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Is 81 year-old Biden really going to run again? – politicalbetting.com

SystemSystem Posts: 12,047
edited February 4 in General
imageIs 81 year-old Biden really going to run again? – politicalbetting.com

One of the big questions in American politics at the moment is whether Joe Biden is going to seek a second term?

Read the full story here

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Comments

  • MattWMattW Posts: 21,866
    edited January 19
    1st for the 2nd time this week.

    I get 2 terms, too.
  • MattWMattW Posts: 21,866
    Where *is* everybody?

    All out building snowmen in the Lakes?
  • MattWMattW Posts: 21,866
    Cheers for the header, Mike.

    Perhaps they are going to argue over a wig-buffing comb?
  • MattWMattW Posts: 21,866
    4th as well. Clean sweep.
  • bondegezoubondegezou Posts: 10,196
    Fifth?
  • rottenboroughrottenborough Posts: 61,469
    It is Trump vs Biden unless major health issue hits one of them.

    In Trump's case he would have to be actually dead to be honest and even then he would insist on being on the ballot.
  • bigjohnowlsbigjohnowls Posts: 22,586
    edited January 19
    8th or 5th depending on methodology
  • TheuniondivvieTheuniondivvie Posts: 41,503
    rottenborough said:

    It is Trump vs Biden unless major health issue hits one of them.

    In Trump's case he would have to be actually dead to be honest and even then he would insist on being on the ballot.

    Maybe Trump is dead and that’s what the (alleged) smell is?
  • turbotubbsturbotubbs Posts: 16,910
    Run. no. Shamble along, yes...

    (With apologies to all our elder PB statesmen...)
  • NigelbNigelb Posts: 68,750
    edited January 19
    rottenborough said:

    It is Trump vs Biden unless major health issue hits one of them.

    In Trump's case he would have to be actually dead to be honest and even then he would insist on being on the ballot.

    Weekend at Bernie's vibes.

    Probably not a bad pitch for a sequel.
  • bigjohnowlsbigjohnowls Posts: 22,586
    Busy afternoon ahead Lunch at the Orangery and 2 films unless the pitch inspection is passed in which case its Lunch/ Film, women football game

    Bye
  • NigelbNigelb Posts: 68,750
    Why is #SyphilisDon trending ?
  • Dura_AceDura_Ace Posts: 13,677
    If he is alive, or in his current state which apparently passes for alive, then he'll run because the dominant aspect of his personality is vanity.

    What are the actuarial odds of an 81 year old with access to the best healthcare in the world dropping dead in the next ten months? 10%? 5%?
  • SandpitSandpit Posts: 53,314
    If he stands down he needs to deal with the Kamala Harris problem, which suggests that he stays running, especially if it looks likely that Trump will be his opponent.

    But there’s still suggestions from both Democrat and Republican sources, that he might stand aside at the Convention and let them pick someone else, citing ill health or an unwillingness to continue through the long campaign on the road for six months.

    I still think he’s 50/50, although I don’t recall a very senile moment from him in recent weeks, so perhaps his medications are now working well. He’s still 81 though, can’t be easy for him.
  • PulpstarPulpstar Posts: 77,440
    On topic: Yes. Unless he dies. Perhaps even then...
  • PulpstarPulpstar Posts: 77,440
    edited January 19
    Sandpit said:

    If he stands down he needs to deal with the Kamala Harris problem, which suggests that he stays running, especially if it looks likely that Trump will be his opponent.

    But there’s still suggestions from both Democrat and Republican sources, that he might stand aside at the Convention and let them pick someone else, citing ill health or an unwillingness to continue through the long campaign on the road for six months.

    I still think he’s 50/50, although I don’t recall a very senile moment from him in recent weeks, so perhaps his medications are now working well. He’s still 81 though, can’t be easy for him.

    50-50 ! You must be loooaaaaded up against him being Dem Nom.
  • SandpitSandpit Posts: 53,314
    Nigelb said:

    Why is #SyphilisDon trending ?

    Because certain sections of the US media are confusing red hands from playing golf with a serious disease, thanks to nothing much else happening in the States yesterday.
  • bigjohnowlsbigjohnowls Posts: 22,586
    Nigelb said:

    Why is #SyphilisDon trending ?

    Is this linked to if he will run if so surely it would be #gonnerereDon
  • Jim_MillerJim_Miller Posts: 2,860
    FPT: Just to add a little to Josias Jessop's sensible uncertainty: It is possible that no officials, even in the Chinese government, knows the true origin of the COVID virus. For example, a Chinese lab worker who blundered would have strong reasons to, if possible, conceal any evidence, or even create materials for a cover up.

    The recent story about the Chinese missiles filled with water should remind us that even dictatorships often have trouble knowing exactly what is going on in their nations.

    (Recently I have been reading Nate Silver's "Signal and Noise", and would recommend it to almost all of you.)
  • MarqueeMarkMarqueeMark Posts: 51,722
    edited January 19
    Nigelb said:

    Why is #SyphilisDon trending ?

    He appeared in court with weird bloody blotches on his hand.

    Some say it is secondary syphilis.

    Some say it is the stigmata.

    Take your pick.
  • NigelbNigelb Posts: 68,750
    MarqueeMark said:

    Nigelb said:

    Why is #SyphilisDon trending ?

    He appeared in court with weird bloody blotches on his hand.

    Some say it is secondary syphilis.

    Some say it is the stigmata.

    Take your pick.
    I'd rather not, thanks.
  • noneoftheabovenoneoftheabove Posts: 22,135
    Dura_Ace said:

    If he is alive, or in his current state which apparently passes for alive, then he'll run because the dominant aspect of his personality is vanity.

    What are the actuarial odds of an 81 year old with access to the best healthcare in the world dropping dead in the next ten months? 10%? 5%?

    Average US male about 5%. Reasonable health, drive and specialist healthcare I would guess 2-3%.
  • kjhkjh Posts: 11,516
    edited January 19
    MarqueeMark said:

    Nigelb said:

    Why is #SyphilisDon trending ?

    He appeared in court with weird bloody blotches on his hand.

    Some say it is secondary syphilis.

    Some say it is the stigmata.

    Take your pick.
    I find it ironic and rather sad that the stuff that is starting to stick is not the sensible stuff but the crap like he smells or he has syphilis, but I guess it is a case of pot and kettle.

    PS. The red marks on his hands would not have crossed my mind and when raised I just assumed it was ink.
  • Richard_TyndallRichard_Tyndall Posts: 32,089
    On topic and apologies if this has already been said but I think OGH and Biden are noth completely wrong. The one thing that almost guarantees a Trump win is Biden running again. If Biden stepped aside for a younger candidate without the Biden baggage then I think Trump would be hard pressed to win. With Biden as the Democrat candidate Trump is very likely the once and future President.
  • LeonLeon Posts: 53,240
    edited January 19
    isam said:

    AI madness

    Parcel delivery firm DPD have replaced their customer service chat with an AI robot thing. It’s utterly useless at answering any queries, and when asked, it happily produced a poem about how terrible they are as a company. It also swore at me. 😂

    https://x.com/ashbeauchamp/status/1748034519104450874?s=46&t=CW4pL-mMpTqsJXCdjW0Z6Q

    That’s brilliant. A lot more amusing than 97% of humans in the job

    And that’s because humans doing the job will either be bored witless at their thankless, repetitive task, and therefore grumpy and sad in their replies; or they will be ultra-low IQ drones barely able to type, so even if they aren’t bored that can’t say much

    So this is, precisely, where AI will 1. Be better than humans and 2. Will swiftly replace humans and 3. No one will mind coz the jobs are fairly awful

    But then more jobs will go, and so it spreads
  • Andy_JSAndy_JS Posts: 31,357
    "A Labour MP who worked in IT has said a "broader message" about the dangers of trusting computer systems might emerge from the Post Office Horizon scandal.

    Cambridge's Daniel Zeichner said systems were only as good as the people behind them."

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-cambridgeshire-68023157
  • TheScreamingEaglesTheScreamingEagles Posts: 118,517
    On topic, yes.
  • viewcodeviewcode Posts: 21,053
    noneoftheabove said:

    Dura_Ace said:

    If he is alive, or in his current state which apparently passes for alive, then he'll run because the dominant aspect of his personality is vanity.

    What are the actuarial odds of an 81 year old with access to the best healthcare in the world dropping dead in the next ten months? 10%? 5%?

    Average US male about 5%. Reasonable health, drive and specialist healthcare I would guess 2-3%.
    It's slightly higher than that: actuarial tables say probability of 0.072130 (ie 7.2%) of dying within next twelve months

    https://www.ssa.gov/oact/STATS/table4c6.html
  • JonathanJonathan Posts: 21,368
    Biden will stand until he is obviously going to lose AND someone else obviously has a better chance than him.

    The latter point is a catch-22. It is impossible to raise your profile while the sitting president is still in the race. It is impossible for Biden to risk stepping aside whilst there is no obvious Trump beating candidate.

    They are stuck, so are we and it is immensely dangerous.
  • TheScreamingEaglesTheScreamingEagles Posts: 118,517
    edited January 19
    I hope she’s not deleted anything to do with ongoing criminal matters.


    Nicola Sturgeon deleted all WhatsApp messages, Covid inquiry told

    Former Scottish first minister has insisted she has ‘nothing to hide

    Nicola Sturgeon deleted all her WhatsApp messages during the pandemic, the UK Covid inquiry has heard.

    The former first minister “retained no messages whatsoever”, the hearing in Edinburgh was told.

    It comes after Sturgeon previously said she had “nothing to hide” but repeatedly refused to say if she had retained the communications.

    https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/nicola-sturgeon-delete-whatsapp-messages-covid-inquiry-pandemic-jq53wvc0g
  • LeonLeon Posts: 53,240
    Dura_Ace said:

    If he is alive, or in his current state which apparently passes for alive, then he'll run because the dominant aspect of his personality is vanity.

    What are the actuarial odds of an 81 year old with access to the best healthcare in the world dropping dead in the next ten months? 10%? 5%?

    The average of dementia onset in the USA is 83.7, ie about halfway through Biden’s next term

    On the positive side, he has the best health care and all that; on the negative side he already looks deeply frail and already shows signs of major cognitive decline (so does Trump, btw, but he is better at hiding it - perhaps because he is physically more robust)
  • david_herdsondavid_herdson Posts: 17,565
    edited January 19
    On topic, yes. Anyone who thinks otherwise is in cloud-cuckoo land.

    Not only is he going to run again, he *is* running again. The race has been live for months now, votes are already being cast, filing deadlines for many states have passed and if Biden withdrew now it would cause merry havoc. If he planned not to run again, he would have said so no later than October 2023 and probably a few months earlier.

    The only way Biden departs the race now is if there's a serious health issue; more than just looking a bit doddery. I'm talking a heart attack or stroke or death or terminal whatever; something like that. It's too late for serious candidates to enter the race* and so if Biden did quit, it'd have to be some kind of convention fudge, which'd look bad and leave the field to Trump for months, assuming he remains in the race - which health and/or judges and juries permitting, he will.

    Biden's future as a candidate is not contingent on Trump's. The race is too far gone for that now.

    * Other than as shadow candidates for the convention, if, say, Biden did have a major health incident. But they'd be out of the primaries.
  • numbertwelvenumbertwelve Posts: 6,520
    edited January 19
    Yes. If he hadn’t been running he needed to make that decision before the autumn. The only thing that will cause him to withdraw now is (a) death (by definition that will be him withdrawing!) or (b) a catastrophic health issue that means he can’t.
  • TimSTimS Posts: 12,112
    Remember Abdelaziz Boutelfika, the octogenarian Algerian former (now late) president? Closest analogue to the two going for the White House I think, although by the time of his last election he was turning up in a wheelchair.
  • noneoftheabovenoneoftheabove Posts: 22,135
    viewcode said:

    noneoftheabove said:

    Dura_Ace said:

    If he is alive, or in his current state which apparently passes for alive, then he'll run because the dominant aspect of his personality is vanity.

    What are the actuarial odds of an 81 year old with access to the best healthcare in the world dropping dead in the next ten months? 10%? 5%?

    Average US male about 5%. Reasonable health, drive and specialist healthcare I would guess 2-3%.
    It's slightly higher than that: actuarial tables say probability of 0.072130 (ie 7.2%) of dying within next twelve months

    https://www.ssa.gov/oact/STATS/table4c6.html
    Thats going to be just sub 6% for 10 months. Personally I'd say that is just covered by "about 5%".....
  • TimSTimS Posts: 12,112
    I commented in the last thread about the news cycle not having been very fertile ground for Labour in the last few weeks. They've managed, but they could do with more focus on topics like the NHS (and not the strikes bit).

    Well today our Rishi has served up a nice news agenda switch for them:

    "Awkward encounter between Rishi Sunak and a voter in Winchester city centre this morning - as he’s asked why he can’t do more for the NHS
    On @skynews shortly"

    https://x.com/tamcohen/status/1748333061651964037?s=20
  • TimSTimS Posts: 12,112
    Oh dear, here's the clip. Hmm.

    https://x.com/hewitson10/status/1748338086637916564?s=20

    Gordon Brown bigoted woman moment.
  • NigelbNigelb Posts: 68,750
    edited January 19
    TimS said:

    Remember Abdelaziz Boutelfika, the octogenarian Algerian former (now late) president? Closest analogue to the two going for the White House I think, although by the time of his last election he was turning up in a wheelchair.

    This guy should enter the chat.
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mahathir_Mohamad

    And of course the presidents of Ireland and Italy are both 82.
    Though the demands of the job aren't quite as taxing.
  • numbertwelvenumbertwelve Posts: 6,520
    edited January 19
    TimS said:

    Oh dear, here's the clip. Hmm.

    https://x.com/hewitson10/status/1748338086637916564?s=20

    Gordon Brown bigoted woman moment.

    Oh good GOD.

    I think that’s worse than the bigoted woman moment. At least Brown was caught on mic afterwards and came across as reasonable to her face, and stayed to listen to what she had to say.
  • kyf_100kyf_100 Posts: 4,688
    Leon said:

    isam said:

    AI madness

    Parcel delivery firm DPD have replaced their customer service chat with an AI robot thing. It’s utterly useless at answering any queries, and when asked, it happily produced a poem about how terrible they are as a company. It also swore at me. 😂

    https://x.com/ashbeauchamp/status/1748034519104450874?s=46&t=CW4pL-mMpTqsJXCdjW0Z6Q

    That’s brilliant. A lot more amusing than 97% of humans in the job

    And that’s because humans doing the job will either be bored witless at their thankless, repetitive task, and therefore grumpy and sad in their replies; or they will be ultra-low IQ drones barely able to type, so even if they aren’t bored that can’t say much

    So this is, precisely, where AI will 1. Be better than humans and 2. Will swiftly replace humans and 3. No one will mind coz the jobs are fairly awful

    But then more jobs will go, and so it spreads
    AI is only as good as the people who programmed it. And exhibits the same biases.

    Lots of problems at the moment with Claude, which has been nerfed in the recent update and refuses instructions such as "write code to kill [x] system process" because it's not allowed to "kill" anything.

    I look forward to the day when this shit is integrated into our cars, and the cars refuse to start, because they've been given woke morals and think cars are bad for the environment.

    "I'm sorry, but as a large language model Volkswagen, I can't help you with your commute today. It's important to note that cars are bad for the environment, and walking or cycling are not only greener, but healthier too. Is there anything else I can help you with today?" /sarcasm
  • david_herdsondavid_herdson Posts: 17,565
    Just for reference, Biden is already the oldest-ever member of the G7, and is the second-oldest leader of a G7 country since WW2.

    However, that exception - Konrad Adenauer - served as German Chancellor until he was 87, winning his final term at the age of 85, and continuing to serve as head of the CDU until he was 90, including through another successful general election. Octogenarians are not by definition incapable of serving in high political office, even allowing for the changes in media and public demands since the 1960s.
  • isamisam Posts: 41,118
    edited January 19
    TimS said:

    Oh dear, here's the clip. Hmm.

    https://x.com/hewitson10/status/1748338086637916564?s=20

    Gordon Brown bigoted woman moment.

    Yikes, that looks horrendous

    Could be the straw that broke the camels back

    Just get Boris back somehow, make it interesting
  • TimSTimS Posts: 12,112
    numbertwelve said:

    TimS said:

    Oh dear, here's the clip. Hmm.

    https://x.com/hewitson10/status/1748338086637916564?s=20

    Gordon Brown bigoted woman moment.

    Oh good GOD.

    I think that’s worse than the bigoted woman moment. At least Brown was caught on mic afterwards and came across as reasonable to her face, and stayed to listen to what she had to say.
    If (and it's a big if) it gets major coverage then I agree, it's pretty bad. It confirms people's (possibly unfair) assumptions about him. That he doesn't understand the public or the mood of the country and doesn't care about public services.

    Major dead cat incoming. Expect Tory HQ to look for something, anything, controversial to knock this off the front page - trouble is they did Rwanda already yesterday, so they'll have to be creative.
  • noneoftheabovenoneoftheabove Posts: 22,135
    Richard_Tyndall said:

    On topic and apologies if this has already been said but I think OGH and Biden are noth completely wrong. The one thing that almost guarantees a Trump win is Biden running again. If Biden stepped aside for a younger candidate without the Biden baggage then I think Trump would be hard pressed to win. With Biden as the Democrat candidate Trump is very likely the once and future President.

    The issue with that is a Democratic primary would be bitter and messy and show up big divisions in the party.

    Sure, if they could run with someone like Whitmer, Klobuchar or Buttiegieg largely unopposed then yes they would have a better chance of beating Trump than Biden.

    In reality it would be a wide open race with multiple candidates, lots of egos, leftist vs centrist blocks fighting for control and some racial politics getting involved too. Whoever wins that, and it probably wouldnt be a centrist with appeal for independents, is going to be damaged and weak.
  • isamisam Posts: 41,118
    John Curtice agreeing with my reasoning for backing the unders in the turnout line (assuming it’s roughly the same as last time)

    “ The polling expert Prof John Curtice has warned of low turnout at this year’s general election, in part because voters regard Rishi Sunak and Keir Starmer to be as “dull as dishwater”.

    Speaking at an event for the Citizens Advice charity, Curtice cited boring leaders as one of three reasons why the voting numbers would be down.

    “We have two party leaders, three if you include Ed Davey – none of them enthuse the electorate, none of them is popular, all of them are regarded as dull as dishwater,” he told an online seminar on predictions for the election year.”

    https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2024/jan/18/low-general-election-turnout-likely-with-dull-as-dishwater-sunak-and-starmer
  • Peter_the_PunterPeter_the_Punter Posts: 14,251
    rottenborough said:

    It is Trump vs Biden unless major health issue hits one of them.

    In Trump's case he would have to be actually dead to be honest and even then he would insist on being on the ballot.

    He'd certainly want a second opinion.
  • StuartinromfordStuartinromford Posts: 16,541
    numbertwelve said:

    TimS said:

    Oh dear, here's the clip. Hmm.

    https://x.com/hewitson10/status/1748338086637916564?s=20

    Gordon Brown bigoted woman moment.

    Oh good GOD.

    I think that’s worse than the bigoted woman moment. At least Brown was caught on mic afterwards and came across as reasonable to her face, and stayed to listen to what she had to say.
    Rishi's inexperience at retail politics is going to be horrible to watch come the election.

    There's an art to remaining calm when being criticised. Football referees have it, police officers have it, teachers have it, politicians have it.

    But a lot of them don't have it to begin with. They learn it, gradually and painfully.

    What, if anything, has Sunak got in his CV for that?
  • Northern_AlNorthern_Al Posts: 8,271
    edited January 19
    TimS said:

    Oh dear, here's the clip. Hmm.

    https://x.com/hewitson10/status/1748338086637916564?s=20

    Gordon Brown bigoted woman moment.

    Yes, oh dear Rishi. Two serious crimes: 1) laughing contemptuously and grinning inanely; 2) very rudely buggering off before she'd finished.
    The press will be desperately trying to get hold of the woman.
    What a plonker (Rishi, I mean).
  • MexicanpeteMexicanpete Posts: 27,551
    Off topic

    Rishi tells Drakeford to do one over Port Talbot steel works.

    https://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/prime-minister-rishi-sunak-not-28476619
  • RobDRobD Posts: 59,574
    Stuartinromford said:

    numbertwelve said:

    TimS said:

    Oh dear, here's the clip. Hmm.

    https://x.com/hewitson10/status/1748338086637916564?s=20

    Gordon Brown bigoted woman moment.

    Oh good GOD.

    I think that’s worse than the bigoted woman moment. At least Brown was caught on mic afterwards and came across as reasonable to her face, and stayed to listen to what she had to say.
    Rishi's inexperience at retail politics is going to be horrible to watch come the election.

    There's an art to remaining calm when being criticised. Football referees have it, police officers have it, teachers have it, politicians have it.

    But a lot of them don't have it to begin with. They learn it, gradually and painfully.

    What, if anything, has Sunak got in his CV for that?
    I know it's easier said then done, but what is so hard about listening carefully to what is being said, asking relevant questions, and asking for contact information so that either his bods or their MP can follow up on the matter.
  • MarqueeMarkMarqueeMark Posts: 51,722
    TheScreamingEagles said:

    I hope she’s not deleted anything to do with ongoing criminal matters.


    Nicola Sturgeon deleted all WhatsApp messages, Covid inquiry told

    Former Scottish first minister has insisted she has ‘nothing to hide

    Nicola Sturgeon deleted all her WhatsApp messages during the pandemic, the UK Covid inquiry has heard.

    The former first minister “retained no messages whatsoever”, the hearing in Edinburgh was told.

    It comes after Sturgeon previously said she had “nothing to hide” but repeatedly refused to say if she had retained the communications.

    https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/nicola-sturgeon-delete-whatsapp-messages-covid-inquiry-pandemic-jq53wvc0g

    Sturgeon is looking like the dodgiest UK politician of the past few decades. Which is a hell of a crown to have taken, given the competition.
  • MexicanpeteMexicanpete Posts: 27,551
    edited January 19
    Northern_Al said:

    TimS said:

    Oh dear, here's the clip. Hmm.

    https://x.com/hewitson10/status/1748338086637916564?s=20

    Gordon Brown bigoted woman moment.

    Yes, oh dear Rishi. Two serious crimes: 1) laughing contemptuously and grinning inanely; 2) very rudely buggering off before she'd finished.
    The press will be desperately trying to get hold of the woman.
    What a plonker (Rishi, I mean).
    In the interests of balance should the BBC show Brown's bigot gate incident or maybe Starmer reversing a truck into a fence?
  • NigelbNigelb Posts: 68,750
    Jonathan said:

    Biden will stand until he is obviously going to lose AND someone else obviously has a better chance than him.

    The latter point is a catch-22. It is impossible to raise your profile while the sitting president is still in the race. It is impossible for Biden to risk stepping aside whilst there is no obvious Trump beating candidate.

    They are stuck, so are we and it is immensely dangerous.

    Yes, and Biden is not LBJ.
    It's just not at all clear how you replace a sitting president whose administration has performed reasonably well (in Biden's case, above many people's expectations), without making things even more difficult for the party.

    How many people on the thread think Harris would do better in the election ?
    Because she is the only realistic option which doesn't lead to a chaotic and completely unpredictable contest for the nomination.
  • david_herdsondavid_herdson Posts: 17,565
    numbertwelve said:

    TimS said:

    Oh dear, here's the clip. Hmm.

    https://x.com/hewitson10/status/1748338086637916564?s=20

    Gordon Brown bigoted woman moment.

    Oh good GOD.

    I think that’s worse than the bigoted woman moment. At least Brown was caught on mic afterwards and came across as reasonable to her face, and stayed to listen to what she had to say.
    It is.

    It's also worse than Johnson hiding in a fridge. It's worse than May's robot answers. It's worse than Miliband's 'hell yes!'. It's so spectacularly unempathetic that it's hard to know what he might have done worse.

    Imagine six weeks of this. I suppose Tory MPs will be considering that question right now.

    Though given the last FOUR leaders they've picked have been incapable of interacting with the public in an open situation, it's a stretch to think they'd definitely manage to get it right fifth time.
  • numbertwelvenumbertwelve Posts: 6,520
    Stuartinromford said:

    numbertwelve said:

    TimS said:

    Oh dear, here's the clip. Hmm.

    https://x.com/hewitson10/status/1748338086637916564?s=20

    Gordon Brown bigoted woman moment.

    Oh good GOD.

    I think that’s worse than the bigoted woman moment. At least Brown was caught on mic afterwards and came across as reasonable to her face, and stayed to listen to what she had to say.
    Rishi's inexperience at retail politics is going to be horrible to watch come the election.

    There's an art to remaining calm when being criticised. Football referees have it, police officers have it, teachers have it, politicians have it.

    But a lot of them don't have it to begin with. They learn it, gradually and painfully.

    What, if anything, has Sunak got in his CV for that?
    It looks to me like he was reacting to the woman behind the woman talking (a friend or relative perhaps?) who pulled a bit of a face when she said it needed to go back to how it was - I think maybe in a bit of a mirthful way (eg “oh how idealistic that would be”).

    I am going to extend some credit and suggest he isn’t a complete sociopath to just laugh at a voter’s wants for the sake of being rude.

    However you cut it though, it’s just the wrong reaction full stop. He is going to really get found out on the campaign trail if this is how he reacts to voters. Completely agree with you.
  • MarqueeMarkMarqueeMark Posts: 51,722
    Mexicanpete said:

    Off topic

    Rishi tells Drakeford to do one over Port Talbot steel works.

    https://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/prime-minister-rishi-sunak-not-28476619

    Drakeford is a politician part way through the out door. He's not going to get anybody to talk to him.
  • MalmesburyMalmesbury Posts: 48,420
    Andy_JS said:

    "A Labour MP who worked in IT has said a "broader message" about the dangers of trusting computer systems might emerge from the Post Office Horizon scandal.

    Cambridge's Daniel Zeichner said systems were only as good as the people behind them."

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-cambridgeshire-68023157

    *Anything* is only as good as the people working on/implementing it. See Boeing for more examples. Or BP and the Deepwater Horizon.
  • rottenboroughrottenborough Posts: 61,469
    In short: a shameful state of affairs that successive Conservative procurement and defence ministers have shambolically presided over and dithered over, yet are rewarded with knighthoods for a few weeks spent in office, as our military continues to effectively become non-deployable in many critical areas.

    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2024/01/19/britain-must-prepare-for-war-america-wont-save-us-this-time/
  • Big_G_NorthWalesBig_G_NorthWales Posts: 62,020
    RobD said:

    Stuartinromford said:

    numbertwelve said:

    TimS said:

    Oh dear, here's the clip. Hmm.

    https://x.com/hewitson10/status/1748338086637916564?s=20

    Gordon Brown bigoted woman moment.

    Oh good GOD.

    I think that’s worse than the bigoted woman moment. At least Brown was caught on mic afterwards and came across as reasonable to her face, and stayed to listen to what she had to say.
    Rishi's inexperience at retail politics is going to be horrible to watch come the election.

    There's an art to remaining calm when being criticised. Football referees have it, police officers have it, teachers have it, politicians have it.

    But a lot of them don't have it to begin with. They learn it, gradually and painfully.

    What, if anything, has Sunak got in his CV for that?
    I know it's easier said then done, but what is so hard about listening carefully to what is being said, asking relevant questions, and asking for contact information so that either his bods or their MP can follow up on the matter.
    To be fair Sky video does show him shaking her hand at the end of the discussion

    Sunak is not good at politics but he is out and about meeting people

    Sunak challenged by former NHS worker

    https://news.sky.com/video/share-13051591
  • NigelbNigelb Posts: 68,750
    Mexicanpete said:

    Off topic

    Rishi tells Drakeford to do one over Port Talbot steel works.

    https://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/prime-minister-rishi-sunak-not-28476619

    He does seem to like shutting things down.

    HS2; steel works; members of the public asking questions...
  • rottenboroughrottenborough Posts: 61,469
    numbertwelve said:

    Stuartinromford said:

    numbertwelve said:

    TimS said:

    Oh dear, here's the clip. Hmm.

    https://x.com/hewitson10/status/1748338086637916564?s=20

    Gordon Brown bigoted woman moment.

    Oh good GOD.

    I think that’s worse than the bigoted woman moment. At least Brown was caught on mic afterwards and came across as reasonable to her face, and stayed to listen to what she had to say.
    Rishi's inexperience at retail politics is going to be horrible to watch come the election.

    There's an art to remaining calm when being criticised. Football referees have it, police officers have it, teachers have it, politicians have it.

    But a lot of them don't have it to begin with. They learn it, gradually and painfully.

    What, if anything, has Sunak got in his CV for that?
    It looks to me like he was reacting to the woman behind the woman talking (a friend or relative perhaps?) who pulled a bit of a face when she said it needed to go back to how it was - I think maybe in a bit of a mirthful way (eg “oh how idealistic that would be”).

    I am going to extend some credit and suggest he isn’t a complete sociopath to just laugh at a voter’s wants for the sake of being rude.

    However you cut it though, it’s just the wrong reaction full stop. He is going to really get found out on the campaign trail if this is how he reacts to voters. Completely agree with you.
    He makes a look at his Spad, who starts saying we need to move on, we've got to get to the next etc etc and they just walk off.

  • MexicanpeteMexicanpete Posts: 27,551
    MarqueeMark said:

    TheScreamingEagles said:

    I hope she’s not deleted anything to do with ongoing criminal matters.


    Nicola Sturgeon deleted all WhatsApp messages, Covid inquiry told

    Former Scottish first minister has insisted she has ‘nothing to hide

    Nicola Sturgeon deleted all her WhatsApp messages during the pandemic, the UK Covid inquiry has heard.

    The former first minister “retained no messages whatsoever”, the hearing in Edinburgh was told.

    It comes after Sturgeon previously said she had “nothing to hide” but repeatedly refused to say if she had retained the communications.

    https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/nicola-sturgeon-delete-whatsapp-messages-covid-inquiry-pandemic-jq53wvc0g

    Sturgeon is looking like the dodgiest UK politician of the past few decades. Which is a hell of a crown to have taken, given the competition.
    Not according to the Socialist Worker's Daily Telegraph.

    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/columnists/2023/06/20/boris-johnson-corrupt-conservative-party-rotten/
  • Stark_DawningStark_Dawning Posts: 9,594
    isam said:

    TimS said:

    Oh dear, here's the clip. Hmm.

    https://x.com/hewitson10/status/1748338086637916564?s=20

    Gordon Brown bigoted woman moment.

    Yikes, that looks horrendous

    Could be the straw that broke the camels back

    Just get Boris back somehow, make it interesting
    Yes. The Tories need to beg - absolutely beg! - Dr Evil (or whatever his name is) to orchestrate a by-election (by fair means or foul) and get Boris reinstated. Doing a 'I've learnt my lesson and I'm a changed man' thing should be a sufficient way of skipping over previous misdeeds, and then he can sock it to Sir Keir. It's so crazy the public might actually find it endearing. What have the Tories got to lose?
  • Big_G_NorthWalesBig_G_NorthWales Posts: 62,020
    Northern_Al said:

    TimS said:

    Oh dear, here's the clip. Hmm.

    https://x.com/hewitson10/status/1748338086637916564?s=20

    Gordon Brown bigoted woman moment.

    Yes, oh dear Rishi. Two serious crimes: 1) laughing contemptuously and grinning inanely; 2) very rudely buggering off before she'd finished.
    The press will be desperately trying to get hold of the woman.
    What a plonker (Rishi, I mean).
    Have you seem the Sky clip because he does not do 2 as he actually shakes hands with her
  • tlg86tlg86 Posts: 26,018
    Nigelb said:

    Mexicanpete said:

    Off topic

    Rishi tells Drakeford to do one over Port Talbot steel works.

    https://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/prime-minister-rishi-sunak-not-28476619

    He does seem to like shutting things down.

    HS2; steel works; members of the public asking questions...
    Perhaps Drakeford shouldn't have shutdown that coal mine.

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-65316355
  • david_herdsondavid_herdson Posts: 17,565
    edited January 19
    noneoftheabove said:

    Richard_Tyndall said:

    On topic and apologies if this has already been said but I think OGH and Biden are noth completely wrong. The one thing that almost guarantees a Trump win is Biden running again. If Biden stepped aside for a younger candidate without the Biden baggage then I think Trump would be hard pressed to win. With Biden as the Democrat candidate Trump is very likely the once and future President.

    The issue with that is a Democratic primary would be bitter and messy and show up big divisions in the party.

    Sure, if they could run with someone like Whitmer, Klobuchar or Buttiegieg largely unopposed then yes they would have a better chance of beating Trump than Biden.

    In reality it would be a wide open race with multiple candidates, lots of egos, leftist vs centrist blocks fighting for control and some racial politics getting involved too. Whoever wins that, and it probably wouldnt be a centrist with appeal for independents, is going to be damaged and weak.
    As I keep saying, it is too late to have a contested Democratic primary season. Big states like California have already passed their filing deadlines. I've not checked the numbers but I wouldn't be surprised if more than half the delegates are from states where new candidates cannot now get ballot access. If not now, then that very soon will be the case.
  • Northern_AlNorthern_Al Posts: 8,271
    Big_G_NorthWales said:

    Northern_Al said:

    TimS said:

    Oh dear, here's the clip. Hmm.

    https://x.com/hewitson10/status/1748338086637916564?s=20

    Gordon Brown bigoted woman moment.

    Yes, oh dear Rishi. Two serious crimes: 1) laughing contemptuously and grinning inanely; 2) very rudely buggering off before she'd finished.
    The press will be desperately trying to get hold of the woman.
    What a plonker (Rishi, I mean).
    Have you seem the Sky clip because he does not do 2 as he actually shakes hands with her
    I have now, fair enough. However, he still seems pretty dismissive to me - very keen to make a quick exit.
  • Richard_TyndallRichard_Tyndall Posts: 32,089
    david_herdson said:

    On topic, yes. Anyone who thinks otherwise is in cloud-cuckoo land.

    Not only is he going to run again, he *is* running again. The race has been live for months now, votes are already being cast, filing deadlines for many states have passed and if Biden withdrew now it would cause merry havoc. If he planned not to run again, he would have said so no later than October 2023 and probably a few months earlier.

    The only way Biden departs the race now is if there's a serious health issue; more than just looking a bit doddery. I'm talking a heart attack or stroke or death or terminal whatever; something like that. It's too late for serious candidates to enter the race* and so if Biden did quit, it'd have to be some kind of convention fudge, which'd look bad and leave the field to Trump for months, assuming he remains in the race - which health and/or judges and juries permitting, he will.

    Biden's future as a candidate is not contingent on Trump's. The race is too far gone for that now.

    * Other than as shadow candidates for the convention, if, say, Biden did have a major health incident. But they'd be out of the primaries.

    Which, as I said, sadly means the next President will be Trump.
  • noneoftheabovenoneoftheabove Posts: 22,135
    Big_G_NorthWales said:

    RobD said:

    Stuartinromford said:

    numbertwelve said:

    TimS said:

    Oh dear, here's the clip. Hmm.

    https://x.com/hewitson10/status/1748338086637916564?s=20

    Gordon Brown bigoted woman moment.

    Oh good GOD.

    I think that’s worse than the bigoted woman moment. At least Brown was caught on mic afterwards and came across as reasonable to her face, and stayed to listen to what she had to say.
    Rishi's inexperience at retail politics is going to be horrible to watch come the election.

    There's an art to remaining calm when being criticised. Football referees have it, police officers have it, teachers have it, politicians have it.

    But a lot of them don't have it to begin with. They learn it, gradually and painfully.

    What, if anything, has Sunak got in his CV for that?
    I know it's easier said then done, but what is so hard about listening carefully to what is being said, asking relevant questions, and asking for contact information so that either his bods or their MP can follow up on the matter.
    To be fair Sky video does show him shaking her hand at the end of the discussion

    Sunak is not good at politics but he is out and about meeting people

    Sunak challenged by former NHS worker

    https://news.sky.com/video/share-13051591
    His tiggerish enthusiasm is going to put a lot of people off if he continues to use it injudiciously.
  • Big_G_NorthWalesBig_G_NorthWales Posts: 62,020
    rottenborough said:

    numbertwelve said:

    Stuartinromford said:

    numbertwelve said:

    TimS said:

    Oh dear, here's the clip. Hmm.

    https://x.com/hewitson10/status/1748338086637916564?s=20

    Gordon Brown bigoted woman moment.

    Oh good GOD.

    I think that’s worse than the bigoted woman moment. At least Brown was caught on mic afterwards and came across as reasonable to her face, and stayed to listen to what she had to say.
    Rishi's inexperience at retail politics is going to be horrible to watch come the election.

    There's an art to remaining calm when being criticised. Football referees have it, police officers have it, teachers have it, politicians have it.

    But a lot of them don't have it to begin with. They learn it, gradually and painfully.

    What, if anything, has Sunak got in his CV for that?
    It looks to me like he was reacting to the woman behind the woman talking (a friend or relative perhaps?) who pulled a bit of a face when she said it needed to go back to how it was - I think maybe in a bit of a mirthful way (eg “oh how idealistic that would be”).

    I am going to extend some credit and suggest he isn’t a complete sociopath to just laugh at a voter’s wants for the sake of being rude.

    However you cut it though, it’s just the wrong reaction full stop. He is going to really get found out on the campaign trail if this is how he reacts to voters. Completely agree with you.
    He makes a look at his Spad, who starts saying we need to move on, we've got to get to the next etc etc and they just walk off.

    If you look at the clip Sunak continues talking to the woman and they shake hands

  • TheScreamingEaglesTheScreamingEagles Posts: 118,517
    noneoftheabove said:

    Big_G_NorthWales said:

    RobD said:

    Stuartinromford said:

    numbertwelve said:

    TimS said:

    Oh dear, here's the clip. Hmm.

    https://x.com/hewitson10/status/1748338086637916564?s=20

    Gordon Brown bigoted woman moment.

    Oh good GOD.

    I think that’s worse than the bigoted woman moment. At least Brown was caught on mic afterwards and came across as reasonable to her face, and stayed to listen to what she had to say.
    Rishi's inexperience at retail politics is going to be horrible to watch come the election.

    There's an art to remaining calm when being criticised. Football referees have it, police officers have it, teachers have it, politicians have it.

    But a lot of them don't have it to begin with. They learn it, gradually and painfully.

    What, if anything, has Sunak got in his CV for that?
    I know it's easier said then done, but what is so hard about listening carefully to what is being said, asking relevant questions, and asking for contact information so that either his bods or their MP can follow up on the matter.
    To be fair Sky video does show him shaking her hand at the end of the discussion

    Sunak is not good at politics but he is out and about meeting people

    Sunak challenged by former NHS worker

    https://news.sky.com/video/share-13051591
    His tiggerish enthusiasm is going to put a lot of people off if he continues to use it injudiciously.
    Indeed.

    https://www2.politicalbetting.com/index.php/archives/2023/08/26/rishi-the-grate/
  • Scott_xPScott_xP Posts: 35,358
    ...
  • turbotubbsturbotubbs Posts: 16,910
    numbertwelve said:

    Stuartinromford said:

    numbertwelve said:

    TimS said:

    Oh dear, here's the clip. Hmm.

    https://x.com/hewitson10/status/1748338086637916564?s=20

    Gordon Brown bigoted woman moment.

    Oh good GOD.

    I think that’s worse than the bigoted woman moment. At least Brown was caught on mic afterwards and came across as reasonable to her face, and stayed to listen to what she had to say.
    Rishi's inexperience at retail politics is going to be horrible to watch come the election.

    There's an art to remaining calm when being criticised. Football referees have it, police officers have it, teachers have it, politicians have it.

    But a lot of them don't have it to begin with. They learn it, gradually and painfully.

    What, if anything, has Sunak got in his CV for that?
    It looks to me like he was reacting to the woman behind the woman talking (a friend or relative perhaps?) who pulled a bit of a face when she said it needed to go back to how it was - I think maybe in a bit of a mirthful way (eg “oh how idealistic that would be”).

    I am going to extend some credit and suggest he isn’t a complete sociopath to just laugh at a voter’s wants for the sake of being rude.

    However you cut it though, it’s just the wrong reaction full stop. He is going to really get found out on the campaign trail if this is how he reacts to voters. Completely agree with you.
    Trouble is members of the public can be such awful peasants. Going on about a small wait in an NHS hospital! She should be grateful to get treated at all. The poor royals had to pay to get treated after all.

    In reality he needs to learn how to deal as best as possible with situations like that. There are no easy answers. Trotting out lines from central office won't work. Blaming the junior docs won't work. Blaming Keir Starmer won't work. Blaming immigrants... (hmm - apart from the ones running A&E of course)...
  • Big_G_NorthWalesBig_G_NorthWales Posts: 62,020
    edited January 19
    noneoftheabove said:

    Big_G_NorthWales said:

    RobD said:

    Stuartinromford said:

    numbertwelve said:

    TimS said:

    Oh dear, here's the clip. Hmm.

    https://x.com/hewitson10/status/1748338086637916564?s=20

    Gordon Brown bigoted woman moment.

    Oh good GOD.

    I think that’s worse than the bigoted woman moment. At least Brown was caught on mic afterwards and came across as reasonable to her face, and stayed to listen to what she had to say.
    Rishi's inexperience at retail politics is going to be horrible to watch come the election.

    There's an art to remaining calm when being criticised. Football referees have it, police officers have it, teachers have it, politicians have it.

    But a lot of them don't have it to begin with. They learn it, gradually and painfully.

    What, if anything, has Sunak got in his CV for that?
    I know it's easier said then done, but what is so hard about listening carefully to what is being said, asking relevant questions, and asking for contact information so that either his bods or their MP can follow up on the matter.
    To be fair Sky video does show him shaking her hand at the end of the discussion

    Sunak is not good at politics but he is out and about meeting people

    Sunak challenged by former NHS worker

    https://news.sky.com/video/share-13051591
    His tiggerish enthusiasm is going to put a lot of people off if he continues to use it injudiciously.
    I wouldn't disagree but in todays incident he does not walk away from her

    He needs to have intensive training in dealing with these situations but at least he is out and about
  • MattWMattW Posts: 21,866
    Stark_Dawning said:

    isam said:

    TimS said:

    Oh dear, here's the clip. Hmm.

    https://x.com/hewitson10/status/1748338086637916564?s=20

    Gordon Brown bigoted woman moment.

    Yikes, that looks horrendous

    Could be the straw that broke the camels back

    Just get Boris back somehow, make it interesting
    Yes. The Tories need to beg - absolutely beg! - Dr Evil (or whatever his name is) to orchestrate a by-election (by fair means or foul) and get Boris reinstated. Doing a 'I've learnt my lesson and I'm a changed man' thing should be a sufficient way of skipping over previous misdeeds, and then he can sock it to Sir Keir. It's so crazy the public might actually find it endearing. What have the Tories got to lose?
    How many people would believe Boris Johnson, never mind believe him saying *that*? :smile:
  • turbotubbsturbotubbs Posts: 16,910
    So the full clip shows that he didn't laugh in her face and walk off. Embarassing for Streeting...
  • isamisam Posts: 41,118
    Stark_Dawning said:

    isam said:

    TimS said:

    Oh dear, here's the clip. Hmm.

    https://x.com/hewitson10/status/1748338086637916564?s=20

    Gordon Brown bigoted woman moment.

    Yikes, that looks horrendous

    Could be the straw that broke the camels back

    Just get Boris back somehow, make it interesting
    Yes. The Tories need to beg - absolutely beg! - Dr Evil (or whatever his name is) to orchestrate a by-election (by fair means or foul) and get Boris reinstated. Doing a 'I've learnt my lesson and I'm a changed man' thing should be a sufficient way of skipping over previous misdeeds, and then he can sock it to Sir Keir. It's so crazy the public might actually find it endearing. What have the Tories got to lose?
    The huge advantage it has is that Boris won the last GE. Yes, all that faff about “We vote for 650 MPs…” but to most people, he won last time and it wouldn’t seem weird to have him fight this one.

    Must say though, having seen the extended @Big_G_NorthWales clip of Sunak today, what happened is nothing at all. He continued to speak with the lady and left on good terms. Fair play to him

  • MexicanpeteMexicanpete Posts: 27,551
    edited January 19
    MarqueeMark said:

    Mexicanpete said:

    Off topic

    Rishi tells Drakeford to do one over Port Talbot steel works.

    https://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/prime-minister-rishi-sunak-not-28476619

    Drakeford is a politician part way through the out door. He's not going to get anybody to talk to him.
    "I'm not talking to you, you 20 mph tw*t"
    tlg86 said:

    Nigelb said:

    Mexicanpete said:

    Off topic

    Rishi tells Drakeford to do one over Port Talbot steel works.

    https://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/prime-minister-rishi-sunak-not-28476619

    He does seem to like shutting things down.

    HS2; steel works; members of the public asking questions...
    Perhaps Drakeford shouldn't have shutdown that coal mine.

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-65316355
    Wow, that was some leap.

    The blast furnaces were always going to go, but Mr Sunak and his trade team (ha!) having bunged Tata a fortune for the Arc furnace project, which is some years down the line, could have shown some interest in procuring a transition deal.

    The 2800 direct redundancies does not account for all the contractors on site. This is a very big deal.
  • RobDRobD Posts: 59,574
    turbotubbs said:

    So the full clip shows that he didn't laugh in her face and walk off. Embarassing for Streeting...

    Was he reading PB?
  • turbotubbsturbotubbs Posts: 16,910
    RobD said:

    turbotubbs said:

    So the full clip shows that he didn't laugh in her face and walk off. Embarassing for Streeting...

    Was he reading PB?
    we keep getting told that lots of politicians do...
  • DecrepiterJohnLDecrepiterJohnL Posts: 27,084
    Leon said:

    isam said:

    AI madness

    Parcel delivery firm DPD have replaced their customer service chat with an AI robot thing. It’s utterly useless at answering any queries, and when asked, it happily produced a poem about how terrible they are as a company. It also swore at me. 😂

    https://x.com/ashbeauchamp/status/1748034519104450874?s=46&t=CW4pL-mMpTqsJXCdjW0Z6Q

    That’s brilliant. A lot more amusing than 97% of humans in the job

    And that’s because humans doing the job will either be bored witless at their thankless, repetitive task, and therefore grumpy and sad in their replies; or they will be ultra-low IQ drones barely able to type, so even if they aren’t bored that can’t say much

    So this is, precisely, where AI will 1. Be better than humans and 2. Will swiftly replace humans and 3. No one will mind coz the jobs are fairly awful

    But then more jobs will go, and so it spreads
    Yes, although chatbots for customer service have been around for years.
  • kinabalukinabalu Posts: 41,258
    On topic: Yes I think Trump on the ballot and Biden on the ballot are (to an extent) related events in that if the GOP don't choose Trump Biden is more likely to say, "Ok, I'm too old for another term, I pass the torch." I also agree that if it does come to the rematch it will be Biden again because push to shove that's where most independents will go. It'd be better for America, the world and my blood pressure if Trump somehow isn't the GOP nominee (and here's still hoping) but this remains the final backstop and I think it's solid.
  • LeonLeon Posts: 53,240
    isam said:

    TimS said:

    Oh dear, here's the clip. Hmm.

    https://x.com/hewitson10/status/1748338086637916564?s=20

    Gordon Brown bigoted woman moment.

    Yikes, that looks horrendous

    Could be the straw that broke the camels back

    Just get Boris back somehow, make it interesting
    It’s definitely awkward and a little strange, but it’s not enough to finish Sunak. We are so close to the GE and they’ve already had nine leaders in the last fortnight it would need something seismic for Sunak to be booted out. Like the discovery he’s a bigamist with a secret gay husband in Tierra del Fuego, called Terry. Who deals fentanyl. To indigenous people. Using Sunak’s money to buy the precursor chemicals. From Mexican cartels. Based in Moscow. Who funnel the profits to a Netanyahu-approved death squad that take out disabled Islamic poets in and around Luton, once the targets have been approved. By Rishi Sunak, from his secret Muslim Poet Death Decision Pod encrusted with blood diamonds

    THAT, I think, could be the end of him; vote might be close, tho
  • Sunil_PrasannanSunil_Prasannan Posts: 51,092
    david_herdson said:

    Just for reference, Biden is already the oldest-ever member of the G7, and is the second-oldest leader of a G7 country since WW2.

    However, that exception - Konrad Adenauer - served as German Chancellor until he was 87, winning his final term at the age of 85, and continuing to serve as head of the CDU until he was 90, including through another successful general election. Octogenarians are not by definition incapable of serving in high political office, even allowing for the changes in media and public demands since the 1960s.

    Lizzie served as Queen till she was 96...
  • rkrkrkrkrkrk Posts: 8,126
    david_herdson said:

    On topic, yes. Anyone who thinks otherwise is in cloud-cuckoo land.

    Not only is he going to run again, he *is* running again. The race has been live for months now, votes are already being cast, filing deadlines for many states have passed and if Biden withdrew now it would cause merry havoc. If he planned not to run again, he would have said so no later than October 2023 and probably a few months earlier.

    The only way Biden departs the race now is if there's a serious health issue; more than just looking a bit doddery. I'm talking a heart attack or stroke or death or terminal whatever; something like that. It's too late for serious candidates to enter the race* and so if Biden did quit, it'd have to be some kind of convention fudge, which'd look bad and leave the field to Trump for months, assuming he remains in the race - which health and/or judges and juries permitting, he will.

    Biden's future as a candidate is not contingent on Trump's. The race is too far gone for that now.

    * Other than as shadow candidates for the convention, if, say, Biden did have a major health incident. But they'd be out of the primaries.

    Completely agree. Bizarre to me that you can still get a good return on him being Dem nominee.
  • Big_G_NorthWalesBig_G_NorthWales Posts: 62,020
    isam said:

    Stark_Dawning said:

    isam said:

    TimS said:

    Oh dear, here's the clip. Hmm.

    https://x.com/hewitson10/status/1748338086637916564?s=20

    Gordon Brown bigoted woman moment.

    Yikes, that looks horrendous

    Could be the straw that broke the camels back

    Just get Boris back somehow, make it interesting
    Yes. The Tories need to beg - absolutely beg! - Dr Evil (or whatever his name is) to orchestrate a by-election (by fair means or foul) and get Boris reinstated. Doing a 'I've learnt my lesson and I'm a changed man' thing should be a sufficient way of skipping over previous misdeeds, and then he can sock it to Sir Keir. It's so crazy the public might actually find it endearing. What have the Tories got to lose?
    The huge advantage it has is that Boris won the last GE. Yes, all that faff about “We vote for 650 MPs…” but to most people, he won last time and it wouldn’t seem weird to have him fight this one.

    Must say though, having seen the extended @Big_G_NorthWales clip of Sunak today, what happened is nothing at all. He continued to speak with the lady and left on good terms. Fair play to him

    Sky are suggesting Sunak may have been laughing at a comment from the crowd
  • noneoftheabovenoneoftheabove Posts: 22,135
    Big_G_NorthWales said:

    noneoftheabove said:

    Big_G_NorthWales said:

    RobD said:

    Stuartinromford said:

    numbertwelve said:

    TimS said:

    Oh dear, here's the clip. Hmm.

    https://x.com/hewitson10/status/1748338086637916564?s=20

    Gordon Brown bigoted woman moment.

    Oh good GOD.

    I think that’s worse than the bigoted woman moment. At least Brown was caught on mic afterwards and came across as reasonable to her face, and stayed to listen to what she had to say.
    Rishi's inexperience at retail politics is going to be horrible to watch come the election.

    There's an art to remaining calm when being criticised. Football referees have it, police officers have it, teachers have it, politicians have it.

    But a lot of them don't have it to begin with. They learn it, gradually and painfully.

    What, if anything, has Sunak got in his CV for that?
    I know it's easier said then done, but what is so hard about listening carefully to what is being said, asking relevant questions, and asking for contact information so that either his bods or their MP can follow up on the matter.
    To be fair Sky video does show him shaking her hand at the end of the discussion

    Sunak is not good at politics but he is out and about meeting people

    Sunak challenged by former NHS worker

    https://news.sky.com/video/share-13051591
    His tiggerish enthusiasm is going to put a lot of people off if he continues to use it injudiciously.
    I wouldn't disagree but in todays incident he does not walk away from her

    He needs to have intensive training in dealing with these situations but at least he is out and about
    Another example of many of our politicians just being too young and inexperienced. Why is he following the directions of a spad/minder to leave a conversation just because it is a bit difficult. If she is that knowledgeable why isnt she the PM instead of him?
  • nico679nico679 Posts: 5,906
    Biden is being selfish and simply refuses to accept that he’s turning into a Trump enabler .

    He of course loves being President and yes it would be hard to give that up voluntarily but surely if he truly believes democracy is at stake then he should stand aside .

    Gretchen Whitmer , tough well known and from a swing state would surely be a better choice to give Trump both barrels .
  • rkrkrkrkrkrk Posts: 8,126
    Richard_Tyndall said:

    david_herdson said:

    On topic, yes. Anyone who thinks otherwise is in cloud-cuckoo land.

    Not only is he going to run again, he *is* running again. The race has been live for months now, votes are already being cast, filing deadlines for many states have passed and if Biden withdrew now it would cause merry havoc. If he planned not to run again, he would have said so no later than October 2023 and probably a few months earlier.

    The only way Biden departs the race now is if there's a serious health issue; more than just looking a bit doddery. I'm talking a heart attack or stroke or death or terminal whatever; something like that. It's too late for serious candidates to enter the race* and so if Biden did quit, it'd have to be some kind of convention fudge, which'd look bad and leave the field to Trump for months, assuming he remains in the race - which health and/or judges and juries permitting, he will.

    Biden's future as a candidate is not contingent on Trump's. The race is too far gone for that now.

    * Other than as shadow candidates for the convention, if, say, Biden did have a major health incident. But they'd be out of the primaries.

    Which, as I said, sadly means the next President will be Trump.
    Why so confident Trump wins?

    There's a long way to go before November, Biden won last time and the economy is going well.

    If its Biden Trump, I make Biden a slight favourite.
  • Sunil_PrasannanSunil_Prasannan Posts: 51,092
    turbotubbs said:

    So the full clip shows that he didn't laugh in her face and walk off. Embarassing for Streeting...

    The fightback starts here!! :lol:
  • tlg86tlg86 Posts: 26,018
    turbotubbs said:

    So the full clip shows that he didn't laugh in her face and walk off. Embarassing for Streeting...

    After all the warnings of deep fakes.
  • Pro_RataPro_Rata Posts: 5,172
    Have we a link to the full clip?
  • Big_G_NorthWalesBig_G_NorthWales Posts: 62,020
    Pro_Rata said:

    Have we a link to the full clip?

    Sunak challenged by former NHS worker

    https://news.sky.com/video/share-13051591
  • Sunil_PrasannanSunil_Prasannan Posts: 51,092
    Big_G_NorthWales said:

    isam said:

    Stark_Dawning said:

    isam said:

    TimS said:

    Oh dear, here's the clip. Hmm.

    https://x.com/hewitson10/status/1748338086637916564?s=20

    Gordon Brown bigoted woman moment.

    Yikes, that looks horrendous

    Could be the straw that broke the camels back

    Just get Boris back somehow, make it interesting
    Yes. The Tories need to beg - absolutely beg! - Dr Evil (or whatever his name is) to orchestrate a by-election (by fair means or foul) and get Boris reinstated. Doing a 'I've learnt my lesson and I'm a changed man' thing should be a sufficient way of skipping over previous misdeeds, and then he can sock it to Sir Keir. It's so crazy the public might actually find it endearing. What have the Tories got to lose?
    The huge advantage it has is that Boris won the last GE. Yes, all that faff about “We vote for 650 MPs…” but to most people, he won last time and it wouldn’t seem weird to have him fight this one.

    Must say though, having seen the extended @Big_G_NorthWales clip of Sunak today, what happened is nothing at all. He continued to speak with the lady and left on good terms. Fair play to him

    Sky are suggesting Sunak may have been laughing at a comment from the crowd
    "Right!"
  • Sunil_PrasannanSunil_Prasannan Posts: 51,092
    tlg86 said:

    turbotubbs said:

    So the full clip shows that he didn't laugh in her face and walk off. Embarassing for Streeting...

    After all the warnings of deep fakes.
    That's enough about Truss :lol:
  • LeonLeon Posts: 53,240
    OK I’ve now seen the whole video. The kerfuffle is ridiculous. He’s perfectly polite, perhaps a tiny bit condescending. - but 98% of senior politicians come across as condescending. He gives her time, he shakes her hand, she seems satisfied that the PM took the trouble to chat with her, and…. That’s it

    This is not remotely in the league of Bigotgate. Get a grip, PB
  • MattWMattW Posts: 21,866
    edited January 19
    Leon said:

    isam said:

    AI madness

    Parcel delivery firm DPD have replaced their customer service chat with an AI robot thing. It’s utterly useless at answering any queries, and when asked, it happily produced a poem about how terrible they are as a company. It also swore at me. 😂

    https://x.com/ashbeauchamp/status/1748034519104450874?s=46&t=CW4pL-mMpTqsJXCdjW0Z6Q

    That’s brilliant. A lot more amusing than 97% of humans in the job

    And that’s because humans doing the job will either be bored witless at their thankless, repetitive task, and therefore grumpy and sad in their replies; or they will be ultra-low IQ drones barely able to type, so even if they aren’t bored that can’t say much

    So this is, precisely, where AI will 1. Be better than humans and 2. Will swiftly replace humans and 3. No one will mind coz the jobs are fairly awful

    But then more jobs will go, and so it spreads
    I like its slightly innumerate Haiku:




  • RobDRobD Posts: 59,574
    Leon said:

    OK I’ve now seen the whole video. The kerfuffle is ridiculous. He’s perfectly polite, perhaps a tiny bit condescending. - but 98% of senior politicians come across as condescending. He gives her time, he shakes her hand, she seems satisfied that the PM took the trouble to chat with her, and…. That’s it

    This is not remotely in the league of Bigotgate. Get a grip, PB

    You mean the clip was edited maliciously to make him look bad? Well I never.
This discussion has been closed.