Will the Real Joe Biden please Stand Up?
A recent NBC news report tells of a political operative, Steve Kramer, hiring a New Orleans area magician, Paul Carpenter, to record an A.I. generated message in the “voice” of President Joe Biden for a series of robocalls. The calls urged New Hampshire Democrats not to vote in the state’s presidential primary. I am not sure how effective the calls could have possibly been given the certainty that Biden will be the Democratic nominee (assuming that he does not withdraw and is alive to accept the coronation). The calls were on behalf of the quixotic campaign of Dean Phillips, and the campaign, as would be expected, has distanced itself rom the “unofficial” scheme. Potential legal action has been threatened against the paid operative.
Perhaps, most disturbing is the fact that the “fake audio took less than 20 minutes and cost only $1.” In reference to his participation, Carpenter said, “It’s so scary that it’s this easy to do. … People aren’t ready for it.”
On some level, I understand the concern:
Many persons no longer value truth at a premium. Lying has become so prevalent in politics and within other aspects of our lives that it is nearly impossible to discern truth (particularly as AI further blurs the lines between real and artificial). We are bombarded by a cacophony of (dis)information to the point of indifference and disinterest, if not deafness. Unable to discern truth, lies — almost any lies no matter how outlandish or outrageous — are attributed value by default.
However, most of us would agree that President Biden has not spoken in his own voice in quite some time. He generally reads from teleprompters with painful effort, as his handlers fret and his minders fear that he may wander off-script. His most recent efforts to assert his competence and acuity were far from reassuring, and in the eyes of many, the ill-advised efforts were counterproductive. Biden’s lackluster performance was followed by surrogates, including the First Lady, vociferously speaking FOR him. On the issue of his mental competence, the growing consensus seems to be: “The [gentleman] doth protest too much, methinks.”
On some matters, Biden says the most incredible things (e.g. in defense of Hunter Biden). On other matters, he speaks with the uncertainty and equivocation of a grandfatherly figure trying to protect his “legendary” legacy (e.g. “How did those Classified Documents get there?”). He has become a mouthpiece for a leftward-lurching Democratic Party, and he touts policy positions, which are inconsistent and irreconcilable compared to prior decades in office.
In all fairness, Biden always has embraced political expediency. He has demonstrated often a tenuous grasp of truth and an uncomfortable association with veracity. His personal narrative is a work of fiction built upon lies and plagiarism. At this point, who is to know what the “real” Joe Biden might say or do?
