The Huey Long-like character of Willie Stark in Robert Penn Warren’s “All the King’s Men” comes to mind, as does the figure of Brutus in Shakespeare’s “Julius Caesar.”And so, increasingly, does President Biden. The man elected to banish his self-deluded, deceptive, disrespected and destructive predecessor increasingly embodies those vices himself. “Saying hello to one Democratic megadonor and family friend at the White House recently, the president stared blankly and nodded his head,” Olivia Nuzzi reported last week for New York magazine. The president repeated the words his wife had fed him.”There’s plenty more like this, including in The Wall Street Journal and The Times. “A former senior European official answered the same question by saying flatly, ‘No.’”

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Persons: It’s, Huey Long, Willie Stark, Robert Penn Warren’s, ”, Brutus, Shakespeare’s “ Julius Caesar, Biden, blankly, ” Olivia Nuzzi, “, Vladimir V, Putin, ” —, Europe — “, ‘ Organizations: Democratic, White House, New York, Street, The Times, Times Locations: Russia, U.S, Europe