Trump set the bar very low: Sleepy. Senile. Confused. Demented.
Joe Biden exceeded expectations.
That is the risk Trump took: Biden might actually look and sound pretty OK.
Trump has a gift for finding weak spots and picking at them with schoolyard tactics. It works for him. The current media and political environment has the jungle qualities of middle school, with mean girls and bullying boys making taunts and insults that get tweeted, Facebooked, blog posted, and then clicked and reposted. It is the social media and cable news version school hallway gossip. Nasty beats nice. Trump thrives in this environment and no candidate of either Party has come close to Trump when it came to doing slap down insult politics.
Trump, the Trump campaign, GOP officeholders, and GOP media were all in on selling the story of decrepit Biden, hiding in his bunker; Biden the coward; Biden who dares not answer questions from the media; Biden the puppet; Biden the fragile shell. Biden gaffes!
Yesterday Biden looked presidential. He work a navy blue suit. He stood erect. He had flags behind him. He spoke from a lectern. He spoke with a strong, commanding voice. He gave a real speech and he answered questions. Most importantly, he did not screw up.
He defied the Trump story.
When Biden delivers a speech from a teleprompter, it sounds like the authentic voice of Biden. Biden's teleprompter personae is the same as his extemporaneous personae. He is veteran politician with the patois of political nice-talk fully integrated. It makes him competent, but not exciting. By the standards of presidential candidates, both Republican and Democratic, he is among the least engaging communicator. I have observed multiple speeches by about twenty Republicans and over twenty Democrats, and all them except possibly Democrats Joe Sestak and John Delaney and Republicans William Weld and Jeb Bush communicate more charisma and oratorical engagement.
Biden talked/read his speech, keeping eyes essentially forward as he toggled back and forth between the teleprompter screens, sounding sensible, saying normal things that a conscientious candidate for president would say.
Biden talked/read his speech, keeping eyes essentially forward as he toggled back and forth between the teleprompter screens, sounding sensible, saying normal things that a conscientious candidate for president would say.
Teleprompter-Biden is a huge contrast to Trump. Trump does not disguise the fact that teleprompter-Trump is a different character from the the real Trump. Teleprompter-Trump reads haltingly and with lightly disguised reluctance the formal words prepared for him. These words might be recommendations by Dr. Fauci. The real Trump is the one who looks away from the teleprompter and says he doesn't plan to obey the health expert killjoys. That is the Trump his supporters love, and the one that holds ones attention.
Biden was boring in comparison, yet he succeeded. The proof of the pudding is Fox News. The opening splash page for Fox this morning has forty stories, but not one on the Biden speech. It does not fit their narrative.
The polls say there is a gigantic enthusiasm gap between Trump's supporters, who register high enthusiasm for him, and Biden's, who do not. Biden supporters have high enthusiasm for defeating Trump, not for Biden as the vehicle. The speech Biden gave yesterday fits with that story. Biden is the acceptable alternative to Trump. That may well be enough.
A reversal is underway. Trump is the one under pressure for being negligent in the face of the virus and Russian bounties. Even Republicans are expressing concern. Hannity suggests that maybe Trump should wear a mask to show some leadership. Republicans are settling in on the position that Trump didn't know about Russian bounties, not that he knew and didn't care, but either way seems like negligence. It is the sort of accusation that Republicans want to make about sleepy, incompetent Biden, not about their Trump.
Trump put capacity to do the job on the table as a campaign issue, and at the moment Biden, not Trump, looks like the can-do candidate.
A reversal is underway. Trump is the one under pressure for being negligent in the face of the virus and Russian bounties. Even Republicans are expressing concern. Hannity suggests that maybe Trump should wear a mask to show some leadership. Republicans are settling in on the position that Trump didn't know about Russian bounties, not that he knew and didn't care, but either way seems like negligence. It is the sort of accusation that Republicans want to make about sleepy, incompetent Biden, not about their Trump.
Trump put capacity to do the job on the table as a campaign issue, and at the moment Biden, not Trump, looks like the can-do candidate.
6 comments:
A new poll shows 75% of the American public thinks we are on the wrong track. That is a headwind that Trump must face. Change is needed and Biden represents that change. I know it is early, but this goose seems cooked.
Biden is doing well and has built a good campaign staff and organization—with a solid plan to run a successful campaign with emphasis on virtual events and strategies during this serious pandemic. BUT, this is a “leave nothing on the field” moment for all of us who care about the future of our Democracy. Polls are starting to break in Biden’s favor, but battleground States remain close. I encourage everyone to get involved and stay engaged. You can write letters to voters via vote forward.org or postcards through postcardstovoters.org You can get involved with Biden campaign by texting voters, calling voters and making donations. And get involved and donate to your local Democratic Party who are the grassroots folks working to elect local Democrats and build the bench. Please consider doing more this election.
Right, the question is: Can Biden do the job?
The mistake they are making is not building a coalition around him that will reassure voters, that not only is he competent, in every sense of the term, but that his team is equally strong.
If we ever had a time to show the country that Democrats are prepared to govern this is it and it goes beyond the President. He should be naming a VP now, as well as those in top positions, and they should all be speaking out. He should also be committing to a single term.
Of all the Democratic candidates he is the one whose mental faculties would be in question, but there you have it.
We are going to need a charismatic VP candidate to help Biden with getting some excitement into the campaign, and to motivate the progressives. To me, that means Liz, Kamala or Stacey. But probably not Stacey, due to her lack of experience.
Rice or Val would be dull, I think, and not motivating.
And Joe has Jill with him. She is getting out there more with the press, and is a good spokesperson for him.
There is some worry that we may end up with Pence running, not trump, who might resign. I doubt that, but we should consider it, as trump seems to be having no fun any more. the Russian thing might do him in. On the other hand, the legal battles he will face when out of office would be a motivation to say in office (unless Pence would pardon him).
Gina Raimondo would be a great pick.
https://governor.ri.gov
While much is made of Joe Biden's 77 years on this planet little is written of playboy Donald Trump's 74 years, an age very comparable to that of Biden.And we should also calculate the stress engendered by the supreme effort expended by the Donald in attempting to remember all the lies he has spewed out in villifying all and sundry who would dare to disagree with his ignorant and insulting blather. Joe Biden, at 77, will offer the Amereican
public a period of calm reassurance, a return to civil discourse, and the promise of a brighter future if he is wise in selecting a running mate that
has the political savvy and knowhow to govern wisely, and temperately.
In a sense, the Corona virus, in exposing Trump's incompetency in allowing what should have been a minor matter develop into a national pandemic may
provided an awakening call to those who would trivialize the presidency of
the United States by electing an incompetent lying goon to the position.
Bob Warren
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