Joe Biden's press secretary says he is "constantly working every day to get things done." National Review's Charles Cooke isn't buying it:
This line reflects unmitigated contempt for her audience — which, given KJP’s job, is the entire American public. She knows what she’s saying isn’t true. And she knows that everyone knows that what she’s saying isn’t true. 77 percent of Americans — including 69 percent of Democrats — believe that Joe Biden is “too old to be effective for four more years.” They believe that because they can see it. Of course Biden is not hard to keep up with. Of course Biden is not constantly working every day. He’s barely alive. Who, exactly, are these lies supposed to move?
The level of Cooke's invective is both astounding and offensive. It's one thing to say that Biden is 80 years old and not exactly bouncing around on a trapeze all day. Nor does he have a youngster's silver tongue. But he's plainly cogent and plainly busy, as conservatives implicitly acknowledge all the time when they complain about his nearly daily flood of legislative proposals, executive orders, and progressive announcements of one sort or another. Hell, the man is so busy doing stuff they hate that House Republicans want to impeach him.
Here is an excerpt from Franklin Foer's book about Biden's first two years in office. The subject is former ambassador to Afghanistan John Bass, who led the evacuation effort when we withdrew:
Biden would shower Bass with ideas to evacuate more people. “The president’s instinct was to throw himself into the intricacies of troubleshooting,” Foer writes. “‘Why don’t we have them meet in parking lots? Can’t we leave the airport and pick them up?’ Bass would kick around Biden’s proposed solutions with colleagues to determine their plausibility, which was usually low. Still, he appreciated Biden applying pressure, making sure that he didn’t overlook the obvious.”
I get it. Politics ain't beanbag, and conservatives will use whatever's at hand to gain an advantage. But I haven't seen or heard one single report from inside the White House about Biden not being able to keep up with a normal presidential schedule. In fact, Biden runs just about the most buttoned-up White House in recent memory.
We don't need a hyperactive president. We just need one who has good judgment and stays on top of things. Biden easily qualifies on both counts.
“He is barely alive”? It appears that the level of insanity and depravity in today’s GOP goes well beyond Trump.
Hey, a lot of smoke needs to be blown to distract people from a Minority Leader who has had a couple of ‘episodes’ in public and who knows how many out of public view.
Conservatives should make up their mind, is he "Sleepy Joe", or is he "Super-Thug Joe", head of the largest most active crime family in history?
Right-wingers are so deluded within their echo chamber that they assume that the rest of us are, too.
That’s why they seriously put out pronouncements such as January 6 being “legitimate political discourse.”
They think that because they learned to gag down Trump’s ridiculous lies that the lies are actually true.
It never dawns on them that we can plainly see how stark raving insane they are.
US politics are very partisan. For Republicans, Biden was always going to be too old, or not experienced enough. Not tall enough, or too tall for blood to reach his brain. Etc....
At least he hasn't worn a tan suit. The horror!
Luckily for Republicans their guy is a spring chicken with all his marbles intact.
One of the interesting features of our system of government is that we get a new president at least every eight years. For two terms we might have a young, inexperienced president and for two terms we can have an elderly, slower-but-wiser president.
I’m older myself so I can see the benefits of both. Having been in field of study for nearly 50 years I am not as quick as some of the younger who were born after I started working in this area. On the other hand, I have very wide range of experience which gives me an advantage as well.
I can see that Biden having been in the Senate and the WH a long time has a lot of accumulated wisdom which is very valuable.
"I can see that Biden having been in the Senate and the WH a long time has a lot of accumulated wisdom which is very valuable."
This. You don't spend five decades in the upper echelons of the Federal government without learning a thing or two about how to get stuff done. There's a reason why McConnell is likewise so effective despite also being an old man.
Nancy Pelosi is the best example of the advantage of years of experience. She was an amazing Speaker.
I read The Atlantic’s Franklin Foer’s description of Biden’s handling of the Afghanistan withdrawal from his new book. It shows how resolute Biden was but also how skilled he is at handling people like the military leaders who didn’t want to give up.
And yet: the polls (you know, those things that the media depends on to produce "news" without the need to investigate or contextualize anything) tell us that 69% of DEMOCRATS think Biden is too old to be president.
He just doesn't have that Celebrity Vibe!
It's funny, though, as if there aren't pros and cons to every candidate. Who cares if we agree his age is in the contraindication to his fitness for being President. He is President, and clearly we agreed he was the best of the candidates offered.
the repetition in every venue and media outlet available of this bullshit works. basically every "average" person i know who isn't highly engaged in politics and news believe biden is a dottering, senile, fool who's done nothing in the last 2 years.
You must know a bunch of pretty stupid people. Biden is on the air often enough, especially when going to areas with natural disasters which blanket the airways, that they can see for their own eyes that he isn't "a dottering, senile, fool who's done nothing in the last 2 years."
To believe this crap a person has to be intentionally misinformed. It works to back up their world view to believe the lies.
this is the mistake so many liberals make. there are plenty of smart people who believe this shit. that's the whole point of the right wing media complex. repeat false stuff endlessly and people start to believe it. pretending only idiots could fall for misinformation driven by billions of dollars over decades is it's own form of self-delusion.
The mainstream media’s coverage of the economy has been far more negative than warranted. As a result few people know that we have the lowest inflation rate of all the G7 countries and the strongest economy.
For example the mainstream “liberal” media gave the spike in gas prices 3 times the amount of coverage than it gave the subsequent sharp drop in those prices.
But isn't all this kind of splitting hairs when he's compared to that Tower of Manly Strength and Vigor Donald John Trump? I mean, haven't you seen the utterly realistic paintings by John McNaughton? How can Biden -- indeed any other mortal -- compete with that?
But I haven't seen or heard one single report from inside the White House about Biden not being able to keep up with a normal presidential schedule.
Same here. Republicans sure like to claim Joe's losing it. But there's not a shred of evidence this is so.
Oh, and Biden is the single most experienced president in US history. Reagan possessed eight years of government service when he entered the White House. Nixon had fourteen. Joe had 46 (now he's got 49).
If you count time in the army as government service, Eisenhower doesn't quite match Biden but he's well up the experience list.
I think it is a huge advantage to have been Vice President, not just a Senator. The only way to really understand the job of President is to see it up close like a VP does.
The media has been very negative about Harris but she also has a lot of experience. Her years as Attorney General of California gave her political and managerial experience, time as a Senator gave her experience as a legislator but her experience as VP gives her experience that few people have. For example has been very involved in Biden’s decision making process, made several very successful foreign trips. The media has ignored that, preferring to trash her and even criticize her laugh. I have no doubt that she could take Biden’s place if needed.
According to the very experienced David Rothkopf Harris is very qualified.
https://thedsrnetwork.com/a-new-perspective-on-vice-president-kamala-harris/
HT The Lincoln Project:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MjnB8HhaaGs
Brilliant! As I've come to expect from the Lincoln Project.
As a leader, Joe Biden has been great. As a politician, he'll have plenty of ammo to fire at presumptive GOP nominee, Trump. Still, I wish there was some sort of secret plan in the works for Biden to retire and let Gavin Newsom romp to victory in '24.
I respect your sentiments. If there was such a plan, Biden certainly would not give any indication of it until absolutely necessary. I estimate Jan. or Feb. of next year.
It's an especially stupid criticism of Biden when the Republican's favorite ex-president and nominee frontrunner (who even the people running against him fall all over themselves to praise) spent a hell of a lot of his presidential day watching teevee and either calling into Fox to yammer on-air or calling various Fox weirdos to just shoot the shit for hours on end.
That, and flying to various golf courses and hotels he owned to recreate, throw himself some federal money in the form of hostelage for the Secret Service, and expose secret information by blabbing about it in restaurants.
I mean, FFS, does National Review not remember "executive time"?
But, but, that "executive time", was really really executive. Very very executive. The most executive. Bigly executive. What idiots.
And charging the taxpayer for "the cost" of him playing golf on golf courses he owns.
Inflation appears to be under control again. Unemployment is at the lowest sustained level for 50 years. Real wages are growing. The much-anticipated recession stubbornly refuses to happen. McCarthy's freakshow committee investigations produce one dud after another. Apart from the perennial immigration issue, Republicans have little to campaign on except direct personal attacks on the president. They are more than happy to get stuck in.
Inflation remains your largest risk area as not under control - on its way likely but remaining with rebound potential.
And inflation is hated by working class lower middle income and similar.
It's under 3%. That is not a number to worry about.
It certainly doesn't help that every MSM reporter and commentator works him/herself into a heavy-breathing lather about All That Terrible Inflation every chance s/he gets. It's basically Her Emails, because they HAVE to scratch at the Democrat and that's all they've got.
Funny how we don't hear nearly as much about how many people have steady employment, or how income at the lower end of the scale has improved so much, or or or...
Your? Have you checked yours lately? The UK is spiraling out of control. Geez, Lounsberry.
National Review....
While never was I a fan of it, it's rather pathetic now.
Of course Biden is a very competent President, his legislative and broad achievements under current conditions are ample evidence. One can certainly be against those achievements for reasons well-founded or not-well-founded, but idea he's a senile doddered is risible silliness.
I know a lot of retirees, all of whom are well-educated; many with masters degrees, some have doctorates. Quite a number of these folk are in their late 80s and early 90s. They are the most amazing people I know. They’re still going strong. They stay active - one guy (90) teaches golf Another (91) played pickleball until he fell recently, but he’s on the mend. The secret is: They don’t quit.
Joe Biden is a baby compared to most of these friends. Leave Joe alone. He’s going to be okay.
According to Cooke it is OBVIOUS that Biden is too old for the job. What is not obvious to him is how unsuited Biden's predecessor was to be President, not to mention how unsuited he is now.
It's just the latest phase of "Democrat Derangement Syndrome". the "Biden" variety. The horror is, apparently the magarepub horde has swallowed it, hook line and sinker.
All evidence to the contrary. But, of course, they will never look at the evidence, or at any venue in the real world. This is a problem.
The thing is, the magarepub horde is/was never going to vote for Biden. These people are beyond hope. The passage of time, aka the death of Trump and the horde (most, I think who are closer to death than birth by a lot) is the only way out of this mess.
Can you possibly imagine what would happen if Biden was caught on camera freezing for 30 seconds like McConnell? It would be on a loop 24/7 at Faux News, and the centerpiece of the MAGA attack ads.
Would actually scare the shit out of me and likely be the end of his campaign.
👍👍👍👍👍
A reminder. RBG was all of those things and we all know what happened.
It’s astounding that the best the democrats have is an aging once mediocre senator who somehow outlasted the others in his generation. And also even more unreal that the “leading” republican is an aging sociopath who already demonstrated that he is unfit for office.
Yes Biden has done s credible job in challenging times but coming after Trump as COVID was coming under control, it’s conceivable that almost anyone would look good.
I certainly hope there will be a forum this year for other Democrats to emerge and if not compete for the nomination at least develop an image and following.
It's not just that he has been miles better than Trump, Biden has also been a better President than Obama. Everyone saying "but he is too old" like you are saying here, without actually pointing to anything he has not been able to do due to his age, assume that younger people can't just drop dead, or become incapacitated one day.
The comparison to RBG is also a poor one, since she had been battling illnesses for a while long before she finally passed away, which is why people were urging her to step down while she still could.
So far Biden has never had any major health scares or anything that suggests he is about to die or become unable to do his job, unlike for instance Feinstein or McConnell.
Not recently but he did have a brain aneurysm that nearly killed him in the early 1990s.
Check out the Social Security Actuarial Life Table.
https://www.ssa.gov/oact/STATS/table4c6.html
If Biden takes office in 2025, there is a 36% chance he will not live to 86 (when a second term would end).
That's from multiplying 4 consecutive (1 - "death probability" for age 83, 84, 85, 86).
[ 91% * 90% * 89% * 88% ] = 64%
I haven't read that stat anywhere except a similar one buried in an article at The Hill.
https://thehill.com/opinion/white-house/4089739-bidens-life-expectancy-and-its-implications/
"..., an 80-year-old male like Biden has a 31.35 percent chance of dying in the next five years, and a 64.27 percent chance of dying within the next 10 years. In other words, there is almost a one-in-three chance Biden would not finish his second term."
This issue will loom large in the coming months.
And long do we expect Mr. 6' 3", 215 lbs. to live?
Are you kidding? Have you SEEN the McNaughton portraits? Plus he was sent by Jesus, so we have nothing to worry about.
And what is the actuarial table that takes into account having 24/7 to the best medical access in the world?
Going back 50 years, the youngest former President to die, died at the tender age of 93.
What about Nixon? He was in office until his resignation in August 1974. Born in 1913 he died in 1994 at the age of 81. But yes all presidents after lived into their 90s. But yes your stat holds going back 49 years.
But he's a Democrat so he's lazy and bad and does nothing.
At least he doesn't give the dead stare like a deer stuck in the headlights when he confronts the media like some others we know. The repulses either run off at the mouth, with mephitic minute, or stare blindly. You rock Joe!
I don't suppose that there will be a Democrat "mean" enough to juxtapose film of Biden riding a bike (he went only once due to his shoe bring caught, i think), with shots of trump using both hands to drink water, & video of him needing to hold onto someone's arm to shuffle down a low ramp - & maybe screaming at one of his rallies modeled on those of his idol, Hitler. They undoubtedly take that as a sign of his vigor.
Of course, his crowds love that repulsive stuff & never admit that trump barely even walks anywhere. They should worry about his lifespan, not Biden's - or just that Biden is far more fit.
But what IS bean bag? Aside from, you know, bean bag?
Conservatives are lying, loathsome scum who should be launched on rapidly melting ice floes, example #12,457.
😄😄😄😄😄
Feinstein and McConnell should retire, though.
He's been fairly bold, for Biden, so far. Might be fun to see what he'd do if re-elected.
He sounds and moves in ways that convey frailty and that is very frightening since a Harris presidency would be disastrous. It's probably smart to do that as it's much worse if he tips over and gets beat up like Mitchie. But look the presidency is hard on a younger man like Obama let alone and old guy like Biden.
Otherwise the main thing is he is slooooooow and the news cycle is faaaaast. A lot of times he takes a week to mske a decision which results in about 4-5 days when it looks like thr government is paralyzed with indecision.