Some Democrats say Biden's debate performance wasn't an anomaly

WASHINGTON — After he gave his State of the Union speech in March, President Joe Biden seemed to have quieted persistent fears that, at 81, he was no longer up to the job.

He spoke forcefully and jousted with Republican lawmakers who had jeered his message. But a Democratic lawmaker who shook hands with Biden in the House chamber that night was troubled by his appearance.

Biden, the congressman said in a recent interview, looked "frail and weak."

Biden's poor showing at the debate with Donald Trump last week threatens to end his campaign just four months before the election. Hoping to salvage his bid for another term, he is asking voters to weigh the 90-minute debacle against what he says is a 3½-year record of achievement in office.

Yet the notion that last week'sdebate was an anomaly doesn't jibe with the impressions of some Democratic lawmakers who've seen him up closeand come away doubting his capacity to hold office.

Far from a one-off, the debate revealed the same worrying traits — memory lapses, incoherence, a vacant look — these officials say they've noticed in Biden's company throughout his term.

"The country saw [at the debate] what those of us who have had personal interactions with him have all known for the last 2½ years," a senator said, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss Biden's fitness.

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A large, well-funded team of aides surrounds Biden and has worked to shield him from the embarrassments that might befall a president of advanced age. He