President Biden Dropping Out of Race

[Aeschines]

@BigT

That would have also been stupid. Making it this far, right now is the best time for it to happen—after the RNC and after Trump has already committed to a running mate. Plus rash decisions are never the right choice.

Yes, the timing has worked out very well. I don’t think they planned it from the start, but they may have been planning it at the end.

I would not have recommended a “rash” decision, but Biden was clearly not aware of his diminishing capabilities, but I would hope his staff were. They should have been more on top of things and fighting less to stay.

And, no, Biden is not responsible for people’s emotional reactions. And you cannot deny that the media then took this emotional reaction and ran with it.

Yes, the media is a magnifier, often a selective and unfair one. People have been pissing and moaning about the media a lot here, but, guys, it’s 2024. And the same shit was happening with the Eagleton mess in 1972. And how about the Dean scream in 2004? Etc. etc. It’s part of the game.

For example, it is still ridiculous that they would talk only about Biden and not about Trump. Both in how bad what he said at the debate was, and in the fact that Trump had shown similar symptoms—trailing off and mixing up names. Remember how he kept calling Haley Pelosi?

I forgot what thread I was talking about branding in, but I think this is less the fault of the media and more the fault of human cognitive bias. If Biden is the doddering, senile old man, then Trump can’t be. I fault the media for reporting on Trump and the GOP as they are a normal candidate and party. They need to put out a disclaimer with every report: “Trump is a convicted felon, adjudicated rapist, and insurrectionist. He is completely unacceptable as a presidential candidate, and this reporting on his campaign should not be taken as legitimizing him or the Republican party.” But they can’t get off the old template.

Heck, the fact that this hasn’t seem to harm Trump is probably the strongest evidence that it was the reaction that harmed Biden more than the actual performance.

That’s kinda like saying that the lava hitting my skin did more harm than the lava itself. It’s a mass media performance that Biden himself requested! He was soliciting a reaction on the part of the viewers and the media. You can’t do that then bitch that you didn’t get the reaction you wanted when you shit the proverbial bed.

Oh, and while I’m here, I absolutely disagree with you saying that Biden was unfit to campaign from the start.

I don’t know if I said that exactly but he didn’t have to run at all. Sometimes too old is too old and… Biden was too damn old.

The whole reason the debate was shocking was that it was significantly worse than people had seen before.

Biden has hid from the press, basically, for his whole term. I am going with the “it was bad but not that bad but then fell off a cliff” theory.

This is a gamble. One I am cautiously optimistic about seeing the reaction from both sides (coalescing around one candidate for the Dems, and the freaking out of the Pubs). But still a gamble. I hope very much it pays off.

It’s a gamble in the sense that, if your car explodes in flame while you’re driving, it’s a gamble to jump out of it. There was no choice.

[Smapti]

I must say the last 24 hours have given me less cause for pessimism than I had before. After how contentious the last few weeks have been I was not expecting the party to coalesce around Harris so quickly and seamlessly, and the Republicans seem much less prepared to run against her than I expected them to me.

We might not be doomed just yet after all.

[Shoeless]

@Johnny_L.A

Republicans: Biden is old and senile! He needs to drop out!

Also Republicans: Biden dropped out! That’s not faaaaiiiiiir!!!

Republicans: You can’t do that!

Democrats: Yeah, but… what if we did?

[What_Exit]

I actually think the chances of beating Trump has gone up and I’m more hopeful than I’ve been for months.

I actually hated the idea of Biden running again. Just too damn old.

[Boycott]

Heard him call in for about 4-5 minutes live for Harris’s headquarters speech in Delaware. His voice was nasally but then he has covid. I thought he gave a pretty passionate endorsement of Harris and the team at the campaign while talking about things he wants to get done in the remainder of his presidency.

I have always liked Joe Biden and it’s a damn shame in my view he became president so late. Better late than never but I feel he has been a good president while clearly fading away in old age. So how much more better could he have been in his prime.

[Dung_Beetle]

@Shoeless

Republicans: You can’t do that!

Democrats: Yeah, but… what if we did?

[Fist pump] Post of the day!

[Beckdawrek]

My first thought with him dropping out, “Well, damn. He must be sicker with COVID than we know.”
Then I thought maybe in his brain of brains he finally picked up on the leanings of the country about his fading abilities. He may not have problems presiding for real. But optics mean so much in our world. If you don’t look healthy that must mean your stupid. If you stutter a bit and miss words you must have deficit in your thinking. If you walk slow/carefully you’re a doddering senile old person who surely has nothing left to offer the world.

We are such a vain race.

I understand this is how it is. How it will be.

I’ve made my donation to Kamala for president.
Today. I made it with Joe Biden in mind.

[susan]

I’m not at all happy about Biden dropping out, but he was boxed into an untenable position. Therefore, I gave $100 to Harris yesterday.

[Atamasama]

@Boycott

I have always liked Joe Biden and it’s a damn shame in my view he became president so late

Think of it this way. It’s an exclamation point at the end of a long and very successful political career, one where he was known as a guy who could really get things done and actually work across the aisle with people. A career that left him 8 years as VP and then 4 years as a really good POTUS. How many politicians can say that?

[Al128]

@What_Exit

I actually think the chances of beating Trump has gone up and I’m more hopeful than I’ve been for months.

most definitely …

just look at it from the perspective of MOMENTUM … they pretty much went from being on the defense (and pretty much only broadcasting any Biden-mishaps) to - having taken out all the wind of the Rep’s campaign (congress and assault are already forgotten, it seems) - and being able to create some sort of buzz around KH.

I hope she can soon deliver a GREAT speech or interview, where media are actually talking about what she said and not how often a person mis-spoke in 20 min. So there is def. an uplift for her, and Trump is now somewhat the old guy.

in short: hopefully contents start weighing more than delivery (or lack of)

[RickJay]

Well I’m on record as saying Biden was going to lose and that as hard as it would be to win with anyone else, it would be better to ditch Biden rather than keep pretending he didn’t look horrifically incapable.

The Democrats have now done exactly the CORRECT thing, with Biden out; insta-nominate Harris. Absolutely, one hundred percent the right move. You might think in theory there are a couple of better choices but none could be selected without a nasty internal fight. Instead they’re rallying around a perfectly capable individual who’s the VP anyway so you can’t complain anyone is being unfairly passed over. The party is uniting with remarkable speed and absence of bitterness and concentrating fire on Trump.

[Thing.Fish]

Yes. I expected this to happen, but I am so happy that those who predicted Biden’s withdrawal would lead to some kind of divisive bloodbath were wrong. To steal a line from Nate Silver, the Democrats are acting like the party that wants to win for a change!

[Smapti]

And Harris is now the presumptive nominee.

Live updates: Kamala Harris secures enough delegates to win Democratic...

That was fast.

[Aeschines]

Yep. Nice change!

[puzzlegal]

@Loach

I don’t think it was orchestrated at all. It’s my feeling that this bout of Covid made him realize he doesn’t have the strength to campaign and govern

That’s my guess, too. Although the timing is pretty damn good. Biden still has good political instincts, as well as genuinely putting his country before his own ego.

And I’m delighted to see the party coalescing around Harris. Go Harris!

[Smapti]

@puzzlegal

That’s my guess, too. Although the timing is pretty damn good. Biden still has good political instincts, as well as genuinely putting his country before his own ego.

I’m wondering if maybe he spent the last week or so working behind the scenes to ensure the party would rally around Harris before he made his announcement. If so, that’s potentially one of the savviest moves he’s made in his entire career.

[Cervaise]

I wondered that, too, but then I remembered that, historically, Democrats are undisciplined and disorganized and absolutely terrible at establishing and controlling a political message. So if Biden really did make his decision a few days earlier, and was preparing the team for a seamless transition, if he had informed more than four or five people, it would absolutely have leaked.

So while it’s possible that he did, secretly, know himself what he was going to do, I don’t think it’s realistic at all to believe there was some wider effort behind the scenes to set up the announcement so the party was ready for a quick pivot.

[Smapti]

@Cervaise

I wondered that, too, but then I remembered that, historically, Democrats are undisciplined and disorganized and absolutely terrible at establishing and controlling a political message.

Well, as Will Rogers said nearly 100 years ago, “I am not a member of any organized political party - I’m a Democrat.”

@Cervaise

So if Biden really did make his decision a few days earlier, and was preparing the team for a seamless transition, if he had informed more than four or five people, it would absolutely have leaked.

It did leak, though.

Mark Halperin

The only thing that tweet got wrong was that Biden did, in fact, endorse Harris.

[DSeid]

@Smapti

If so, that’s potentially one of the savviest moves he’s made in his entire career.

He’s made many savvy moves so hard to break into his top ten, but I am also suspicious that he did this according to plan, even if closely held to his vest.

The timing and roll out is just too damn perfect.

Early on most of us here declared that the ideal time to drop a decision would be right after the GOP convention to take possession of the news cycle and hold it possibly through the Democratic convention and beyond.

The rally of support ready to pour but some biggest names saved to keep the news cycle focus.

Pretty sure Biden decided this course much earlier and wanted to do it in the most effective way possible.

Well done team Joe.

[Moriarty]

@DSeid

I am also suspicious that he did this according to plan, even if closely held to his vest.

The timing and roll out is just too damn perfect.

If Kamala prevails, Biden’s political scheming will be studied by political scientists for years; doctoral theses will be based on the Dark Brandon meme.

Biden may go down as one of the most effective politicians in American history.