Biden resists allies’ calls to exit race after debate performance: ‘I know I’m not a young man’
Biden resists allies’ calls to exit race after debate performance: ‘I know I’m not a young man’
I pessimistically expected that.
If he bowed out and the Dems nominated a halfway decent candidate (which they likely wouldn't do, but that's a different subject), they'd demolish Trump. He'd lose so badly he couldn't even pretend it was fraudulent (though of course he'd claim that anyway, since he has the emotional maturity of a spoiled five-year-old). The race would instantly go from a terrifying risk to a complete rout.
But between Biden's ego and the DNC's determination to stick with a wholly-owned establishment neoliberal hack at all costs - even if it means losing - I expected that they wouldn't take this golden opportunity.
On the stream of the debate I was watching, when they took a break they showed clips from previous debates and the difference was kind of mind-blowing.
I honestly kind of think that even a mid-level candidate who didn't make it like Romney or Kerry probably could have mopped the floor with either one of them.
Also as a side note, how lucky is Donald Trump? Just a whole life of being handed infinite money no matter how many times he fucked up a business, a bewildering assortment of crimes with essentially no hard consequences, and two presidential runs against pretty much the only two people he has any chance of beating in a debate.
He's had a life of almost non-stop softballs. It's kind of wild really.
But between Biden's ego and the DNC's determination to stick with a wholly-owned establishment neoliberal hack at all costs - even if it means losing - I expected that they wouldn't take this golden opportunity.
Biden has objectively been the most progressive president since LBJ, and the most effective progressive president since FDR. And he did it with about the slimmest possible congressional margins, a situation which would have made it very easy for an actual "establishment neoliberal hack" to say "my hands are tied" and accomplish nothing of substance. Instead we got the biggest climate reform package ever, the biggest infrastructure package since the Interstate Highway system, a child tax credit that massively reduced child poverty, the most significant industrial policy in decades (CHIPS and Science), a veritable bulldog FTC chair with an aggressive anti-monopoly stance, and that's just for starters.
He's pro genocide. That automatically makes him not progressive.
That's all well and good... And it will be for nothing. Biden's legacy will be that of RBG - your hubris handed the future to the opposition. These are dark days.
This is simply fan fic.
You're not wrong. Some truths are inconvenient and unpopular, but they're not wrong.
“I know I’m not a young man, to state the obvious,” the 81-year-old Biden said Friday. “I don’t walk as easy as I used to. I don’t speak as smoothly. I don’t debate as well as I used to. But I know what I do know. I know how to tell the truth. I know right from wrong and I know how to do this job.”
trump didn't think he was wrong when he was breaking human rights laws on our southern border.
And Biden apparently doesn't either now that he's doing it.
My point being the people who do evil shit, usually dont think of themselves as evil.
The problem with Biden, is on issues like Israel where the vast majority of not only his party but the country won't him him to calm the fuck down. He never will
Because he is absolutely sure his outdated morals are the best, and he's not listening to anyone that disagrees with him.
This gonna be the first time you have to choose between the lesser of two evils?
Personally, that has been the only way I've ever been able to fucken vote and I'm sick of it.
The lesser of two evils is exactly how we fucking got her in the first place.
Don't pretend this is a normal choice. The whole context has shifted since the debate - Biden is unfit, we are still gonna say hold your nose and vote?
That quote is so stupid.
"yeah I'm in cognitive and physical decline, but I'm totally capable of leading one of the most powerful and influential nations in history. Trust me bro."
You're not wrong........but the other option is trump.
We're all fucked.
At least he sounded a lot more energetic and present in this speech. What happened on stage?
Didn't have a teleprompter on stage
You also don't really need to think for a speech. You've got a friendly audience who won't challenge you and you know exactly what the next topic is, so you can focus on inflection and timing and emotion. It's good to see him have some life in the speech, but it's not really much of a counter to his terrible debate performance.
And incidentally, that's probably why Trump's performance sounded better. He also didn't really need to think about substance because he was just speaking to whatever topic he felt like and making things up without concern for truthfulness or challenge.
Biden could commit to only serving one more year and let the VP pick go to a brokered convention.
Biden has already committed to serving four more years.
He probably shouldn't serve another week. Where the fuck is the democratic leadership on this?
I think most Democrats are worried about him being elected more than will he be able to be president for four years. Like he probably won't, but there's lots of structure and support to prevent a failing Biden from a catastrophic presidency. There's basically none to prevent him from tanking his reelection campaign.
The discourse around Biden exiting the race is moot because the only one who decides if he continues is Biden. Biden is still running so nothing changes. Biden is who we need to vote for to keep our democracy.
Biden had a bad debate performance. It was a missed opportunity to pick up new voters. Biden demoralized his base. But we're still stuck with him, because there is no external mechanism to stop him from running.
The most effective tool we have to prevent the christo-fascist takeover this November is voting. The debate did not change that.
Got it.
Um, what? Vote Biden to save Democracy, and fuck you if you want a different candidate.
I'll vote for Biden's corpse in 2028 if it's still the only way to keep Trump out of the Whitehouse, but give up the "save Democracy" schtick. That ship has sailed. Democracy is dead, and it's not just the Republican's fault.
Democracy is still alive for now. That's why voting matters. Our flawed democracy is still our best chance at adverting fascism. Which is why the fascists want to take it away. Giving up early gets us nothing. So keep fighting.
I don't understand this chain of logic why we need to keep Biden:
Like, the argument for why Biden has to stay, is just reasons he shouldn't stay...
And it's not just up to him. It's up to the DNC.
We are not stuck with Biden.
Biden and the DNC just know that's the only way people will vote for him, so they've been reporting it for like 5 years now.
This is a true statement. Biden won the primary. The delegates are pledged to him. Biden is the one who has to decide if he drops out.
sounds like the party is dysfunctional if we can't replace a candidate with 120 days of leadup. that's longer than any other country's election season. the inability of the democratic party to do good things on purpose makes a strong argument against their leadership if what they think they offer is competence
The Democratic Party is still the best option when the only viable alternative is a christo-fascist party.
The guy didn't ace a debate with a sore throat and jet-lag so the media loses its shit. The orange liar has rape and 34 felony convictions- crickets. Nothing new here.
I searched for an editorial board opinion in the New York Times which said Trump should withdraw from the Republican ticket because he lied throughout the debate, but I couldn't find one. Why didn't they write one?
There are two standards. Everyone expects Republicans to be lying shitheads so when they are, no one is surprised.
We somehow just accept this.
I'm running on an independent ticket. My platform: Unlike the other two candidates no one wonders if I can physically handle the journey from back stage to the podium.
You're the hero we needed and the hero we deserved.
I … I don’t think that’s a democracy.
Biden won the Democratic Party's primary election so he is going to be the Democratic Party's candidate. That is democracy.
Biden was tired from too many engagements, jet lag and a sore throat. You could see he was tried. On the other hand, the orange felon/rapist/liar had one job - to not be an asshole - he failed spectacularly.
Yeah, at least Trump didn't gain any ground. Biden lost the battle, but we're still fighting the war.
He spent an entire week focusing on just this debate at Camp David.
Why would he be tired? What other engagements did he have?
We're past "preventing" the Christo-fascist takeover. We're in damage control now.
VOTE.
The christo-fascists are not in complete control of all three branches of government yet. That is why this election and voting is so important. Calling it early is both inaccurate and unhelpful.
Can the party not compel him to step down and elect a more healthy replacement.
There is no mechanism at this stage that can force him to do so that I am aware of. They can of course try to convince him, but no one from Biden's inner circle, like Jill Biden, or any of the hypothetical candidates people like to float, like Gavin Newsom, has expressed interest in doing that.