“Biden goes to bat for John Fetterman in Pennsylvania,” reads the headline from Bloomberg. If so, Joe Biden appears to have struck out. And Fetterman apparently never came up to bat.

In fact, one has to wonder what in the hell the White House or Team Fetterman was thinking by having Joe Biden drop in on this state. Josh Shapiro is more or less on cruise control in the Keystone State’s gubernatorial race, leading Doug Mastriano in every poll and maintaining a seven-point lead in the RCP aggregate average.

Fetterman, on the other hand, has descended from a double-digit lead in Pennsylvania to a virtual tie against Mehmet Oz in the RCP aggregation. The latest Insider Advantage poll puts it at an actual tie at 46-all, with Oz gaining three points in the series since the last iteration.

Democrats may well be hitting the panic button, but as this same poll shows, Biden’s hardly the man to rescue Fetterman from Pennsylvania voters. He’s currently rocking a 44.6/54.8 job approval rating in the Insider Advantage survey. He does even worse in the recent Politico/Fabrizio-Anzalone poll, with a 43/55 job approval rating. Civiqs has Biden at 37/55.

With numbers like that, Team Fetterman would have been better advised to avoid the risk of tying their candidate even closer to an unpopular president. Instead, in what looks like desperation, they rolled the dice. Did it pay off with a a dynamic show of strength and credibility from Biden?

Er …

C'mon, man! pic.twitter.com/EeBR4Qrhzt

— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) October 20, 2022

When Biden was talking, he didn’t do much better, as Townhall captured in these clips (via Chicks on the Right as well):

BIDEN: "I signed into law a once-in-a-generation investment…over a billion 200, a trillion, 200 billion dollars!" pic.twitter.com/MWPragqyqq

— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) October 20, 2022

What? pic.twitter.com/hDtQTpQe8N

— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) October 20, 2022

As far as helping Fetterman, Biden instead fed right into Republican attacks on the nominee that he was just a stalking horse for his wife and Chuck Schumer. Rolling Stone referred to Gisele Fetterman as “the de facto candidate” this past weekend, and Biden appeared  to agree:

Biden to John Fetterman's wife:

"You're gonna be a great lady in the Senate." pic.twitter.com/xDqiY35ucc

— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) October 20, 2022

Ahem. Gisele Fetterman is not going to be “in the Senate,” nor is she running to be in the Senate. However, as Rolling Stone and anyone observing this race can figure out, Gisele will be calling the shots for her husband if he wins the election, just as she’s spent the months since his stroke calling the shots.

But what about Fetterman? How did he do? Actually, Fetterman didn’t do anything but stand around, according to the Washington Examiner’s White House reporter:

Fetterman traveled alongside Biden throughout Fern Hollow, the site of a major bridge collapse in 2021, but did not deliver any public remarks.

The Democrat told NBC News in mid-October that he still has some lingering speech and hearing problems caused by the stroke, and he has strayed away from large, rally-style speeches throughout his campaign.

Maybe he could have had Gisele deliver a few remarks, eh? Actually, she did — in telling a reporter that her husband didn’t come to his own campaign rally to interact with people, you know:

I attempted to ask Lt. Gov. John Fetterman if he was satisfied on the construction progress of the Fern Hollow Bridge prior to @POTUS Biden's speech on October 20, 2022 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Fetterman's wife tells me that they are there to celebrate and not do interviews. pic.twitter.com/LfLaXMZTpB

— Kyle Mazza (@KyleMazzaWUNF) October 20, 2022

Good Lord.

One has to wonder just how accurate the polling out of Pennsylvania has been after this rally. If the race was close and/or Fetterman was leading, they’d never have had Biden come out to campaign. Barack Obama? Sure. Even Bernie Sanders might have done better with working-class voters. Bringing Biden in to close the sale for Fetterman, however, feels like a desperation move as the candidate spins downward with voters — especially if they were relying on Biden to bolster their campaign’s coherence.