Biden’s voice was strong and clear, and the crowd was far warmer to him as an outgoing president
The debate was a one-off for Biden, and that’s the way the cookies crumble.
Trump said the Dems were doing post-birth abortions.
Biden had a raspy voice.
Who was destroyed by the media?
Howard Dean said “yeaaahh!” strangely that one time and that was it for him. It doesn’t take much.
Because our media is shit
Biden really was visibly too old. But they’re also pretty good at ginning up issues literally out of nothing when they want to.
The media still haven’t realized that they’re a bunch of highly educated puppies. They write well and can form a compelling story, but at the end of the day they get distracted by, and tend to focus on, any flashy or squeaky object in their periphery.
Pretty sure you’re talking about two different groups of people inside “the media” there.
That’s confusing cause and effect. Howard Dean’s speech was supposed to be a concession speech after losing the only early primary/caucus he was trying to win. He poured in all of his resources in the hopes of winning Iowa, underperformed expectations against a backdrop of dropping in the polls for weeks, and coming in third (with no real prospects for New Hampshire or South Carolina) basically made it impossible for him to have the volunteers, money, or press coverage to survive into the next stage of competing in bigger states with primaries clumped up together.
He showed everyone his plan of winning Iowa or going home, lost Iowa, and then gave some kind of rallying speech as if he had a plan to recover from that loss. He never did, and it wasn’t the scream that killed his campaign. His campaign was dead before the scream happened. It’s just that the scream was a particularly memorable way for a campaign to die.
Big pet peeve of mine when people attribute his decline to the Dean Scream. The scream was the final nail in the coffin.
Yeah, but y’see - that’s way less funny
Don’t forget that we voted for Bush because people would rather have a beer in their back yard with him than with Kerry.
That’s a pretty generous summation of the problems with Biden’s debate performance. It was also hardly a one-off. Every time Biden appears it’s a coin flip for which Biden shows up, which is why he appears so infrequently.
You are absolutely right about how Trump’s bullshit gets largely ignored by the press though.
Remember that Biden has a stutter. It’s a condition that has no cure and can only be managed.
Nobody has forgotten the stutter.
It was hardly a one-off. He was setting off alarm bells left and right beforehand, and the debate was his chance to regain some confidence. And he had a bad night then as well. So yah, he has his good days, but it’s pretty apparent that his good days are getting far between.
This was the right decision, it’s a shame he had to be pretty much forced into it by everyone else that saw it. I blame his handlers, and they should have their asses handed to them for trying to fuck the rest of us by keeping him past his best-before date and giving Trump the presidency.
Biden had a raspy voice.
Biden said we finally beat Medicare.
It blows my mind that “Biden just had a raspy voice!!” isn’t banned as misinformation here. Because it literally is, there is no reasonable way to interpret “we beat Medicare” being yelled over and over as the result of a raspy voice. Absolute memory hole shit.
My favorite bullshit excuse was when they pretended it was jet lag when he hadn’t been on a plane in two weeks.
I remember Jon Stewart: “How big was that jet?!?”
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made me realize exactly how big the culty echo chamber can be on the left too.
I don’t know anyone except Republicans who would consider Biden or his supporters “the left”…
They’re dyed in wool neoliberals that supportered Hillary and Bill before her, and Biden’s been with the Clintons forever, he wrote the 92 “child super predator” crime bill that fucked everything up. There’s not many left, but they’re loud as hell anytime anyone doesn’t say their candidate is the bestest and prettiest candidate ever.
If you’re not 100% with them. You’re against them as much as if you’re voting trump, and they’ll say anything in the moment that defends their ingroup. Even if it contradicts what they just said
“Horseshoe theory” is bullshit, but unsurprisingly the most conservative wing of every political party act very similar.
They don’t want loyalty, they want unquestionable support and zero questions just in general.
Speaking personally, I was scared to death of a Trump presidency again, and there was nothing I could do about it other than support the guy that was twilighting on national TV. I felt there was no other option in June. It was awful.
I was intrigued to find out last night what he meant to say.
“We finally beat Big Pharma.”
That’s a big brag for “we lowered prices on a handful of drugs… for Medicare recipients only.”
Apparently universal healthcare (AKA Medicare for All, single-payer) is some kind of glass ceiling for Democrats. You have to reject it in order to get nominated. Hillary reversed her position on it; so did Harris.
What else could he have meant?
I might not be steeped enough in politics to immediately be able to parse the sentence with the word swap. I do like to think I’m usually pretty good at finishing somebody else’s sandwiches but drew a blank with that line.
The debate was a one-off for Biden
Bullshit.
Biden had a raspy voice.
I really thought we were past the gaslighting that the only thing wrong with Biden was a sore throat. But here we are…
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Awesome to hear they let AOC speak though.
OMG! They allowed her to speak! Wow.
Pathetic how happy the left gets over these crumbs being thrown to us.
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He was also getting hammered on Gaza. Over 650,000 Democrats voted “uncommitted” in the primary.
It’s one event with a month of prep time and a teleprompter. Biden hasn’t lost all faculties, but he can’t be this “on” every day for the next 3 months while also being president. This is carefully curated to his strengths, making him look good, which is great, but it’s no sign he could be president in 4 years.
And it’s not like he delivered flawlessly, he still has at least one part where he seemed to get lost, and the crowd covered for him.
Did have real mixed feelings about the “Thank You Joe” chant. It was kind of wholesome in a way, but I imagine it feels bad to have been pushed out like he was.
I hope he recognizes that he needed to do it. Even in 2020, “making” him run (I put making in quotes because you can’t make a person run for office) felt like elder abuse. That is even more true now.
They needed him to run to stop a Bernie nomination. So… he kind of was “made to”, in that he also agreed that Bernie shouldn’t get the nomination.
And I’m in agreement with Biden, I think. I love Bernie and think he would have made a great president, but with how close 2020 was for Biden, I doubt he would have won the election. In fact I think part of why Kamala’s doing well is for the same reason that Biden did well in 2020: Trump wanted to run against Bernie in 2020, and he wanted to run against Biden in 2024. Trump struggles when things don’t go the way he expects them to, and I remember in 2020 a lot of trump’s arguments were about how Biden was too far left, almost like he wanted to be making those arguments about Bernie instead
Polls showed Bernie had the largest lead in a head to head against Trump in 2016 and 2020 iirc. He’s the most popular politician in the US.
I remember in 2020 a lot of trump’s arguments were about how Biden was too far left, almost like he wanted to be making those arguments about Bernie instead
That’s boilerplate conservative talking points. He would’ve said that regardless of who he was running against.
Sanders is older than Biden. So if running Biden was elder abuse…
I think it’d be hard to look at the current state of things and think he made a mistake. At least he seems willing enough to get along.
I’ve no shortage of criticism for the man and his actions, but this one I can applaud.
Part of me might think maybe he is a little bit relieved. It’s tiring on even a younger man. Now he can just focus on the rest of the year and he gets a much needed vacation and family time
I imagine it feels bad to have been pushed out like he was.
I’m sure it feels bad but he shouldn’t have been running again in the first place. The dead horse has been beaten to powder but he is way too old to be running a country - especially 4 years from now.
Sure.
Though something no one is mentioning is if he felt like he had to stay on to do the right thing, and made a very difficult decision to step down, part of this energy may be a relief we’ve all felt at one point or another.
I just can’t shake the feeling that Biden never really wanted the job. He took it because he was convinced he was needed to oust Trump.
He first ran in the 1970s, he’s definitely wanted to be a president for a long time. I do wonder, though, if Trump was what really pushed him to go.
And then doesn’t try again until 2020? And only after witnessing a lineup that he thought couldn’t win against Trump? Don’t think that lines up.
He ran in 88 and 2008, ran as a vice president 2008 and 2012, skipped 2016 and ran again 2020 and 2024. I’d say it lines up, Biden always wanted to be president, and his only regret seems to be that he was persuaded not to run in 2016.
Well he isn’t running to be president anymore, now is he?
This was a beautiful way to accentuate that transition, handing over the baton to a younger generation and having faith in that difficult decision.
“I’ve got a lot to do. I intend to get it done. It’s been the honour of my lifetime to serve as your president. I love the job, but I love my country more.”
Attaboy, Joe. Good man.
Did he turn Canadian?
It’s a silent u
I think the biggest difference is that it is far easier to recite a static speach he has practiced 100 times than it is to dynamically adapt to a live debate.
I think the difference is that he was recovering from a bad cold during the debate.
That joke was based on Nixon losing a live, televised debate to JFK and looking physically terrible during it because he had a cold.
That cold must’ve hung on a long time, because people said he was just as bad at other events and meetups he went to. People were hoping it was just a bad night, but apparently it wasn’t.
It’s obvious the guy’s highly motivated, and I’ve seen younger men overwork themselves into an early grave. It’s no big shock that his mind isn’t as sharp as it once was. Also, I’m sure having a stutter just makes that even worse.
Yeah. That theory actually seems plausible but I’m very very happy he had that cold.
They were both bad presidents. Nixon was just outwardly corrupt. JFK was not only a coke head, but also sort of an idiot that allowed the CIA to commit war crimes under his watch in Latin America.
Think you hit the wrong comment chain my dude.
Yes apologies 🤦🏽♂️
They DO NOT practice these speeches, there’s no time. Rather, they become like actors and are able to just go, pretty much like how news presenters do.
Yeah from a telepromter…
Not that I can really complain since they all use it now, but still. All you gotta do is read while the camera makes it look like you’re looking at the Audience.
If it’s so easy, then why are so many people terrible at it?
Yeah, the fact that this sounded a lot like one of his anti-Trump stump speeches, coupled with the fact that he barely mentioned Kamala, makes me think he’s been rehearsing this one since before July 21st.
Well, yeah, it was a rehearsed speech, read off a teleprompter, with a sympathetic crowd. Much different than a debate, where you have to speak off the cuff, within a time limit, and the crowd (if there is one) pledges to be non-partisan.
And, maybe Biden took Trump’s advice and hopped himself up on pills. I wouldn’t blame him for it, personally.
Exactly.
It’s fucking shameful people want to act like Biden is still mentally capable.
His admin hid his mental decline for years and tried to shove him thru against voters wishes, because they might not get their jobs in the admin if Biden isn’t president.
At least he didn’t offer to do away with voting, call POWs and veterans names, be the adulterer in all 3 marriages, and generally doent understand democracy (much less democratic processes). When you measure the two against eachother, I’d think you might start actually giving a fuck
Yeah and just look at the type of people Biden’s administration has compared to the complete clowns in Trump’s administration.
His broader cabinet is really who is keeping the country going. Similarly with Trump, his cabinet is what did much of the damage to this country.
Are we still fighting this battle? Yeah Trump is a POS, we found that out decades ago. His political campaign started with Mexicans are rapists and grab them by the pussy and went downhill from there. We know. We watched 24 hour coverage of it for 8 years
Can we stop using that to shield other things from criticism? Biden isn’t even the candidate anymore, it’s ok if Biden doesn’t win the election. It’s ok to criticize “the good guys” when they do bad shit.
Biden was always a shit candidate which is why it’s incredibly fortunate that we have a much better one now. Harris isn’t the best possible choice but she’s certainly the best one we’ve actually been given. Trump is almost literally the worst presidential candidate in the history of the US. Trump was the worst president in the history of the US. It might be possible to come up with someone worse than Trump (I’m certainly not going to challenge Republicans to do so they certainly would), but I’m having trouble thinking of one (maybe Elon Musk).
Just because the other option is literally the worst possible option doesn’t mean we have to pretend that the better option is some kind of perfect saint. Everyone needs to go vote for Harris and for literally anyone but Republicans in this upcoming election, but we also aren’t obligated to claim sun shines out of her ass and certainly not act like Biden whose not even running anymore doesn’t have anything wrong with him.
Our country has turned into a gerontocracy and it’s well past the point we should do something about that. We should be pushing for age limits on all elected positions. We have an age of retirement, we should enforce that on political (and maybe judicial) offices as well.
start actually giving a fuck
I see what you did there 👏
Biden isn’t running anymore. You no longer need to pretend that anyone who says anything bad about him is a Trump supporter.
Bruh. If your only standard is “not as bad as republicans are right now”…
And republicans constantly get worse…
Dont you understand how trying our standards to them results in everyone’s standards nosediving and the country burning in the wreckage?
When you measure the two against eachother, I’d think you might start actually giving a fuck
Start thinking more than 2 weeks ahead, and you might be surprised that you agree we should have higher standards than not trump.
So, holding people to actual standards is a bad thing because Republicans are a lost cause? Is that what you’re really saying?
No, I think he’s arguing for the exact opposite. Just because Republicans are terrible doesn’t mean Democrats are immune to criticism (not that you’d know it from this thread, apparently saying Biden is too old to hold office is the worst thing ever).
No, I think he’s arguing for the exact opposite
Oh, he knows.
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I’m glad he’s not running anymore. We stand a chance now. Still wish he would stop enabling genocide. If we live long enough in spite of the pitifully inadequate response to the climate crisis, centrists are gonna look like moral cowards in the documentaries. Yet again.
I honestly don’t think his problem is his mind. His mind is sharp, but his body is betraying him. When he slips up and can’t find the next word, or mixes up some names, I think it’s just his mouth outpacing his brain. When you give him time to finish his thought, he shows he still understands well.
Note that I’m not trying to minimize this. While I understand where his issues are, I still l think he’s better off quitting and letting new blood take over.
Contrast this with Trump, who can’t stay on topic even with a teleprompter. His insistence that Harris “started out Indian, then turned Black” can be explained by the idea that he can’t tell the difference between Harris and Nikki Haley. I think Trump is much further gone than Biden is. Neither should be running
I agree with you
His mind is sharp,
For his age
But even if Biden is the sharpest 80 year old on the planet, that doesn’t mean he’s competent to be president.
Somewhere is the world’s smartest 4 year old, I wouldn’t want him flying a plane.
Contrast this with Trump,
Crazy thought:
There’s more than one person in America not qualified to be president…
Which is why Biden is no longer the presidential candidate. And trump can’t stop shitting himself in fear from running against anyone besides Biden or Hillary.
I don’t say I should play QB in the NFL because I’m in better shape than trump is. Biden isn’t capable of being an effective president just because trump is less capable.
You shouldn’t play in the NFL because you are too busy moving goalposts.
You posted
It’s fucking shameful people want to act like Biden is still mentally capable.
Then I posted about how he is mentally still there, but still shouldn’t be President. Now it turns out you agree! Awesome.
Then I posted about how he is mentally still there, but still shouldn’t be President. Now it turns out you agree! Awesome.
No. You think he’s “still there” because trump is worse…
By that logic even people with full blown dementia are “still there” because they’re better than trump.
It’s a ridiculous bar to set for “still there”. And if our only bar is “better than trump” it essentially means there’s no bar.
I conceded that if you’re only comparing Biden to other people in their 80s, he doesn’t seem bad either. But that’s because there really aren’t any 80 years who are “still there”. The few who are most capable still, are the ones quickest to admit they’re not the same as they were 40 or even 20 years ago
Anyone that’s 80 and honestly believes age isn’t effecting them, is no longer “still there”.
That’s just how the human brain works, which essentially is “not forever”.
Biden’s job was to save the party from a Bernie Sanders nomination. The DNC and the corporations couldn’t have that.
Yep, Hillary had the same job but misogyny won out back then.
Misogyny was a small part of it and mostly used as an insult to people that had questions. Kamala hasn’t been accused of any crimes as far as I know. That’s the biggest difference between the two campaigns, aside from the fact that everyone is relieved Biden is leaving office by choice. Hilary might have even been able to win this election, but I definitely would rather have Kamala over Hillary.
And people apparently preferred trump over her but even people who hate her have to admit that she’d have been bettEr.
It would be hard to have been worse than Trump. But that’s hardly an endorsement when a literal rock would have done better.
I literally believe Hillary was the only person who could lose to Trump
I honestly agree. The moment she won the primary i knew it was lost.
The problem was, with Hillary’s “It’s my turn!” nonsense, she managed to come across as more egotistical than Trump…
Hell, compare the slogans “I’m With Her” and “Make America Great Again”, it doesn’t matter that the latter is a racist dogwhistle it still sounds to the common man like a rallying cry to empower the nation whereas the former just sounds like a call for obedience to Queen Clinton.
She really needed to at least pretend to be relatable, but she didn’t, Trump got his Supreme Court picks, and now anyone with a uterus is in danger of dying in Texas because doctors are rightfully worried they’ll go to jail if they try to provide medical care.
Hillary got nearly 3 million more votes.
I watched the whole speech. He still had the same issues. The pauses, stutters, stammering over sentences, and these were in the teleprompter. The difference is these were prepared remarks that were rehearsed, and he was speaking loudly for an audience. I wouldn’t say he was “unrecognizable” from the debate, just a different situation. I woukd have voted for him, but I’m glad he stepped aside. It was time.
pauses, stutters, stammering over sentences
The dude has had a lifelong stutter. Has no one heard Joe Biden talk in the last several decades? He paused and stuttered when he was in the Senate too.
He doesn’t usually have those pauses when he’s reading from teleprompter though, or at least it’s less noticable. His off the cuff pauses and stutters seem more natural when they happen. When he’s reading from a teleprompter and still having the same issues, it reads as if he’s having issues comprehending the words that are coming out of his mouth as he saying and expressing them, which is understandably not illustrating confidence for some people.
He was giving what was essentially a 2020 campaign speech and appeared to be referencing 2017 events, so it makes sense he had a better grip with it.
“I love the job, but I love my country more.”
That’s a strong sentence. I hope he can now just enjoy the rest of his life.
It’s because he can focus on doing one job. Asking an 80.year old man to run the country on the campaign trail was laughable at best.
I honestly thought he still sounded pretty weak. He’s never been a great public speaker.
He started really weak but he still sounded pretty good for someone in his 80s.
The debate wasnt fucking disasterous, god damn what is this fucking collective hallucination about the debate.
You know why he was better this time? Cause he hadnt spent the past 3 days traveling around the world and as a result wasnt jetlagged to fuck, and wasnt sick this time to boot.
And he still did 10,000 times better at the debate than Trump did.
The DNC’s late-running convention programming reopened the wounds for some of President Biden’s allies, Axios reports.
Said one: “This is awful. He literally set up a campaign and handed it over to them — do they have to cut him out of prime time?”
I agree that is babble
He sounded just as lost as ever.
Then you clearly did not watch his speech
Haaaaaaa mask off
