Presidential Debate Thread

[Edgy MD]

Of course, it's not just the voters who decide. The voters choose delegates. It's the voters, the delegates, and the candidate him- or herself that decides. The mutual consent of all those parties must be secured.

So, yay democracy, sure, but he's still being disingenuous there in order to sidestep the issue. Those calling for him to step aside are not trying to say that donors or press or pundits trump the voters. They're trying to say that he, as consenting candidate, should consider changing his decision, which he has every right to do and obligation to consider in any democratic system.

And, of course, if he is going to make such a big deal out of the sanctity of the primary process, disingenuous though I think his argument is, he has to acknowledge that the primary voters were consenting to Vice President Harris as his backup also.

[metsmarathon]

"my fellow americans,

following my admittedly poor performance at the presidential debate, the drumbeat has gotten deafeningly loud that i should step aside, quit the campaign, that i'm too old to be president anymore.

I'm here to stand before you all and make this emphatic declaration.

bullshit.

There is no age limit on the presidency.

as to the question of whether i'm fit enough, healthy enough, sharp enough? I tell you, i wish i could say i've never felt better. but i'm smart enough and self aware enough to say, heck yeah, i'm old. i'm 81 years old fer chrissakes. but i'm damned well fit enough to do this job, and as sharp as ever.

the job of being the president is not to stand on a stage before an empty audience, listen to a circus barker shovel shit for two minutes at a time and refute every lie and misstatement with facts and figures. it's to have a steady hand, to use years of experience and wisdom to broker alliances, build relationships, and advance policy that directly benefits the american people and the world as a whole.

and for that job, there's nobody better, in my mind, than myself. I've been doing it the past four years, dragging us out of the mess the other guy left us while he was too busy lowering his golf handicap and lining his pockets, and forging a way forward into the future where we can all succeed.

and while i still think i'm the right guy for the job - otherwise i wouldn't still be standing here before you, fighting as hard as ever to do it for another four more years - while i think i'm the right guy for the job, i'm also not the only guy for the job.

This year, this election is about so much more than just me. it's not about joe biden versus donald trump. it's about democracy versus authoritarianism - it's about the rule of law versus lawlessness - it's about american ideals versus ideas that are as unamerican as they come - it's about the brightness of the future versus a darkness that should be left in the past.

and that's why, as much as it pains me to say so, i'm stepping out of the race, and stepping down from the presidency, to usher in the next generation of leadership in our country, and to help ensure that we have a country left to lead. this isn't about me. it's about america. and what's best for america is for my time to come to an end.

Effective immediately, I will resign the presidency, placing our nation into the hands of my wonderful partner and vice president kamala harris. She has served with me and alongside me for the past four years. i know her well. she is unquestionably the right guy - am i allowed to say gal? - for the job.

she has the experience, the intelligence, the tenacity, and the vision to take our country forward, and to defeat the darkness that swirls around out future.

while i concede this is personally a bittersweet moment for me, I am overjoyed at what this moment means for our country. in kamala we have our first - and certainly not our last - woman as president. kamala, i have to say this has been a long time coming and is well overdue! Along with her african american and asian heritage, she brings with her a new, fresh perspective from which she will overcome our greatest challenges, today and over the next four and eight years.

And now, by signing this document, and handing it to my successor, i shall step aside. please join me as i am the first to introduce to you your new president, Mrs. Kamala Harris. Madam President, the floor is yours. you'll do just fine. To the press, i'm sure you have questions. i don't want to take any more time away from President Harris than i already have. I'll answer them after my nap."

[kcmets]

Pass the torch!
Pass the torch!
Pass the torch!

[MFS62]

Great press release.
Should he do it, yes.
Will he do it? I'm still not sure. We Senior citizens are stubborn.

Later

[metirish]

Wasn't expecting this

[TransMonk]

He needed to say something like this at a podium, forcefully and clearly. That would be much more convincing to people who are skeptical.

He has been:







He'll be in Detroit later this week. Why isn't he there sooner? He's still working at his day job hosting a NATO summit.

[Lefty Specialist]

Just understand that there's a dump truck's worth of oppo research on Kamala that they're just waiting to dump. Republicans are being unusually quiet right now. They got the memo, Trump included. Democrats are the ones making all the noise.

And it will be Kamala. Whitmer, Newsom and the others will wait until 2028; jumping in now would be a career-killer if you failed.

In a few months, when Trump is leading Kamala in the polls, then what? Plan C?

My problem with Biden and his people is not the debate. Bad debates happen. The problem is that they seemed paralyzed in the aftermath. This was a 'cleanup on aisle 9' moment and they didn't do anything about it. The interview with Stephanopoulis didn't help enough. He needs to be unscripted and out there. If he's not doing that, it only feeds the speculation that he CAN'T do it. And that just feeds the calls for him to step aside. Now he's going to be stuck with NATO chiefs for a few days which doesn't help either. An unscripted press conference would be really helpful here. but it doesn't look like they'll do it.

This is an advanced class in damage control, and they're flunking. Meanwhile a convicted criminal is walking free and has a better than even chance of being elected president. So somebody needs to get their shit together. Either prove you can still do the job, or step aside. And I hate saying that.

[Edgy MD]

He needed to say something like this at a podium, forcefully and clearly. That would be much more convincing to people who are skeptical.

He has been:

That's what I was trying to express above. He's been lighting it up at rallies.

Unfortunately, that's not the story that outlets are leading with.

[MFS62]

A positive recommendation for Whitmer from the U.K:
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2024/0 ... n-whitmer/

Whitmer is sensible on most topics, from the environment (keen on supporting renewables in America’s oil-guzzling motor industry heartlands), to childcare, to gun control and the biggie for me: abortion. She vowed to “fix the damn roads” in her home state, and actually did it. She focusses on infrastructure and she improves it, rather than relying on geopolitical and cultural alignments to win fans.
I think of her as a Democratic Nikki Haley with pizzazz and probably more intelligence,

Later

[ashie62]

Seeing Andrew Card confirmed that Parkinson Specialist Dr Kevin Cannard met with Biden's Dr O'Connor in January

I'm sure we'll hear more about it

[MFS62]

All over the news. A Parkinson's specialist is reported to have made 8 visits to the White House. His spokesperson has vehemently denied he has it in a press conference today. (But I didn't hear anyone ask, "Then why was the doctor there?")
This would have been a convenient opportunity for him to gracefully pull out of the race, and even turn the reins over to Kamala if he does it before he leaves office.
But he isn't doing that.
Yet.
Where's Jill?
Not telling him to get out:
https://thehill.com/blogs/in-the-know/4 ... -carolina/

Later

[TransMonk]

Everyone needs to take a breath.

[Edgy MD]

All over the news, huh?

[Bob Alpacadaca]

That tweet was from July 2. Seems odd that KJP would not just say it was for that legislation when she had her briefing today.

WASHINGTON — White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre refused Monday to explain a Parkinson’s expert’s eight recent visits to the executive mansion — citing “security reasons” despite the visitor logs being public.

During tense exchanges at her regular briefing, Jean-Pierre refused to say what those security concerns surrounding Dr. Kevin Cannard’s visits might be, and at one point accused correspondents of engaging in “personal attacks.”

I think the tide has turned, and it's tough to turn it back the other way.

[TransMonk]

The odds of Biden being replaced drop each day. If there was a tide that was going to turn, I would think it would have turned by now. Outside of pundits, never-Trumpers and a handful of lower-profile Congresspeople, he seems to have the overwhelming backing of Dem leaders and voters.

Obviously, things could still change and he could still have a Mitch McConnell glitch tomorrow, but regardless of how badly his staff handled the debate fallout, I don't see him getting pushed out because of it.

[MFS62]

All over the news, huh?

That's an old expression, but ...
Both ABC and NBC TV had it as their lead story on their nightly national news programs. Some of the NY local stations had it as their top 1 or 2 stories. And those were the ones I saw or heard.
How would you have said it? Widely reported? I write like I talk.
Later

[Edgy MD]

I'm not sure I would have written it at all.

In Russell Baker's memoir, he described how the presidential press beat, much like the papal press beat, is too often a deathwatch. The press can report as best as they can about the new land management policy or the new job initiative. But they know what's going to get the blood of their editors and readers pumping is news of an arrhythmia or bout with the flu.

But there's no news that there is anything there. The visitors log of The White House is public, so it's not like anything is or has been explicitly hidden. This doctor could certainly be consulting with any resident, employee, or regular visitor of The White House, with regards to any number of conditions, and HIPAA regulations and national security concerns are perfectly understandable reasons — consistent with transparency policies — that we shouldn't expect to know much more. Or he could be advising on health care national policy or on care of The White House staff, for anything.

Doesn't this seem more like a drop of blood in the water and sharks circling? We're jumping from cognitive decline to a completely new neurodegenerative motor disease which there is no evidence he's afflicted by.

[MFS62]

Yes, the sharks are circling.
I remember when reporters would wait to find out why before reporting the what.
It was entirely blown out of proportion. But that didn't stop them all rushing to report it, loaded with conjecture.

Later

[kcmets]

It's never going to stop and will likely get worse with each day that
passes. Meanwhile the guy is hosting a 75th NATO anniversary summit
and no one cares. Hosting NATO is too presidential. Maybe he should go
out and bang a porn store and leak it on YouTube. "Jesus Joe, your cock
is three times bigger and fatter than Donnie Small Balls!"

[Edgy MD]

It could stop, I think. You just need another juicier story. That doesn't mean the juicier story will be better for President Biden, though.

The only story that never dies is US Magazine's coverage of Jennifer Anniston's love drama.

[kcmets]

Well, if Sleepy Joe has a three hour and fifty-five minute erection
on YouTube and that's not juicy enough we're all cooked for sure.

And he doesn't get that civilian stuff, that's Presidential Viagra!!

[Centerfield]

My problem with Biden and his people is not the debate. Bad debates happen. The problem is that they seemed paralyzed in the aftermath. This was a 'cleanup on aisle 9' moment and they didn't do anything about it. The interview with Stephanopoulis didn't help enough. He needs to be unscripted and out there. If he's not doing that, it only feeds the speculation that he CAN'T do it. And that just feeds the calls for him to step aside. Now he's going to be stuck with NATO chiefs for a few days which doesn't help either. An unscripted press conference would be really helpful here. but it doesn't look like they'll do it.

I'll start by saying, I would vote for Joe Biden over Trump even if he were to die between now and November. But even I have no faith that Biden is capable to anything unscripted, or another debate.

Put it this way. The only thing that can prove that Biden is up to the task is to have him debate again and show that the last one was an aberration. But they won't. Because they, and everyone else, knows that he can't. And another bad debate would be the nail in the coffin.

So they'll hang on. And the Democrats will run an unqualified candidate and hope that "He's not Trump" will be enough to carry the day. I don't think it will be.

[Edgy MD]

Well, there's definitely a second debate scheduled for September 10. I doubt he's going to dodge it.

[Centerfield]

Well, there's definitely a second debate scheduled for September 10. I doubt he's going to dodge it.

GTFO. Well. Shows how much I know.

[kcmets]

Well, Trump could be Prez by September 10th. We'll have to see what
more Clarence Et al have up their sleeves the next two months...

... who needs elections when you have the judges in your pocket?