Here's a list of things Biden defenders expect us to believe. 1. The Biden we see on TV – rambling, exhausted, confused – has no relationship to the Biden that is running the country. He's too old to campaign vigorously but not too old to be president, which is less taxing.

2. Projecting competence and vitality on both the American and world stage is not part of the job of the president. It does not matter if he seems horribly frail and reminds you of a declining parent or grandparent. All that matters is that his administration gets results. 2/

3. It is normal for a president to require a teleprompter and script to sound coherent. It is normal that he requires a teleprompter even when meeting with small groups of people. While we're at it, it's normal not to have cabinet meetings. Lots of things are normal, actually. 3/

4. Biden's aides admit that he is only reliably mentally coherent from 10am - 4pm, but this is acceptable. And it's also acceptable for the president to stop working after 8pm because he gets exhausted. Being president is a 40-hour-a-week job, actually. This is fine. Normal. 4/

5. It's ok that Biden sometimes misses important meetings with world leaders because he is tired and needs to go to sleep. Everyone gets tired. He's not Super Man. Expecting the president to be able to regularly function without 8-hours of sleep is unrealistic, unreasonable. 5/

6. Even if Biden is too old and often confused – as his public performances suggest – that's really fine, because he is surrounded by competent unelected bureaucrats who are really running the country. A presidency is actually a team sport, the president merely a figurehead. 6/

7. Even though a number of doctors have said he displays clear signs of Parkinson's, Biden has no responsibility to submit to a cognitive test conducted by an independent doctor. Yes, his last neurological exam was before people say he began declining, but that doesn't matter. 7/

8. It's unfair and unreasonable to expect the president not to call an ally by the name of an adversary, or his vice president by the name of his political opponent. Just gaffes. Gaffes are fine. Expecting Biden to keep everything straight while he's speaking is a lot to ask. 8/

9. When Biden stares slack-jawed while Trump speaks. When he freezes. When he gets confused, trails off, and says "anyway." When he calls people by the wrong name. When he wanders away and someone has to steer him to where he's supposed to go. This is because he has a stutter. 9/

10. Yes, Biden's debate performance showed clear, obvious signs of cognitive dysfunction. He seemed confused. He made little sense. It was a bad day. We can all admit it was a bad day. And presidents are people and people are allowed to have bad, confused, incoherent days. 10/

11. Knowing basic facts about other countries and current conflicts – facts that any well-informed citizen would be aware of – demonstrates a mastery of foreign policy. Biden knows who we're fighting and who we are not fighting, and he's able to tell you. That's impressive. 11/

12. Voters picked Biden in the primary. That primary was normal. And even though many voters were not aware of his obvious decline at that time – and he almost certainly would not be the candidate if the primary happened today, post-debate – replacing him is anti-democratic. 12/

13. Even though 49% of black voters say Biden should withdraw from the race, compared to 34% who say he should remain the candidate, replacing Biden would be racist, an affront to black Americans who overwhelmingly prefer Biden even though the polls paint a different picture. 13/

14. Speaking of polls. Bad polls are fake. Polls that say we're losing every swing state are fake. Polls that say we are bleeding minority voters are fake. Polls that say Biden's approval is in the toilet are fake. Our polls say he's winning! But you can't see them. 14/

15. 85% of voters say that Biden is too old to be president. 67% of voters say that Biden should withdraw. But you can win an election with these numbers. Biden can beat Trump even though only 15% of the electorate thinks he is up to doing the job and 1/3 think he should run. 15/

16. 56% percent of democrats want Biden to drop out of the race. Only 42% think he should stay. But even though most voters in his own party want him to step aside in favor of another candidate, Biden is the only candidate who can beat Trump, who he is currently losing to. 16/

17. Biden simply needs to right the ship and get back to his pre-debate polling numbers. Yes he was losing in those polls – which by the way, were fake – but if we just return to pre-debate normalcy everything will be fine. Magic things will happen between now and November. 17/

18. The debate was rock bottom, not the tip of the iceberg. Biden will not decline further, even though people around him say he has declined rapidly since the spring. We won't have a repeat incident at the next debate, at which point it will be too late for him to withdraw. 18/

19. As for campaigning? Well, we don't need to do that. Presidents running for re-election don't need to campaign. Interviews and press conferences are "bizarre media fixations." It's pathological that you expect Biden to do them. The real issue is you and your expectations. 19/

20. Your instincts are wrong. Your eyes deceive you. Your ears mislead you. All bad news is fake. Great things are happening behind the scenes. We have a plan to win, which we won't tell you. Trust us. Just indulge a little magical thinking. Everything is going to be fine. 20/

What are we doing here people? We have to be better than this.