I personally will never recover from the national shame and disgrace of having a presidential candidate who does infomercials.
As for Biden's age...the "issue" shows how Americans and media alike are guilty of the most deplorable and counterproductive ageism. Read any story on the subject, replace Biden's age with his skin color, gender, or religion, and you'll see that the one bias Americans approve of is discrimination based on age. That's shown by the fact - FACT - that Biden is doing his job extremely well right now (as this column rightly says), yet Democrats and Republicans, media and voters alike are dismissive and blind to his accomplishments.
A reality-based nation would be grateful to have a wise, experienced, competent, caring elder leading it. Its citizens would count themselves lucky for every single day they had the benefit of his hard-won skills and judgment. But here in America, people look down on you once you've passed the age of 65. That's not only morally indefensible, it's self-defeating. For one thing, the day will come when you yourself are considered mere fodder for the abbatoir. For another, what an elder may lose in physical strength is abundantly offset by the mental, emotional, and spiritual resources that person gains over time.
Not everyone becomes a better person as they age (presenting Exhibit A: Donald Trump). But if you do life right, you have so much to offer in your older years that elders are, as a whole, a vast source of power that America is just plain too stupid to tap.
One respondent hated agent orange since he was 17 but voted for him 3 times? Good grief. That reminds me of church meetings where we tried to pass fair budgets and someone would invariably vote no without stating a reason therefor or try to be cooperative.
$300 gold sneakers. How about: His failed university. His failed airline. His many failed business enterprises. Please recall his statement in 2016 about creating an empire of $8 billion (of dubious accuracy). Had he invested the $200 million gift from his father he could have $12 billion. Yet he claims to be “like really smart."
Biden just keeps marching on as an honorable and decent man. He remains President, at this phase of his life, to preserve our country as a democracy, not to just turn it over to an ass who has been found guilty by a civll jury of rape (and there are 54 other women who would back up that verdict for E. Jean Carroll) - not to mention the Bankruptcies, many serious indictments against him, and the many contractors he stiffed when building enterprises that failed.
Thank you Margaret for taking a stand on this important issue.
The headlines about Trump's gold sneakers and his hawking them in person at a "Sneaker Con" seemed straight out of the Onion. What other national leader of a country would be found taking such actions? Did any of the media point out the absurdity?
“Governance is not an action film. There is no minute-to-minute psychodrama involving someone in a tight black T-shirt mincing along the outdoor ledge of a skyscraper, ninja-kicking his lonely way down to the stairwell, where he karate-chops the well-armed baddies and then commando crawls his way into an empty vault with the glass chest where the nuclear reactor sits. No. Despite our fascination with the Great Man theory of American lawmaking, the presidency is an office that largely turns on superb staffing, visionary planning, deft political negotiation, and artful execution. Joe Biden doesn’t actually have to remember every single detail himself—he has to use his judgment to employ and empower a large contingent of skilled experts to execute upon their agreed-upon vision.”
Biden is surrounded by and well-represented by capable people. A good leader always has a trusted team and listens to the team before making a decision. A good leader does not have yes-men. Biden does not strike me as someone who acts unilaterally.
The internet bought an explosion of information, so it's ironic that we are starving from information malnutrition. The misinformation that floods from the right and left extremes is deliciously entertaining junk food that is killing us. AI seems like it will only make things worse, but maybe it will also provide some positive new paradigm. Crisis begs for change.
I don't remember where I saw it recently, but someone commented about how several months into Biden's presidency, the press discussed how boring it was covering him. Imagine that it's boring to cover a President who helps people and fixes stuff. If reporters want excitement, they should go cover sports or the weather. The media should cover the news. They should not create the news. Shame on them. A lot of people say they don't like the media, but what they do has an impact and it matters. I wish more corporate news outlet would take this more seriously.
The rw had been demonizing Hillary Clinton for decades in 2016, and Biden came into 2020 without any of that rottenness. Matter of fact, he was incredibly well-liked. Remember Lindsey Graham's video about how Biden was just about the nicest person in the world, and everybody knew it?
But they sure jumped on the "Biden old!" thing in 2020, and have been at it now for four years, so anyone who gets their news from rw outlets and people adjacent to those people have been marinating in Biden's supposed mental decline for years now, and they're no more persuadable than MAGAs are about anything factual.
The Hur report alarmed me bc it seemed such a transparent attempt to play into and amplify that, though I guess we'll have a better idea what Hur's deal is after he testifies to congress. But as you say, the news cycle moves along, and that particular explosive device has receded.
Meanwhile, though, the stories continue to pour out. Ezra Klein's has been the big noise these past few days, and I was particularly alarmed that Lawrence Tribe had been bit by the panic bug—I can't remember him ever getting spooked before, he seems sanguine by temperament. But he ended his tweet with the word "crisis."
Josh Marshall wrote an excellent analysis and refutation of Klein today at TPM:
First, can you please launch an account on THREADS. Twitter/X doesn’t deserve you. On to Biden… well, they have to attack Biden’s age because that’s all they have. He’s accomplished an amazing amount of legislation and shown level-headedness and great stewardship of our great nation. His AGE and experience led the coalition efforts in support of Ukraine and I’m hopeful that he’s doing what he needs to do to get Netanyahu to stop his madness. There is no one more unfit for pretty-much any position of responsibility/authority than DJT. His only interest is in tearing us apart. I’m trusting the American people are paying attention and recognize what is at stake.
Thank you, Margaret for all that you're doing. I don't think Biden is unfit, senile, or disingenuous. The American public is not well-informed but I also think many people are guilty of ageism. The problem is, Biden looks old but that doesn't mean he's lost his marbles, or can't do the job he's been doing. The NY Times and Politico articles don't give him sufficient credit. I didn't think his news conference to respond to the Hur report was terrible. I think it was fine to respond with some emotion. It's about time for him to get out on the campaign trail, meet people in informal gatherings, hold some town hall gatherings, etc. Then, maybe we will see fewer articles on Page 1 about an aging President.
"Fulton County DA Fani Willis’s poor judgment is a column for another day'"
Tell me if I'm overthinking this: Would it be smart strategy at this point to drop the charges in Georgia under the belief that would free up time to hold a trial for January 6 and the stolen classified documents before Election Day?
Then again in 2016 where he lost but won the electoral college..
2020 was his coup de gras loss - which sealed him as a loser, along with the recent decisions curtailing him financially and branding him practically aa a cheat and failed businessman.
I do think, as strong a first term as President Biden has achieved, that he is suffering from some mental decline, and not surprisingly. I wish the Democratic party allowed for more voice in the decision as to whether he should run for a second term. That said, and with much evidence to support the idea that replacing an incumbent does not lead to good outcome, I don't agree with the party hiding him away, hoping that he can hang on until November. Is Jon Stewart argued: if he shows such lucidity behind closed doors, maybe they should show some video? Short of that, I think they should allow him to appear, and strongly make the case that he is supported by great people. I agree with you that it is going to be a long time until November.
I personally will never recover from the national shame and disgrace of having a presidential candidate who does infomercials.
As for Biden's age...the "issue" shows how Americans and media alike are guilty of the most deplorable and counterproductive ageism. Read any story on the subject, replace Biden's age with his skin color, gender, or religion, and you'll see that the one bias Americans approve of is discrimination based on age. That's shown by the fact - FACT - that Biden is doing his job extremely well right now (as this column rightly says), yet Democrats and Republicans, media and voters alike are dismissive and blind to his accomplishments.
A reality-based nation would be grateful to have a wise, experienced, competent, caring elder leading it. Its citizens would count themselves lucky for every single day they had the benefit of his hard-won skills and judgment. But here in America, people look down on you once you've passed the age of 65. That's not only morally indefensible, it's self-defeating. For one thing, the day will come when you yourself are considered mere fodder for the abbatoir. For another, what an elder may lose in physical strength is abundantly offset by the mental, emotional, and spiritual resources that person gains over time.
Not everyone becomes a better person as they age (presenting Exhibit A: Donald Trump). But if you do life right, you have so much to offer in your older years that elders are, as a whole, a vast source of power that America is just plain too stupid to tap.
One respondent hated agent orange since he was 17 but voted for him 3 times? Good grief. That reminds me of church meetings where we tried to pass fair budgets and someone would invariably vote no without stating a reason therefor or try to be cooperative.
$300 gold sneakers. How about: His failed university. His failed airline. His many failed business enterprises. Please recall his statement in 2016 about creating an empire of $8 billion (of dubious accuracy). Had he invested the $200 million gift from his father he could have $12 billion. Yet he claims to be “like really smart."
Biden just keeps marching on as an honorable and decent man. He remains President, at this phase of his life, to preserve our country as a democracy, not to just turn it over to an ass who has been found guilty by a civll jury of rape (and there are 54 other women who would back up that verdict for E. Jean Carroll) - not to mention the Bankruptcies, many serious indictments against him, and the many contractors he stiffed when building enterprises that failed.
Thank you Margaret for taking a stand on this important issue.
The headlines about Trump's gold sneakers and his hawking them in person at a "Sneaker Con" seemed straight out of the Onion. What other national leader of a country would be found taking such actions? Did any of the media point out the absurdity?
Money quote from Dahlia Lithwick’s column:
“Governance is not an action film. There is no minute-to-minute psychodrama involving someone in a tight black T-shirt mincing along the outdoor ledge of a skyscraper, ninja-kicking his lonely way down to the stairwell, where he karate-chops the well-armed baddies and then commando crawls his way into an empty vault with the glass chest where the nuclear reactor sits. No. Despite our fascination with the Great Man theory of American lawmaking, the presidency is an office that largely turns on superb staffing, visionary planning, deft political negotiation, and artful execution. Joe Biden doesn’t actually have to remember every single detail himself—he has to use his judgment to employ and empower a large contingent of skilled experts to execute upon their agreed-upon vision.”
Biden is surrounded by and well-represented by capable people. A good leader always has a trusted team and listens to the team before making a decision. A good leader does not have yes-men. Biden does not strike me as someone who acts unilaterally.
The internet bought an explosion of information, so it's ironic that we are starving from information malnutrition. The misinformation that floods from the right and left extremes is deliciously entertaining junk food that is killing us. AI seems like it will only make things worse, but maybe it will also provide some positive new paradigm. Crisis begs for change.
I don't remember where I saw it recently, but someone commented about how several months into Biden's presidency, the press discussed how boring it was covering him. Imagine that it's boring to cover a President who helps people and fixes stuff. If reporters want excitement, they should go cover sports or the weather. The media should cover the news. They should not create the news. Shame on them. A lot of people say they don't like the media, but what they do has an impact and it matters. I wish more corporate news outlet would take this more seriously.
The rw had been demonizing Hillary Clinton for decades in 2016, and Biden came into 2020 without any of that rottenness. Matter of fact, he was incredibly well-liked. Remember Lindsey Graham's video about how Biden was just about the nicest person in the world, and everybody knew it?
But they sure jumped on the "Biden old!" thing in 2020, and have been at it now for four years, so anyone who gets their news from rw outlets and people adjacent to those people have been marinating in Biden's supposed mental decline for years now, and they're no more persuadable than MAGAs are about anything factual.
The Hur report alarmed me bc it seemed such a transparent attempt to play into and amplify that, though I guess we'll have a better idea what Hur's deal is after he testifies to congress. But as you say, the news cycle moves along, and that particular explosive device has receded.
Meanwhile, though, the stories continue to pour out. Ezra Klein's has been the big noise these past few days, and I was particularly alarmed that Lawrence Tribe had been bit by the panic bug—I can't remember him ever getting spooked before, he seems sanguine by temperament. But he ended his tweet with the word "crisis."
Josh Marshall wrote an excellent analysis and refutation of Klein today at TPM:
https://talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/no-ezra-klein-is-completely-wrong-heres-why
really worth a look, and thank you for your always-welcome piece, Margaret.
First, can you please launch an account on THREADS. Twitter/X doesn’t deserve you. On to Biden… well, they have to attack Biden’s age because that’s all they have. He’s accomplished an amazing amount of legislation and shown level-headedness and great stewardship of our great nation. His AGE and experience led the coalition efforts in support of Ukraine and I’m hopeful that he’s doing what he needs to do to get Netanyahu to stop his madness. There is no one more unfit for pretty-much any position of responsibility/authority than DJT. His only interest is in tearing us apart. I’m trusting the American people are paying attention and recognize what is at stake.
Thank you, Margaret for all that you're doing. I don't think Biden is unfit, senile, or disingenuous. The American public is not well-informed but I also think many people are guilty of ageism. The problem is, Biden looks old but that doesn't mean he's lost his marbles, or can't do the job he's been doing. The NY Times and Politico articles don't give him sufficient credit. I didn't think his news conference to respond to the Hur report was terrible. I think it was fine to respond with some emotion. It's about time for him to get out on the campaign trail, meet people in informal gatherings, hold some town hall gatherings, etc. Then, maybe we will see fewer articles on Page 1 about an aging President.
"Fulton County DA Fani Willis’s poor judgment is a column for another day'"
Tell me if I'm overthinking this: Would it be smart strategy at this point to drop the charges in Georgia under the belief that would free up time to hold a trial for January 6 and the stolen classified documents before Election Day?
My recollection was thrice. He ran on a “Reform Party” ticket in California in. 2000. https://www.tvguide.com/news/yellowstone-season-5-part-2-returns-when-ending-teaser-everything-else-to-know/
Then again in 2016 where he lost but won the electoral college..
2020 was his coup de gras loss - which sealed him as a loser, along with the recent decisions curtailing him financially and branding him practically aa a cheat and failed businessman.
So - 2000, 2016 and 2020.
I do think, as strong a first term as President Biden has achieved, that he is suffering from some mental decline, and not surprisingly. I wish the Democratic party allowed for more voice in the decision as to whether he should run for a second term. That said, and with much evidence to support the idea that replacing an incumbent does not lead to good outcome, I don't agree with the party hiding him away, hoping that he can hang on until November. Is Jon Stewart argued: if he shows such lucidity behind closed doors, maybe they should show some video? Short of that, I think they should allow him to appear, and strongly make the case that he is supported by great people. I agree with you that it is going to be a long time until November.