What should be the natural response of a nation if its ally suffers an extreme and devastating surprise invasion? Joe Biden had the opportunity to provide an answer to that question this weekend — and it wasn’t the right one. …

U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin announced on Sunday that the United States would respond to the horrific attack on its ally by directing the USS Gerald R. Ford strike group to the eastern Mediterranean. The U.S. has also promised to provide the Israel Defense Forces with munitions and equipment. “The first security assistance will begin moving today and arriving in the coming days,” Austin said.

Meanwhile, Biden apparently decided it was a good time to have a party.

[It’s not just the party, although that was bad enough. It’s that Biden has not made a public appearance yet since the war started, and that the White House only got around to issuing any statement under Biden’s name after almost three days despite the American deaths and presumed kidnappings involved. Fiddling may be too kind of a description of President MIA at the moment. — Ed]