With his dementia laid bare before the public during June’s presidential debate, Joe Biden is chief executive of the United States in name only. He spends more time on the beach these days than most surfers. In his first cabinet meeting in over a year, he turned the proceedings over to his wife Jill, who used the occasion to laud the administration’s progress in women’s health issues. Afterwards, Biden headed home to Delaware, alone, leaving Jill to conduct the rest of the day’s business in the White House. 

Meanwhile, Vice President Kamala Harris flits about the country campaigning for the presidency, running against her own record as she ducks interviews and media questions about the specifics behind her “Politics of Joy” platform. Four years of devastating inflation, the catastrophic collapse of America’s southern border, and the wars and heightened tensions in the Middle East receive from her no more than a passing reference.

As for Congress, our senators and representatives do what they do best, spending the nation further into debt and forming committees to investigate various matters of malfeasance and corruption that bring them publicity but end without consequence.  

Like the moon, this state of affairs—this absence of effective elected leadership coupled with the question of who is actually overseeing our government—has a bright side and a dark side.

The dark side represents the terrible health of our republic. Commanding armies of bureaucrats, agency heads, and other powerful people now have charge of our executive branch of government and feel secure enough in their power to largely ignore congressional oversight. These are the forces that covered for Joe Biden’s senility, then pushed him off the stage and into permanent vacation. Critics throw their darts at Kamala Harris for not laying out the specifics of what she will do as president, accusing her of hiding that agenda for fear of losing even more voters. But here a question should arise: What if Harris cannot answer questions about her agenda because, in the end, it won’t be her agenda that she carries out?

A puppet is at the command of the master who holds the strings.

Should Harris win the election in November and take up residence in the White House in January, the public will see her seated in the Oval Office, but the powers controlling her will be off camera and out of sight. It’s doubtful whether Harris would object to such an arrangement. After all, having falsely touted the befogged Biden’s cognitive abilities for so long, she is accustomed to charades. She will have what she wants, the fame and celebrity that would be hers as the first female president.  

But there is a bright side to this shabby mess, if we have the eyes to see it.  

For one, more Americans than ever now know without a doubt that the uproar over the upcoming election is less a contest between Donald Trump and Kamala Harris, and more a campaign by what some call the deep state to remain in power. Money, prestige, and in some cases, leftist creeds otherwise unpopular with voters are at stake. Those stakes are high indeed, and the players in D.C. will not go quietly from the game. But simply recognizing the truth of this whole ugly state of affairs gives the rest of us a power of our own.

When we see through the magician’s spiel and sleight of hand, the magic disappears.

Another bit of good news, and perhaps it is even more significant: Because of the long-concealed dementia of Biden and the deficiencies of a vacuous Harris, some Americans have recognized that the powers behind these empty vessels are also inept, or in some cases, malicious. It was the federal government that botched reactions to COVID-19. It was the federal government, not the states of Arizona or Texas, that threw open our borders to millions of people, wreaking havoc and ruin on our schools, hospitals, and communities. It was the federal government’s extravagant spending that caused inflation. It was the federal government that failed to seek peace between Ukraine and Russia. It is the federal government that is less capable of devising and managing a budget than a 20-something couple living in apartment that is beyond their means.

Here’s a specific case in point. In 2021, Harris took on the task of bringing broadband internet to every American, with a budget of $42 billion to do so. This month, three years later, not a single person has been connected to the Internet as a result of this initiative. A letter written to Harris by several Republican senators this month accuses her and her team of having failed the American people and “a gross misuse of limited tax dollars.” 

Given such fiascos, it’s little wonder that public trust in government remains near an all-time low. Americans owe a debt of gratitude to the Biden-Harris team for inadvertently casting a bright light on the incompetence, cronyism, and rot embedded in our nation’s capital. 

To recognize a problem is the first step in solving it. With more Americans waking up to the mismanagement and waste in government, and the attendant arrogance among some of our self-professed leaders, we’re taking that step. There are doubtless a multitude of follow-up actions necessary to correct the course of our drifting ship of state, but at least more of us are aware that no legitimate captain is at the helm.