(Various sources)
Biden shit the bed so bad that the Secret Service changed his code name to “Amber Heard.”
His brain was so vacant that Red Lobster tried to sell its contents.
Joe Biden loves trains, but apparently not the kind “of thought.”
Biden needs to be replaced by somebody sharper. Jimmy Carter is still eligible.
He screwed the pooch so hard they had to check him for distemper.
Joe blew it so badly they called in Pam Anderson as his new debate coach.
His expression was so vacant that the homeless tried to move in.
Joe Biden’s mind is like a browser: 19 tabs are open, 3 of them are frozen, and he has no idea where the music is coming from
I’ve seen better answers in beauty pageants.
Interesting that Trump’s despicable performance goes mostly unscathed
I didn’t see any funny Trump jokes. There was some whining, but no good laughs that I could see. Obviously, Biden’s total catastrophe was what caught everyone’s attention.
Second biggest story of the debate: the so-called liberal media didn’t mention project 2025 once.
Did Project 2025 come up in the debate? I had never heard of it until I read your comment, but I just asked Google about it. I used to have a lot more respect for the Heritage Foundation, but as I understand it, the foundation has been taken over by MAGA types. Has Trump pledged to implement the proposals?
If he pledges to do something, the likeliest thing is it ain’t happening. Remember infrastructure week?
But he’ll hire that shitweasel Miller and more like him. They’ll get it done.
How about pointing out all the ridiculous insane lying statements trump stated.
Point out that he avoided answering most questions.
Point out that he has to be asked a question 2 or 3 times before answering with a lie.
I think this is why Biden’s performance had to be flawless. He honestly didn’t have to do much to win against a lying, cheating, felonious opponent, but he pretty much stumbled in every way his detractors said he would and this became the ultimate distraction. I don’t think Trump can win the election, but I certainly think Biden can lose it.
The Dispatch, a conservative but anti-Trump news site founded by Jonah Goldberg and Steve Hayes, posted a fact check on the debate. I don’t think this article is behind a paywall, but if I am wrong, you can subscribe for $10/month or $100/year. The Dispatch is more than worth the cost of subscribing.
Most of the news and commentary about the debate that I have seen or read did at least mention that Trump lied throughout the debate. However, Biden’s clear mental decline, after months of Democrats claiming questions about his mental fitness, were nothing but right-wing fear-mongering was so obvious that it had to dominate the news coverage.
This election has become a contest between two men who are demonstrably unfit to be president. In his novel Time Enough for Love, Robert A. Heinlein wrote,
“If you are part of a society that votes, then do so. There may be no candidates and no measures you want to vote for … but there are certain to be ones you want to vote against. In case of doubt, vote against. By this rule you will rarely go wrong.”
So, who should we vote against? Which is the lesser evil, voting for a former president who is morally unfit for office or the current president who is mentally unfit? Unless Biden’s mental decline accelerates, I don’t believe his cabinet will invoke the 25th Amendment and make Kamala Harris acting president. However, I don’t believe the arguments for them to do so are groundless. Still, Biden should do the right thing and bow out of the race, allowing the Democrats to choose a different nominee at their convention in August. Doing so would give them a much better chance of beating Trump.
If Biden refuses to drop out, he might still win because of how awful Donald Trump is. I intend to vote for Biden because I believe the morally unfit candidate is the greater evil. Some people might vote for Biden because they think it’s time for the United States to have a female president. If Biden wins in November, it’s more likely than not that he won’t serve his entire second term, making Kamala Harris the 47th president of the United States.
Finally, a clear choice: mental decline or mental illness.
Do you want the world to end with a bang or a whimper?
Are you saying Trump is mentally ill? I have a vague memory of reading somewhere that some psych professor believed that being evil was a mental illness. Going by that theory, Trump is a crazy mother fucker, just not quite as crazy as Hitler, Stalin, or Chucky Manson.
If you look up the definition of pathological narcissism, they probably have a picture of Trump there.
With Trump you have both.
One of two things needed to happen in the debate:
1 – Biden humiliates Trump. Possible but I wouldn’t have laid money on it.
2 – Trump humiliates Trump. More likely but it didn’t happen.
Former President Covfefe dodged a bullet by not descending into some rambling word salad like he often does at his rallies.
A good point well made. I think this could in fact be the defining moment of Biden’s presidency – to be a leader who makes the right call and puts his country first. Let’s face it, if he takes the gamble and loses, he’s going to be forced to retire anyway and his legacy will forever be as the man who fumbled and left America in the hands of a tyrant. And what a terrible waste that would be…
One thing we know for sure is that Trump wouldn’t put the country first if doing so would interfere with his perceived self-interest. On the other hand, I believe that Biden really cares about this country. Unfortunately, Biden had convinced himself that because he beat Trump in 2020, he is, if not the only Democrat who can beat Trump, the Democrat with the best chance to beat him. He sees it as his duty to protect the country from the existential threat that is Donald J. Trump. The Democrats need a Barry Goldwater to go to the president and convince him that he will likely lose in November.
While I think she would have a better chance than Biden, I don’t think Kamala Harris would be the strongest candidate the Democrats could nominate. If it were up to me, I’d nominate Gavin Newsome. He would be a strong campaigner who wouldn’t have to defend Biden’s presidential record. That would likely offer a noncontroversial way to get Kamala Harris off the ticket since the president and VP can not be residents of the same state. She could then get the consolation prize of running for governor of California.
I believe you stated the main difference between them. If Trump had to choose between what was good for America and what was good for himself, there is absolutely no doubt he would choose himself.
Biden, on the other hand, has never chosen himself while in office. One of the oddest things about the far right is that they have chosen to portray Biden as corrupt, given that he may be literally be the most honest politician of all time. How many years did the Center for Responsive Politics choose him as the poorest man in the Senate and almost the poorest man in government? Biden always ranked near the bottom in the center’s data: Biden ranked 570th of 585 officials in 2005; 614th of 636 officials in 2006; and 626th of 639 officials in 2007. When he left the Senate, his net worth was less than zero after 40 years in government! His net worth was still negative when Obama left office. The only time he made any money was when he was out of office – in the four years Trump was president!
Biden has many failings, but he always put service to the country first.
While he is in no way in the same class as Trump, I wouldn’t go so far as to call Biden honest. Diogenes would walk right past him. Perhaps Biden didn’t profit personally from the influence peddling of his son and brother, but he clearly knew at least some of it was going on. The thing is that what they did may have been perfectly legal, but it was still sleazy. However, compared to Donald Trump, Biden is as pure as the driven snow. Or should that be like Ivory Snow?
You know, 99 and 44/100% pure, just like Marilyn Chambers.
I stand by my statement that he is probably the most honest politician in the history of the human race. The facts speak for themselves, and I posted them earlier. He has to be the only guy I can name who was poorer when he left the Senate than when he came in, and then he did the same thing in the vice-presidency!
No matter what he knew about the activities of his son and brother, there was nothing he could do to change them, and there is not any indication that he approved of them or profited from them.
And to be honest, if I had been in Hunter Biden’s position, I would have done many of the same things he did. (Not the drugs, of course.) If some dude offers me tens of thousands of dollars per month to be on his board of directors, I’m happy to pocket his money.
All the jokes were about Biden because, for perhaps the first time in his life, Trump was not the story. He was basically invisible, just his usual self, as good or bad as that is, depending on your POV.
Any normal, capable person would have been able to attack Trump’s obvious weaknesses, leaving his lies and madness exposed. Biden could not. The President of the United States did not appear to be a normal, capable person.
That’s a big story.
“Liar lies” is not.
I did really like it when Biden said Trump had the morals of an alley cat. That might have been the most truthful statement ever made by a politician.
Alleycats everywhere would like a word.
Trump lying throughout a debate is definitely a dog-bites-man kind of story. The President of the United States looking and sounding like a confused 81-year-old showing signs of mental decline throughout a debate is a page one above the fold story in pretty much every newspaper.
He had the intonation and squint of Clint Eastwood in Grand Torino
It’s interesting that you guys saw a literal walking corpse shuffle out onstage and you’re STILL whining about Trump.
If you want to beat him, force your party to nominate a living human being. Whining about his “lies” isn’t going to move the dial anymore than it did for the past eight years.
I’ll give you a pro-tip: motherfucker can lie all he wants as long as he brings inflation down.
If only he had a plan to do that. His 10% tariff proposal would drive inflation higher. Under Biden it has gone from 7% in 2021 (the last year of the Trump budget) to 3.4% last year.
Terri, it is pointless to discuss reality with people like Trutherbob. Starting with his name, everything he says is a lie. He ignores facts and truth completely. His only purpose is to troll for Trump, using whatever talking points the right wing media have fed him recently.
I don’t like Trump and I’m not voting for him. He’s always been an arrogant asshole and full of shit, long before he was president. That said, I’m amazed at how anyone can defend Biden. The only thing he has going for him is that he isn’t Trump, even before his mental faculties declined to brain dead. He lied as much as Trump. He has always lied and tells stories that are untrue. He has a history of making statements that even his supporters find inaccurate or exaggerated. Some notable examples include: The Neil Kinnock speech plagiarism is, of course, a huge one. He’s exaggerated his academic record and achievements in law school. He claimed he was arrested in South Africa while trying to visit Nelson Mandela in prison, which he later admitted was not true. He’s overstated his involvement in the civil rights movement, inaccurately recounted details of his interactions with world leaders or his presence at historical events, and misrepresented aspects of his family history or personal experiences. Most of these are made to make him look better! It’s not just poor memory. These are lies he tells to voters. These incidents have been a recurring issue throughout Biden’s political career, spanning decades – a pattern of embellishment or misrepresentation. How is this any different than Trump? I had someone tell me, “Well, yes, he lies, but not about the important stuff!” LOL
Robin Williams had some great lines about “Sleepy Joe.” Bottom line is, if he truly cares about the country, he will step down and throw his support behind someone else. We need two different candidates. The race was going to be close before the debate. The debate did not move the needle in Joe’s direction at all. And someone please tell me why he gets away with the creepy way he touches kids?
You’re burying the lead here, which is that when he puts on those stupid Raybans, he looks like a sleestak.
Michelle Obama, destiny is calling, pick up the phone.
Boy, for somebody who isn’t going to vote for Trump, you are sure working like a switch engine against Biden. Do you want to do a fair and equal recounting of Trump’s various crimes, lies and frauds, or do you not have the three months it would take to do it? Starting with his felony convictions and out-of-court settlements would be good. How many of those has Biden got?
(Anybody want to give odds on whether Dingo is going to do that? I’d give 10 to 1 against.)
Trump’s a criminal and an asshole. That’s old news. He’s no more fit to be president than anyone else who throws tantrums when people disagree with them. 🙂
Trump’s debate performance was exactly what we expected – full of shit as always. But he didn’t come off as frail and feeble. Just because I focused on the elephant in the room and didn’t rehash Trump’s daily bullshit doesn’t make me a Trump supporter. And just because Trump is Trump doesn’t suddenly make Biden a saint, competent or cognitively intact. Your hate for Trump doesn’t make me wrong. Oh hmmm I guess you didn’t say I was wrong did you. Just that I can’t say anything negative about Biden without loving Trump. my bad.
I am surprised by the suggestion of some commentators that recognizing Biden’s obvious incompetence on age grounds is somehow being a Trump enabler. Isnt’t the other way around? The Democratic Party needs a new candidate.
Reporters are supposed to report. Their job is to speak the truth when objective facts are involved, and to be fair when it’s a matter of opinion – no matter who it hurts or helps.
You silly man! You are obviously a Trump supporter! 🙂
In the past, when asking journalism students why they wanted to enter the field, a common response was along the lines of “because I want to change the world.” However, this sentiment conflicts with the primary role of journalists, which is to report facts objectively. Manipulation of the truth can occur not only through biased reporting but also through the omission of relevant information. Reporters should present all pertinent facts, whether positive or negative, allowing people to form their own opinions. While this ideal of purely objective journalism may seem naive in today’s media landscape, it remains the standard to which the profession should aspire!! Biden’s brain is mush is something that should have been reported.
I agree that the press bears some responsibility, but I think that the degree of Biden’s decline has been hidden to at least some extent. I would point more to Biden’s inner team, including his wife and sister, as well as to Biden himself of course. Those involved in the Presidential Administration have a fundamental responsibility to be honest and candid about the President’s capacity. I don’t think that they have been.
All the democrats had to do was put forth some unknown person whom everyone didn’t hate already, but they steamrolled forward with this shitshow and left us with a second Trump presidency. Fucking idiots.
And obviously they have been lying to us. They all had to have known that Biden was failing this badly, but they decided to spin and cover up the situation instead of preparing an alternate plan.
And who are the geniuses who encouraged Joe to debate, knowing how far gone he is? Where are his friends and family? Obama didn’t try to prevent this debacle? Jill didn’t try to prevent this debacle? What is wrong with those people?
Exactly. How could they expect anyone to believe anything they have to say? They have covered this up. Mainstream media has mostly covered it up also. My mom is Biden’s age, has dementia and is in a nursing home and every time I see Biden he has that same look in his eyes as she does most of the time. He looks lost much of the time. And still they keep trying to tell us he is in charge. They all continue to lie to us. You can’t sugar coat this no matter how much you hate Trump, Biden has left the building. And the power players that have lied about it put their own gain before the country!
Okay, brain-dead Trump cultist.
lol Yep it’s a conspiracy theory for sure that Biden is mentally compromised! Forgive my stupidity, because I was thinking Not questioning Biden’s metal state is probably more a sign of cult status at this point. How did the cool aid taste?
He is an anti-Trump guy who is in touch with reality.
As am I.
Oh wait, He had a cold. That explains it, Never mind, He’s good. Vote Biden!
I think there are media narratives but the only media push for policy or people I’m convinced exists is on behalf of the (Western) foreign policy establishment, or what Eisenhower referred to as the ‘military industrial complex.’
I think you could see that from the Afghan pullout which the Foreign Policy Establishment clearly did not want. Here in Canada you can see the full court press from them with probably every day some insistence in the media that Canada increase its defense spending to 2% of GDP, and that Canada is not living up to its NATO commitments or is not serious about foreign policy or is embarrassing itself in front of the world every day that it doesn’t.
Beyond that, I think there are a couple things going on here, and more than one thing can be true at a time. 1.Biden’s performance was horrible. 2.He was not as bad as the media is making him out to be. In this case, the sensationalist media is playing the same handful of clips over and over to make it seem like Biden was that bad throughout the entire debate.
Other than for its own purposes, part of the reason the media may be promoting this narrative that Biden is the most demented man on earth, is that it’s a fever dream for many in the Washington Press corps to have a brokered convention. (I can understand this because it’s a fever dream of mine as well.) Even if Biden were to step down as the nominee right now, there simply aren’t enough delegates remaining in the remaining primaries for any Democrat to get a majority
Finally, in terms of Biden having a cold, Michael Dukakis in the second debate with George H.W Bush had a full blown fever the morning of that debate (it seems many candidates have a cold or worse before debates, I’m not sure why.) This was the debate where he was asked for the first question if his wife were raped and murdered would he want the death penalty for her murderer given his opposition to the death penalty and he gave an emotionless robotic response. That’s about as bad as a candidate for President should be. Biden was worse than that.
So what? It’s the policies, man. BIden is an old man who had a bad night. He is a decent person. The other guy is liar, convicted felon, public sexual assaulter, thief of top secret US documents, a lover of dictators and a grifter at the country’s expense. I would vote for Biden if he was drooling and falling down.
Then have him step down and put in a candidate with the same mindset that stands for the same polices.
But with the mental fortitude for if/when shit its the fan and we need a decisive and mentally strong commander and chief. Both candidates are wrong for the country. Sure for different ways but they both are wrong and unfortunately the debate moved the needle in Trumps direction. Spin it how you want. Gravity doesn’t care if you believe in it, Walk off a cliff and you will find out. Mental toughness matters in a leader.
Biden is a very decent and honest human being, but it’s clear that he didn’t just have a bad night. His deck is now missing a few face cards. If you’ve watched a loved one succumb to the darkness, you’ll see what’s going on with him. It is time for him to get a thank you and a gold watch and do some fishing. Forget about him running the country until 2029. I’m hoping he can make it until January.
Biden doesn’t have to worry about my vote. I’m with Bill Maher when he says “Given that he’s against Trump, I’ll vote for Biden’s head preserved in blue liquid.” I know that Biden won’t really be in charge, but whoever is running the country in his stead can’t be worse than Trump.
But that’s not the point. The issues are:
(1) There are (unbelievably enough) people out there who are on the fence, and Biden’s performance is going to push them away from the Biden side of that proverbial fence. In a close election, a tiny percentage in the swing states is all it takes to decide the outcome.
(2) The fact that I will vote for Biden doesn’t mean I want to.
The way I look at things like these is based on the episode of Cheers with Loretta and Nick.
Nick is trying to romance Diane and has had a cake made for her. After Diane tells Nick to get lost, Nick goes back to Loretta and tries to tell her the cake is for here:
Loretta: How come the cake says “Nick and Diane”?
Nick Tortelli: Excuse me?
Loretta: How come the cake says “Nick and Diane”?
Nick Tortelli: You know what a lousy speller I am.
Loretta: Oh, right…. But, wait, that’s pretty bad.
Whenever I think to myself ‘but, wait, that’s pretty bad, I know something is wrong and Biden was ‘pretty bad.’
Anyone ever been to Malta? Citizenship is only $600K. It’s either that or Thailand. I lean towards Thailand because I can get a couple girlfriends for about the same as my car payment. But for some reason my wife thinks Malta is a better choice?
Sigh. Lotta good observations here in this discussion. A good many by people whose overall opinions I’m in general disagreement with. In the end, I find myself in the place where I no longer believe that “democracy” is really a thing that can be “saved.” Long run, “self-governance” must fail. Checks & balances work for awhile. Eventually, humans tampering with the guide wires that hold our culture up in the air will snap enough of our ties to bring us down piece by piece. IOW, uncontrollable instability will gain the upper hand because human systems are fragile, not sturdy like we want to believe. Systems that last for long need some kind of powerful glue. The sorts of glue that have worked historically are just the sort that the 20th century struggled to rid us of. Well, the 20th century fad ideologies all suffered reversals, & ours was the last one standing. Our problem was simple: Too many moving parts. When everyone is free to go their own way, the boat won’t go in “the right direction.” As if that’s even a thing.
Robert Reich is too much of a Pollyanna for me to stay on his wavelength for long, but there’s some truth in his telling of what happened to America. It’s at best less than half of the story, but highlights some important landmarks on our way here.
Why do so many Americans support a neofascist?
Here’s one more trope in the story of what happened to America. IOW, as told by the blind each with one finger exploring an elephant.
How the US Is Destroying Young People’s Future