"It is theoretically possible, I suppose, that an 81-year-old teetotaling Catholic has suddenly embarked upon a drug-fueled lifestyle."

"But this raises the question of why, exactly, we should care that Biden is using these wonder drugs to elevate his public performance. After all, in sports, we limit steroid use and other performance-enhancing drugs because those drugs have awful side effects, and give those willing to accept them an unfair advantage. What are the side effects of Biden’s alleged drug use?... Or is the idea that Biden is somehow rigging the election by using some kind of drugs that turn him into an energetic public speaker?"

Writes Jonathan Chait, in "Biden Was So Good, Trump Is Accusing Him of Performance-Enhancing Drugs/We need a president who can get high on life?" (NY Magazine).

1. All Trump did was post, at one point during the SOTU, "THE DRUGS ARE WEARING OFF."

2. I suspect Chait knows a lot that he's not saying about how many Washingtonians use drugs. Instead of making analogies to sports and jokes about accusations of rigging elections, why not give us more information about Washington drug culture? I see that a few days ago, Rolling Stone came out with "Trump’s White House Was 'Awash in Speed' — and Xanax/Under Trump, the White House Medical Unit was 'like the Wild West,' and staffers had easy access to powerful stimulants and sedatives, sources tell Rolling Stone." How awash in speed is Washington? I'd like to know. Don't play innocent.

3. What's with Chait's subtitle? "We need a president who can get high on life?" The phrase "high on life" must be at least half a century old. Some comedian — who was it? — would imitate someone saying "I don't need drugs, I'm high on life." Googling the phrase, I get "Help is available/Speak with someone today" and an 800 number. But anyway, it's a stock phrase, and Chait's article has it with a question mark, so it's sarcasm, and it fits with the idea, seen in the quote above, that maybe it's fine for politicians to improve their performance with drugs. 

4. I think Chait is trying to be cool and funny and his main point is that it's silly and stupid for Trump to "accuse" Biden of using drugs. But isn't that the druggiest thing of all — to lean into denial? I'd like the truth.

5. With athletes, they either win or lose games. Presidents force the whole world  to trust them in life-or-death decisions. Athletes' games are scheduled, and they're not on call in their off hours. The President of the United States needs to respond to the mythic 3 a.m. phone call. Biden was up — really, really up — for 2 hours on a late Wednesday evening. He read a scripted speech. What can we extrapolate about his ability — 5 or 10 or 12 hours later — to understand and evaluate a complex, rapidly unfolding real-world crisis? 

6. I had forgotten that Biden was a teetotaler. I went back and read this NYT article from just before the 2020 election: "In Trump and Biden, a Choice of Teetotalers for President/Spirits may be low around the country, but don’t expect them to be raised in the White House after the election; neither President Trump nor Joseph R. Biden Jr. partakes in alcohol."

President Trump and his Democratic opponent, Joseph R. Biden Jr., have not had an alcoholic drink over the course of their lives, by their own accounts.... They each grew up in families shadowed by the specter of alcoholism — Mr. Trump’s brother died from it, and one of Mr. Biden’s favorite uncles, whom he lived with growing up, was a heavy drinker. Both have distanced themselves from the boozy social circuits in Washington and New York, Mr. Biden because he was commuting home to his family in Delaware every night and Mr. Trump because he tends to be more comfortable at home watching television....

7. Alcohol is a depressant. The question at issue after the SOTU is speed. These people we depend on and compete with: How drugged up are they?