Biden's gaffes aren't new. The media's obsession with them is

The morning after President Joe Biden's Thursday night press conference, much of the press was forced to reluctantly admit that the president spent an hour “deftly” answering questions from 10 different reporters in an unscripted event where he "comfortably waded” through complex issues involving economics, the military, and foreign affairs. Biden gave lengthy, thorough answers, several of them containing genuine news. That included giving a more complete account of what it has been like for the U.S. to engage in a situation in the Middle East with few reliable leaders, a large number of players, and constantly shifting alliances. He also dealt with issues as intricate as China’s influence in the Pacific and as immediate as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. But as expected, much of the media focus has been on a single gaffe. Because the media seems to have completely forgotten that it spent decades chuckling over Biden’s “gaffe-prone reputation” and calling him a “human verbal wrecking crew.” Someone definitely has a memory issue.  Here’s how The New York Times described Biden in 2008, shortly after Barack Obama had selected him to be his running mate: Senator Joseph Biden Jr., the Democratic vice-presidential nominee, is an experienced, serious and smart man. But he does say some curious things. A day on the campaign trail without some cringe-inducing gaffe is a rare blessing. He has not been too blessed lately. That exact paragraph could be used in 2024. But it won’t be. Because it no longer fits the media narrative. Gaffes have always been part of Biden’s character. Not only does he stutter, he often finds himself searching for some alternative phrase when he can’t get out the right words. More often, he simply says the wrong thing or gets his words so tangled that they can’t be parsed with a machete. He’s a guy whose mouth isn’t always in synch with his brain.  Time magazine used the occasion of Biden’s election to vice president to showcase “Top 10 Joe Biden Gaffes” going back to 2001. Both that article and a 2007 article from ABC News thought they were clever in saying that Biden had “foot-in-mouth” disease.  Biden has always been this way. But, in case you missed it, CNN currently has an entire video devoted to Biden saying “Trump” when he meant to say “Harris” in Thursday evening’s press conference. That single flub, in an hour of answering questions, has been replayed over and over on national news. It’s being used now to illustrate the idea that Biden can no longer be counted on as president. Biden’s gaffes haven’t changed. But his age has. Now that the media has helped to create, and fully endorsed, the Biden-so-old narrative, gaffes that generated eye-rolls in the past now spark week-long speculations over Parkinson's. This isn’t Biden’s problem. It’s really not. It’s the media’s problem. It’s society’s problem. It’s a problem called ageism. But that may not matter. Not only has the media gone all in on the story of how a clearly competent Biden can no longer be trusted due to gaffes that generated more laughs than concern 16 years ago, but that narrative is getting nods from both politicians and pundits. Democrats in the House and Senate, understandably nervous about their own races as well as whether Biden is capable of defeating Trump, are likely to continue to put distance between the president and themselves. Many read Nancy Pelosi's statement on “Morning Joe” in which she asked them to back off from calls for Biden to step aside in the middle of difficult negotiations, not as a suggestion to stand behind Biden, but as permission to break ranks as soon as the NATO summit had ended. At the same time, Biden is continuing to get “kindly” suggestions like CNN urging him to make a “graceful exit.” There’s no doubt Biden has a problem. That problem has more to do with perception than reality. But it may not matter. RELATED STORY: Biden delivers strong, insightful performance in closely watched press conference Campaign Action