mtutiger

Regardless of where you fall on this question, this whole thread is worth reading

Liz Truss said the same thing... Till she didnt

The NYT poll dropped. Trump gained two points over their last one. It's gonna take a little bit longer, but I think it's gonna end up happening myself. Whether it's fair or not is an open question, but they cannot win if this distraction continues

The self-flagellation is a bit too on-the-nose. I think one can be skeptical of Biden continuing this campaign or even feel deceived while recognizing how gross the coverage of this has been. Lee's comment applies in particular here: These guys seem either incapable or (worse) uninterested in considering the whole context. And I will not let them off the hook for that

Not related to the Parkinson's comment, but Alex Thompson and Axios' coverage of this is another good example of how this episode has brought the worst out of the media. He's always had sour grapes toward Biden and had a book deal about Biden canceled... Not exactly an objective source, but we are supposed to treat him like one despite this and his obvious editorializing on his Twitter acct There's a larger discussion to be had about how Twitter and social media has done a lot of damage to the institution of journalism... It makes it a lot easier to question objectivity for sure

Setting aside the other candidates because that won't happen regardless, the Olivia Nuzzi types (purposefully or otherwise) always seem to miss that there is some risk that Harris could potentially recenter issues of age and health on Trump. We are currently, fairly or not, having these question about Biden at age 81. Yet Trump, should he win, will actually be older at this point in his next term. That's a legitimate issue that is impossible to exploit at this point.

This is all fine and dandy with me, but this is about the general voting public. The median voter. Winning this election isn't you and me, it's about putting the best foot forward for those voters (along with keeping the base motivated). And on this front, this has been a losing campaign to date in my view. Something needs to change... Whether it's through Biden quelling these fears or stepping aside and letting Harris take the baton

I also think the reactions suggest that, as many said in the aftermath of the debate, the risk wasn't so much Trump gain votes/share versus the fear that Biden would lose support to third parties (or by people staying home) I truly believe a majority of Americans do not want Trump to become President again, regardless of what the polls say or them showing Trump with a larger share than Biden at least. But they fear Biden's age and his ability to hold over the next four years. I think he's been a better President than many have given him credit for, but it's a fear that will never be alleviated: father time comes for us all. The way these past few days have played out doesn't suggest to me that the dynamic is going to change. The NC appearance was a start, but no interviews, no TV, a strong but brief statement on yesterday's ugly SCOTUS statement. Just doesn't inspire confidence at all that he can fix this.

Barbequed dog? You literally cannot make this **** up. Makes Kristi Noem look downright humane by comparison

No argument there

In a vacuum, probably not. In reality, where everything from campaign finance to base maintenance is a consideration, she probably is IMO. I have a real issue with people arguing, correctly or otherwise, about Biden's delusions here who then pump out their own delusions, and who are most of the time uninterested in dealing with any of the cons that would likely accompany those delusions

I think Biden *today* is more qualified for the job, without a doubt. Trump was that bad as President, and is that bad today in terms of where he is mentally. But he's a candidate for this office and it falls on him and his campaign to convince the majority that he is up for it. And he simply failed at doing so and has largely not moved the needle on this over the course of this campaign. I feel firm in my conviction on what I said in the first paragraph, but I'm not going to live in denial on this, the majority in this country disagrees with me and most people on this board. And it's hard to see how the needle starts to move in the correct direction with some four months left in this campaign

If you compare videos from then to now, even, it's clear that he held up better then even with more of the "front porch" style campaign. Was also just legit in better shape for years ago and was up to it at the time But the job of the Presidency ages people a lot... Even Barack Obama, as young and dynamic a President as I'll likely ever see in my lifetime, looked much older and lived in than when he left. I know it seems like I'm riding the fence in my views of this, which more of a testament to just how bad of an option Donald Trump is. But the situation just is what it is. And what concerns me politically is the high likelihood that, in a race that he entered the debate tied in nationally (which means more likely down in the EC), status quo or worse is just not good enough, and this subject looming overhead makes it nearly impossible to change the subject. Especially with a press corps, annoying as they are, who are not likely to let up on this, even in the face of new news events. I'm not saying it's right or wrong, but I don't think this is ephemeral; it's going to linger for the rest of this campaign. In a campaign that badly needs a shakeup in dynamic

Exactly...

I like Sarah Longwell, but just pretending Kamala Harris isn't a factor is as delusional as manu people think Biden's campaign is IMO

Meanwhile, the press continues to cover themselves in glory during this whole affair. Like, how dare the Toledo Blade and Naperville Sun cover things happening in Toledo and Naperville? lol

James Carville made a comment that has stuck with me a day or two ago, something to the effect of "this effort will continue until it cannot." I doubt he has any special insight, but essentially, the line of continuing to stay in and fight will continue until the moment its not the party line anymore. Something to keep in mind in the coming days...

100%, it is spin... I don't think they are inured to the idea there is a problem here, whether or not it was preplanned

Put another way, if this is going to happen, it stands to reason that the campaign is going to think through every possible angle... They don't have the luxury of acting out of pure emotion like the NYT Editorial Board does.

I am less concerned with them spinning about this because, if in fact this is a process to bring about a change (IDK at this point), a lot of **** needs to happen in order to do it in the best possible way. It at least buys some time. It's easy to fire off a round on Twitter about Joe needing to stand down, but gaming out what the reaction to him serving out his term, for instance, needs to thought through

Practically speaking, she would just end up not having a VP until if she won the Presidency

My only wish from those demanding Biden step aside is that they recognize the reality that there is no Plan F, Netflix scenario with a contested convention and Gretchen Whitmer emerging. Kamala Harris, for a variety of practical reasons, is the next available option. Those who make the demands while ignoring her presence are hard to take seriously. And frankly, a lot of supposedly serious people (and now editorial boards) are doing that.

The odds have gone up that he drops IMO.

To be clear, I'm not blaming the moderators for this performance. Biden owns his performance in that debate. But both things can be true: Biden sucked and, even if it was a format the campaigns agreed on, there are things they could have done during and after the production that would have served and better informed viewers.