Those who believe that advancing age has dulled President Joe Biden’s mind should reconsider their view.
In fact, Biden’s mind remains as dull as ever.
In the 2020 documentary, “Created Equal: Clarence Thomas in His Own Words,” Associate Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas recalled his 1991 confirmation hearings and his encounter with then-Sen. Biden.
Truthspeak posted a three-minute clip from the documentary to its YouTube channel.
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Biden, who chaired the Senate Judiciary Committee from 1987 to 1995, opened the confirmation hearing with a curious statement.
“Finding out what you mean when you say that you would apply the natural law philosophy to the Constitution is, in my view, the single most important task of this committee,” Biden said.
The person interviewing Thomas for the documentary then asked about this moment from the hearings: “Senator Biden was very focused on natural law. How did that go?”
“Who knows? I have no idea what he was talking about,” an exasperated Thomas replied.
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It got worse.
Biden then attempted to elaborate by making vague references to natural law and positivism before deciding that ordinary Americans probably would not follow his meaning.
“Now … that may be lost on all the people,” Biden said while waving his hands in big circles, “You know, and I know, what we’re talking about.”
Again, Thomas had no idea.
Less than 40 seconds later, Biden again insulted ordinary Americans’ intelligence.
“But it is a fundamental question that is going to be almost impossible for non-lawyers to grasp in an exchange, but you know, and I know, it is a big, big deal,” Biden said.
Nearly three decades later, Thomas recalled his frustration.
“One of the things you do in hearings is you have to sit there and look attentively at people you know have no idea what they’re talking about,” Thomas said.
In the 1991 clip, Biden’s dullness of mind revealed itself in two ways.
First, he tried to match wits with an accomplished jurist.
Had he done this simply by asking good questions, the questions themselves would have validated his knowledge.
Instead, he tried to elevate himself to the judge’s level by acting as if only he and Thomas could understand the mysteries of constitutional interpretation.
Only a buffoon speaks that way to someone far more accomplished.
Second, Biden seemed unaware of his own breathtaking condescension.
To create the (false) impression of gravitas, Biden had to denigrate everyone watching the hearing — or at least all “non-lawyers.”
If Biden believed his own words in that 1991 hearing, then his lack of self-awareness rates as borderline miraculous.
If he did not believe his own words but instead put on a show for the cameras, then he rates as an insecure phony.
Either way, he has not changed.
