So far, there haven’t been many apologists for Joe Biden’s wretched debate performance. However, more will emerge if (as I think likely) hope of replacing him on the ticket fades.

It’s one thing to criticize the performance of a candidate you hope you can push out the door. It’s another to criticize the performance of a candidate you’re stuck with.

So far, two lines of apology have emerged. The first is that Biden had a bad cold. But all voters (and non-voters) have had bad colds. They aren’t fun, but they don’t interfere with one’s ability to state a coherent thought or finish a sentence.

The other line is that incumbents typically struggle in their first debate. That’s true. With the exception of Bill Clinton, I think all of them have.

But there’s struggling and there’s imploding. The likes of Gerald Ford, Ronald Reagan, the two Bushes, Barack Obama, and Donald Trump struggled. Biden imploded.