Obviously president is a big job. But I think it's nonsensical to act like it's some sort of athletic gig. There's a staff, advisers and experts to confer with on any issue that comes up during a presidency. There's a constitutionally created succession plan in a vice-president should anything happen to a president. Biden's got 2 jobs right now - to be the president AND to win an election in November. I don't know if he can convince enough of our superficial and impressionable citizenry to bother voting for him again, and the discussion of a practical alternative exists, but the only realistic, real world alternative to run in Nov. is Harris. That's just the reality when considering name recognition and pledged delegates and even a bit of racial identity (and gender) in the mix.Stop, just stop, with the argument of "how will he be in 4 years". If he gets re-elected, a VP with exactly the same administrative staff will step in.
That's a might big "if." I am not troubled by his serving four more years as President for the reasons you cite. The problem is he's not going to get that chance because nearly 75% of the public doesn't think he's fit for another term. That's just reality. Biden is likely going to lose if the Ds don't change their nominee.
I do not have your crystal ball. As a European I assure you Trump scares all of us. He will pull out of NATO and stop support for Ukraine. Not to mention all the new power he was given by the Supreme Court. We all need to recognize the job Biden has done and will do. Not to mention the superior people he has elevated to important roles.
Biden will have the Admin. needed to continue. Replacing him now (rather than in '23 or early '24) is foolish. The mass population should all support Biden as Trump has already told the elites what he'll do to help them. Trump has the wealthy/big business, the Republican pols, right-wing SCOTUS, and the magas. The remainder of Republicans, hopefully, will finally understand his indecency, ineptness, greed/narcissism, disinterest in laws binding him from what he feels he needs to do to increase/keep power.
Sure the people should all support Biden, but the reality is they won't, and there is nothing we can do about that, and neither can Biden. Concerns about his age will not go away. It's too late for Republicans, they are lost in a cult. No one on their side is going to save us.
The reality we live in. In no reality will the great majority of voters in this country all of a sudden see the light regarding Trump (within the next four months!) and vote for Biden. The post I was replying to implied that we can't replace Biden because the people (including independents and "sensible" Republicans) should support him and turn against Trump. Sorry, that's just not going to happen.
You're right on his chances seeming pretty slim. But if they end up keeping Biden as the candidate anyway, I would hope the 'next 4 years' point doesn't get beaten to death and become another 'brainworm' in the average low-info voter's mind.
Yes, we have a VP "if" he gets elected who can step in, but you have to agree that this is not an ideal situation that will convince undecided voters to vote D. "Don't worry, the VP can step in if the President is mentally incapable" does not make a compelling campaign message!
They aren't ready until they are, it has to happen sometime. Regarding the polls, she's certainly doing well enough to be within the margin of error. Sure, they aren't 100% reliable, but there is a difference between polling say 2 pts behind vs 20 points behind.
Every single pundit, newspaper editorial board, columnist, and Democratic congressperson (fuck off, Lloyd Doggett, IтАЩd voted for you in Texas every two years since the тАШ70s) should make it super-clear тАФ all day, every day and in a voice that can be heard тАФ that nothing less than American democracy is at stake this November. That conversation should start happening right now.
V
The chaos Biden's alleged unfitness has unleashed doesnтАЩt come close to whatтАЩs actually at stake this November: Americans voting either to recommit themselves to Democracy or to surrender to fascism. ThatтАЩs it. Treason is legal now.
You vote for Biden or for Harris or for whoever is the head of the Democratic ticket; or you prepare for a life run by fascists. Should you not vote at all or choose to vote for a third party candidate, expect an autocracy.
No. Only if the VP dies before a successor VP is chosen by them. That choice has to be approved by both chambers of congress, but it won't be the House leader.
I'm always confused by this. People (generally on the Left and Democratic voters) insist that America will never elect a woman to the presidency because of sexism/misogyny, or a black person because of racism (Obama was the exception that proves the rule I guess?). Then why do these same people insist that the party diversify and nominate more women/people of color and stop having old white guys at the top of the ticket? Don't the Dems want to win?
It's not easy, but not impossible. All of Trump's weaknesses you mentioned in another previous post still apply vs Harris (and his age being a big weakness). Counterintuitively it would probably be easier for the GOP to get a woman or non-white candidate elected president, except they don't have enough of either to be taken seriously. Tribalism is a much bigger factor than ethnicity and sex when it comes to politics in America. Anyone who wouldn't vote for Harris because she's a black woman probably wouldn't vote for Biden either, because that voter is already firmly in the GOP camp.
Because of a 90-minute awful performance that has nothing whatever to do with the actual duties of the President? He's the nominee. We all need to get behind him or pay the very dire consequences. Enough already.
This isnтАЩt loyalty to Biden. Do you really think that anyone is saying тАЬitтАЩs Biden or the highway?тАЭ ItтАЩs a political calculation that NOT replacing Biden is less risky and has more upside than replacing him. No one knows what will happen, everyone is making calculated guesses.
So you're voting for "our democracy"? Biden is the nominee. He has never presented as a narcissist or an autocrat. He has always presented as loyal to our democracy. What exactly are you talking about?
The concerns of the young? Are those concerns different from the concerns of everyone else wanting justice, equality, clean air and water, quality public education, quality/affordable healthcare, an end to homelessness . . . ?
Biden will get us closer to the things we want. At this moment, he is the only viable choice. Ideology is nice and all, but pragmatism is crucial.
We are told that climate change is a big concern of the young. The Biden years have been attentive to that. But perhaps the young haven't been attentive to the Biden years.
The concerns are exactly the same, but young people see a doddering old Grandpa being presented as their only savior when they know better! Pragmatism is precisely why we need to buck тАЬtraditionтАЭ in favor of reality.
When does the public or at least the Bulwark demand the same full work up for trump? Why isnтАЩt that an issue. Why are so many people here and in the pundit class not insisting on that? You all have one standard for authoritarians and another very much more demanding for Biden.
There is a difference to me. The voters who have nominated Trump had his craziness in their face for the 4 years of his presidency, and the last 3 years with his crazy bleats. Even though it is apparent that he's nuts, the Republican voters have nonetheless chosen him - they have chosen crazy. With Biden, the voters who nominated him have been told that he's fine and able to do the job, and voted for him presumably on that basis. But on Thursday night that suddenly didn't seem to be the case.
Well the president is elected to support the country. The country has a right to know what his health report really says/is. If people kept insisting on it he the magats would avoid it but it could be an issue if the pundit class pursued it as doggedly as they are BidenтАЩs health. Pin the beginning of trumpтАЩs term, dozens of psychiatric professionals wrote a letter saying he was unfit. Others have done the same. The media continues to hold trump to a lesser standard as seemingly do many here in these posts.
Exactly. Most of us agree that Biden has been a good or even great president. What we are concerned about is that he is not electable. That he will not beat the felon no matter how much we scream heтАЩs been a great president and can do the job until heтАЩs 86! He needs independents and based on polling they do not believe that he is fit to president. Yes, Trump is 1000000000000000x more unfit than Biden but that is not the calculation. It is simply does Joe Biden or Kamala Harris provide the best chance to beat the felon?
This is an issue that the "ride or die" crowd ignore. Biden himself needs to persuade voters that he is up to the job -- and the indicators say he is not doing so.
The people who are worried about the electability factor are not closet Trump supporters or mere "fair-weather friends," as some are alleging. They want to stop Trump -- and they have reason to fear that Biden is not the one who can do it this time around.
Well, thatтАЩs why we elect a President and VP to provide certainty that the platform you voted for will have continuity in the event anything should happen.
(And yes, you got me, I've always made it clear in years of substack writing and blogging that I'm absolutely totally going to vote for Trump, yessir.)
I think he's generally been a good President these past four years.
I am not confident he can be President *at all* for the next four years.
Obviously president is a big job. But I think it's nonsensical to act like it's some sort of athletic gig. There's a staff, advisers and experts to confer with on any issue that comes up during a presidency. There's a constitutionally created succession plan in a vice-president should anything happen to a president. Biden's got 2 jobs right now - to be the president AND to win an election in November. I don't know if he can convince enough of our superficial and impressionable citizenry to bother voting for him again, and the discussion of a practical alternative exists, but the only realistic, real world alternative to run in Nov. is Harris. That's just the reality when considering name recognition and pledged delegates and even a bit of racial identity (and gender) in the mix.Stop, just stop, with the argument of "how will he be in 4 years". If he gets re-elected, a VP with exactly the same administrative staff will step in.
"superficial and impressionable citizenry" You hit the nail on the head with that description!
"If he gets re-elected..."
That's a might big "if." I am not troubled by his serving four more years as President for the reasons you cite. The problem is he's not going to get that chance because nearly 75% of the public doesn't think he's fit for another term. That's just reality. Biden is likely going to lose if the Ds don't change their nominee.
I do not have your crystal ball. As a European I assure you Trump scares all of us. He will pull out of NATO and stop support for Ukraine. Not to mention all the new power he was given by the Supreme Court. We all need to recognize the job Biden has done and will do. Not to mention the superior people he has elevated to important roles.
Biden will have the Admin. needed to continue. Replacing him now (rather than in '23 or early '24) is foolish. The mass population should all support Biden as Trump has already told the elites what he'll do to help them. Trump has the wealthy/big business, the Republican pols, right-wing SCOTUS, and the magas. The remainder of Republicans, hopefully, will finally understand his indecency, ineptness, greed/narcissism, disinterest in laws binding him from what he feels he needs to do to increase/keep power.
Sure the people should all support Biden, but the reality is they won't, and there is nothing we can do about that, and neither can Biden. Concerns about his age will not go away. It's too late for Republicans, they are lost in a cult. No one on their side is going to save us.
The reality we live in. In no reality will the great majority of voters in this country all of a sudden see the light regarding Trump (within the next four months!) and vote for Biden. The post I was replying to implied that we can't replace Biden because the people (including independents and "sensible" Republicans) should support him and turn against Trump. Sorry, that's just not going to happen.
Will Biden make them understand that?
You're right on his chances seeming pretty slim. But if they end up keeping Biden as the candidate anyway, I would hope the 'next 4 years' point doesn't get beaten to death and become another 'brainworm' in the average low-info voter's mind.
You realize that is all in the past, right?
Yes, we have a VP "if" he gets elected who can step in, but you have to agree that this is not an ideal situation that will convince undecided voters to vote D. "Don't worry, the VP can step in if the President is mentally incapable" does not make a compelling campaign message!
Not sure about that, at least one recent poll has Harris doing better against Trump vs Biden against Trump.
They aren't ready until they are, it has to happen sometime. Regarding the polls, she's certainly doing well enough to be within the margin of error. Sure, they aren't 100% reliable, but there is a difference between polling say 2 pts behind vs 20 points behind.
It's the campaign he can't do
Every single pundit, newspaper editorial board, columnist, and Democratic congressperson (fuck off, Lloyd Doggett, IтАЩd voted for you in Texas every two years since the тАШ70s) should make it super-clear тАФ all day, every day and in a voice that can be heard тАФ that nothing less than American democracy is at stake this November. That conversation should start happening right now.
V
The chaos Biden's alleged unfitness has unleashed doesnтАЩt come close to whatтАЩs actually at stake this November: Americans voting either to recommit themselves to Democracy or to surrender to fascism. ThatтАЩs it. Treason is legal now.
You vote for Biden or for Harris or for whoever is the head of the Democratic ticket; or you prepare for a life run by fascists. Should you not vote at all or choose to vote for a third party candidate, expect an autocracy.
Since Mike Johnson is 2nd in line for the presidency, does that make him vice president?
No. Only if the VP dies before a successor VP is chosen by them. That choice has to be approved by both chambers of congress, but it won't be the House leader.
Thank you. I was worried about that.
I'm always confused by this. People (generally on the Left and Democratic voters) insist that America will never elect a woman to the presidency because of sexism/misogyny, or a black person because of racism (Obama was the exception that proves the rule I guess?). Then why do these same people insist that the party diversify and nominate more women/people of color and stop having old white guys at the top of the ticket? Don't the Dems want to win?
It's not easy, but not impossible. All of Trump's weaknesses you mentioned in another previous post still apply vs Harris (and his age being a big weakness). Counterintuitively it would probably be easier for the GOP to get a woman or non-white candidate elected president, except they don't have enough of either to be taken seriously. Tribalism is a much bigger factor than ethnicity and sex when it comes to politics in America. Anyone who wouldn't vote for Harris because she's a black woman probably wouldn't vote for Biden either, because that voter is already firmly in the GOP camp.
Because of a 90-minute awful performance that has nothing whatever to do with the actual duties of the President? He's the nominee. We all need to get behind him or pay the very dire consequences. Enough already.
No. Loyalty to a man is the GOP. I prefer loyalty to the country. Our democracy.
This isnтАЩt loyalty to Biden. Do you really think that anyone is saying тАЬitтАЩs Biden or the highway?тАЭ ItтАЩs a political calculation that NOT replacing Biden is less risky and has more upside than replacing him. No one knows what will happen, everyone is making calculated guesses.
So you're voting for "our democracy"? Biden is the nominee. He has never presented as a narcissist or an autocrat. He has always presented as loyal to our democracy. What exactly are you talking about?
IтАЩm talking about not losing our democracy, forever. IтАЩm talking about injecting some urgency and paying attention to the concerns of the young.
The concerns of the young? Are those concerns different from the concerns of everyone else wanting justice, equality, clean air and water, quality public education, quality/affordable healthcare, an end to homelessness . . . ?
Biden will get us closer to the things we want. At this moment, he is the only viable choice. Ideology is nice and all, but pragmatism is crucial.
We are told that climate change is a big concern of the young. The Biden years have been attentive to that. But perhaps the young haven't been attentive to the Biden years.
The concerns are exactly the same, but young people see a doddering old Grandpa being presented as their only savior when they know better! Pragmatism is precisely why we need to buck тАЬtraditionтАЭ in favor of reality.
The young can save us. But whatever. Happily go to fascism with your purity.
By coincidence I just finished writing about this on my own substack, after the smoke billowing from my ears finally cleared up.
https://substack.com/home/post/p-146244665?r=u3xr&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web
That is the issue. Something has happened health wise. The obfuscation reduces his credibility and tarnishes his reputation.
He needs a full workup and the American people deserve to know the results. I
When does the public or at least the Bulwark demand the same full work up for trump? Why isnтАЩt that an issue. Why are so many people here and in the pundit class not insisting on that? You all have one standard for authoritarians and another very much more demanding for Biden.
There is a difference to me. The voters who have nominated Trump had his craziness in their face for the 4 years of his presidency, and the last 3 years with his crazy bleats. Even though it is apparent that he's nuts, the Republican voters have nonetheless chosen him - they have chosen crazy. With Biden, the voters who nominated him have been told that he's fine and able to do the job, and voted for him presumably on that basis. But on Thursday night that suddenly didn't seem to be the case.
Well the president is elected to support the country. The country has a right to know what his health report really says/is. If people kept insisting on it he the magats would avoid it but it could be an issue if the pundit class pursued it as doggedly as they are BidenтАЩs health. Pin the beginning of trumpтАЩs term, dozens of psychiatric professionals wrote a letter saying he was unfit. Others have done the same. The media continues to hold trump to a lesser standard as seemingly do many here in these posts.
Agreed
With Midwest Transplant
The real question is: can he be a good *candidate* for the next four months?
Exactly. Most of us agree that Biden has been a good or even great president. What we are concerned about is that he is not electable. That he will not beat the felon no matter how much we scream heтАЩs been a great president and can do the job until heтАЩs 86! He needs independents and based on polling they do not believe that he is fit to president. Yes, Trump is 1000000000000000x more unfit than Biden but that is not the calculation. It is simply does Joe Biden or Kamala Harris provide the best chance to beat the felon?
This is an issue that the "ride or die" crowd ignore. Biden himself needs to persuade voters that he is up to the job -- and the indicators say he is not doing so.
The people who are worried about the electability factor are not closet Trump supporters or mere "fair-weather friends," as some are alleging. They want to stop Trump -- and they have reason to fear that Biden is not the one who can do it this time around.
Do you ever wonder whether there should occasionally be a period of time without a president--sort of a time out for the country...
*sniff* You're listing all of my broken dreams *sob*
Well, thatтАЩs why we elect a President and VP to provide certainty that the platform you voted for will have continuity in the event anything should happen.
That is yesterday. Please focus on tomorrow
Because my eyes and ears still work.
(And yes, you got me, I've always made it clear in years of substack writing and blogging that I'm absolutely totally going to vote for Trump, yessir.)