Nate's Reviews > Original Sin: President Biden's Decline, Its Cover-Up, and His Disastrous Choice to Run Again

The unstated significance of the book lies in its first (messy) half

Much of this we know, especially the second half of the book, which takes us from the disastrous debate to Harris's assumption of nominee. It is here that the book gains linear coherence and has a propulsive narrative.

I wondered, though, after reading it, what the first part of the book was about. It is a hodge-podge of various people being "shocked" or "surprised" or "astounded" at Biden's demeanor, much of it pre-2020 but then into 2021/22. What is unstated -- and perhaps somewhat, though barely, implied -- is that Biden should never have considered running again in the first place. THAT is the "original sin" of the title, I'd say.

The book's coda, about Harris and her eventual failure, is a quick affair. We recall, much earlier in the book, a prescient statement by a Black politico who says that to not consider Harris the nominee would be political suicide for the Dems. And indeed, Biden couldn't really help himself by backing her immediately, starting an avalanche of support for her. And the rest is history.

The book has some value as a historical document, though, again, the first part is ill-served by a puzzling unwillingness to present information in a linear fashion. This is a library loan, if you must.