Seeing is believing.
I have seen Biden up close and in person six times. I saw the debate.
This is put-up or shut-up time for Joe Biden.
I was in Iowa in July of 2019 and was astonished to see that Joe Biden used a teleprompter to give his stump speeches. Say, what? An experienced politician needs training wheels for a stump speech? When he abandoned the telepromter to answer a question, he gave meandering five-minute answers. I wrote here about how troubling this was.
Then the debate.
Biden communicates his indefatigable commitment to continuing his campaign. "I'm not going anywhere," he told Independence Day celebrants yesterday. He says he can tough it out. Democrats must stay on board. With enough money and volunteer campaign help, he can win and save democracy. He said he is getting encouragement from his wife, Jill, and son, Hunter. Taking advice from Hunter undermines the premise that Joe Biden shows good judgment about the counsel he gets on important matters.
Joe Biden had one big thing to do that might have fixed the debate problem. He needed to show that the Biden we saw on debate night is not the real Biden. He needed to prove up. Body language -- his face, his posture, his voice, his manner -- at the debate broke the spell of silence and got him into this. Only body language can get him out of this. He needed to show that the debate night was a one-off. He needed to overwhelm that image with a different one. Then voters could possibly dismiss it as a bad night, worrisome but not catastrophic. He needed to have gone onto MSNBC, CNN, and the network Sunday shows and done extemporaneous interviews looking vigorous and articuate. No teleprompters. He had to face aggressive, unpleasant questions and then bat them away like a pro. That would have given Americans who want to avoid the Trump catastrophe a viable alternative.
It was just a bad night. See? Look at him now.
Biden needed to sell himself by showing himself to be the president people need him to be. He needed to have done it promptly. He could have surprised people.
The fact that he did not do this is a "tell."
[Note: To get daily delivery of this blog to your emai go to: https://petersage.substack.com. Subscribe. Don't pay. The blog is free and always will be.]
14 comments:
You saw him in July 1919?. Either it was a typo or you look great for your age. Anyway, I’ve been saying for months, that Joe will be replaced at the Convention in August. There is no way he can run. If somehow he still runs, he will be defeated soundly. The DNC knows this. There will be a caucus in the rostrum (my favorite) and someone else will be chosen. Let the delegates decide like in the old days. Lincoln or Seward? I don’t want Galvin. Too much baggage from California. I want a fresh face who is younger and moderate. Give the voters a real chance to decide if they want Trump again or a normal president.
I have to agree with you, Peter, about the Presidents appearance and demeanor. He has been in what has been often referred to as
"The toughest job in the World" for nearly 4 years, imho has done an outstanding job of correcting the course our Country was set up on by his predecessor , and is showing the effects those strains have had on him.
At 5:00 PDT, today he will be interviewed by Stephanopoulos, without a teleprompter on live TV. If he blows this, even a minor stumble, he needs to step aside, be the Statesman he is capable of being and become the Senior Statesman he's capable of being.
I will vote for Joe Biden,BUT I hope I don’t have to. He is a nice man with good judgement in the past who has faded. It’s not wrong to age out, what is wrong is not recognizing it and hanging on to power. It’s not ageism in this case, it’s reality if one is open to seeing the truth. I don’t want it to be the truth, but how can I not see it?
I do wish this site had an "edit" feature.
As regards your first lines in this post, I am reminded of the legend of Cassandra, a truth teller whose truths were often dismissed by those who wished to ignore what was plain. Democrats are human and no less capable of letting our wishes blind us to reality than other segments of our Society.
“Nothing elicits nastier criticism of me and this blog than my saying that I think Biden is a weak candidate because he looks and acts feeble, mentally foggy, and is a poor communicator.”
It’s impressive how determined some people can be to ignore the obvious. We have two candidates for president whose unfavorability rating is significantly higher than their favorability, and for good reason. In fact, that’s true of all three branches of government. It seems to be living on borrowed time, with emphasis on borrowed. Our national debt is currently over $103,000 for every person living in the U.S. Between that, climate change and a non-functioning government, we’re leaving our offspring quite a legacy.
This election is not about Biden anymore. Probably never was.
No one thinks that Biden is the antifa warrior we could use at this perilous moment. Frankly, focusing on his competence or lack thereof is a waste of valuable time.
It's up to Americans to see the threat from the Ultra Right, never mind Trump, who actually might blunt their plans with his rampant self-serving greed.
This is now a leaderless movement. We The People...
Can you imagine anyone in the GOP suggesting Trump step down? Crickets. Because they rightfully fear the Emperor, right?
Biden represents ideals, not a persona. So asking him to step down should not be a slap at his character or record as much as it is an affirmation of what he stands for- which is against the tyrannical threat to democracy.
My concern regarding Biden's continued candidacy is the simple fact, highlighted in the debate, when Trump became a pompous fountain of lies and attacks on America, Biden simply looked at him, slack-mouthed, and did not stand up and confront the bully. My concern is even deeper, what if, when confronted with a nuclear attack on our country, he bobbles the football? We need a sharp, quick, competent person in the White House. Joe has empathy, more than I can say for Trump, but that only means he will lead the mourners' procession for American democracy.
My understanding is that the interview, taped earlier in the day, will air per ABC "in its entirety" at 5:00 Pacific time. An unedited transcript will also be made available.
For almost all Democrats plus many others, what's most important is Not Trump. So it was in 2020. Even if successful, that's also a very dangerous tack in practical terms.
Regardless of the state of the mind of Biden, the election will be a clear choice between good and evil. Biden has advisors, lots of good ones, and can tough it out. regardless of his failing mental state. With what is already in place, the country would be in safe and humane hands.
We cannot let trump win. Remember Project 2025. For starters.
If there is a replacement, it should not be Harris or Newsom, but should be Hakeem Jeffries, House Minority leader.
Peter, this is a welcome post today.
I think our media is mostly responsible for the position we all are in.
The media has kept Trump in the limelight (good and bad) since the 2020 campaign, and in the years following since. Each day, we hear about Trump, January 6, and much, much more.
It was the Media who was after advertising dollars for all those eyeballs glued to their smartphone, computer, tablets, and TV screens.
Any weaknesses by Biden were hidden.
Even worse, the Democratic party thought it was a good idea, too, to use the state and federal justice departments to go after Trump. Yes, he was even found guilty of charges that weren't quite clear in the indictments.
Yes, Trump shouldn't be our R choice, either, but he is, and Biden's weak debate performance has actually strengthened Trumps, rightly or wrongly.
We are where we are for this now never-Trump vs never-never Biden election. Yeah, there is RFK and likely a few others that might appear of that November ballot, bit those latter people don't stand much of a chance.
It's unfortunate that VP Kamala is not a great replacement candidate, but that is all D voters have right now. The big $$$ contributions are tied to Biden and Harris according to Campaign Finance laws.
The big donors are in a rightful fit. Unfortunately, there was no money-back guarantee for those donations. The spigot will surely be turned off for future donations.
I'll be looking to Las Vegas odds-makers to see what they throw at the wall, to see what sticks, and what the odds are for the various candidates.
And don't forget those down-ticket races. The incumbents are surely concerned about their own efforts in the coming weeks and months.
What a mess we are in...
PS Peter did correct his typos; the blogging software does have that capability for original posts.
That moment in that farce was perhaps the most disturbing of the many moments. I agree with Peter, tonight is make it or it's broken beyond repair, no matter what Hunter advised.
M2inFLA blames Trump’s ongoing popularity on the media. The real reason for it, of course, is that Republicans can’t get enough of the anger, hatred and lies he spews at his Nurenberg-style rallies and on his social media posts. He tried to illegally overturn the election, incited an insurrection and continues to lie about the election results and threaten retribution against his opponents, yet he remains his party leader and candidate for president. The media would be negligent not to keep the public informed of his seditious behavior.
Biden and Gaza and Ukraine. Too much good old boy war machine going on. I learned in school today from the Ten Commandments on my wall. Thou shalt not kill. Kill the right people , OK. Not sure what covet thy neighbor’s wife means , isn’t that taught in sex education? It’s all very confusing.
Biden stutters and Trump grabs p…..y and the Supreme Court takes bribes. My teacher says Democracy is at stake or did he mean a steak well done.
Post a Comment