****
"The great thing about Joe Biden during the Alito hearings ............ that he is incapable of staying on the river of a thought, and is constantly lured down tributaries from which he can never quite work his way back--you can see him batting the little paddles of his mind against the weeds, trying desperately to return to the river but not remembering where it is, or where it was going."
"little paddles of his mind" --- ROFL
BTW, he represents a state so small and comes from such a large family, that it is entirely possible he is elected by his relatives. It's the family's idea of custodial care to keep Joe in DC. THey use the Senate as kind of a Senior Day Care thing. It's not heartless, they can check up on him when he's on TV.
"...you can see him batting the little paddles of his mind against the weeds...."
I can....its as apparent as night and day..... a perfect, priceless description.