I will never forgive Joe Biden for reminding me of a Tucker Carlson quote (said about GW Bush):
I mean, look, no matter how you feel about Bush, watching him speak is difficult. It’s like- it’s like watching a drunk man cross an icy street.
Agree with this. And panic, if you want to call it that, can be useful, especially with the amount of time until the election. As I mentioned in the other thread, it will motivate the party to get people out to vote, with urgency. They have to acknowledge Biden is old and not what he used to be - yes, yes, old news, but remind people his administration is strong and they are working to make people’s lives better, and the alternative is a disaster. Democrats have the numbers, so they need get off their duffs and vote - it matters!
Well said.
From another thread: Can the Democratic party nominate someone other than the incumbent President at their convention? - #64 by Thing.Fish
Take it as you will. I just link to it because it specifically talks about panic.
Yeah, was anyone actually surprised that it turned out like this? What were the chances that somehow Biden was going to do differently? Under normal circumstances, debates like this tend to play to the candidate who’s more dynamic, animated, and forceful. Trump’s got that, even if he’s dynamic, animated, and forceful about lies, bullshit, and half-truths. And Biden’s not good at that sort of thing, and from what I understand, never has been, due to his stutter.
So I wasn’t surprised nor am I panicky. I am disappointed though; I had really hoped Biden would manage not to look and act like a senile old man. Had he been an angry old coot, that would have been preferable to just sort of trailing off sometimes.
And largely I feel like this was only going to make a difference to the portion of the electorate who haven’t actually made their minds up yet, whoever those peculiar people might be, and however many of them there might be.
The only thing I have to add to this conversation is that the American people over the last decade plus have shown an incredible inability to display any kind of short-term memory or keep any news story in their heads for more than a week or two. I get a feeling that this may not differ too much. There’s 4+ months until election day; I have no idea what is going to happen between now and then.
Agree. Hell, it’s not even Trump I’m panicking about. He was an incompetent idiot in 2016 and he’s still an incompetent idiot. It’s the evil MFers behind Project 2025 that has me in a panic.
There’s a danger that Biden is going to have the same effect as RBG did, but on a bigger/worse scale. Ginsburg refused to step down and now SCOTUS has shifted hard-right as a result. Biden’s refusal to step aside could lead to the whole nation paying the price on Election Night.
I’d vote Jimmy Carter (again) before I’d vote for Donald. Actually I’d never for Donald ever!
I don’t care that Biden is old. I’ll give him grace and patience the dude had been cross crossing the globe tirelessly and bringing forth excellent policy while in office. His administration is strong. I hope he doesn’t step aside what a freaking disaster that would be.
He may speak softly but he carried a big stick imo.
All too many people…and a vast majority of media outlets.
Which is why I fear the worst. If only there were a way for the public to be informed…
Who am I kidding? They’d have to care first, and that simply takes too much work.
They will have to. You can’t lose California is you want to win the election.
I think you’re kidding yourself if you think Biden only lost on style.
He showed himself incapable of remembering basic facts. Unable to think on his feet. Unable to hold a thought or make an argument. These are more that stylistic traits. These are basic cognitive assets.
Telling yourself that the smartest among us will see past these inconsequential issues and focus on Joe-the-Better man is hopeful at best and foolish at worst.
Democrats might not be enthusiastic about voting for Biden, but they sure as Hell are enthusiastic about voting against Trump. This election for Democrats far more about (felon, rapist, fraudster) Trump’s fitness for office than about (old) Biden’s.
And what facts did Trump remember accurately?
What I’m saying, at least in part, is that a debate, and this one in particular, isn’t the end of the world. It hurts me that our country has fallen to the point where we no longer (if in fact we ever did) vote for someone, but instead vote against the other guy, but that’s the state we’re in. Realizing that, I’ll vote against trump no matter what. Because if Biden wins, and is awful in his second term, I feel confident that democracy in the US will survive.
I’m not so sure about that if trump wins.
With the greatest respect, I think you’re downplaying this a just little. Biden didn’t have a bad performance. He had a disastrous one. It looked like elder abuse. He’s not fit for the job. Period. Hell, if last night was anything to go by, he probably hasn’t been doing the job in any meaningful way for months, if not longer.
Now, to be clear, I’d vote for Biden if he was on life support. But a lot of undecided voters probably aren’t going to feel that way. They might well feel that if neither candidate is fit for the job, they might as well pick the guy who doesn’t look like he could be assassinated by someone creeping up behind him and setting off a firecracker.
I dunno. Maybe you’re right and I’m just overreacting. I certainly hope so. But I honestly think a little panic is the most appropriate response to Biden’s performance.
This is accurate. It was obvious something was SERIOUSLY wrong with Biden. He looked and sounded addled and confused. He appeared very very old. Was it just the “cold” he had? I don’t know, that explanation seems dubious. I guess we’ll see how he is in the next debate.
I’d vote for roadkill before Trump.
Just saying.