost all independence. POTUS relies on staff to nudge him with reminders of who he's meeting, including former staffers and advisers who Biden should easily remember without a reminder from Annie."

Have readers ever heard of Annie Tomasini, Anthony Bernal, or Ashley Williams? I've worked in politics for over 20 years now, and only Williams' name seems vaguely familiar. Only Bernal's name comes up in our archives, once almost exactly two years ago and only as brief mention in someone else's statement. Presidents hire aides to help and support their work, but those aides are supposed to work for the president, not run him. 

It almost makes the sudden appearance of Hunter Biden in policy meetings look explicable. Why else would Biden have "a convicted felon" in meetings with officials? Is it to break through a cabal of aides desperately trying to keep Biden's incapacitation under wraps?

These aides, whose last names' acronym is appropriately enough "AAA," are the minor leaguers running the country while two major wars in which the United States is deeply involved rage. 

Call them the "Minor Leaguers." 

This NATO summit is just one of many events that will remind people that it really doesn't matter so much whether Biden remains on the Democrat ticket. He will lose the race. 

What matters is that he is the nominal president RIGHT NOW, and he is not capable of leading the country. 

To be clear, the Biden team could fully Weekend at Bernies him or send three toddlers in a trench coat to the next debate and I would still vote Biden over Donald Trump, and will encourage everyone else to do the same. But like... not ideal.

— Jill Filipovic (@JillFilipovic) July 4, 2024

Keeping Biden in place is the ultimate act of irresponsibility on the part of Democrats. While they all maneuver to position themselves to survive or thrive in the fallout, the country is rudderless. A man who was never any good at foreign policy is now, on top of that, literally senile. 

Joy Reid is having a mental breakdown:

"If it's Biden in a coma, I'm voting for him. This is about keeping HitIer out the WH." pic.twitter.com/lUHlJJLxfV

— End Wokeness (@EndWokeness) July 4, 2024

If anybody has any illusions that these people care about the United States or the fate of the Western World, this fact should disabuse people of that impression. 

Our elites care only about themselves.