Bulwark's Mona Charen struggling to come to grips with St. Joe Biden's 'classified documents mess'

President Joe Biden’s penchant for taking classified documents he’s not supposed to have and storing them in places he’s not supposed to be storing them has turned into a bit of a headache for the Democratic Party, of course, but also for his Principled Conservative™ defenders.

Back when it was just Donald Trump storing classified Trump-administration-era documents (not Obama-administration-era documents, as is the case with Joe Biden), Principled Conservatives™ could go on and on about the gross impropriety of Donald Trump keeping classified materials at his Mar-a-Lago home, because Principled Democrat™ Joe Biden would never even think of doing such an unethical thing. But now that they know that Biden would not only think of doing such an unethical thing, but actually has done that unethical thing — on multiple occasions, evidently — they’re in the throes of an existential crisis. And what a shame that is.

The Bulwark’s Mona Charen decided to share her struggle in an essay for TIME Magazine:

In my first essay for TIME, I share some thoughts about Biden's classified documents mess.https://t.co/wEw2KMnP2z

— Mona Charen (@monacharen) January 15, 2023

Charen’s piece begins:

In 2020, America elected Joe Biden to be not-Trump—a role for which he seemed well-suited. In 2016, the country voted for burn-it-all-down upheaval. Trump was the tribune of those who felt betrayed and misled and mistreated. Four chaotic years later, alarmed voters fled into the arms of an aging former vice-president and senator—a man they had twice rejected as a presidential contender—who seemed the personification of the steady hand.

No one expected Biden to be transformational or extraordinary, but we did need him to be the anti-Trump in the most important ways. We needed him to be sober and responsible, to play by the rules, and to uphold the primacy of law and procedure. And he delivered. President Biden freed the country and the world from the tyranny of tweeted insults, conspiracies, threats, lies, fantasies, and reversals. And while naturally some will criticize his policies, Biden has conducted the presidency with dignity. He has gone some way toward restoring a sense that the system, whatever its flaws, is basically sound.

President Biden was restoring America to its former greatness and crusading for truth and justice and morals and all that, and then this whole classified document thing happened and that made the Principled Conservatives™ finally stop and wonder what the heck Joe Biden has been doing. This is all just so shocking, you know?

Until now, it seemed that President Biden was defying that [Everyone is corrupt. The system is rigged. No one is honest. No one really plays by the rules.] theme. His administration has been staffed by grown ups. There have been no scandals. The Department of Justice has been methodical and fair in its prosecutions.

And, based on that little excerpt, Mona Charen and The Bulwark have apparently either been in denial this entire time or have been on some very hard drugs. Maybe both.

Who could have possibly anticipated that Joe Biden would act like he was Joe Biden?? https://t.co/5wcnvJuAGu

— Zachary Faria (@ZacharyFaria) January 16, 2023

"We Elected Biden to Be Better Than This"

Have you been in a coma for the past 50 years? He hasn't exactly kept to himself. https://t.co/upzpVMsPgb

— jimtreacher.substack.com (@jtLOL) January 16, 2023

For the past 50 years, he hasn’t exactly been better than anyone. And yes, Mona, that includes Donald Trump.

Bulwark etc all created an elderly statesman like grandfather version of Biden who never existed except in their heads to justify selling their entire professional souls to him. Biden has never been better than this. They used to tell us so. pic.twitter.com/O4hobG3P00

— Stephen L. Miller (@redsteeze) January 16, 2023

Boy. You know, you really hate to see The Bulwark squirming like this.