Staff Reports
Former President Joe Biden appeared at the Ben Nelson Gala in Omaha this week with a noticeable bandage on his head and left the crowd with an astonishing line about his late son Beau — “who should’ve been the president, not me.” The scene was equal parts somber and surreal, as Biden used family grief to attack the current administration while visibly marked by recent medical treatment.
The bandage and Biden’s references to cancer immediately fueled questions about his fitness and the wisdom of the parade of public appearances scripted by Democrats. Reporters noted that this came after his recent radiation therapy, making the optics even more uncomfortable for a party that has avoided hard conversations about leadership and competence.
Meanwhile, conservative observers watched the coverage and saw the familiar double standard: when President Trump showed a bandage after surviving an assassination attempt, the media framed it as heroism and resilience, but when Biden shows a bandage now, the left tries to make it a private matter or a media non-story. Americans who pay attention smell the bias — two very different narratives from two very different media universes.
The most striking line from Biden’s talk — that his son “should’ve been the president, not me” — was presented as grief, but for many it read like an implicit admission that Democrats pushed him into a job he could not handle. Conservatives aren’t out to gloat about loss, but we do demand honesty and accountability from anyone who seeks or held power over the American people.
Biden railed against alleged cuts to cancer research and blamed the current administration for making health care costlier while invoking his family’s tragedy, a political swipe delivered from a stage that should have been about local party organizing. Whether one sympathizes or not, weaponizing personal pain for partisan attacks while ducking the tougher questions about leadership is exactly why voters are fed up with the Washington class.
This episode raises legitimate, nonpartisan concerns about transparency and the public’s right to know when someone’s health could affect their judgment. It’s patriotic to argue for decency and privacy, but it’s also patriotic to insist on clear-eyed assessments of fitness for public responsibilities — especially after the strain of recent national emergencies and policy failures.
At the end of the day, this isn’t just about a bandage or a speech; it’s about a political culture that tolerates evasions and excuses from one side while savaging the other for far less. Voters deserve leaders who can stand tall without theatrics, who put country before party, and who answer straight questions instead of dressing up frailty as drama.
