Biden’s voice was strong and clear, and the crowd was far warmer to him as an outgoing president

208 points
*

The debate was a one-off for Biden, and that’s the way the cookies crumble.

Trump said the Dems were doing post-birth abortions.

Biden had a raspy voice.

Who was destroyed by the media?

permalink
report
reply
112 points
*

Howard Dean said “yeaaahh!” strangely that one time and that was it for him. It doesn’t take much.

permalink
report
parent
reply
55 points

Because our media is shit

Biden really was visibly too old. But they’re also pretty good at ginning up issues literally out of nothing when they want to.

permalink
report
parent
reply
16 points

The media still haven’t realized that they’re a bunch of highly educated puppies. They write well and can form a compelling story, but at the end of the day they get distracted by, and tend to focus on, any flashy or squeaky object in their periphery.

permalink
report
parent
reply
29 points

That’s confusing cause and effect. Howard Dean’s speech was supposed to be a concession speech after losing the only early primary/caucus he was trying to win. He poured in all of his resources in the hopes of winning Iowa, underperformed expectations against a backdrop of dropping in the polls for weeks, and coming in third (with no real prospects for New Hampshire or South Carolina) basically made it impossible for him to have the volunteers, money, or press coverage to survive into the next stage of competing in bigger states with primaries clumped up together.

He showed everyone his plan of winning Iowa or going home, lost Iowa, and then gave some kind of rallying speech as if he had a plan to recover from that loss. He never did, and it wasn’t the scream that killed his campaign. His campaign was dead before the scream happened. It’s just that the scream was a particularly memorable way for a campaign to die.

permalink
report
parent
reply
8 points

Big pet peeve of mine when people attribute his decline to the Dean Scream. The scream was the final nail in the coffin.

permalink
report
parent
reply
4 points

Yeah, but y’see - that’s way less funny

permalink
report
parent
reply
17 points
*

people didn’t like that scream?

That’s a pretty rad scream.

EEeeYEAH-HyeeuuUH!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RwkNnMrsx7Q?t=50

permalink
report
parent
reply
19 points

There’s a lot of fragile people out there who can’t handle things like rad screams, dijon mustard, or women’s right to self-determination.

permalink
report
parent
reply
11 points

Back when the internet was fun, there was a flash game where you could play as the different presidential nominees, and Howard Dean’s special move was the “Dean Scream” where he would scream flipping back and forth from left to right, and all the enemies on screen would fall down. Top tier.

permalink
report
parent
reply
7 points

Don’t forget that we voted for Bush because people would rather have a beer in their back yard with him than with Kerry.

permalink
report
parent
reply
95 points

That’s a pretty generous summation of the problems with Biden’s debate performance. It was also hardly a one-off. Every time Biden appears it’s a coin flip for which Biden shows up, which is why he appears so infrequently.

You are absolutely right about how Trump’s bullshit gets largely ignored by the press though.

permalink
report
parent
reply
4 points

Remember that Biden has a stutter. It’s a condition that has no cure and can only be managed.

permalink
report
parent
reply
4 points

Nobody has forgotten the stutter.

permalink
report
parent
reply
37 points

It was hardly a one-off. He was setting off alarm bells left and right beforehand, and the debate was his chance to regain some confidence. And he had a bad night then as well. So yah, he has his good days, but it’s pretty apparent that his good days are getting far between.

This was the right decision, it’s a shame he had to be pretty much forced into it by everyone else that saw it. I blame his handlers, and they should have their asses handed to them for trying to fuck the rest of us by keeping him past his best-before date and giving Trump the presidency.

permalink
report
parent
reply
34 points

Biden had a raspy voice.

Biden said we finally beat Medicare.

permalink
report
parent
reply
13 points

It blows my mind that “Biden just had a raspy voice!!” isn’t banned as misinformation here. Because it literally is, there is no reasonable way to interpret “we beat Medicare” being yelled over and over as the result of a raspy voice. Absolute memory hole shit.

permalink
report
parent
reply
12 points

My favorite bullshit excuse was when they pretended it was jet lag when he hadn’t been on a plane in two weeks.

permalink
report
parent
reply
6 points

I was intrigued to find out last night what he meant to say.

“We finally beat Big Pharma.”

permalink
report
parent
reply
4 points

That’s a big brag for “we lowered prices on a handful of drugs… for Medicare recipients only.”

permalink
report
parent
reply
-1 points

What else could he have meant?

permalink
report
parent
reply
26 points

The debate was a one-off for Biden

Bullshit.

Biden had a raspy voice.

I really thought we were past the gaslighting that the only thing wrong with Biden was a sore throat. But here we are…

permalink
report
parent
reply
17 points
Deleted by creator
permalink
report
parent
reply
-2 points

Awesome to hear they let AOC speak though.

OMG! They allowed her to speak! Wow.

Pathetic how happy the left gets over these crumbs being thrown to us.

permalink
report
parent
reply
12 points

He was also getting hammered on Gaza. Over 650,000 Democrats voted “uncommitted” in the primary.

permalink
report
parent
reply
121 points

It’s one event with a month of prep time and a teleprompter. Biden hasn’t lost all faculties, but he can’t be this “on” every day for the next 3 months while also being president. This is carefully curated to his strengths, making him look good, which is great, but it’s no sign he could be president in 4 years.

permalink
report
reply
28 points

And it’s not like he delivered flawlessly, he still has at least one part where he seemed to get lost, and the crowd covered for him.

Did have real mixed feelings about the “Thank You Joe” chant. It was kind of wholesome in a way, but I imagine it feels bad to have been pushed out like he was.

permalink
report
parent
reply
17 points

I hope he recognizes that he needed to do it. Even in 2020, “making” him run (I put making in quotes because you can’t make a person run for office) felt like elder abuse. That is even more true now.

permalink
report
parent
reply
9 points

They needed him to run to stop a Bernie nomination. So… he kind of was “made to”, in that he also agreed that Bernie shouldn’t get the nomination.

permalink
report
parent
reply
2 points

I think it’d be hard to look at the current state of things and think he made a mistake. At least he seems willing enough to get along.

I’ve no shortage of criticism for the man and his actions, but this one I can applaud.

permalink
report
parent
reply
1 point

Part of me might think maybe he is a little bit relieved. It’s tiring on even a younger man. Now he can just focus on the rest of the year and he gets a much needed vacation and family time

permalink
report
parent
reply
14 points
*

I imagine it feels bad to have been pushed out like he was.

I’m sure it feels bad but he shouldn’t have been running again in the first place. The dead horse has been beaten to powder but he is way too old to be running a country - especially 4 years from now.

permalink
report
parent
reply
5 points

Sure.

Though something no one is mentioning is if he felt like he had to stay on to do the right thing, and made a very difficult decision to step down, part of this energy may be a relief we’ve all felt at one point or another.

I just can’t shake the feeling that Biden never really wanted the job. He took it because he was convinced he was needed to oust Trump.

permalink
report
parent
reply
9 points

He first ran in the 1970s, he’s definitely wanted to be a president for a long time. I do wonder, though, if Trump was what really pushed him to go.

permalink
report
parent
reply
2 points
*

And then doesn’t try again until 2020? And only after witnessing a lineup that he thought couldn’t win against Trump? Don’t think that lines up.

permalink
report
parent
reply
4 points

Well he isn’t running to be president anymore, now is he?

This was a beautiful way to accentuate that transition, handing over the baton to a younger generation and having faith in that difficult decision.

permalink
report
parent
reply
104 points

“I’ve got a lot to do. I intend to get it done. It’s been the honour of my lifetime to serve as your president. I love the job, but I love my country more.”

Attaboy, Joe. Good man.

permalink
report
reply
14 points

Did he turn Canadian?

permalink
report
parent
reply
8 points

It’s a silent u

permalink
report
parent
reply
83 points
*

I think the biggest difference is that it is far easier to recite a static speach he has practiced 100 times than it is to dynamically adapt to a live debate.

permalink
report
reply
26 points

I think the difference is that he was recovering from a bad cold during the debate.

permalink
report
parent
reply
5 points
8 points

That joke was based on Nixon losing a live, televised debate to JFK and looking physically terrible during it because he had a cold.

permalink
report
parent
reply
4 points

That cold must’ve hung on a long time, because people said he was just as bad at other events and meetups he went to. People were hoping it was just a bad night, but apparently it wasn’t.

It’s obvious the guy’s highly motivated, and I’ve seen younger men overwork themselves into an early grave. It’s no big shock that his mind isn’t as sharp as it once was. Also, I’m sure having a stutter just makes that even worse.

permalink
report
parent
reply
2 points
*

Yeah. That theory actually seems plausible but I’m very very happy he had that cold.

permalink
report
parent
reply
2 points

They were both bad presidents. Nixon was just outwardly corrupt. JFK was not only a coke head, but also sort of an idiot that allowed the CIA to commit war crimes under his watch in Latin America.

permalink
report
parent
reply
10 points

They DO NOT practice these speeches, there’s no time. Rather, they become like actors and are able to just go, pretty much like how news presenters do.

permalink
report
parent
reply
1 point

Yeah from a telepromter…

Not that I can really complain since they all use it now, but still. All you gotta do is read while the camera makes it look like you’re looking at the Audience.

permalink
report
parent
reply
5 points

If it’s so easy, then why are so many people terrible at it?

permalink
report
parent
reply
1 point

Yeah, the fact that this sounded a lot like one of his anti-Trump stump speeches, coupled with the fact that he barely mentioned Kamala, makes me think he’s been rehearsing this one since before July 21st.

permalink
report
parent
reply
65 points

Well, yeah, it was a rehearsed speech, read off a teleprompter, with a sympathetic crowd. Much different than a debate, where you have to speak off the cuff, within a time limit, and the crowd (if there is one) pledges to be non-partisan.

And, maybe Biden took Trump’s advice and hopped himself up on pills. I wouldn’t blame him for it, personally.

permalink
report
reply
-41 points

Exactly.

It’s fucking shameful people want to act like Biden is still mentally capable.

His admin hid his mental decline for years and tried to shove him thru against voters wishes, because they might not get their jobs in the admin if Biden isn’t president.

permalink
report
parent
reply
44 points

At least he didn’t offer to do away with voting, call POWs and veterans names, be the adulterer in all 3 marriages, and generally doent understand democracy (much less democratic processes). When you measure the two against eachother, I’d think you might start actually giving a fuck

permalink
report
parent
reply
22 points

Yeah and just look at the type of people Biden’s administration has compared to the complete clowns in Trump’s administration.

His broader cabinet is really who is keeping the country going. Similarly with Trump, his cabinet is what did much of the damage to this country.

permalink
report
parent
reply
7 points

Biden was always a shit candidate which is why it’s incredibly fortunate that we have a much better one now. Harris isn’t the best possible choice but she’s certainly the best one we’ve actually been given. Trump is almost literally the worst presidential candidate in the history of the US. Trump was the worst president in the history of the US. It might be possible to come up with someone worse than Trump (I’m certainly not going to challenge Republicans to do so they certainly would), but I’m having trouble thinking of one (maybe Elon Musk).

Just because the other option is literally the worst possible option doesn’t mean we have to pretend that the better option is some kind of perfect saint. Everyone needs to go vote for Harris and for literally anyone but Republicans in this upcoming election, but we also aren’t obligated to claim sun shines out of her ass and certainly not act like Biden whose not even running anymore doesn’t have anything wrong with him.

Our country has turned into a gerontocracy and it’s well past the point we should do something about that. We should be pushing for age limits on all elected positions. We have an age of retirement, we should enforce that on political (and maybe judicial) offices as well.

permalink
report
parent
reply
7 points
*

Are we still fighting this battle? Yeah Trump is a POS, we found that out decades ago. His political campaign started with Mexicans are rapists and grab them by the pussy and went downhill from there. We know. We watched 24 hour coverage of it for 8 years

Can we stop using that to shield other things from criticism? Biden isn’t even the candidate anymore, it’s ok if Biden doesn’t win the election. It’s ok to criticize “the good guys” when they do bad shit.

permalink
report
parent
reply
4 points

OMG, but what about Trump!!

Dumbass.

permalink
report
parent
reply
3 points

start actually giving a fuck

I see what you did there 👏

permalink
report
parent
reply
2 points

Biden isn’t running anymore. You no longer need to pretend that anyone who says anything bad about him is a Trump supporter.

permalink
report
parent
reply
-9 points

Bruh. If your only standard is “not as bad as republicans are right now”…

And republicans constantly get worse…

Dont you understand how trying our standards to them results in everyone’s standards nosediving and the country burning in the wreckage?

When you measure the two against eachother, I’d think you might start actually giving a fuck

Start thinking more than 2 weeks ahead, and you might be surprised that you agree we should have higher standards than not trump.

permalink
report
parent
reply
13 points

I honestly don’t think his problem is his mind. His mind is sharp, but his body is betraying him. When he slips up and can’t find the next word, or mixes up some names, I think it’s just his mouth outpacing his brain. When you give him time to finish his thought, he shows he still understands well.

Note that I’m not trying to minimize this. While I understand where his issues are, I still l think he’s better off quitting and letting new blood take over.

Contrast this with Trump, who can’t stay on topic even with a teleprompter. His insistence that Harris “started out Indian, then turned Black” can be explained by the idea that he can’t tell the difference between Harris and Nikki Haley. I think Trump is much further gone than Biden is. Neither should be running

permalink
report
parent
reply
3 points

I agree with you

permalink
report
parent
reply
-2 points

His mind is sharp,

For his age

But even if Biden is the sharpest 80 year old on the planet, that doesn’t mean he’s competent to be president.

Somewhere is the world’s smartest 4 year old, I wouldn’t want him flying a plane.

Contrast this with Trump,

Crazy thought:

There’s more than one person in America not qualified to be president…

Which is why Biden is no longer the presidential candidate. And trump can’t stop shitting himself in fear from running against anyone besides Biden or Hillary.

I don’t say I should play QB in the NFL because I’m in better shape than trump is. Biden isn’t capable of being an effective president just because trump is less capable.

permalink
report
parent
reply

politics

!politics@lemmy.world

Create post

Welcome to the discussion of US Politics!

Rules:

  1. Post only links to articles, Title must fairly describe link contents. If your title differs from the site’s, it should only be to add context or be more descriptive. Do not post entire articles in the body or in the comments.

Links must be to the original source, not an aggregator like Google Amp, MSN, or Yahoo.

Example:

  1. Articles must be relevant to politics. Links must be to quality and original content. Articles should be worth reading. Clickbait, stub articles, and rehosted or stolen content are not allowed. Check your source for Reliability and Bias here.
  2. Be civil, No violations of TOS. It’s OK to say the subject of an article is behaving like a (pejorative, pejorative). It’s NOT OK to say another USER is (pejorative). Strong language is fine, just not directed at other members. Engage in good-faith and with respect! This includes accusing another user of being a bot or paid actor. Trolling is uncivil and is grounds for removal and/or a community ban.
  3. No memes, trolling, or low-effort comments. Reposts, misinformation, off-topic, trolling, or offensive. Similarly, if you see posts along these lines, do not engage. Report them, block them, and live a happier life than they do. We see too many slapfights that boil down to “Mom! He’s bugging me!” and “I’m not touching you!” Going forward, slapfights will result in removed comments and temp bans to cool off.
  4. Vote based on comment quality, not agreement. This community aims to foster discussion; please reward people for putting effort into articulating their viewpoint, even if you disagree with it.
  5. No hate speech, slurs, celebrating death, advocating violence, or abusive language. This will result in a ban. Usernames containing racist, or inappropriate slurs will be banned without warning

We ask that the users report any comment or post that violate the rules, to use critical thinking when reading, posting or commenting. Users that post off-topic spam, advocate violence, have multiple comments or posts removed, weaponize reports or violate the code of conduct will be banned.

All posts and comments will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis. This means that some content that violates the rules may be allowed, while other content that does not violate the rules may be removed. The moderators retain the right to remove any content and ban users.

That’s all the rules!

Civic Links

Register To Vote

Citizenship Resource Center

Congressional Awards Program

Federal Government Agencies

Library of Congress Legislative Resources

The White House

U.S. House of Representatives

U.S. Senate

Partnered Communities:

News

World News

Business News

Political Discussion

Ask Politics

Military News

Global Politics

Moderate Politics

Progressive Politics

UK Politics

Canadian Politics

Australian Politics

New Zealand Politics

Community stats

  • 15K

    Monthly active users

  • 16K

    Posts

  • 476K

    Comments