Tag: Joe Biden

Is This The Scandal Of 2024?

There are many incidents in 2024 that we could say was the scandal of the year……but I think this situation hits the nail on the head….at least in my mind.

Looking back on 2024, Peggy Noonan has no doubt of the scandal of the year: “the decline of Joe Biden’s mental acuity” and what she says was a coverup by White House staff. The Wall Street Journal columnist claims President Biden “has been in apparent cognitive decline for some years, perhaps since before taking office, and wasn’t fully up to the job.” She suggests the right move would’ve been to inform the public. Instead, the Biden White House “felt justified in misleading the public about the president’s true state,” protecting him from scrutiny—until it couldn’t. With the June presidential debate, “the country finally saw what those in the White House saw every day,” Noonan writes, adding the alleged coverup will forever color the Biden administration’s reputation.

She contrasts the White House’s alleged actions with those of the wife and aides of Woodrow Wilson who “misled the public as to his condition” after the president was left incapacitated in 1919. In her 1939 memoir, Edith Bolling Wilson wrote that she suggested her husband should resign before a doctor told her that would be bad for the country and that she should essentially serve in his place until he recovered. She claimed to have acted as an intermediary and “I, myself, never made a single decision regarding the disposition of public affairs.” However, in his 2013 biography of her husband, historian A. Scott Berg wrote that Bolling Wilson had “executed the physical and most of the mental duties of the office” and “enshrouded the Presidency in as much secrecy as possible.”

“The Wilsons’ historical reputation was never the same. Nor will the Bidens’ be,” writes Noonan, who suggests that to mislead the public about the president’s true state is “Democratic Party gospel.” Apart from the alleged coverups related to Democrats Biden and Wilson, Noonan refers to speculation that Ronald Reagan was experiencing cognitive decline shortly before he left office. “Political parties, like people, must beware the stories they tell themselves, the stories they weave and come to believe that just are not true,” Noonan concludes. “The not-true ones can get you in terrible trouble, especially the ones you use to justify your actions and that make poor personal motives seem noble.”

Read the full piece here.

Like I said this ‘scandal’ I agree with….I was never a big Biden supporter so this should come as no surprise to anyone.

If you think there is something else that is the ‘big’ scandal of 2024….please elaborate.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

 

Biden’s UN Farewell

Soon to be former president Joe Biden strolled up to the podium at the General Assembly of the United Nations to make his last speech as president.

And was it a bunch of crap!  (My thoughts included)

President Biden delivered his final address to the UN General Assembly on Tuesday, and while he addressed international conflicts, he also spoke of his decision to withdraw from the 2024 race. Details from outlets including CNN, the New York Times, the AP, and the Guardian.

  • “Some things are more important than staying in power,” Biden told his fellow world leaders. “As much as I love the job, I love my country more. I decided, after 50 years of public service, it’s time for a new generation of leadership to take my nation forward.”

(Was not his intention he flub up a debate and had to walk down)

  • Biden said he has witnessed a “remarkable sweep of history” in his life and warned that “we’re in another inflection point in world history—for the choices we make today will determine our future for decades to come.” On the same theme, he sounded a note of optimism: “I know many look at the world today and see difficulties and react with despair, but I do not,” he said. “We are stronger than we think” when acting in unity.

(This is a loaded statement….well crafted to mean anything)

  • The president said the world “cannot look away” from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine or stop supporting the latter. “The good news is Putin’s war has failed at his core aim,” Biden said. “He set out to destroy Ukraine, but Ukraine is still free. He set out [to] weaken NATO, but NATO is bigger, stronger, more united than ever before.”

(But we can look away from the Middle East while Israel attacks and kills with impunity)(He claimed that he was working to bring a “greater measure of peace and stability to the Middle East” even though his administration continues to provide full-throated support for Israel’s genocidal war in Gaza and its escalations in Lebanon.  And that is so much chicken sh*t)

  • He also lamented the “bloody civil war” in Sudan, saying it had “unleashed one of the world’s worst humanitarian [crises].”

(Good one…when was the last time he brought this crisis up?)(In his address, Biden also called for countries to stop arming the opposing sides in the war in Sudan. “The world needs to stop arming the generals, to speak with one voice and tell them: Stop tearing your country apart. Stop blocking aid to the Sudanese people. End this war now,” he said.)(Good advice a shame he or anyone else in DC will take it)

For those interested this is a transcript of Biden speech to the UNGA….

https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/speeches-remarks/2024/09/24/remarks-by-president-biden-before-the-79th-session-of-the-united-nations-general-assembly-new-york-ny/

Anyone that follows international affairs will see the hypocrisy in this speech….I am sorry but his words ring hollow.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Biden: A Farewell

Last night our president went before the cameras to exp[lain his decision not to run for re-election….was a pretty straight up but boring speech.

For those that we watching the beginning of the Summer Olympics I offer up this post to let them know what they missed……and of course I will have to add my thoughts to the night’s offering of manure on a cracker.

President Biden delivered a solemn Oval Office address Wednesday that laid out in the clearest terms yet why he abandoned his reelection campaign. He wanted to send an unmistakable warning about Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump while anointing Vice President Kamala Harris as his natural successor, without invoking an overtly political tone that would have been out of step in the official setting of the White House. He was determined to show that he would not act like a lame-duck president, outlining an ambitious agenda that underscored his resolve to continue building on his legacy. Key takeaways from the AP:

  • He warned about Trump—without naming him: Biden did not mention Trump in his 10-minute Oval Office address, but he didn’t have to. The remarks were imbued with a deep sense of urgency about what the outgoing president saw as the stakes of the election. “Americans are going to have to choose between moving forward or backward, between hope and hate, between unity and division,” Biden said. “We have to decide—do we still believe in honesty, decency, respect, freedom, justice and democracy?” That last item—democracy—and defending it is “more important than any title,” Biden said.
  • A hefty to-do list for his final months: The president says he’s going to keep working over his final six months in office, and his to-do list was full of weighty issues. He said he’d work to end the war in Gaza and bring home the hostages; lower costs for families and defend personal freedoms; keep calling out “hate and extremism”; push to end gun violence; continue to work on his initiative to end cancer as we know it; and push for Supreme Court reforms.
  • He is willingly handing off power to a new generation: Biden finally understood what Democrats had been telling him—that it was time to hand off power to a younger generation—and he embraced it, calling for “fresh voices, yes, younger voices” in politics. “I’ve decided the best way forward is to pass the torch to a new generation. It’s the best way to unite our nation,” he said, even as he believed his presidency was deserving of a second term.
  • The tone and setting were solemn: Biden is not a stranger to the sober address, but he has used the formal trappings of an Oval Office address—a tool used by presidents in times of national crisis or to capture a key moment in history—sparsely, with Wednesday’s speech marking just the fourth time that he has sat behind the Resolute Desk to speak directly to the nation. His tone was solemn, the delivery careful and deliberate. He was surrounded by family and close aides.
  • Standout quote: “The great thing about America is here, kings and dictators do not rule—that people do,” Biden said as he closed his address. “History is in your hands. The power is in your hands. The idea of America lies in your hands.”
  • Biden made a subtle push for his vice president: In the official setting of the Oval Office, Biden steered clear of overt political talk. But he still praised Vice President Harris as “tough” and “capable,” and gave a not-so-subtle push to voters. “She’s been an incredible partner for her leadership, for our country,” he said. “Now the choice is up to you, the American people.”

His focus for the coming months are admirable but worthless….there is very little he can get done no matter noble they sound.

His big line….”The great thing about America is here, kings and dictators do not rule—that people do”….that one statement is so much bullsh*t…..money rules and we all know it …..so can we stop pretending the people matter?

Good bye Joe….it has been fun and it has been real but has not been real fun….let’s move on…..please.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Biden’s Out! Harris In!

 New fodder for the media.

Biden crapped all over my series that I had compiled on his public service (if it can be called that)….this is a re-post from GSFP on Biden….

Harris has been tagged in to the political battle royal….will she have what it takes?

I posted the series as to not waste my time and to inform….hopefully I did both.

Biden Is Out….Will Harris Be Our Savior??

I am thinking that if one is looking for some sort of change then they will be sadly disappointed with Harris…..she is and will always be a big money democrat.

This will be my last Biden post….times change and people go missing…..

Any thoughts?

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Biden’s World View Is Now That Of Harris?

****Another draft I wrote before Sunday’s announcement****

For a person like me that has a degree in international relations and the coming election I took a look at a Trump presidency…not a big fan at all.

Now to be fair I will take a look at Biden’s world view (and another view I do not like)…..

The Democratic Party is waging its 2024 electoral campaign by focusing on two themes: first, a denunciation of all that Trump proposes to bring to the presidency, centering on the destruction of American democracy if elected, and secondly, a positive domestic record of the Biden years with several notable benefits for the American people including jobs and wages, climate, energy policy, social protection, gun control, and a stock market at record highs.

What is missing from this rosy picture of America and even more so from Democratic Party advocacy is neither claims nor explanations of foreign policy, only a deafening silence. It is as if the leadership of the Democratic Party wants the voting public to forget that there is a world out there beyond national boundaries. And it has good reasons to adopt this evasive approach, especially in an election year.

And yet this national posture seems strange as the US has so heavily invested in military capabilities to secure its global dominance in the decades after the collapse of the Soviet Union over 30 years ago.  And as a consequence, finds itself currently engaged controversially in the wars raging in Ukraine and Gaza. It appears that even Biden is reluctant to claim credit in national settings for US support of Israel and Ukraine, and prefers to speak in generalities about the greatness of America as a country whose future is bright except to the extent dimmed by the threat advent of Trump and Trumpism. This tendency to ignore the world should be more troubling to American voters than even Biden’s refusal to leave the presidential stage in light of his thinly deniable disabilities of age and mental health that have put his 2024 candidacy in peril. Such an evasive pattern gives voice to absurdly grandiose, yet distorting, assessments of the present broad political situation.

https://www.counterpunch.org/2024/07/09/critiquing-bidens-worldview-democratic-party-tactics-and-americas-destiny/

US has got the world addicted to its aid both cash and weapons and Biden is the main pusher after inheriting the ‘business’ from Obama and now Harris will inherit.

I do not see the US coming to championing democracy and peace with a second Biden (read Harris) administration….

I have serious reservations about another Biden presidency.  (Reservations solved)

Looking at it from an international perspective….do you foresee any change in our forever wars with another Biden presidency and now a Harris presidency?

I do not if anything I see more of the same and even a possible expansion lurking just offshore in East Asia.

Any thoughts?

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Should He Go Or Should He Stay?

Since the debate a few days ago there has been a wealth of ink passed around on whether Biden should step aside or should he stay the course for November.

I have made my thoughts known….I think he should step aside but then I have never been a supporter of Biden so my thoughts are my own and in no way is acceptable to most people.

Biden has made it clear that no one is pushing him out….win or lose.

A flurry of new developments on the President Biden front:

  • New poll: A well-regarded poll has bad news for the president in the wake of last week’s debate, reports the Hill. The New York Times/Sienna College poll has Donald Trump up 49% to 43% among likely voters, up 3 percentage points from a week ago, before the debate. Among registered voters, his lead is even bigger, 8 points.
  • Defiant: In a call with all staffers on his campaign team, Biden sounded a defiant note Wednesday. “Let me say this as clearly as I possibly can and as simply and straightforward as I can: I am running,” he said, per CNN. “I’m the nominee of the Democratic Party. No one’s pushing me out.” Press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Wednesday that Biden is “absolutely not” considering bowing out, adding that he “understands that it is fair for people to ask that question.”
  • Acknowledgment: Despite the show of bravado, both the New York Times and CNN report that Biden confided to an unnamed ally that the next week or so is critical in determining whether he can stay in the race. It’s seen as the first acknowledgement by Biden to surface publicly that he might not be the nominee. Biden has an interview with ABC’s George Stephanopoulos on Friday, in addition to campaign stops in Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.
  • High-profile lunch: Biden ate lunch with Vice President Kamala Harris on Wednesday, who is seen as the top contender to replace him as nominee should he drop out. Jean-Pierre cautioned against reading too much into that, reports the BBC, saying they regularly have lunch.
  • Another dent: The editorial page of the Boston Globe called on Biden to leave the race, notes Politico. It’s the latest big newspaper to do so, with the New York Times also on that list.

He does not care what would be best for the country he just wants to keep the spot on the throne room.

Nate Silver, a person that looks at the numbers and trends thinks it is time to go….

“You don’t need another pundit telling you that [President] Biden should quit the race,” writes stats guru Nate Silver in the New York Times. Instead, Silver suggests Democrats listen to what the polls are saying—and they are saying Biden should quit the race, he writes. Silver isn’t talking about post-debate polls. He cites “remarkably consistent” data from polls showing that Democratic candidates for Congress in swing states outperform Biden, and Silver sees this as a “silver lining” for the party. “Voters in these polls like Democratic candidates for Congress just fine. More than fine, actually: It’s Mr. Biden who is the problem.” In short, Biden was in trouble before the debate—Silver had him with a 35% chance of winning—and now he’s in even deeper trouble.

What to do? Silver suggests Democrats stage a truncated nomination process, maybe with two or three debates coupled with straw polls across the country to give delegates at the convention enough information to pick a plausible substitute. (Silver personally would lean toward a swing-state winner such as Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer or Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro.) But above all, Democrats must do something, he writes. “Poker players like me … understand the importance of working with incomplete information,” he writes. “And they understand that sometimes doing nothing is the riskiest plan of all.”

Read the full column.

Some good ideas but time is draw nigh and it will be too late to make any changes and still have any hope of winning in November.

Keep in mind that Silver projected Trump win in 2016 and Biden win in 2020….so he has a track record.

Something needs to change for Biden is looking weaker and weaker both in the polls and physically.  (One report says Biden’s lapses appear to have gotten worse in recent weeks.) 

Now there is a growing number of Dems that are looking at VP Harris in case Biden takes a powder….

President Biden’s bid to prove he should not withdraw from the 2024 race gets a major test Friday night when his interview with George Stephanopoulos airs on ABC. Simply put, it’s “the biggest interview of Joe Biden’s life,” as laid out by the Politico Playbook. Even if the president nails it, however, the talk of VP Kamala Harris replacing him as the nominee is in full throttle.

  • On Harris: A “widening group of leading party officials” already has moved beyond the question of whether Harris should replace Biden to who her running mate should be, reports CNN. For the record, the story mentions North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper and Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear as in the top tier, with others including Govs. Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania, JB Pritzker of Illinois, and Tim Walz of Minnesota.
  • The Shift: At New York magazine, Gabriel Debenedetti writes that “among Harris’s longtime donors, supportive professional Democrats, and friends, there is a growing sense of nervous anticipation alongside a hardening belief that her elevation to the top of the ticket is increasingly probable.” The story tracks how this shift occurred in the days after the debate. Harris herself and her closest aides have been careful to stay mum, even in an off-the-record sense, offering not “even any teeny, implicit hint of receptiveness.”
  • Trump: Axios (which previously laid out why Harris would be the near-certain replacement to Biden should he withdraw) looks ahead to how Donald Trump would go after her. “He’d argue Harris is too liberal, too hostile to business and secure borders, and too inexperienced, weak and phony to be president,” per the analysis. On the other hand, her relatively young age of 59 would flip the narrative of which party has a president too old to assume office.
  • Blunder? In the Atlantic, Elaina Plott Calabro takes Biden and the White House to task for a broken promise. What’s happening now “is precisely the sort of moment that the 81-year-old Biden had once professed to anticipate, or at the very least to be ready for: when, after assessing soberly the diminishing returns of his leadership, he would stand aside for a new generation,” she writes. “But if you believe Biden ever took seriously that it could come to this, that he would be pressured to cede his party’s leadership to her, then I have a bridge to sell you in Wilmington.” In the end, Biden’s best promotion of Harris was an “inadvertent” one—his disastrous debate performance.
  • Donors: In a story not explicitly pegged to Harris, the New York Times reports that “many wealthy Democratic donors” have begun waging their own efforts to pressure Biden to withdraw. Some are threatening to withhold future contributions unless Biden steps down—including a Disney heir—and others are planning to direct their money to down-ballot candidates should he remain in the race. The moves “expose a remarkable and growing rift between the party’s contributor class and its standard-bearer,” per the Times.

I am not a fan of Harris so my thought is that it would be a mistake to run Harris….might as well stick with Biden.

The clock is ticking on a decision….one way or the other.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

 

The Next Step Forward & Beyond

Sounds like some futuristic TV from the 60s….well I guess it may be a bit futuristic.

Keeping with the meme of the day…..Biden.

There be some redundancy between this post and a post on GSFP….but the Dems are facing a conundrum of their own making

The Dem apparatus is in slobbering panic.

After the dismal performance at the debate….the Dems and even Biden are looking hard at their options….

What to do?  What to do?

Prominent members of the party said Sunday that Democrats have nothing to worry about if President Biden remains their nominee, though a few acknowledged concern—which could be increased by the devastating findings of a new poll. Biden made no public appearances Sunday; he was spending the day at Camp David with his wife, children, and grandchildren in a gathering scheduled before his shaky debate performance against Donald Trump on Thursday night. The day was being partly devoted to taking family photos to be used at the Democratic National Convention in August, per the AP. Biden’s family urged him to stay in the race, the New York Times reports. Developments include:

  • Democratic talks: “We’re having a serious conversation about what to do,” Rep. Jamie Raskin said Sunday in an MSNBC interview. He maintained that the party will be united whether Biden decides to stay on the ticket or not, NBC News reports. Raskin described the talks as “very honest, and serious and rigorous.”
  • Donors: Big-money supporters are split, per CNN, with some saying a campaign to pressure Biden to leave the race would create more of a mess and others urging no action until the political repercussions from the debate become clearer. Another faction less connected to the president wants to start identifying a replacement nominee.
  • A ‘go’ vote: Tom Harkin, an Iowa Democrat who served with Biden in the Senate for more than two decades, said the president can’t recover from the debate debacle. He told Democratic senators in an email seen by the AP that they should send Biden a letter asking him to release his delegates to the convention, clearing the way for a new nominee. “This is a perilous time, and is more important than the ego or desires of Joe Biden to stay as President,” Harkin wrote.
  • Party support: A close ally who was pivotal in helping Biden secure the nomination last time stood firm Sunday. “I do not believe that Joe Biden has a problem leading for the next four years,” South Carolina Rep. James Clyburn said. “Joe Biden should continue to run on his record.”
  • The look: Among the family questions is why the president was made up to appear pale despite arriving for the debate with a summer tan. Biden himself is not blaming aides, per the Times, and others called it unfair to blame staffers for the president’s performance.

Options?

What options?

Do you think that Biden will step aside?

I do not.

Besides who the Hell do the Dems have that have the support to defeat Trump?

This is where I ask for thoughts on this situation (please comment on the situation and not some imaginary fanciful crap about Trump)

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo

Biden: An Important Re-Post

This is a re-post from my other blog, Gulf South Free Press…..because not everyone follows my other blog and this is important and needs repeating.

This situation is something that needs consideration because this election maybe the most daunting of your voting career.

Biden: What Now?

What will they do?

Is there nothing to worry about with Biden?

Fascinating turn of the screw.

I remember 1972….need I say more?

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”