New in the world of politics are you? Ha ha.
I get your point, but I also see why some people might instinctively balk at “those who publicly agree with me are right, and those who don’t actually do and are just being diplomatic.”
No live commentary on the Press Conference? I’m scared to watch it.
Didn’t read the bullet points in your own cite, did you?
Biden quickly corrected himself, while Zelensky replied to Biden’s gaffe in a joking manner, saying, “I’m better [than Putin].”
“You are a hell of a lot better,” Biden told Zelensky after correcting himself, blaming his mistake on being “so focused on beating Putin.”
So, it’s a slip of the tongue, just like in 1980 when Jimmy Carter referred to a former Vice President as Hubert Horatio Hornblower.
Man on the street: Aside from stating “Vice President Trump”, Biden is doing better than his interview with Stephanopolous, which was better than his debate with Trump.
He’s doing pretty well. He started out very strong. A couple of hiccups along the way but overall not bad. But will it change his situation, of Dems wanting him to step aside? Probably not.
New York Times times commentary says he is speaking slowly and appears to be exhausted, but that the content of his answers shows a grasp of the topics and in fact, a deep understanding of the subject matter.
I know it’s Politician 101 and would expect similar behavior from anyone else but it is driving me nuts that he is not answering the questions he is being asked but is instead answering the questions he thinks he should have been asked.
He’s doing better than the debate, but that’s a low bar.
I’d call it middling so far
He confused Trump and Harris in his first response.
His voice is raspy and tends to fade.
He mispronounced reporter Asma Hallad’s name reading off a card.
He has made flubs but then corrected himself.
He tends to stop in mid sentence then say ‘Anyway’ and start a new sentence.
But all in all he gives what are substantial and correct answers to the questions.
That’s accurate.
He just discussed Israel/hamas in a way that Trump simply wouldn’t even know about.
He’s fading.
It’s like he’s running on fumes.
And then just now, he perked up when talking about gun violence and children dying.
But the last 20-30 minutes he was fading off…
My feed must be on a time delay.
He does seem to be fading, and also seems to be rather tired. I was surprised by the loudness and vehemence of his remarks about children and guns. But then he’s back to the way he was before those remarks. Hmm.
I’ve said before that Biden does best when he’s got a script to go off. Improvising, such as is necessary when answering questions in a press conference, is not his strong suit, nor has it ever been. Still, in spite of that, and a couple of verbal gaffes (e.g. “Vice President Trump”), he’s doing pretty well.
I hope it wraps up soon, though. I’m not sure how much longer he can go on.
A word about this. I was surprised too at the suddenness and loudness of those remarks. When he maintained that level of loudness, I thought it was borderline inappropriate.
I will assume everyone here has been around an aging person (grandparent, parent, relative, friend) and noted that, as they diminish, they have moments of remarkable clarity. Those moments get fewer and further between as time marches on but they are there. The rest is them clearly being slowed down mentally.
I do not think it is ageism to say we are seeing Biden getting into this phase of life. This is no dig on him, it happens to almost everyone eventually.
I just find it remarkable that somehow Trump is not being held to account for this. I am guessing it is because he was always an idiot and said stupid shit so now it is just more of the same even if for different reasons (his age).
It’s been said on countless occasions, and deserves to be said about every 5th post.
It’s savagely unfair that Trump gets a bye simply because his insanity, irrationality, and sociopathy are so painfully well-documented and simply a given at this point.
But we can neither fix him nor his cult-like supporters. The best we can possibly hope to do is deliver him a popular and Electoral College vote drubbing come November.
Connecticut’s Jim Himes, ranking Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, released a statement approximately one minute after the press conference ended calling on Biden to drop out.
No word from Himes on who should take Biden’s place.
Presumably Jim Himes. If Biden does drop out I fully expect at least a dozen backbenchers to throw their hats in the ring, since unlike a conventional primary they’ll have no need to raise money or actually get anyone to vote for them.
If Biden did drop out the only reasonable replacement is Harris.
Anything else would be a clusterfuck.
(Unless there is some other amazing candidate…I can think of a few but none are “amazing.”)
Another part is ability to put on an act for a limited amount of time. My mother is 98 (obviously a lot older than Biden), and can no longer manage it, but until a few years ago taught contract bridge classes. When she was teaching, she was way different than before or after.
She is still self-aware, and frustrated with how she currently plays the game. I do not play, but going by what she says, she mixes her old brilliant advanced play with beginner mistakes.
People who see Biden every day with high cognitive tasking, like National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, know the situation, in all its complexity, a lot better than any of us.