# Joe Biden's in **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [April 25, 2019, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/joe-bidens-in/833042 "2019-04-25T16:13:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 35
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2019, 3:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/joe-bidens-in/833042/681 "2019-08-16T03:36:22Z")
> [@CarnalK](#): > > … Pretending this shit doesn’t exist until next year is not smart. Biden’s old fogey gaffer shit needs to be addressed and overcome, not ignored. > … No, all it does it push votes to trump. Attacking any Dem candidates unless it’s on electability or issues just gives trump votes, exactly what happened in 2016. ---
**Author:** ![asahi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asahi/32/8693_2.png) [@asahi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asahi)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2019, 4:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/joe-bidens-in/833042/682 "2019-08-16T04:50:34Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > No, all it does it push votes to trump. Attacking any Dem candidates unless it’s on electability or issues just gives trump votes, exactly what happened in 2016. What we’re debating here is whether other candidates should pull their punches out of respect for an old guy who has been told it’s his turn and he’s electable. I say let voters themselves decide who’s electable and let the candidates go at it. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2019, 12:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/joe-bidens-in/833042/683 "2019-08-16T12:08:57Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > No, all it does it push votes to trump. Attacking any Dem candidates unless it’s on electability or issues just gives trump votes, exactly what happened in 2016. Trump is running in the Dem primary _too_? ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2019, 1:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/joe-bidens-in/833042/684 "2019-08-16T13:17:01Z")
> [@asahi](#): > > What we’re debating here is whether other candidates should pull their punches out of respect for an old guy who has been told it’s his turn and he’s electable. I say let voters themselves decide who’s electable and let the candidates go at it. Seconded. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2019, 1:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/joe-bidens-in/833042/685 "2019-08-16T13:21:55Z")
Primaries should be a crucible, which includes political attacks of all types. It doesn’t help Trump unless/until we have a nominee (or all-but-certain nominee). 9-12 months from now, it won’t matter that Harris challenged Biden strongly on issues related to segregation. In all likelihood, one or both of them will be out of the race, and united behind the nominee (which may or may not be one of them). ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2019, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/joe-bidens-in/833042/686 "2019-08-16T14:30:30Z")
> [@asahi](#): > > What we’re debating here is whether other candidates should pull their punches out of respect for an old guy who has been told it’s his turn and he’s electable. I say let voters themselves decide who’s electable and let the candidates go at it. They shoudl all pull their punches when talking about \*any \*other Dem candidate. Stick to issues. Tell us why you are great. Dont tear down others. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2019, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/joe-bidens-in/833042/687 "2019-08-16T14:31:44Z")
> [@JohnT](#): > > Trump is running in the Dem primary _too_? The bernie-bros constant attacks on Hillary, even after she was the candidate is one of the factors that allowed trump to win. The kremlin aided this. ---
**Author:** ![Budget\_Player\_Cadet](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/budget_player_cadet/32/205_2.png) [@Budget\_Player\_Cadet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Budget_Player_Cadet)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2019, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/joe-bidens-in/833042/688 "2019-08-16T15:54:37Z")
Meanwhile… [https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/457486-biden-allies-float-scaling-back-events-to-limit-gaffes](https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/457486-biden-allies-float-scaling-back-events-to-limit-gaffes) > [@](#): > > Allies to Joe Biden have been floating the idea of altering the former vice president’s schedule in an effort to reduce the gaffes he has made in recent days. > > The allies, growing increasingly nervous about Biden’s verbal flubs, have said it’s an approach that’s been suggested to campaign officials on the heels of the former vice president’s stumbles. > > Biden has a tendency to make the blunders late in the day, his allies say, particularly after a long swing on the road, like he had last week in Iowa. They say something needs to be done to give the candidate more down time as the campaign intensifies in the fall. Thank goodness that the job he’s applying for isn’t particularly strenuous. ---
**Author:** ![you\_with\_the\_face](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/ecccb3/32.png) [@you\_with\_the\_face](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/you_with_the_face)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2019, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/joe-bidens-in/833042/689 "2019-08-16T16:41:51Z")
It’s in the country’s best interest that he keep flubbing; it’s the only thing that might wake people up to the idea that he shouldn’t be President. So please keep talking, Joe. ---
**Author:** ![Boycott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boycott/32/6741_2.png) [@Boycott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boycott)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2019, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/joe-bidens-in/833042/690 "2019-08-16T18:17:28Z")
> [@Budget\_Player\_Cadet](#): > > Meanwhile… > > [https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/457486-biden-allies-float-scaling-back-events-to-limit-gaffes](https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/457486-biden-allies-float-scaling-back-events-to-limit-gaffes) > > Thank goodness that the job he’s applying for isn’t particularly strenuous. Whoever told the media that are clearly not allies as the article says. ---
**Author:** ![asahi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asahi/32/8693_2.png) [@asahi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asahi)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2019, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/joe-bidens-in/833042/691 "2019-08-16T20:53:51Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > They shoudl all pull their punches when talking about \*any \*other Dem candidate. > > Stick to issues. Tell us why you are great. Dont tear down others. I think we’ll see less and less of the circus and more actual debate once the field begins to narrow, probably beginning next month. ---
**Author:** ![asahi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asahi/32/8693_2.png) [@asahi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asahi)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2019, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/joe-bidens-in/833042/692 "2019-08-16T20:56:11Z")
> [@Budget\_Player\_Cadet](#): > > Meanwhile… > > [https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/457486-biden-allies-float-scaling-back-events-to-limit-gaffes](https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/457486-biden-allies-float-scaling-back-events-to-limit-gaffes) > > Thank goodness that the job he’s applying for isn’t particularly strenuous. Something not lost on Trump last night at his New Hampshire rally. You can see how Trump is going to frame a campaign against Biden: Sleepy Joe. Weak Joe. Old Joe. Forgetful Joe. Nursing Home Joe. Trump is also 70-something but he doesn’t have to remember talking points. He doesn’t have to remember facts and floor votes from 20 years ago. Joe does, and that’s the problem - one of many - he’ll have against an unchained Donald Trump. ---
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2019, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/joe-bidens-in/833042/693 "2019-08-16T22:29:09Z")
There is a balance. You don’t want to be left with a nominee who has their unfavorables high going into the general by a mostly negative primary campaign. But you do need a fair critical evaluation of the candidates. To his credit Sanders played it right with the “I don’t care about your emails” bit. The level of criticism he played was fine and he criticized lots. Not GOP under the belt ones though. He failed to recognize when the time had come to circle the wagons however and never did so very well. He was a bad loser. ---
**Author:** ![pohjonen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pohjonen/32/423_2.png) [@pohjonen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pohjonen)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2019, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/joe-bidens-in/833042/694 "2019-08-16T22:45:31Z")
> [@asahi](#): > > What we’re debating here is whether other candidates should pull their punches out of respect for an old guy who has been told it’s his turn and he’s electable. I say let voters themselves decide who’s electable and let the candidates go at it. Thirded. ---
**Author:** ![Sherrerd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sherrerd/32/8_2.png) [@Sherrerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sherrerd)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2019, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/joe-bidens-in/833042/695 "2019-08-16T22:57:32Z")
> [@CarnalK](#): > > Of course that’s all bad stuff for Clinton and it probably helped sink her (except Vince Foster, come on). But you are contending that it would have been better if that had all been ignored in the primaries and would have either been unmentioned or less effective if it only got brought out in the general. .. No, I’m contending that personal (as opposed to policy) attacks by fellow-Democrats, help legitimize those personal attacks. > [@asahi](#): > > What we’re debating here is whether other candidates should pull their punches out of respect for an old guy who has been told it’s his turn and he’s electable. I say let voters themselves decide who’s electable and let the candidates go at it. Refraining from undermining this front-runner is nothing to do with “it’s his turn”—who is saying that, anyway? “Electable,” on the other hand, is not irrelevant, nor trivial. When Biden announced I expected he’d have the usual announcement-bounce, then settle into the top spot by a few percentage points (given the name-recognition factor). Instead he’s been comfortably ahead by double-digits most of the months since the announcement. Probably no one posting here finds him to be the most inspirational candidate ever, and our arrogant assumption is that because of that, He Must Go. _ **We are ignoring a vast number of voters, and we are ignoring them to our peril.** _ If you want to do the GOP’s work by deep-sixing someone who would certainly be a vast improvement on Trump, no matter how old, then go ahead. > [@DSeid](#): > > There is a balance. You don’t want to be left with a nominee who has their unfavorables high going into the general by a > mostly negative primary campaign. But you do need a fair critical evaluation of the candidates. > > To his credit Sanders played it right with the “I don’t care about your emails” bit. The level of criticism he played was fine and he criticized lots. Not GOP under the belt ones though. He failed to recognize when the time had come to circle the wagons however and never did so very well. He was a bad loser. Yes. There is a time to stop the infighting. There is a time to put a lid on personal ambition and think about the good of the country. Maybe one of the other candidates will, organically (that is, not through knife wounds administered by fellow-Democrats) emerge as a new front-runner. If they don’t, though: it’s time to be patriots. And adults. It’s time to realize that there is a larger issue, here: \*\*\*We are only beginning to see the harm Trump has done. \*\*\*And he will do more. Now is the time to look at the damn polls and realize that our own personal opinions may not be the best gauge of the nation as a whole. It’s time to stop aiding and abetting the forces of repression. Stop working the straight Kremlin line: _Oh, no, we’re not excited about Biden. He’s got all these flaws. Oh, how tragic! We must have candidates who excite us, or we just can’t be expected to vote!!1!!! So get out the knives and start stabbing! That way we’ll get the ideal candidate–one we can revere and adore!_ Are we really going to be so foolish? ---
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2019, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/joe-bidens-in/833042/696 "2019-08-16T23:20:50Z")
Punches should not be pulled. But they should not be punches that are shameful to throw. Look. I expect and hope to see Warren criticized. I need to see how she handles it before I can fully believe in her. But I would not expect or want to see a Democrat doing a Pocahontas approach. Sleepy Joe is self same. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2019, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/joe-bidens-in/833042/697 "2019-08-17T00:31:25Z")
> [@DSeid](#): > > Punches should not be pulled. But they should not be punches that are shameful to throw. > > Look. I expect and hope to see Warren criticized. I need to see how she handles it before I can fully believe in her. But I would not expect or want to see a Democrat doing a Pocahontas approach. Sleepy Joe is self same. Seconded. ---
**Author:** ![CarnalK](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnalk/32/486_2.png) [@CarnalK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CarnalK)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2019, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/joe-bidens-in/833042/698 "2019-08-17T00:56:37Z")
Well, “Sleepy Joe” might not be the way to put it but I think whether to elect a 76/77 yr old man to the job is a legitimate issue. I don’t know how you can phrase it that would satisfy the likes of DrDeth and Sherrerd. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2019, 2:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/joe-bidens-in/833042/699 "2019-08-17T02:35:10Z")
> [@pohjonen](#): > > Thirded. Yes, that means trump walks to re-election. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2019, 2:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/joe-bidens-in/833042/700 "2019-08-17T02:40:30Z")
> [@CarnalK](#): > > Well, “Sleepy Joe” might not be the way to put it but I think whether to elect a 76/77 yr old man to the job is a legitimate issue. I don’t know how you can phrase it that would satisfy the likes of DrDeth and Sherrerd. No, mere age isn’t, I mean, Look, there’s been a couple dozen posts maybe here about how old Joe is- but Sanders _is older._ And trump is a close third. Why is Joe too old but Sanders and trump arent?😕 The answer is simple- Biden is in the lead, so the GOP and Sanders and the Kremlin are attacking him. And trump and the kremlin are scared of Biden. So Biden gets hit- “too old” “too gaffee’ " too whatever” and Sanders gets a pass. Maybe we shoudl stop helping trump get re-elected and focus on the issues and which candidate is better? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/joe-bidens-in/833042.md?page=34) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/joe-bidens-in/833042.md?page=36)