Couple of Biden gaffes of late:
Come on guys, we can do better than Biden. Please. He’s not a bad guy, but please, he’s just not up to it.
Joe, pass the torch.
Also in that second link, he says that his favorite American historical figure who was never President was Thomas Jefferson.
I’m not a Biden fan, but I had always thought that his propensity for “gaffes” was vastly exaggerated. Rapidly revising that assessment.
Biden called Theresa May “Margaret Thatcher” last night.
2nd time in a couple of months.
People wanted another old white guy to counter their old white guy… and it looks like they’re getting what they wanted!
The guy is just horrible at speaking. It goes beyond the gaffes, which have increased tenfold as soon as he got the spotlight on him this year (I can remember Dan Quayle from my childhood being relentlessly mocked for the same kind of nonsensical statements), it’s also just the way he speaks in general. He stumbles over words. He trails off. You can SEE his train of thought rattling down the rickety rails of his mind by reading his facial expressions, which remind me of George W. Bush, who was the first president that I regularly saw on TV, and he made the same goofy faces as he struggled to figure out what words to deploy mid-sentence. Biden doesn’t speak with authority and conviction when he is faced with deep questions. His most recent speech was just a tirade against Donald Trump and gun violence - it’s easy to sound authoritative when delivering a tirade (and even then he tripped over his words on numerous occasions.) In the debates, he consistently sounds weak. WEAK.
Now is not the time for weak.
Agreed. Unless it’s to Warren, Sanders, or Buttigieg, in which case I would rather he keep the torch.
Biden is the type of person whose mouth refuses to take orders from his frontal lobe, at least consistently. His subconsciousness takes over about 20% of the time, and when that happens, all the shit he shouldn’t say comes tumbling out.
I’m worried that if he gets the nomination, everyday is going to be like S1 of The Office except without the humor.
I’m in agreement about Sanders and definitely Warren, but why don’t you rate Pete higher? I think his chances are about as good as Harris’s against Trump. He is by far the best speaker out of the whole field - by far. That’s 75% of the game.
I like Pete too and I think he could win. He has the characteristics of an Obama-type establishment outsider that would energize turnout and attract independents.
As to Buttigieg - “Best speaker” is obviously a subjective call, but in any case that skill is one, but only one, of the skills required for the job.
Ignoring electability issues*, he has no experience that qualifies him for the job or that demonstrates anything other than that he is well educated and speaks well.
In any case … he has had attention and he has had money. He’s had oxygen but his spark sputtered instead of setting off anything. Maybe in a future cycle but he’s already failed in this one.
*Gosh gee. We want someone who can hit as many as possible of maximizing Black turnout, doing less poorly with non-college educated white voters, and get young progressives off their asses. Hit at least two of the three and you may be electable. He hits none.
A openly gay man cant win, not yet anyway. He wont play in peoria. Sorry, it’s harsh but it’s the truth.
Nice guy, maybe in 8 years.
Relevant to this thread (and funny as hell).
“We need a wizard who can appeal to the moderate orc voter.”
I agree that he is certainly one of the best speakers in the field. I also agree with everything DSeid wrote, and would add that he is too young and looks even younger. (I’m not sure if his being gay matters, although if all the other boxes were checked I would have to think about that harder.) But he needs to do more over the next eight or 16 years then just get older. He needs some kind of more significant political experience than being mayor of a small city. A Cabinet position at the very least. And in the process he needs to broaden his appeal to nonwhite voters. It could be a tall order, which is a shame because I agree that he has a certain kind of political talent in spades.
As to Biden, I want someone who can convincingly make a closing argument to voters on the home stretch next fall, not be engaged in damage control for the latest dumb thing he’s said.
But they are lovable gaffes.
I want someone who cant beat trump. I dont care about gaffes, age, or many other things.
So far, we know one guy who will beat trump. Biden.
You can’t say “will” because you don’t know how badly he might screw up the race.
I can see the argument that he is the safest choice among the top five (although I think Harris is a little better). But as I keep saying, there are plenty of others below that top tier who would be safer nominees. Democratic primary voters are really playing with fire with the entire group they have elevated.
Evidently 
The danger all along with Biden is that he would be seen as old and losing it. The poor people comment isn’t as problematic as the other ones, like calling Theresa May Margaret Thatcher and some of his other comments. Trump isn’t calling him “Sleepy Joe” on accident. He’s branding Biden the same way he brands other people. He’s turning his opponents into walking, talking memes, and it’s a demonstrably effective tactic.
A straight version of Pete Buttigieg would be an extremely dangerous opponent for Trump, but the real Mayor Pete is a long shot at best. Buttigieg could possibly beat Trump but it’s a very, very, very slim chance. I think that like the rest of the field, Trump would have the advantage unless things were really bad for Americans economically and otherwise.
Mayor Pete’s problem would be convincing social conservatives in Black and Latino communities to vote for someone who “lives in sin.” Pete also has other problems with people of color in his own backyard right now. So it’s not looking good, and in fact, he’s not really even moving up in the polls. If you look at it objectively, no candidate has been a worse investment in terms of campaign donations relative to poll movement than Pete Buttigieg, which is why I think the Q3 fundraising may stall.
Yeah, he *can’t *win the General in 2020. Maybe 2028. Hopefully America will come around by them.