Over at National Review, Jeffrey Blehar says he's stunned at how decrepit Joe Biden has become. It was bad enough two years ago, but:
That was in 2021 — the man practically looks whipcrack-smart and youthful by comparison with today. The decay from that day to now (even just the public collapse from early 2023 to the present moment) is shocking. The visible aging, the increasing unsteadiness in gait, the sagging posture, the depressingly accelerating mental dissipation in all public appearances: Joe Biden is simply withering away before our eyes, as though he drank from the wrong grail at the end of Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.
I have to admit that I don't actually see Biden much on TV, but I know he gave a speech in Arizona yesterday to honor the McCain Institute and Library, so I decided I should watch it. You can too:
Biden seems fine to me. He doesn't enunciate as well as he used to, and in particular he seems to have some trouble with voiced fricatives. This is most likely because his vocal cords aren't as lively as they used to be and don't vibrate fully. Aside from that his speaking was normal; he obviously knew what he was talking about; and he handled the heckler a few minutes into the speech just fine.
I'm not thrilled at having an election between two geriatric politicians, but conservative hysteria over Biden's age is way out of hand. Regardless of whether you like his policies or not, he seems to be running the country perfectly well.
... conservative hysteria over Biden's age is way out of hand.
It's all they've got. The economy is almost unimaginably healthy, we're not stuck in any wars, the pandemic is past, and about the only political problems are between crazy Republicans and even-crazier Republicans. They've got nothing else.
All the thumbs up. They are desperately searching for an attack line and this is the best they can do. The impeachment theater isn't going to get them there.
Right-wingers have learned that if they repeat a lie constantly, their echo chamber will turn the lie into a verity, like everyone admiring the king’s new clothes.
And so they lie. Constantly. I don’t think they even realize anymore that they’re doing it. When the little boy points out the truth, I think they’re genuinely shocked and upset.
It's bizarre that "Biden is teh oldz!" is what they are going with. Trump has been sundowning for years, and has been afraid of stairs for a decade or more at least.
And Joe can ride a bike. TFG?
One of their biggest gotchas against Biden is that he tripped a few times while running up stairs and didn't hurt himself in any way.
Oh mah gawd, don't even suggest that! Think about the poor bike!!
They just care about SAYING this, feeding the simple narrative they want. They don't care that one can fact-check and debunk what they say by spending a half hour listening to the whole thing. They don't care, either, that it's hypocritical to accuse Biden of having dementia when Trump, by any measure, shows more of the symptoms they're accusing Biden of having.
You know, a lot of that hand-wringing is because a lot of them do not want Trump to win and they worry that others will sit the race out b/c those folks don't see the difference between one octogenarian from one who is getting ready to join the club. They're not like us. We're all poli-sci fanatics but the average voter only cares about work, life, recreation, and how much eggs cost.
It's not only conservative hysteria. Liberals like me are justifiably worried.
https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/4224057-carville-democrats-needs-to-wake-the-f-up-about-bidens-2024-risks/
As you say, most people are not like us. More than 70% of them think that Biden is too old. That is a solid polling result, and it is a significant risk that Democrats face if Biden is nominated.
Last time, Biden won by 4.5% of the popular vote. But still, because of the electoral college, he came within whisker of losing. Today, Trump is running about even with Biden. Biden needs at least a 5% lead in the popular vote to win. I think concerns about his age will keep that from happening.
Now, Trump may self-destruct, although I wouldn't bet on it. Even if he does, there is an NBC poll showing Biden running 5 points behind Nikki Haley. I think there are a number of strong younger Democrats who would be more likely to win than Biden. I'm hoping that Biden decides to "step out of the ring" by Thanksgiving.
Also, Kev, what is up with all these National Review driven posts? I mean, what's the point. These guys are not in any way intellectually honest and no one thinks they are. Why not just try to have a good faith argument with Glen Beck instead?
Can you think of any other halfway honest conservative outlets? The only ones that come to my mind are The Bulwark and The Economist. And I'm pretty sure most Republicans won't claim either one as One Of Ours.
But I agree with Kevin that it's important to see what the other guys are thinking. I'm just glad Kevin wades into those swamps so I don't have to.
" The only ones that come to my mind are The Bulwark and The Economist."
thedispatch.com is close to reasonable. Mainly refugees from National Review and Weekly Standard.
National Review references are a good sign. They show an open and discerning mind. I would add that there are no media outlets at this time - NONE - that can be trusted to provide a neutral commitment to the truth. As a result, just about every serious media outlet (one with editors, professional writers, educated and/or experienced staff, etc.) has something of value to offer.
My own oft repeated experience is that most people on the Left remain woefully uninformed of liberal academia’s very real implosion into Senator McCarthy style tactics of persecuting wrong think. Liberal outlets ignore this important story largely because they seem averse to criticizing other Liberal organizations (especially in the age when trump is viewed as the supreme enemy).
But conservative outlets do a lot of good reporting on that and similar Liberal blind spots. Are they perfect? Of course not. Approach them with all due caution. But approach them.
Please. realrobmac, I, and most of the other commenters here have checked out National Review. We all know what it's like over there.
It hasn't always been the way it is now. There was a time when the NR seriously grappled with ideas. As recently as 2016 it was still possible to find genuinely interesting articles there. But the Trump years did grave damage to the market for honest conservatism. Conservative outlets now mostly toe the Trumpian party line, or else suffer the fate of The Weekly Standard.
Incidentally, there is no liberal equivalent to that: no liberal billionaires are buying liberal magazines just to kill them for being insufficiently pure of thought. But go ahead and insist that the real problem is liberal persecution of wrong think.
Since the workings of liberal academia affect virtually no one, becoming concerned about them is as approximately useful as becoming concerned about the state of rhetoric in the catcalls of construction workers.
If Fox News didn’t breathlessly fetishize their academic tempests in a teapot, no one would even be aware that they exist.
There’s a reason we send late adolescents off for four years—so we don’t have to endure their Ayn Rand to Gramsci gyrations. By the time they graduate, the hope is that they’ve gotten that out of their system and are fit for decent society.
If the VP was Hickenlooper, or Merkley, or Polis, or Murphy -- either one, CT or NJ -- how many "OMG Biden is old!" stories would we be reading.
This is a transparent attempt at turning the election into a referendum on the present VP - who as a chimera of Obama and the Hildabeast would spell the end of the Republic were she to wind up President.
Interesting point. Polis is perhaps not a good example, though; an openly gay VP would freak them out as surely as Harris.
Reminds me of the trending topic from yesterday where they just flat out lied that he said 'in person' at a strike vs 'as president'. Anyone watching the linked video could see they were wrong... unless prompted otherwise.
Yikes, and who do we have lined up when Joe goes?
He's looking good to me.
omg. Buttigieg. Booker. Harris would be great, except that voters hate women, people of color, and especially women of color.
They should just make up their minds! Is he "Sleepy Joe", tired and out of touch? Or is he "Family Crime Boss Joe", raking in the millions without leaving a scintilla of evidence while effortlessly entangling a very stable genius like Donald Trump in plethora of civil and criminal prosecutions?
That’s was really well done by Joe Biden. Congrats also to the speech writers.
With right-wing thugs, it’s always projection.
Trump is a deranged sociopath, so they attack Biden’s cognitive ability.
Trump is a yellow-bellied coward, so they attack John McCain as a loser.
Trump’s children corruptly profited from selling access to their West Wing positions to foreigners, so they attack Hunter Biden.
When right-wingers lash out, they’re revealing themselves.
Less than 5% difference in their ages. I mean, a '42 Ford vs. a '46 Ford? C'mon.
The ONLY THING WE HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT is that Biden remains reasonably healthy up to election day. There's a 90% chance of that (according to actuarial tables*).
If he's re-elected we can worry about secondary issues like Biden leaving office early, Harris as president, and other stuff. But the number one priority is to have Biden defeat Trump.
* yes, having excellent medical care means Biden is less likely to die than others his age, but not by much.
I don't care what Republicans say about the president. I do get angry at the constant drumbeat from Democrats about the same topic. Surely they know any reservations they express about Joe's age will trigger big media "Dems increasingly concerned about Joe's age" stories. Any excuse to generate interest in the horse race.
The reality is that Democrats committed to re-nominating Joe back in 2020. Having him announce his retirement earlier this year would have been a catastrophe for the party and for America. So they should all just STFU about his age and give him their full-throated support.
My guess is the age crap is a set up so they can run against Harris as if she’s the candidate. She poles poorly ( can’t say I like either (ymmv) so I pray Joe survives).
Btw, great link. He performed really well. And a great speech.
When bad writers are given bad storylines to follow.....
Remember when 'Obama only sounds smart when he has a teleprompter to read off of?' was a major storyline in the echosphere? Similar stories for years using his most recent appearance as proof of his inability to think and speak.
If Hillary had won we would see have seen this same story recycled and used for her. If i recall correctly, they were testing out a few similar storylines during the campaign.
Nothing original here.
Please don't credit this speech to speechwriters, a teleprompter, & a human reading it like BBC newsreader.
This was pure Joe Biden, at his heartfelt best. I'd like to see any trump supporters watch this & still compare Biden unfavorably to his predecessor in terms of mental acuity & speech. Their idol can lose his train of thought in any of his word-salad ravings.
Folks don't elect individuals, in any case. They elect administrations and overall Biden has a good one. Trump's was full of ideologues and grifters.
Unfortunately, most Americans don't think this way and get preoccupied with the individual...the celebrity. Even a leftist like Bernie falls into this category.
> he seems to be running the country perfectly well.
In contrast to the Orange one who needed Pence at his elbow to keep him from wandering off during a meeting.