# Stop Panicking! **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Tags:** trump\ **Created:** [June 28, 2024, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stop-panicking/1003447 "2024-06-28T15:26:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 37
**Author:** ![Mr.Moto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9de0a6/32.png) [@Mr.Moto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Moto)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2024, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stop-panicking/1003447/721 "2024-07-10T03:16:56Z")
> [@Happy\_Lendervedder](#): > > ETA: And all this park-clutching over the NYT and CNN having it out for Biden will have a lot less impact on low-info voters than turning Old Man Biden into a punchline for his oldness and feebleness. To be fair, I have been following Biden for about forty years and I have always regarded him as a punchline. ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Lendervedder](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_lendervedder/32/8488_2.png) [@Happy\_Lendervedder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Lendervedder)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2024, 3:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stop-panicking/1003447/722 "2024-07-10T03:20:17Z")
> [@Aspenglow](#): > > I think you can catch any one of us on a bad day and be made to look like a loon. That doesn’t matter! This is about Joe Biden right now, not some hypothetical face that you, Kamala Harris or I might make someday. If my image goes in the shitter, democracy isn’t on the line. If Biden can’t turn his image around quick, and if he can’t break through to low-info voters that he’s not a dottering confused old man, we’re likely fucked. They just might not bother going to the polls. I’m hoping with all my might that he _can_ turn this around, but I’m not holding my breath. This press conference on Thursday will be a big first step. He needs to come across unequivocally strong and coherent. ---
**Author:** ![Aspenglow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspenglow/32/76_2.png) [@Aspenglow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspenglow)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2024, 3:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stop-panicking/1003447/723 "2024-07-10T03:23:52Z")
> [@Happy\_Lendervedder](#): > > They just might not bother going to the polls. I don’t know a single woman who isn’t planning to vote and is eagerly looking forward to doing so. Not one. No one in my circle of friends or acquaintances are casual about this election. They’re all paying very close attention. When your very life may be put at risk, it tends to focus the mind. ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Lendervedder](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_lendervedder/32/8488_2.png) [@Happy\_Lendervedder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Lendervedder)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2024, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stop-panicking/1003447/724 "2024-07-10T03:28:39Z")
> [@Aspenglow](#): > > I don’t know a single woman who isn’t planning to vote and is eagerly looking forward to doing so. Not one. > > No one in my circle of friends or acquaintances are casual about this election. They’re all paying very close attention So obviously they’re not the low-info voters to whom I’m referring. ---
**Author:** ![Aspenglow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspenglow/32/76_2.png) [@Aspenglow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspenglow)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2024, 3:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stop-panicking/1003447/725 "2024-07-10T03:29:48Z")
But the low info voters didn’t watch the debate, either. If they’re women, they might be first-time voters who are paying more attention currently than they ever have before. ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Lendervedder](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_lendervedder/32/8488_2.png) [@Happy\_Lendervedder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Lendervedder)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2024, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stop-panicking/1003447/726 "2024-07-10T03:34:42Z")
> [@Aspenglow](#): > > But the low info voters didn’t watch the debate, either. They didn’t need to. But they probably _have_ seen a couple dozen memes showing how feeble and confused he looked, and that’s making an impression. It might not be fair, and you, like me, might not like it, but there it is. You didn’t have to watch the debate and you don’t have to read the NYT to form an opinion of the candidates. ---
**Author:** ![Aspenglow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspenglow/32/76_2.png) [@Aspenglow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspenglow)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2024, 3:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stop-panicking/1003447/727 "2024-07-10T03:35:31Z")
> [@Happy\_Lendervedder](#): > > But they probably _have_ seen a couple dozen memes showing how feeble and confused he looked, and that’s making an impression. You’d think that would be reflected in updated polling data, though, wouldn’t you? It’s not. ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Lendervedder](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_lendervedder/32/8488_2.png) [@Happy\_Lendervedder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Lendervedder)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2024, 3:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stop-panicking/1003447/728 "2024-07-10T03:39:37Z")
[https://www.nytimes.com/2024/07/09/us/politics/trump-biden-poll-debate.html](https://www.nytimes.com/2024/07/09/us/politics/trump-biden-poll-debate.html) Well, things aren’t moving in the _right_ direction. And for Pete’s sake, people _not bothering to vote_ in November isn’t going to show up in these polls. They’re just not gonna show up. ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2024, 3:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stop-panicking/1003447/729 "2024-07-10T03:46:16Z")
> [@Aspenglow](#): > > > [@Happy\_Lendervedder](#): > > > > I don’t imagine these are necessarily magats doing these memes. Just meme makers making fun of how completely out of it he looked. > > I think you can catch any one of us on a bad day and be made to look like a loon. Except that Trump either looks like a loon (about 10% of the time) or like an angry orangutan the rest of the time, with a range of expressions ranging from sullen hatred to completely unhinged. How anyone could think that this lunatic is fit to be president of the United States is completely beyond me. [![](https://www.rollingstone.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/trump-freakout-over-GOP-midterms.jpg) ](https://www.rollingstone.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/trump-freakout-over-GOP-midterms.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Aspenglow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspenglow/32/76_2.png) [@Aspenglow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspenglow)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2024, 3:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stop-panicking/1003447/730 "2024-07-10T03:46:46Z")
That’s a worrying poll, all right. Biden’s not getting out of the race. We’ll have to live with whatever that brings. To me, it means I need to work harder to support him. ---
**Author:** ![Aspenglow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspenglow/32/76_2.png) [@Aspenglow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspenglow)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2024, 3:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stop-panicking/1003447/731 "2024-07-10T03:48:05Z")
> [@wolfpup](#): > > How anyone could think that this lunatic is fit to be president of the United States is completely beyond me. That’s two of us. And to me, Biden is winning when we’re focused on Trump and his massive unfitness and not on Biden’s infirmities. ---
**Author:** ![crowmanyclouds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crowmanyclouds/32/19884_2.png) [@crowmanyclouds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crowmanyclouds)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2024, 10:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stop-panicking/1003447/732 "2024-07-10T10:28:35Z")
The thought that this all gives we is that, _In order to engage the youth vote Biden needs to;_ _Start a meme war_ _and_ _Challenge Trump to a dance off_ and those thoughts have me considering that the 26th Amendment might need to be rewritten. ---
**Author:** ![PhillyGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ed655f/32.png) [@PhillyGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PhillyGuy)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2024, 10:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stop-panicking/1003447/733 "2024-07-10T10:33:34Z")
> [@Aspenglow](#): > > > [@Happy\_Lendervedder](#): > > > > But they probably _have_ seen a couple dozen memes showing how feeble and confused he looked, and that’s making an impression. > > You’d think that would be reflected in updated polling data, though, wouldn’t you? > > It’s not. This was the first time Trump participated in a general election debate and there failed to be a Democratic polling bump. If I’m panicking about the current political situation, it is because of that. Before the debate, I predicted that Biden would – as measured by polling – once again give himself a polling boost with the debate. I was wrong. ---
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2024, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stop-panicking/1003447/734 "2024-07-10T14:03:29Z")
> [@Aspenglow](#): > > > [@wolfpup](#): > > > > How anyone could think that this lunatic is fit to be president of the United States is completely beyond me. > > That’s two of us. It’s a lot more than two of us. There are hordes of people in the country of that opinion. And there are hordes of people who think it utterly obvious that he was/would be a great president. This confuses me. But then I think of the major thing I learned in philosophy classes, which I think may also be learned in higher levels of math: One person’s “utterly obvious” is very often somebody else’s “utter nonsense.” ---
**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:** [July 10, 2024, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stop-panicking/1003447/735 "2024-07-10T16:33:10Z")
> [@wolfpup](#): > > Except that Trump either looks like a loon (about 10% of the time) or like an angry orangutan the rest of the time, with a range of expressions ranging from sullen hatred to completely unhinged. None of those come across as “old and feeble.” And that’s what matters. There’s not a single example in modern history of the Presidential candidate perceived to be weaker winning against the candidate perceived to be stronger. This is not about age–it’s about the perception of feebleness. The older one may win if the younger one is seen as “weak”—as in 1988, with the ridicule of Michael Dukakis with his little head sticking up out of a tank. (Dukakis was about nine years younger than George H. W. Bush. But Bush was considered more vigorous and virile—and he won.) Less-engaged voters won’t vote for someone they don’t identify with. They want to identify with what they see as “strength.” Trump looking angry doesn’t project as “weakness” to the less-engaged voters. In comparison with Biden looked slack-jawed down at his podium, Trump’s unhinged expressions look like “strength” to those voters. Of course those of us who know better, know better and will vote accordingly. _But our votes are not enough._ ---
**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:** [July 10, 2024, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stop-panicking/1003447/736 "2024-07-10T16:41:25Z")
> [@Aspenglow](#): > > > [@Happy\_Lendervedder](#): > > > > But they probably _have_ seen a couple dozen memes showing how feeble and confused he looked, and that’s making an impression. > > You’d think that would be reflected in updated polling data, though, wouldn’t you? > > It’s not. Out yesterday: > [@](#): > > … Former President Trump now has an edge over President Biden in the three key swing states of Arizona, Georgia and Nevada, per new ratings from the nonpartisan Cook Political Report with Amy Walter. > > …Driving the news: Arizona, Georgia and Nevada were all moved from Toss Up to Lean Republican by the Cook Political Report. Biden won all three states by narrow margins in 2020. > > Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin all remain Toss Ups, but Pennsylvania appears most vulnerable in favor of Trump, per the Cook Political Report. > Zoom out: Nationally, Biden trailed Trump by just over one point during the week before the debate, CPR writes from the RealClearPolitics head-to-head national average. Biden now trails by three points. Some are saying ‘polls are all good for Biden’ or ‘polls don’t matter.’ How does that differ from burying one’s head in the sand? It’s just not helpful. Why was Biden so much further ahead of Trump at this point in 2020? [https://www.axios.com/2024/07/09/trump-biden-swing-states-ratings-report](https://www.axios.com/2024/07/09/trump-biden-swing-states-ratings-report) ---
**Author:** ![Beesnest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e495f1/32.png) [@Beesnest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beesnest)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2024, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stop-panicking/1003447/737 "2024-07-10T16:45:14Z")
I’m not panicked but I am getting angry at the rediculous coverage MSNBC is running over the top of the NATO coverage. ---
**Author:** ![Akaj](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/akaj/32/145_2.png) [@Akaj](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Akaj)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2024, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stop-panicking/1003447/738 "2024-07-10T16:56:23Z")
> [@Sherrerd](#): > > They want to identify with what they see as “strength.” I’m thinking, in the next debate (if there is one), Biden should ignore the first question, point at Trump and say “This guy’s been found responsible for a half-billion dollars worth of fraud. He’s been convicted of 34 election fraud felonies. He’s a career con man. It’s safe to assume everything he says from this point forward is complete bullshit.” Let’s see how strong Trump looks after that. ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2024, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stop-panicking/1003447/739 "2024-07-10T16:57:27Z")
> [@Akaj](#): > > Let’s see how strong Trump looks after that. I doubt Biden could get through those three sentences without a misstep. (and I wish that weren’t true). ---
**Author:** ![Akaj](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/akaj/32/145_2.png) [@Akaj](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Akaj)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2024, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stop-panicking/1003447/740 "2024-07-10T17:01:14Z")
If he can’ t practice and memorize 39 words, he should drop out of the race. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stop-panicking/1003447.md?page=36) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stop-panicking/1003447.md?page=38)