For Democrats, managing an incapacitated dotard in high office is always a full-time job, fraught with risk and unintended consequences.

It's always easier to have a self-driving leftie with his wits about him.

In that party, they've got a lot of them these days, starting with Joe Biden, and Sen. John Fetterman.

There's also Sen. Dianne Feinstein, about whom the New York Post wrote three years ago:

WASHINGTON — Sen. Dianne Feinstein, the oldest member of the Senate at age 87 and the most senior Democrat on its powerful Judiciary Committee, is “seriously struggling” with cognitive decline, a new report says.

People familiar with the California lawmaker’s situation told the New Yorker on Wednesday that Feinstein’s short-term memory has grown so poor that she “often forgets she has been briefed on a topic, accusing her staff of failing to do so just after they have.”

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) has had several “painful” discussions with Feinstein about stepping aside, but the octogenarian reportedly soon forgets about their talks, forcing Schumer to confront her again, one source said.

“It was like Groundhog Day, but with the pain fresh each time,” the source said.

Reps. Adam Schiff and Katie Porter have already written Feinstein off as dead, announcing in rapid succession in the past few weeks that they're running for the 31-year incumbent's Senate seat. Schiff even claimed he was doing so with Feinstein's blessing. 

Yesterday, a press release went out saying that Feinstein was indeed on her last term and would not be seeking re-election at the age of 91 in 2024.

The news was all over it.

Rep. Nancy Pelosi, the former House Speaker, made her tributes, calling Feinstein "an icon." 

Local television station KTVU Fox 2 wheeled out the glowing retrospective: 

Dianne Feinstein retires: looking back on career of pioneering senator

The statues were featured.

Everyone was ready for it.

But .... to paraphrase Alanis Morrissette: Well, she's still alive.

Turns out Feinstein's crew decided to take matters into their own hands, and attempted to ease the old lady out with that press release, done behind her back.

It didn't end well for them. According to Mediaite:

Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) said she did not know her office released a statement saying she will not seek reelection in 2024.

“I am announcing today I will not run for reelection in 2024 but intend to accomplish as much for California as I can through the end of next year when my term ends,” Feinstein, 89, said in the statement.

Later on Tuesday, reporters at the Capitol asked her about the announcement.

“I haven’t made that decision,” she said, according to Savannah Behrman of the National Journal. “I haven’t released anything.”

A Feinstein staffer then told her, “We put out the statement.”

“You put out the statement?” the senator replied, seemingly surprised.

They tried to get rid of her, and all they got for their troubles was: 'Not so fast, whippersnappers.'

They'll undoubtedly be plotting again to get rid of her -- and now that the old lady is alerted, she may well find a way to get rid of them first. The heat is on.

Democrats are big on staying in power indefinitely -- as if Stalin or Castro were their role model. They're also surprisingly difficult to dislodge. With a rigged election system in the blue states, these Dems know they don't have to resign from anything.

It will likely be the same when staffers make a lunge to get rid of ailing John Fetterman, who reportedly suffered permanent brain damage in the wake of his stroke and failure to get adequate rest as Democrats pushed him to campaign for his Senate seat. If Feinstein won't go, why would he want to go? He can stay ensconced in office as long as she's been.

Even more significant, Joe Biden won't leave gracefully, despite his increasingly debilitated state. If Feinstein doesn't have to go, why then what's keeping him from launching his 2024 bid for re-election, especially since everyone on his side believes he did win 81 million votes. What indeed is stopping any of them? Senility doesn't matter any more than polls matter to this bunch. All that matters, amid all that brain fog and confused thinking, is that they stay in power permanently. Somehow, that doesn't affect their addled memories one bit. 

 Image: Screen shot from Associated Press video, via YouTube