WEDNESDAY, JULY 3, 2024
Madman, beloved hold forth: Yesterday, President Biden offered an account of what happened last Thursday night.
For ourselves, we don't know what happened that night! But according to a front-page report in today's New York Times, here's what the president said:
At a fund-raiser on Tuesday evening, Mr. Biden blamed fatigue for his debate performance. “I wasn’t very smart,” he said. “I decided to travel around the world a couple times, I don’t know how many time zones.” He added: “I didn’t listen to my staff, and I came back and I fell asleep on the stage.”
For the record, the frenetic travel in question ended on June 16. Last Thursday's debate took place on June 27—a full eleven days later.
A cynic could say that implausible explanations for last Thursday night have continued to sprout. For ourselves, we can't explain what happened that night, but we can tell you this:
"Government of and by the people" was always a bit of gamble. In the wake of World War I, the developing poet named E. E. Cummings may not have been buying the premise.
In our view, Cummings was wrong in the angry attitude he voiced at the end of the poem in question. But along the way, no one can say that his reporting was totally wrong.
Yesterday, we offered you the bitter fruits of his observations. Here they are once again:
Humanity I Love You
Humanity i love you
because you would rather black the boots of
success than enquire whose soul dangles from his
watch-chain which would be embarrassing for both
parties and because you
unflinchingly applaud all
songs containing the words country home and
mother when sung at the old howard
Humanity i love you because
when you’re hard up you pawn your
intelligence to buy a drink and when
you’re flush pride keeps
you from the pawn shop and
because you are continually committing
nuisances but more
especially in your own house
Briefly, the poem continues from there.
In the wake of World War I, Cummings was less than impressed with the instincts of us the people. Anthropologically, it's hard to say that his observations and assessments were completely and totally wrong.
Returning to the present day:
Metaphorically, the anthill was suddenly kicked apart last Thursday night. The ants have come spilling out of the hill in the wake of that unexpected disaster.
"Our democracy" depends on the good judgment of us the people. That said, our species doesn't reliably traffic in any such conduct.
It isn't just President Biden's slightly odd assessment. Humans like those listed below have come center stage in the past few days.
Full disclosure. We're saving the most deranged for last:
Steve Bannon: In our view, David Brooks' "unsettling interview" with Bannon is highly instructive concerning the nature of the ongoing revolt from below.
Some of Bannon's comments are crazy; some of his comments aren't. We expect to discuss the interview next week.
Greg Gutfeld: This extremely angry, extremely small man is the ranking star of "cable news," behind only Jesse Watters. This afternoon, we'll give you an overview of his latest gruesome conduct.
Warning—it won't be pretty! Borrowing from Ezra Pound, "Yet this is [him]"—and us.
Kevin's commenters: In this post, Kevin Drum links to that front-page report in the New York Times. The Times quotes a lot of unnamed sources. Kevin's headline says this:
Biden’s cognitive decline may be fairly recent
Kevin accepts the idea that "cognitive decline" has occurred. He suggests that it may be fairly recent.
For ourselves, our full-blown concern about President Biden dates to last August—to his first public statement in Hawaii in the wake of the Lahaina fires.
We've seen plenty of footage since that time which has added to our concern, along with other behaviors. As we noted at the time, we were surprised when the campaign decided that he would be able to handle a 90-minute debate.
For ourselves, we can't say that we know what happened last Thursday night. We'd be slower to voice a speculation than Kevn has been, though it may be that his assessment is completely correct.
That said, many of Kevin's commenters swung into instant action. They're sure that this whole thing is some sort of conspiracy organized by sinister forces, including the New York Times—sinister forces who want to restore Donald J. Trump to power.
Sad! Even here, within our own Blue America, we're often inclined to reason in the manner of Donald J. Trump! We Blues instinctively say how brilliant we are. And yet, this is [us]!
Brian Kilmeade: This very morning, on Fox & Friends, we saw Brian Kilmeade offer this observation about "the media:"
"They shouldn't be picking a horse in this race, but they are."
Kilmeade has spotted a conspiracy too. In his conspiracy, the (mainstream) media have been conspiring to keep President Biden in power.
Imagine! Imagine someone from the Fox News Channel complaining about the way some in "the media" are offering only one side of the story! You wouldn't think that such conduct was possible, but at Fox, it goes on all day long.
Rachel Maddow: We tried to watch Maddow last night—the two-hour (!) special broadcast in which she interviewed Stormy Daniels.
We had to quit roughly twenty minutes in; we'll try to make ourselves watch the whole thing at some later point. But the fact that our own Blue America fell in love with this "cable news" salesperson calls to mind the basic, insurmountable shortcomings the angry Cummings felt he had observed.
(Update: We just saw an MSNBC promotional spot in which Maddow describes our democracy as "a divinely inspired gift of our forefathers." As we've long told you: Whatever her merits may be, Maddow is very savvy about how much of herself she reveals.)
Nicolle Wallace: We'll request a point of personal privilege here.
Wallace has always been a superlative spokesperson. That was already true back in the day, when she was peddling the war in Iraq and state referendums designed to defeat same-sex marriage.
She's always been a superb salesperson, but her special skills end there. Yesterday afternoon, staring defeat in the face, she offered a pitiful cri de coeur.
She'd already introduced "some of our favorite reporters sand friends," as she pathetically does on a daily basis. A few minutes later, she offered this, as she and her favorites pretended to discuss the Supreme Court's latest ruling:
WALLACE (7/2/24): You know, David Jolly, a lot of people that I know, and people that I don't—beloved viewers of this program—I saw people expressing fear. I am afraid of what the Court ushered in, but my colleague Rachel Maddow, as she is beloved for doing, had—sort of cut right to the crux of this.
She then played tape of something the beloved Maddow had said.
Wallace's viewers are beloved; Maddow's beloved too! This is the way a limited person starts to behave in the face of tribal defeat—in this case, in the face of the defeat her own blinkered behavior in the past five years has helped bring on.
Apparently by instinct, Wallace speaks to no one except her favorites and her friends. She thinks and cares about no one and nothing else.
Her favorites and her friends are beloved. No one else exists.
This astoundingly limited, in-group behavior is part of what Cummings had observed at Boston's famous Old Howard. It has also been an obvious path to defeat.
In all those ways, we've heard America singing. Moving right along:
Thought of as a wager, "government of and by the people" was always a bit of a long shot. That Supreme Court ruling suggests the possibility that "our democracy," as widely conceived, has already ceased to exist.
That said, we've saved the most deranged for last. We refer to Donald J. Trump's recent contribution to the discourse—to the public discourse which lies at the heart of any attempt at "democracy."
Citizens, there he went again! Headline included, CNN reports:
Trump amplifies posts calling for televised military tribunal for Liz Cheney
Former President Donald Trump amplified posts on social media calling for a televised military tribunal for former Republican Rep. Liz Cheney and the jailing of top elected officials, including President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris.
“ELIZABETH LYNNE CHENEY IS GUILTY OF TREASON,” one post created by another user that Trump amplified on his social media website Truth Social on Sunday reads. “RETRUTH IF YOU WANT TELEVISED MILITARY TRIBUNALS.”
[...]
A separate post Trump amplified on Truth Social Sunday includes photos of 15 former and current elected officials and says, “THEY SHOULD BE GOING TO JAIL ON MONDAY NOT STEVE BANNON!”
This madness will never be mentioned by Brian Kilmeade. It won't be mentioned by the furiously disordered Gutfeld, or by the hacks who surround him each night, or by anyone else on his "cable news" channel.
(Nor will that conduct be reported by the New York Times. No one in the civilized world wants to tangle with Fox.)
That madness won't be mentioned on Fox. Elsewhere, it hasn't been mentioned enough. Nor have people like Wallace and Maddow (and their other favorite beloved colleagues) ever shown the slightest sign of knowing how to approach the broad range of American voters with madness of that type.
Has "our democracy" already died? We started this site in 1998 because the dysfunction already seemed so apparent.
Has "our democracy" already died? As a matter of basic anthropology, it isn't clear that we the people are built that kind of work.
President Lincoln embarked on a wager concerning government of the people. Vladimir Putin seems to have made an equal but opposite wager.
As we sit here this very day, with a madman drowning out the beloved and Bannon advancing from below, is it clear that "Putin's wager" will turn out to have been wrong?
Robert Towne has died.
ReplyDelete"Wow, I get paid over $200 per hour working from home with 2 kids around! Hard to believe, but my friend is pulling in over $10k a month doing this. You've got to check this out... AND GOOD LUCK! 🙂" Explore the cutting-edge strategies that redefine success" Here ➜➜➜➜➜ Home-bases buisness
DeleteI
Today there were 5 negative articles about Biden in the NY Times. Somerby used to complain about the way the press decided it hated Al Gore and went after him to undermine his campaign. The NY Times is doing the same thing to Biden but instead of objecting, Somerby has joined them in denigrating Biden, who is the nominee of the Democratic party.
ReplyDeleteI am voting for Biden-Harris. It is too important that Trump NOT win, so I am supporting the Democrats with full enthusiasm because dividing the party is the way Trump can creep back into office. I don't know how Trump and the right have managed to subvert the NY Times, but it is clear that whoever is behind this full blown attack on Biden doesn't want the Democrats in office.
It’s almost like you didn’t watch the debate at all. It’s not an “attack on Biden” that we’re watching; it’s panic that Biden is incapable of leading an effective attack on Trump.
DeletePanic aside, like most of us, I will also be voting for Biden.
DeleteYawn.
PP, how do you explain the FACT that Biden was gaining and pulling ahead of Trump in the polls, before this vicious attack on Biden over a drummed up concern about a debate? Debates are not part of the president's job, by the way, which Biden has been performing well.
DeleteHillary didn't do well against Trump either. It is difficult because Trump doesn't follow the rules, is entirely illogical, lies constantly, and ignored the debate format (except when his mic was shut off by the moderators).
anon 12:40 - "drummed up concern about a debate" - Hillary didn't do well against Trump either" - you couldn't have watched the debate. Or else you are from another planet.
Delete'
Hillary won all three debates she had with that walking abomination. This is one reason I hear people say debates don't matter.
DeleteWe were still in the "lock her up" phase of the campaign and the media was pretending to believe republicans pretending to be concerned about the Secretary of States email storage.
Clinton explicitly devoted more time to smiling during her debates with Trump, which Biden obviously did not focus on. It is unclear why he didn't do that, given that he did a lot of smiling at the SOTU address. That seems to be a matter of debate prep, not senility or confusion.
DeleteNo audience. Trump didn’t smile either but he also didn’t have to make sense or respond to the actual questions. As long as he filled the air with a string of words his followers thought he was winning. Biden’s mistake was trying to be responsive to double talk.
DeleteRe: the media’s call for Biden to drop out
ReplyDeleteThose corporate taxes aren’t going to lower themselves.
"For ourselves, we can't explain what happened that night, but we can tell you this:
ReplyDelete"Government of and by the people" was always a bit of gamble. In the wake of World War I, the developing poet named E. E. Cummings may not have been buying the premise. "
For the record, e.e. cummings was never anti-democratic, never a fascist admirer like certain other poets Somerby has quoted here. He was generally optimistic and not a doomsayer like Somerby.
Somerby sounds willing to give up on democracy and accept Trump as oligarch, using a long dead poet as an excuse. The rest of us, I hope, are not as willing to cede the election to Trump. Too much is at stake.
It doesn't matter why Biden had a bad debate. It is the least of anyone's troubles. Since then, Biden has conducted meetings and given speeches like any normal politician. This concern over his poor debate is politically motivated.
People like Somerby were talking about replacing Biden long before this poor debate performance. They haven't wanted him to run against Trump but have wanted to replace him, but no other candidate has had the strength to challenge Trump like Biden has. A cynic might say that Biden's recent gains in polls is the reason why this full court press against Biden is happening now. It isn't as if Biden suddenly got old last week, nor was his debate as bad as it is being portrayed. So, something is fishy and it isn't Biden's administration, which is now being portrayed as run by (1) Obama, (2) Jill Biden, (3) Hunter Biden, (4) Biden's staff, (5) Soros, (6) ?, (7) anyone but Biden. The right has been saying that since Biden took office. The difference is that an orchestrated campaign has seized on the debate as an excused to try to remove Biden as the Democratic nominee, when he is our strongest and best chance to defeat Trump. The foolishness of that should be obvious.
No one in their right mind switches candidates after such a successful administration, with an incumbent president who is gaining in polls and likely to win due to issues like abortion, Trump's conviction, the obvious corruption on the right, and Trump's increasing incoherence in his own speeches. That's why the Republicans have grown desperate and someone (we don't know who) is manipulating the press to create the appearance of defection among the Democrats. If we hold strong against this attack on Biden, he can win in November. If we try to change horses in midstream, we may lose. It is hard to argue that any of the proposed alternatives would do any better than Biden has, nor would they likely gather enough momentum to beat Trump, and that would be disastrous.
DeleteBut worse than that, how can Somerby and others not see that this is a politically motivated attack on Biden -- akin to Comey and the emails and the social media campaign to obtain defections in key electoral college states (to Jill Stein or write-ins or not vote), that took down Hillary. It wasn't only Trump's concealment of his affairs/assaults on women, but his use of the National Enquirer to push fake stories against Hillary. And now the media is being used again, but it is the NY Times doing it, so it is less obvious that Trump is behind it (or his Russian friends, or his dark money billionaires exerting pressure and paying bribes). But this is more of what put Trump into office through manipulation of our electoral system in 2016.
Somerby doesn't recognize what is happening. Hillary was considered paranoid when she pointed it out BEFORE the election in 2016 (but has now been vindicated in her suspicions after investigations). There is no good reason why a man who is having such a successful presidency should suddenly be deemed unfit by Democrats. This is as crazy as the Comey letter. Just because Trump has tapped into normally trustworthy sources to bring these accusations against Biden (which have no medical foundation), doesn't make them true. It makes Trump and his supporters powerful enough to undermine the media, that's all.
The drumbeat of Biden's too old began months ago with a concerted NY Times campaign with article after article assailing Biden's age and frailty. It is supplemented by the fake videos being circulated widely. The left sees them, not just the right, and even if they are told they are fake, they have obviously left doubts on the left. This is an orchestrated campaign against Biden using underhanded means. We need to stick by Biden and stay the course. Yes, Biden is old but he is quite obviously not incompetent. How do we know? He is doing the job daily and continuing to introduce measures that benefit the American people. That should be enough evidence to convince a rational voter.
Meanwhile, Somerby is part of the opposition to Biden and that too shows that this is not just politics as usual, because Somerby reflects the Republican line and hasn't liked Biden from day one -- despite Biden being as close to a Bernie-lover's progressive as anyone can be. If that were really what Somerby supports, he would be supporting Biden today, as I am. Instead, Somerby is part of the attack. Somerby has been chanting "Biden's too old" for months.
I don't know how they undermined Biden's performance in the debate. We may find out some day. I do know they were primed to attack Biden immediately afterwards. And no one in their right mind can vote for Trump. This is not denial, it is recognizing a pattern from past elections. Trump tried a coup in 2020 and it didn't work. He is going back to his usual tactics this time. We cannot let that succeed.
So you’re blaming the Republicans for Biden’s debate failure? That’s a take.
Delete11:35 it is pretty clear that is not the commenter's take. Your inability to comprehend the commenter is your own sin, it is unwise to attempt to crucify others for your own fallibility, but there is no law against it.
Delete"I don't know how they undermined Biden's performance in the debate." The pronoun "they" refers to "the opposition" in the preceding paragraph. Thus, "the opposition" - that is, Republicans - was somehow the cause of Biden's debate failure.
DeleteI agree it makes no sense, but that's what 11:25 says.
"It doesn't matter why Biden had a bad debate."
DeletePerhaps not to you, but some of us are a tad concerned that Biden may be caught up in an accelerating process of cognitive degeneration.
11:25 says that, but you are misinterpreting it, either via ignorance or willfully so in bad faith.
Delete1:02 - OK, maybe I'm stupid and disingenuous.
DeletePerhaps you can help me get better. What does "I don't know how they undermined Biden's performance in the debate" mean, if it's not the obvious and literal interpretation that Republicans somehow caused Biden to implode during the debate?
anonymouse, above, completely ignores how the NYT has been backing Biden strenuously all along. Evidently, though, it's traitorous from them publishing anything pointing out his age and apparent decline. The anon one doesn't seem to comprehend that the panicky concern about Biden is based on a fear that with him as the candidate, Trump is more likely to win. Maybe the odds are better if Biden stays in. Maybe it's a no-win. situation either way. But you can't stifle people from stating the obvious fact that Biden's performance was mind-bogglingly awful.
DeleteNYT does not back Biden, much less strenuously.
DeleteA guy who doesn't know the rules of capitalization is too dumb to be a poet.
ReplyDeletefo shizzLe my nizZle
DeleteYou might ask the same about our candidate.
ReplyDeleteSomerby says he had concerns about Biden last August due to his remarks about the fire in Hawaii. That was a gaffe, not dementia.
ReplyDeleteThis idea that gaffes show dementia is contradicted by several physicians who have patiently tried to explain what should be of concern as an indicator of dementia, and what is normal aging or just a mental lapse (which people of all ages experience). Somerby has ignored all of the discussion, even though he thought Bandy Lee was nifty.
There is a stark comparison between Biden's gaffes and Trump's incoherence, inability to follow a thought, his nonsense about windmills and shower water, and so on. Trump DOES show signs of dementia. Biden does not, even with his difficulty dealing with Trump's Gish Gallop (something anyone would have trouble with).
There is no credible medical evidence that Biden is slipping, that he is not competent to continue as president. If there were, Democrats would be dealing with that situation. The idea that the party itself doesn't want the strongest candidate is stupid. Biden would not be running if he felt himself having mental problems or energy problems. He is not a power monger the way Trump is. He is more of a public servant.
We all successfully set aside the claims about the Biden crime family (except for Somerby, who thinks Hunter is a crook, despite the lack of evidence). Why are we not capable of understanding that Biden is old but he is not senile?
I don't comment over at Kevin Drum's blog. I do believe this is an orchestrated attack on Biden using his age to swiftboat him. The evidence of Biden's term in office should outweigh speculation about mental decline that has NO support from the medical community. Not even Bandy Lee is calling Biden too old to run. This is all coming from Biden's enemies, from people who are trying to get Trump back into office.
We ARE underestimating the sophistication of the dirty tricks being used against Biden, just as we did in 2016 when they were used against Hillary. We need to stop being taken in by this shit and get behind Biden. If he does decline (such as by having a stroke or heart problems or something more likely than dementia that comes and goes when he is not debating someone), then Harris will take over, because she is the VP, she is not too old, she has the best polling numbers against Trump of any alternative, and she is ready to do the job should Biden not be.
Meanwhile, Somerby should be ashamed to be helping this attack along. It is dirty.
Was it a gaffe? I think Somerby, perhaps willfully, misinterpreted Biden's words, running with Republican-generated misinformation.
DeleteSomerby does not just read Drum's comments, he reads the comments here too, and he participates as well through various sock puppets. I know because he is my cousin.
"Somerby, who thinks Hunter is a crook, despite the lack of evidence"
DeleteThis "lack of evidence" was somehow sufficient to convince a jury of 12, selected from citizens in the Democratic state of Delaware, that Hunter was guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. Unanimously. Go figure.
Hunter was convicted of some minor offenses that are not typically prosecuted, unlike Trump who was convicted of serious corruption that is routinely prosecuted. Republicans suspect Hunter of engaging in the same sort of corruption that Trump and his family has engaged in, but they have failed to find any evidence to support their suspicions.
DeleteWhen people are snarky it is often intended to give an impression of being knowledgeable/insightful when in reality they are not.
I hate to break it to you, but "felonies" are not "minor offenses."
DeleteWhy is anyone arguing about this?
Delete"The ants have come spilling out of the hill in the wake of that unexpected disaster."
ReplyDeleteUnexpected? Anyone it was "unexpected" for is obviously unfit to participate in a democracy. Anyone who saw the 15 jump cuts in a 30 second clip of Biden over the last two years at least could have predicted this.
If anything was "unexpected" it was that he was allowed to debate at all. The hubris of assuming all the usual suspects would close ranks like they did with Hunter's laptop and that it would be effective sunk them.
You can't get 51 corrupt "experts" to label something misinformation when the entire country saw it. They also saw the same party attempting to imprison their political opponent and remove him from the ballot. Trump is going to win as a result of these factors.
If you take the time to look at the transcript of the debate that I posted yesterday (and below), you will see that Biden's performance was not as bad as is being claimed.
DeleteI saw ALL of the debate and I agree that his slack jaw (open mouthed astonishment) at Trump's lies didn't come across as what it probably was. But that doesn't make it dementia either.
When Al Gore kept sighing, no one said he was too old to run or even hinted he might have a breathing disorder, no one called him a mouth breather. Biden got lost in the many things he no doubt wanted to say in response to Trump's Gish Gallop (multiple lies all spoken quickly jumping from subject to subject). That doesn't make him senile either. Any of us would have had similar difficulty, resulting in pauses and glassy eyed "where do I start" confusion. No one here has assessed Biden and neither has any doctor, not even the Bandy Lee types. I have similarly complained that no one has assessed Trump.
But trying to toss Biden off the ticket based on that debate is ludicrous. There isn't any evidence of senility there. Just an inability to deal with Trump's outpouring of lies within the 1 and 2 minutes timeslots allowed each candidate. The time was too short for ANYONE to have dealt with Trump effectively. And note that Trump did not follow the rules -- he did not answer the questions asked, he twice continued talking after his mic was cut, and he disregarded the format, making it a speech instead of any kind of back-and-forth debate.
Shall we all admit that Trump was incapable of doing a proper debate? That is as fair as the complaints about Biden, who tried to follow in debate style but was handicapped by Trump's failure to do the same.
The critics who want to dump Biden are not considering whether their complaints are fair. They are just calling him too old and demanding that their own choices be considered. That isn't how politics works. Biden has won the nomination already and he is the party's nominee. Exaggerating Biden's bad job into cognitive deficit on the basis of no medical evidence is wrong. The people doing this are now on my shitlist because they have revealed themselves to be lacking in principles and opportunistic to the point of being themselves unfit for whatever office or position they hold, whether journalists or minor downticket Democrats or assholes like Carville and Maher. And Somerby is at the top of that list because he has been saying this stuff almost since Biden took office. We all saw that he didn't support Biden in 2020, calling him a terrible candidate before he started campaigning.
This is a circus, but it isn't being caused by commenters at Kevin Drum's blog.
https://yastreblyansky.blogspot.com/2024/07/kenobi-v-vader.html
DeleteHe analyzes the transcript, shows what Biden tried to do, counts when he got lost (which were at most 1-2 times in 90 minutes) and explains how he failed and succeeded, showing his expertise and handle on the relevant numbers. Then he compares Biden's performance with that of Hillary (who he claims also lost her debates to Trump and was not 81 years old). He concludes:
"But at worst Biden's debate conduct is a whole lot more like Bill Clinton or Hillary Clinton (who did lose, sort of, to Trump) than like my great-aunt Emma, who occasionally put a linen napkin on her head for no imaginable reason, and no longer emerged from the world of 50 years before."
He further says, after his detailed analysis from the transcript:
"The horror and embarrassment we experienced while we were watching the "debate" is understandable, but it's not a rational basis for action. If he's so infirm he needs to resign, then he should resign and we'd have to live with it, but if you think he's fine for presidenting from now to January, just not for campaigning, then you're thinking it for the wrong reasons: not that he's unfit for office, but that Somebody Else wrongly thinks he is. This is a case, finally, where we should do what Republicans would do, as long as we can: double down.
I say that partly because I think we can do it without dishonesty, and Scarborough and Friedman know it. Biden is fully capable of carrying on the work of the presidency under the normal circumstances of the job that don't exist in a TV "debate"—with his army of assistants, as we've seen in action from the North Carolina rally on Friday to tonight's statement on the appalling Supreme Court opinion on presidential immunity in Trump v. United States (he's reading it off the prompter but you can tell he was involved in writing it, which is never the case when Trump is doing his improv on a Baroque text from Stephen Miller), and a well-qualified and thoroughly prepared vice president ready to step in at any time things go really wrong."
The remainder examines why no one is insisting that Trump step down as the Republican nominee.
Former Trumper here, and so are most of my buddies, we are all small businessmen that want to see lower taxes and less red tape.
DeleteWe have been appalled at what has been going on recently, particularly with the Supreme Court. Most of my buddies are just not going to vote, but a few of us have decided to switch our votes from Trump to Biden.
Trump is ruining my Republican Party, there are going to be a lot of shocked Republicans come November.
12:49 no Republican businessman says less red tape or buddies or talks in a collective about "us."
Delete"You can't get 51 corrupt "experts" to label something misinformation when the entire country saw it."
DeleteRidiculous. When the "51 experts" letter came out, the country hadn't seen anything. The supposed hard drive was in the possession of Rudy Giuliani and he wasn't sharing it with anyone.
If you're going to lie, do a better job of it.
Rudy has been disbarred.
DeleteWithout knowing the president's actual schedule, I don't think anyone can say where he was when, what airplane trips he has taken since returning from the Middle East and Europe. If he says he was tired, I don't know why anyone wouldn't take him at his word for that. It isn't unusual given the job. And where is it written that an old person cannot become tired without people calling or his replacement?
ReplyDeleteTrump slept through his entire felony trial. No one considers that disqualifying. And he has given numerous speeches that were arguably worse than anything Biden says, but no one is trying to yank him off his ticket.
This is absurd.
ReplyDeleteHow do you "amplify" someone's post?
By retweeting or reposting it so that it reaches more people.
DeleteIf he reposted it, why do they say he "amplified", not "reposted", it? Or is there the "amplify" button on Truth Social? What exactly did he do with those posts?
DeleteIt can increase how much it is viewed, and can increase how much it is taken seriously. "Amplify" is apt.
DeleteIf the post was created by an account with a small number of followers and it is reposted by an account with tens of millions of followers, then yes, it is correct to say it was amplified.
DeleteIf Hunter Biden is going into meetings with Pres. Biden (not intelligence briefings, I assume) it’s because the Biden family no longer trusts the people around him.
ReplyDeleteI still trust you, Cecelia.
DeleteHis family was with Biden at Camp David over the weekend. Hunter would not have been allowed into any meetings requiring a security clearance, but Biden didn't stop being president just because he was at a vacation spot with family members.
DeleteWe have only the word of the obviously corrupt New York Times, which quoted anonymous staff members (perhaps butlers or room cleaners or whoever they could subborn) that Hunter was there and that he attended any meeting with his father and campaign staff (which would not be an official govt meeting but is considered personal).
There is no basis for making any assumptions about even whether Hunter was in any type of meeting, based on the sourcing to anonymous staff.
When Melania went into a state dinner with Trump, should we assume she was there as a babysitter too?
Democrats should be ashamed to buy into the kind of garbage Cecelia routinely writes here. If my party were going to assign someone as puppetmaster to the president, it wouldn't be his convict ex-drug addict son, who is now working as a painter and otherwise uninvolved in politics.
For Cecelia's amusement, here is an example of how stupid Trump is (from Yastreblansky):
"(Also incidentally, I think I know why Trump keeps screaming about the millions of migrants "sent" to the Mexican border coming from "mental institutions", without any evidence for such a phenomenon; it's because he finally heard that the migrants in question are "asylum seekers", so he figures they've been kicked out of insane asylums. That's because he is really that stupid.)"
Cecelia is just that stupid too.
Hunter was there at a family holiday, so he must be running Biden and the govt behind the scene. Uh huh. Sure.
DeleteAnonymices, you insult me and show yourself oblivious to what anyone you dislike writes. You’re clueless.
DeleteI never suggested that Hunter is now or has ever run the country on behalf of his father or even offered advise.
I’m saying the reports that Hunter is now accompanying his father in meetings bodes that the family is concerned that someone or several people no longer have Biden’s back.
Fair enough, but your assumption remains really ignorant. This is not your fault, your misunderstanding of the dynamics of a caring and supportive family, it is the result of your tragic circumstances.
DeleteI'm pretty sure he's going there because that's where his coke is stashed. Not that anything is wrong with that.
DeleteAnonymouse 12:53pm, it’s not really your fault that you can’t ascertain that my point is that Hunter is there BECAUSE the family cares and is concerned about Joe. They’ve lost faith in the people who are ostensibly there to support, inform, and help the president in every way possible.
DeleteYou can’t ascertain that due to having the faculties of a gnat.
Even a gnat knows that someone can consult both their professional peers as well as friends and family.
DeleteYour claim is laughably ridiculous, and frankly, stupid.
Anonymouse 1:07pm, I take back the comparison of gnats to you.
DeleteGnats have a far better sense of the significance of timing.
Ooooh I see, the timing, yes of course the timing suddenly makes your claim relevant.
DeleteUh, no. Your claim is bizarre and stupid.
Gnats don’t understand the relativity of simultaneity.
DeleteI am a gnat oppressed by men pretending to be women. I need you support.
Delete$50/week, which is less than a cup of coffee/a day nowadays, would help a lot.
I feel your pain, but I never donate to organisms that don't understand the relativity of simultaneity.
DeleteI hurts me to say this, but Hunter just isn't a good person.
DeleteSo why would anyone select him as a caretaker for his father?
DeleteDid you offer the same analysis when a different president surrounded himself with family members?
DeleteMaybe so. I don't recall it. But I'm old.
Biden will sit down with George Stephanopolis for an interview. But it’s not live.
ReplyDelete“Not live” means “not relevant”
DeleteCecelia's mad they will cut out the part where they show off how much bigger their penises are than his own. Apparently Cecelia gets off on humiliation, more power to him.
DeleteAnonymouse 12:57pm, when you work that hard to gig someone you’re not humorous, you’re creepy.
DeleteCecelia, I could never achieve your level of creepiness and sexism, a man pretending to be a woman in a sad attempt to troll commenters that trigger you.
DeleteI see you are triggered, best to learn how to cope.
Anonymouse 1:10pm, yesterday someone used the description “trans” towards me as an epithet and here you are lambasting men who pretend to be women.
DeleteKeep those true colors coming, doll…
It triggers you when your stupid con is exposed.
DeleteWe all know you are a man, you will just have to cope.
I am a lesbian woman with XY chromosomes.
DeleteI am oppressed and I need your support.
Anonymouse 1:25pm, I’ve only said a million times that for all intents and purposes here, I’m either gender and any new ones anonymices want to make up.
DeleteThese are "progressives" who are harassing someone over their choice of gender identity?
DeletePP, worst than that.
DeleteAll they know about me is that I have a girl’s name in green above my posts.
They write 1500 worded screeds about sexism based upon what is supposedly their own experience of it and they bemoan giving abortion regs back to states based upon not being in charge of THEIR own body.
They do this under the auspice of their lived experience and authority as women. They do this while being “anonymous”.
I claim no authority based upon gender, let alone render up post after post on sexism and calling Bob sexist.
However, anonymices aren’t impostors. They’re merely people who are sure that I am.
1. I have no idea why they'd give a shit about your gender.
Delete2. If they're progressive, I'd think they'd defer to your choice of gender identity as a matter of courtesy.
3. But in any event, why they would repeatedly harass you about this is beyond my comprehension.
4. And why all the other good "progressives" on this site sit by and watch this continual gender-based harassment without making even the smallest peep leads me to question their commitment to progressive values.
PP, it’s not really harassment, it’s kind of fun.
DeleteLook, I'm a feminist. If someone is going to direct crude, gender-based insults at someone, I'm going to say, "Knock it off, asshole!"
DeleteCC - Well, if it's all consensual - have fun!
DeleteI admit I'm a creep. But I love Cecelia, and I wish I could be intimate with her. I know it's out of the question, I'm just saying "I wish ... ."
DeleteCecelia is mocking gender and progressives. PP, what good is being a feminist if you don’t object to misogyny?
DeleteAnonymouse 3:37pm, I just mock anonymices. You mock progressives by calling yourself one.
DeleteI have never called myself progressive. I am an old style liberal.
DeleteAnonymouse 3:57pm, that’s laughable. That is exactly what Bob is politically. You’re a different animal altogether.
DeleteAnonymouse 3:27pm, yours is not an uncommon sentiment, but remember that you like David the very bestest of all.
DeleteI love David, but I don’t want to be intimate with him.
DeleteLet's take a look at Donald Trump's environmental policy:
ReplyDelete“What happens if the sun isn’t shining while you’re up in the air?”
“Well, sir,” he said, in the voice of (presumably) a Biden-administration battery expert, “those—I told you there’d be problems, sir.”
At first glance, Trump appeared to be conflating solar-powered aircraft with new electric planes, a different technology altogether. A Trump-campaign spokesperson did not respond to my request for clarification.
"Some of Bannon's comments are crazy; some of his comments aren't."
ReplyDeleteSomerby is truly coming out as a conservative if he thinks that ANY of Bannon's comments are not self-serving attempts to advance his own self-interest, perpetuate a con, and elect Trump.
The only people worse than Trump are the ones behind him, including Roger Stone, Steve Bannon, Vladimir Putin, Alex Jones, Sean Hannity, and whoever is giving him large amounts of money (including Saudis).
Steve Bannon has nothing to say to honest, reasonable people. Somerby should be running from the guy, but instead he semi-embraces him. That is so wrong.
Somerby is becoming more open about his right wing worldview, today he repeats his stance:
Delete""Government of and by the people" was always a bit of gamble."
My uncle was flying one of those planes, and was eaten by cannibals as a result.
ReplyDeleteCharacterizing this situation as a "revolt from below" is surely wrong given that it is organized, funded, and benefits Trump. It is not a revolt at all, but a campaign maneuver aimed at "swiftboating" Biden using his age, when Biden has done nothing to warrant this so-called deep concern by anyone.
ReplyDeleteNote that this "Biden is too old" campaign started long before the debate and that it has been supplemented by all of those fake clips showing Biden doing "old" things, such as sitting on an imaginary chair (which was itself imaginary given that there was a real chair and everyone on the stage was sitting down at that point). Even Somerby pretends to have bought into these images, when he must know there is a mill churning them out and the right wing noise machine is distributing them.
I suspect they would have claimed Biden was too old even if he had done well against Trump. First they lowered the bar for Trump, then they lowered the bar for Biden, then they said Biden couldn't meet that bar (which many of us think he actually did) and said he was too old. This is obviously a campaign using the debate to attack Biden, originating on the right but being aided by lefty fellow-travelers who have disliked it that Biden is the nominee (such as Bill Maher).
Paul Krugman and any other Democrat who has jumped on this bandwagon has been played, just as those expressing concerns about Hillary Clinton were in 2016. There is no excuse for not recognizing the way Republicans operate, since we saw in last time and it worked in 2016.
Does anyone here not realize that RFK Jr. is getting the same treatment with that latest Vanity Fair hit piece? He was deemed to be taking too many votes from Trump and might have caused the election to be too close, so they have knocked him out of the running. And it wasn't the left doing that. It was the same people executing this Biden is Too Old campaign.
Wake up Dems!
Don't want to rock the boat too much but maybe we should get rid of Biden. I know he's been effective and remains sharp behind the scenes. But people have a perception that he wanders off, freezes and has a waxy, masked face. It may be too difficult to overcome that perception. Maybe we can get someone like Kamala to step in and run instead. Just my 2¢.
DeleteAlternatives are less likely to win.
DeleteBiden isn't likely to win. The alternatives are able to speak coherent sentences and not appear on the verge of death.
DeleteCosmetics over substance. You probably think Trump is young because he uses spray tan, makeup and wears a corset. Read the transcript of the debate. Biden's sentences were coherent, but his voice was hoarse so some people had difficulty understanding him.
DeleteI think Trump is young because he has a cute little wienie.
DeleteI am sure your uncle was very ashamed of you.
ReplyDeleteLong Live Kamala!
ReplyDeleteHave you no shame? Cannibals ate my beloved uncle.
ReplyDeleteWhich is a more important possible consequence of Biden’s cognitive condition?
ReplyDelete1. Losing the 2024 election
2. Being a less effective President
IMO #2 is a million times more important. Those infected with tribalism might disagree.
#2 is good. He's less able to enforce harmful Democrat policies.
DeleteThere’s no evidence either will happen.
DeleteBiden may have a hard time winning the election unless he makes multiple unscripted appearances and also subjects himself to long form interviews from adversarial interviewers. The whole world is waiting for him to do it. If he doesn't, everyone will know it is because he can't.
Delete"Less effective" is a relative expression. Less effective than what? Or should I say "who"?
DeleteIs Biden able to handle the job of the presidency now, much less in a year’s time?
DeleteObviously, he is. He has been doing it. He has results to point to, unlike Trump.
DeleteHere is what Jimmy Carter did after losing the presidency [Wikipedia]:
"In 1994 [age 70], president Bill Clinton sought Carter's assistance in a North Korea peace mission, during which Carter negotiated an understanding with Kim Il Sung.[299][300] Carter outlined a treaty with Kim, which he announced to CNN without the Clinton administration's consent to spur American action.[301]
In March 1999 [Age 75], Carter visited Taiwan and met with President Lee Teng-hui. During the meeting, Carter praised the progress Taiwan made in democracy, human rights, economy, culture, science and technology.[302]
In 2006 [Age 82], Carter stated his disagreements with Israel's domestic and foreign policy while saying he was supported the country,[303][304] extending his criticisms to Israel's policies in Lebanon, the West Bank, and Gaza.[305]
In July 2007 [Age 83], Carter joined Nelson Mandela in Johannesburg, South Africa, to announce his participation in The Elders, a group of independent global leaders who work together on peace and human rights issues.[306][307] After the announcement, Carter participated in visits to Darfur,[308] Sudan,[309][310] Cyprus, the Korean Peninsula, and the Middle East, among others.[311] He attempted to travel to Zimbabwe in November 2008 [Age 84], but was stopped by President Robert Mugabe's government.[312] In December 2008, Carter met with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad,[313][314] and in a June 2012 [Age 88] call with Jeffery Brown, stressed that Egyptian military generals could take full executive and legislative power to form a new constitution favoring themselves if their announced intentions came true.[315]
On August 10, 2010 [Age 86], Carter traveled to North Korea to secure the release of Aijalon Gomes, successfully negotiating his release.[316][317] Throughout the latter part of 2017 [Age 93], as tensions between the U.S. and North Korea persisted, Carter recommended a peace treaty between the two nations,[318] and confirmed he had offered himself to the Trump administration as a willing candidate to be diplomatic envoy to North Korea.[319]"
Carter was trusted to do these diplomatic envoy duties because he was sharp, energetic and competent, and good at that job. He is dying now at the age of 100. If he had been pushed out of politics at age 80, our country would have lost 20 years of useful service based on wisdom and experience. No one suggested Carter was too senile to interact with world leaders in tense and complex situations.
Biden in similar to Carter in the sense that his health and mental functioning remain sufficient to enable them to use their minds to address our nation's problems. Biden's outstanding first term shows that he has been doing exactly that. This attack on Biden is political, originating with Republicans, and not based on any observed deficiency in Biden's performance. Was Carter spry and young looking when he did his work? Of course not. But that didn't make him incompetent either. He was judged on his ability to make situations better in the world. Biden should be judged based on his presidential accomplishments, not his speaking or arm-waving. World leaders respect Biden in ways they never respected Trump (who they laughed at behind his back). Biden needs to be given the chance to use his skills to benefit our nation.
The rest of the time, when not doing diplomatic meetings, Carter ran a charitable foundation and earned a Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts.
DeleteKevin makes it more explicit:
ReplyDeletehttps://jabberwocking.com/joe-biden-doesnt-need-to-drop-out-of-the-race-he-needs-to-resign/
This didn't age well:
ReplyDeletehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O3o9eqO8G3I
Neither did Biden. Ba dum tss
DeleteIf it ain’t live, it’s just jive.
ReplyDeleteThe Democratic party and the Biden campaign have both issued statements that he's not leaving.
ReplyDeleteTrump's victory will be a mixed bag. He's right that weak leadership from Democrats is why Putin invaded Ukraine, Hamas was enabled to slaughter Israelis, and why the WSJ reporter sits in prison in Russia.
He's wrong on a few things right on others. I can easily live with another Trump term. Most voters agree with me.
Putin invaded Ukraine because the US, under both Democrats and Republicans, kept moving to bring Ukraine into NATO.
DeleteAnonymouse 7:34pm, Trump was not in that camp.
DeleteNo, we already know that Trump was in Putin's camp and doesn't give a damn about the interests of the US or Europe.
DeleteIt is not possible to say that most voters agree with you about weathering another Trump term when both Hillary and Biden won the popular vote by huge margins. That means explicitly that they did NOT agree with you about Trump being president. Millions more disagreed with you, than agreed. That is not "most voters".
DeleteThey don't teach trolls math in those troll farms. They barely know English.
DeleteAnonymouse 9:59pm, of course you’ve ignored the context in order to make a flip remark.
DeleteIn the past two elections eras there had been no Ukrainian or Palestinian war and no president who looked utterly flummoxed and exhausted during a debate.
7:22. The Russian war with Ukraine was ongoing during Trump's term, you know, the one in which he was impeached for a quid pro quo conversation he had with Zelensky about digging up dirt on Biden. The invasion was of course described as brilliant by Trump.. The war beginning on October 10, 2023 was started by a Palestinian faction that the Prime Minister of Israel had encouraged support for. A fraudulent right wing loser named Netanyahu. But thanks for letting us know that Biden is responsible for what conflicts other countries outside our borders are involved in.
DeleteBlack slang to refer to New Guinea? Look where it is on a map. Asia not Africa, near Indonesia and Australia.
ReplyDeleteAnonymouse 9; 57pm, as ever you try to have it all ways to Sunday, but it’s not “Putin’s camp” to have desired to avoid a war that has led to Putin killing thousands of people. No matter if it has enriched all the right people.
ReplyDeleteBlack folks have gone global.
ReplyDelete