"If you believe in his policies, what he’s advertising as his policies, he’s the last person who could actually execute them and achieve them. He does not have the discipline. He does not have the ability for strategic thinking and linear thinking, or setting priorities or how to get things done in the system. It’s a horror show, you know, when he’s left to his own devices. And so you may want his policies, but Trump will not deliver Trump policies. He will deliver chaos..” - Quote from former AG Bill Barr in today's WSJ editorial, 'Bill Barr's Warning On Trump', p. A16
"We know GOP candidate Nikki Hayley predicted Biden would die in office before finishing his term and Kamala Harris would become president. But I ran Biden's current age (80 yrs. 5 months) through the Social Security Administration life expectancy calculator and it indicated he can expect to live to at least 89. If you're looking for someone to blame for this election rerun you can start with all those mainstream Republicans - who despite numerous opportunities - have refused to kick the Trump habit." Mike Littwin, 'Trump Vs. Biden AGAIN?', in Colorado Springs Indy, May 4-10, p. 24
"The new policy headaches come as early 2024 polling shows Mr. Biden in a virtual tie with former President Donald Trump, his 2020 rival, who has been leading in surveys of Republican primary voters." - WSJ Today, Debt Talks, Border Woes Form Tricky Month for Biden, p. A4
The news - according to a new Washington Post-ABC News survey- is not sanguine for Joe Biden in his reelection run. According to the survey Biden's overall approval ratings "have slipped to a new low", with more Americans than not "doubting his mental acuity". As I've written before, Americans need to pull their heads out of their asses on this issue, and get over it. "Eat their veggies" to use the term of one of Nicole Wallace's guests last week - and understand their choice in the next election is binary: You either vote for Joe Biden, or the collapse of this nation on multiple fronts, from abortion and voting access to healthcare to Social Security and economic stability.
So yeah, as Biden begins his campaign for reelection, he "faces substantial and multiple challenges" but most of these are bogus and only exist because too many are being brainwashed by the mainstream media about age issues, e.g.
Let's be clear here the issue as noted in that post is too few Americans are doing their own analytical thinking, and instead allowing the pundits to think for them. And in this guise very few have a solid, age-based and rational perspective. One of the few in that latter category is from LA Times columnist Michael Hiltzik who noted (see top quote):
"Claims that a political Gerontocracy is somehow undermining
American democracy- the theme of so much current political navel gazing- simply
don’t hold water. They would also deprive us of our most experienced leaders"
Add to that columnist Gene Lyons (New Orleans Times Picayune)who wrote in his column yesterday ('Biden's Age Is A Non-Issue For Next Election') :
"I'd need the solitary pleasures of at least four televised Red Sox games and two Scandinavian crime novels just to recover from the White House Correspondent's Dinner that Biden schmoozed his way through. "
Adding:
Indeed, your problem is more plausibly being duped into thinking Trump's feral and misplaced energy makes him more mentally acute. When it actually makes him more psychotic (than he was in 2020) - and determined to wreak havoc.
Another rational columnist who sees Biden's age as a deliberate distraction is NY Times David Brooks, who wrote less than a week ago:
"You may
disagree with Biden on many issues. You may think he is too old. But that’s not
the primary issue in this election. The presidency, as Franklin D. Roosevelt
put it, “is pre-eminently a place of moral leadership.”
One of the
hardest, soul-wearying parts of living through the Trump presidency was that we
had to endure a steady downpour of lies, transgressions and demoralizing behavior.
We were all corroded by it. That era was a reminder that the soul of a person
and the soul of a nation are always in flux, every day moving a bit in the
direction of elevation or a bit in the direction of degradation.
A return to that ethos would bring about a social and moral disintegration that is hard to contemplate. Say what you will about Biden, but he has generally put human dignity at the center of his political vision. He treats people with charity and respect.
The contest between Biden and Trumpism is less Democrat versus
Republican or liberal versus conservative than it is between an essentially
moral vision and an essentially amoral one, a contest between decency and its
opposite."
Thus the choice between having a moral compass and no moral compass is a no -brainer, or should be. The only reason too many think age trumps moral fiber is because they've been brainwashed to believe it does by the incessant media drumbeat about Biden's age and his so-called "gaffes". Which, in the scheme of things are relatively unimportant and insignificant compared to Trump's hateful, and violence- inciting outbursts - including those he recently unleashed against the NYC attorney general Alvin Bragg and the judge in the indictment case. Recall the criminal Trump actually posted an image of himself taking a bat to Mr. Bragg's head,
This ought to be as much of a deal breaker for a candidate now as the exposure the Access Hollywood tape was in 2016.
Too many voters also get bamboozled by headlines like "Pence Blames Biden For Bank Busts" - which appeared two days ago. Why? Biden didn't cause them! He wasn't there in the WH when the Fed dropped its guard and let the "shadow banks" buy lower interest government bonds when everyone could see inflation about to spike because of the Covid shutdowns - which began under Trump. But this is part of the problem because every entity under the Sun now blames Biden for whatever foul aspect, incident or event arises, even their toenail fungus. (I mentioned to Janice the other day, just wait and the pundits will begin to blame Biden for not rapidly rescuing the 16,000 dual American-Sudanese citizens in war-torn Sudan - most of whom knew the instability of that checkered land before they decided to settle there. 4 hours later a talking head on FOX did just that!)
The problem among too many Dem voters currently (51% of whom want someone other than Biden) is aspirations overtaking
realism. Kamala? She has lower poll numbers than Biden. Besides, the Reeps will roast her 6 ways from Sunday over their
repetitive "incompetence" trope. She already has a shaky following in
D circles and I don't see that improving. Buttigieg? He will be gone by the
time you snap you fingers with the GOP raising the gay "grooming" fears. Gretchen Whitmer
would be far superior to Kamala, but still not enough name recognition to best Trump.
As old as Biden will be he is still our best choice- with the best
chance- to finally rid our nation of the specter and curse of Traitor Trump - whom we
absolutely cannot have at the levers of power again. This is the last chance to
put the orange fungus away and we can't blow it over absurd aspirational
visions for 2024. Or being distracted by a too lazy media into thinking we have other choices, or that Joe Biden - despite all his accomplishments- isn't up to the job.
Dan P. McAdams, a professor of psychology at Northwestern, in one email to a NY Times columnist noted what distinguished Trump from other presidents. To wit, Trump’s behavior when he was in office — from his aggressive morning tweets to the cabinet meetings he held - were always with obsequious "beta males". These then inevitably degraded into elaborate rituals of their submission in the presence of the alpha — Trump - and mirrored closely the tactics of domination and intimidation exhibited by alpha chimps in chimpanzee colonies.
I don't know about you, or any other American voters (say having second thoughts about Joe Biden), but I don't want a glorified alpha chimp running this country - not now or ever. Especially one who gets his way by tossing his feces at chimps he regards as subordinates, including those who voted him into power.
See Also:
by Robert Becker | May 11, 2023 - 6:38am | permalink
And:
And:
by Meaghan Ellis | May 7, 2023 - 6:28am | permalink
A new analysis is explaining how former President Donald Trump's decision to skip early presidential debates could ultimately put his campaign at risk.
In a new piece published by The Hill, Brett Samuels pointed to Trump's recent social media posts which suggest he will likely forego participating in the upcoming debates
And:
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