The Democrats deserve to die forever for this, if only the alternative wasn't Trump
The scary thing is for all people saying they didn't want this, Biden and Trump probably were the preferred choices of their respective parties.
I'd still be angrier at the GOP for abandoning all morals to back a criminal, since Trump is dangerous regardless of his mental state, but as much as I was for a Democrat bluff until November, the bluff has been revealed too early, and Biden is not up to a campaign, never mind the presidency.
To be fair, Biden rescues that pretty well.
But one has to wonder, as a full time cynic, whether he had an earpiece and someone shouted 'no, not putin'.???
Hope so. Constituencies by census population too. And digital ID proof for postal voters, similar to the system for claiming Universal Credit. Two can play at that game.
Hope so. Constituencies by census population too. And digital ID proof for postal voters, similar to the system for claiming Universal Credit. Two can play at that game.
Is there a particular reason we wouldn't auto enrol people? I'm not in favour the 16-17 year old changes that were promised, but I don't recall any particular objections to auto-enrollment but since it is not the case now there must be a reason (partisan or otherwise).
The Democrats deserve to die forever for this, if only the alternative wasn't Trump
The scary thing is for all people saying they didn't want this, Biden and Trump probably were the preferred choices of their respective parties.
I'd still be angrier at the GOP for abandoning all morals to back a criminal, since Trump is dangerous regardless of his mental state, but as much as I was for a Democrat bluff until November, the bluff has been revealed too early, and Biden is not up to a campaign, never mind the presidency.
To be fair, Biden rescues that pretty well.
But one has to wonder, as a full time cynic, whether he had an earpiece and someone shouted 'no, not putin'.???
No, he didn't
When there are enormous question marks over your sanity, memory, clarity, and mental stability, and you make the NATO summit a test of your cerebral mettle, to convince people you are still up to the job, and you then announce President Zelensky as "President Putin"? That is easily as bad as it gets
What could he do that is worse in this context? Actually shitting himself might be forgivable; accidents happen; this is not forgivable, it is not an accident, he is demented
He has failed the NATO test as he failed the debate test, the Dems need to depose him this weekend. Enuff
Re Biden, I wonder what briefings on his fitness for office have been prepared by foreign embassies. Starmer and others have to be diplomatic yet must be uncomfortable about not voicing doubts.
The Democrats have to ask themselves is Joe Biden mentally and physically capable of seeing out the last months of his Presidency or not.
The problem with Burgum as a running mate for the Loser is that Burgum is too obviously fit to be president -- unlike the Loser, Biden, and Harris. (In the US such a combination is sometimes called a "kangaroo" ticket, since it is stronger in the back than the front.)
The Democrats deserve to die forever for this, if only the alternative wasn't Trump
The scary thing is for all people saying they didn't want this, Biden and Trump probably were the preferred choices of their respective parties.
I'd still be angrier at the GOP for abandoning all morals to back a criminal, since Trump is dangerous regardless of his mental state, but as much as I was for a Democrat bluff until November, the bluff has been revealed too early, and Biden is not up to a campaign, never mind the presidency.
To be fair, Biden rescues that pretty well.
But one has to wonder, as a full time cynic, whether he had an earpiece and someone shouted 'no, not putin'.???
No, he didn't
When there are enormous question marks over your sanity, memory, clarity, and mental stability, and you make the NATO summit a test of your cerebral mettle, to convince people you are still up to the job, and you then announce President Zelensky as "President Putin"? That is easily as bad as it gets
What could he do that is worse in this context? Actually shitting himself might be forgivable; accidents happen; this is not forgivable, it is not an accident, he is demented
He has failed the NATO test as he failed the debate test, the Dems need to depose him this weekend. Enuff
Much as I think the free pass Trump gets for his bizarre ramblings and slurring soliloquys is insane, your second paragraph hits the nail on the head - supporters and defenders of Biden have made this event a huge deal. Sure, everyone makes slips and Biden was being labelled 'gaffe prone' by even the BBC years ago, before his presidency, but this isn't his opponents leaping on little slips, it's him not performing when all is on the line.
The problem with Burgum as a running mate for the Loser is that Burgum is too obviously fit to be president -- unlike the Loser, Biden, and Harris. (In the US such a combination is sometimes called a "kangaroo" ticket, since it is stronger in the back than the front.)
What's all this about Trump changing the rules so he doesn't have to announce the veep until a minute before he goes on stage at the convention?
This was supposed to be the big day when he was going to do a big boy press conference (this team's words) to put all this nonsense of Biden having to step down to bed.
Hope so. Constituencies by census population too. And digital ID proof for postal voters, similar to the system for claiming Universal Credit. Two can play at that game.
Is there a particular reason we wouldn't auto enrol people? I'm not in favour the 16-17 year old changes that were promised, but I don't recall any particular objections to auto-enrollment but since it is not the case now there must be a reason (partisan or otherwise).
Hope so. Constituencies by census population too. And digital ID proof for postal voters, similar to the system for claiming Universal Credit. Two can play at that game.
Is there a particular reason we wouldn't auto enrol people? I'm not in favour the 16-17 year old changes that were promised, but I don't recall any particular objections to auto-enrollment but since it is not the case now there must be a reason (partisan or otherwise).
Hope so. Constituencies by census population too. And digital ID proof for postal voters, similar to the system for claiming Universal Credit. Two can play at that game.
Is there a particular reason we wouldn't auto enrol people? I'm not in favour the 16-17 year old changes that were promised, but I don't recall any particular objections to auto-enrollment but since it is not the case now there must be a reason (partisan or otherwise).
It doesn't benefit the Tory Party. Well. Here's some news. Got five years to say fuck 'em. You are utterly irrelevant.
The second most interesting thing about Vance -- as with Harris -- is his religion. Which changed recently: "Vance has been married to a former law school classmate, Usha Chilukuri Vance, since 2014. They have three children.[117] For some of his professional career, Vance and his wife lived in San Francisco.[118]
Vance was raised in a "conservative, evangelical" branch of Protestantism, but by September 2016, he was "thinking very seriously about converting to Catholicism" but was "not an active participant" in any particular Christian denomination.[119] In August 2019, Vance was baptized and confirmed in the Catholic Church in a ceremony at St. Gertrude Priory in Cincinnati, Ohio. He chose Augustine of Hippo as his Confirmation saint. Vance said he converted because he "became persuaded over time that Catholicism was true", and described Catholic theology's influence on his political views." (Links omitted.) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J._D._Vance#Personal_life
The Democrats deserve to die forever for this, if only the alternative wasn't Trump
The scary thing is for all people saying they didn't want this, Biden and Trump probably were the preferred choices of their respective parties.
I'd still be angrier at the GOP for abandoning all morals to back a criminal, since Trump is dangerous regardless of his mental state, but as much as I was for a Democrat bluff until November, the bluff has been revealed too early, and Biden is not up to a campaign, never mind the presidency.
To be fair, Biden rescues that pretty well.
But one has to wonder, as a full time cynic, whether he had an earpiece and someone shouted 'no, not putin'.???
No, he didn't
When there are enormous question marks over your sanity, memory, clarity, and mental stability, and you make the NATO summit a test of your cerebral mettle, to convince people you are still up to the job, and you then announce President Zelensky as "President Putin"? That is easily as bad as it gets
What could he do that is worse in this context? Actually shitting himself might be forgivable; accidents happen; this is not forgivable, it is not an accident, he is demented
He has failed the NATO test as he failed the debate test, the Dems need to depose him this weekend. Enuff
It makes the world dangerous - Putin and even the chinese do not respect weakness - the US and therefore the western world leadership is weak because of this - he needs to resign immediately. Starmer should be stating this as well (a test of true leadership ) and not trying to placate
I wouldn't be too critical of Biden. If he isn't fully compos mentis he can't really be expected to make the right decision. But the behaviour of those closest around him is a disgrace.
The Democrats deserve to die forever for this, if only the alternative wasn't Trump
The scary thing is for all people saying they didn't want this, Biden and Trump probably were the preferred choices of their respective parties.
I'd still be angrier at the GOP for abandoning all morals to back a criminal, since Trump is dangerous regardless of his mental state, but as much as I was for a Democrat bluff until November, the bluff has been revealed too early, and Biden is not up to a campaign, never mind the presidency.
To be fair, Biden rescues that pretty well.
But one has to wonder, as a full time cynic, whether he had an earpiece and someone shouted 'no, not putin'.???
No, he didn't
When there are enormous question marks over your sanity, memory, clarity, and mental stability, and you make the NATO summit a test of your cerebral mettle, to convince people you are still up to the job, and you then announce President Zelensky as "President Putin"? That is easily as bad as it gets
What could he do that is worse in this context? Actually shitting himself might be forgivable; accidents happen; this is not forgivable, it is not an accident, he is demented
He has failed the NATO test as he failed the debate test, the Dems need to depose him this weekend. Enuff
We agree on this as you know. Biden is utterly done and the Dems are idiots for wasting our time with not moving on and selecting a new nominee who can actually last four years and beat Trump.
But I do think he rescued it well - given the awful mess he made. Still a bloody disaster, but either he has an earpiece or he is not completely gone.
Of course we will be told tomorrow that it was jet lag from the long flight over from, erm, Washington.
In terms of VP picks in case Harris becomes the nominee .
Much depends on whether Dems think the Senate is salvageable. You’d want to avoid giving up a Senator from a tough state to win in Georgia if Ossoff was in the frame .
If Biden does withdraw then I can only see Harris in contention . The Dems can’t win if they piss off black voters and the optics would look terrible if they tried to put someone else in .
Hope so. Constituencies by census population too. And digital ID proof for postal voters, similar to the system for claiming Universal Credit. Two can play at that game.
Is there a particular reason we wouldn't auto enrol people? I'm not in favour the 16-17 year old changes that were promised, but I don't recall any particular objections to auto-enrollment but since it is not the case now there must be a reason (partisan or otherwise).
I suspect it is simply thta it has not been done in the past and that in recent times the Government thought it was more likely to favour the Opposition.
The one problem I can really see with it is that no one has a clear idea of who actually lives in any given constituency. Auto-enrolement is fine until you realise that we don't actually count how many people there are living in any given place. Okay we do it once every 10 years for the census but even with the legal penalties for non compliance there are still large numbers of people who get missed off either through accident or design (their own). And how much of the population moves in the intervening decade? A significant number I would suggest.
So I think auto-enrolement is a good idea in principle but might throw up its own huge issues practically.
"Rare news conference: The president’s last solo news conference was in November of last year, during a summit with President Xi Jinping of China. He has held only 14 solo news conferences, according to data compiled by Martha Kumar, an emeritus professor of political science at Towson University in Maryland. It is the fewest presidential news conferences since Ronald Reagan."
I wouldn't be too critical of Biden. If he isn't fully compos mentis he can't really be expected to make the right decision. But the behaviour of those closest around him is a disgrace.
I don't blame Biden, its those that enabled it to get to this stage and anybody pointing this out has been met with gas lighting and coverups....its was a cold, it was jet lag, it was just a slightly off night..
In time we will find out that every at the White House knew, the media knew, but they are so scared that they will get Trump that they did everything to cover it up. Now they may well get Trump because of it.
This was supposed to be the big day when he was going to do a big boy press conference (this team's words) to put all this nonsense of Biden having to step down to bed.
The thing is everyone is so focused on everything he says that even if he makes a minor faux pas then it is turned into something huge. He can't campaign like that. The free world relies on Trump being beat.
This was supposed to be the big day when he was going to do a big boy press conference (this team's words) to put all this nonsense of Biden having to step down to bed.
The thing is everyone is so focused on everything he says that even if he makes a minor faux pas then it is turned into something huge. He can't campaign like that. The free world relies on Trump being beat.
Yes, some of the things are probably a bit unfair. Once the media decide you are for the knackers yard they will elevate every little thing. They did it with Gordon Brown, they did it was Rishi Sunak.
But obviously we are at a stage now where he stood there butt naked in front of 10's millions of people unable to even complete a sentence for over 30 mins. That is clearly at his worst, but it also clearly happens often.
I wouldn't be too critical of Biden. If he isn't fully compos mentis he can't really be expected to make the right decision. But the behaviour of those closest around him is a disgrace.
Yes, I don't actually blame Biden. I am pretty sure he has full-on dementia now, he is not respinsible for this, no more than my poor demented mother who orders eighteen different kinds of cake in a morning, forgetting each time
My mum is in sheltered housing, Biden is supposedly running the USA. It is obscene and those who have long enabled this need to face a courtroom. But first, and more urgently. he needs to step down or be thrust from office, and somebody with a functioning brain has to takeover. If that's the mediocre Harris, so be it. She is sane
I suspect it is simply thta it has not been done in the past and that in recent times the Government thought it was more likely to favour the Opposition.
The one problem I can really see with it is that no one has a clear idea of who actually lives in any given constituency. Auto-enrolement is fine until you realise that we don't actually count how many people there are living in any given place. Okay we do it once every 10 years for the census but even with the legal penalties for non compliance there are still large numbers of people who get missed off either through accident or design (their own). And how much of the population moves in the intervening decade? A significant number I would suggest.
So I think auto-enrolement is a good idea in principle but might throw up its own huge issues practically.
Sounds like the sort of thing that would work in a country where you have to register living at a new address and have ID cards. Not sure how well it would work here.
The Democrats deserve to die forever for this, if only the alternative wasn't Trump
The scary thing is for all people saying they didn't want this, Biden and Trump probably were the preferred choices of their respective parties.
I'd still be angrier at the GOP for abandoning all morals to back a criminal, since Trump is dangerous regardless of his mental state, but as much as I was for a Democrat bluff until November, the bluff has been revealed too early, and Biden is not up to a campaign, never mind the presidency.
To be fair, Biden rescues that pretty well.
But one has to wonder, as a full time cynic, whether he had an earpiece and someone shouted 'no, not putin'.???
No, he didn't
When there are enormous question marks over your sanity, memory, clarity, and mental stability, and you make the NATO summit a test of your cerebral mettle, to convince people you are still up to the job, and you then announce President Zelensky as "President Putin"? That is easily as bad as it gets
What could he do that is worse in this context? Actually shitting himself might be forgivable; accidents happen; this is not forgivable, it is not an accident, he is demented
He has failed the NATO test as he failed the debate test, the Dems need to depose him this weekend. Enuff
Getting names mixed up isn't definitely dementia, sometimes people simply do it.
I do it regularly with my kids. Talking with one daughter and mistakenly use her sister's name and then she'll always say "I'm not ******, I'm *****" which is embarrassing, of course I know that its just a slip of the tongue.
However I'm not POTUS, nor under scrutiny for not being mentally cogent enough to continue.
He's lost the benefit of the doubt. I still think he's probably just an old man who is deteriorating, not dementia, but he is an old man who is deteriorating and shouldn't be POTUS anymore.
The Democrats deserve to die forever for this, if only the alternative wasn't Trump
The scary thing is for all people saying they didn't want this, Biden and Trump probably were the preferred choices of their respective parties.
I'd still be angrier at the GOP for abandoning all morals to back a criminal, since Trump is dangerous regardless of his mental state, but as much as I was for a Democrat bluff until November, the bluff has been revealed too early, and Biden is not up to a campaign, never mind the presidency.
To be fair, Biden rescues that pretty well.
But one has to wonder, as a full time cynic, whether he had an earpiece and someone shouted 'no, not putin'.???
No, he didn't
When there are enormous question marks over your sanity, memory, clarity, and mental stability, and you make the NATO summit a test of your cerebral mettle, to convince people you are still up to the job, and you then announce President Zelensky as "President Putin"? That is easily as bad as it gets
What could he do that is worse in this context? Actually shitting himself might be forgivable; accidents happen; this is not forgivable, it is not an accident, he is demented
He has failed the NATO test as he failed the debate test, the Dems need to depose him this weekend. Enuff
It makes the world dangerous - Putin and even the chinese do not respect weakness - the US and therefore the western world leadership is weak because of this - he needs to resign immediately. Starmer should be stating this as well (a test of true leadership ) and not trying to placate
Should he? Makes no difference and antagonises the Dems. To leave well alone seems prudent.
He takes a traceable taxi to the bridge only to find the railing at too high for him to throw the suitcases over the bridge. Are we sure he didn't used to work for CCHQ and he is trying to discard the bodies of those who ran the Tory GE campaign?
There was still some hope he was clearly not at his prime, but just had some bad days, and could keep it together to beat Trump. Unfortunately, that does not appear to be the case.
As BartholomewRoberts says, he's lost the benefit of the doubt. And the world is going to suffer a lot because of it when Trump wins - a stupid, vicious, criminal in White House who openly likes authoritarians.
This was supposed to be the big day when he was going to do a big boy press conference (this team's words) to put all this nonsense of Biden having to step down to bed.
The thing is everyone is so focused on everything he says that even if he makes a minor faux pas then it is turned into something huge. He can't campaign like that. The free world relies on Trump being beat.
This is not "a minor faux pas"
This is like Churchill at Yalta, after a masivve ruckus about his boozing screwing his brain, then giving a massive broadcast speech and drunkenly calling Stalin "Adolf Hitler, oops, sorry, no, Joseph Stalin"
As @Casino_Royale points out, the attempt to right his mistake makes it worse. He knows it is a tremendous error and tries to make it better
The Democrats deserve to die forever for this, if only the alternative wasn't Trump
The scary thing is for all people saying they didn't want this, Biden and Trump probably were the preferred choices of their respective parties.
I'd still be angrier at the GOP for abandoning all morals to back a criminal, since Trump is dangerous regardless of his mental state, but as much as I was for a Democrat bluff until November, the bluff has been revealed too early, and Biden is not up to a campaign, never mind the presidency.
To be fair, Biden rescues that pretty well.
But one has to wonder, as a full time cynic, whether he had an earpiece and someone shouted 'no, not putin'.???
No, he didn't
When there are enormous question marks over your sanity, memory, clarity, and mental stability, and you make the NATO summit a test of your cerebral mettle, to convince people you are still up to the job, and you then announce President Zelensky as "President Putin"? That is easily as bad as it gets
What could he do that is worse in this context? Actually shitting himself might be forgivable; accidents happen; this is not forgivable, it is not an accident, he is demented
He has failed the NATO test as he failed the debate test, the Dems need to depose him this weekend. Enuff
It makes the world dangerous - Putin and even the chinese do not respect weakness - the US and therefore the western world leadership is weak because of this - he needs to resign immediately. Starmer should be stating this as well (a test of true leadership ) and not trying to placate
Should he? Makes no difference and antagonises the Dems. To leave well alone seems prudent.
Pretty poor diplomacy to say out loud on TV that your main alley is led by someone who needs a care home.
The Democrats deserve to die forever for this, if only the alternative wasn't Trump
The scary thing is for all people saying they didn't want this, Biden and Trump probably were the preferred choices of their respective parties.
I'd still be angrier at the GOP for abandoning all morals to back a criminal, since Trump is dangerous regardless of his mental state, but as much as I was for a Democrat bluff until November, the bluff has been revealed too early, and Biden is not up to a campaign, never mind the presidency.
To be fair, Biden rescues that pretty well.
But one has to wonder, as a full time cynic, whether he had an earpiece and someone shouted 'no, not putin'.???
No, he didn't
When there are enormous question marks over your sanity, memory, clarity, and mental stability, and you make the NATO summit a test of your cerebral mettle, to convince people you are still up to the job, and you then announce President Zelensky as "President Putin"? That is easily as bad as it gets
What could he do that is worse in this context? Actually shitting himself might be forgivable; accidents happen; this is not forgivable, it is not an accident, he is demented
He has failed the NATO test as he failed the debate test, the Dems need to depose him this weekend. Enuff
It makes the world dangerous - Putin and even the chinese do not respect weakness - the US and therefore the western world leadership is weak because of this - he needs to resign immediately. Starmer should be stating this as well (a test of true leadership ) and not trying to placate
Should he? Makes no difference and antagonises the Dems. To leave well alone seems prudent.
you dont think Putin has been advised that if he is wanting to use a tactical nuclear weapon this is the best time as the quickness of a response could be comprimised by having the President unable to make a coherent decision because he has lost touch on reality? World politics is not a game where you play nice
How hard would it be for a Democrat to challenge Biden at the convention? Did Reagan run against Ford in '76?
Democrats must nominate POTUS & VP nominees by August 7 in order to qualify for the Ohio general election ballot.
Ronald Reagan did indeed challenge Gerald Ford for the 1976 Republican presidential nomination. IN THE PRIMARIES and caucuses, in other words the normal way. Though the end-game did have some interesting twists and turns.
This was supposed to be the big day when he was going to do a big boy press conference (this team's words) to put all this nonsense of Biden having to step down to bed.
The thing is everyone is so focused on everything he says that even if he makes a minor faux pas then it is turned into something huge. He can't campaign like that. The free world relies on Trump being beat.
This is not "a minor faux pas"
This is like Churchill at Yalta, after a masivve ruckus about his boozing screwing his brain, then giving a massive broadcast speech and drunkenly calling Stalin "Adolf Hitler, oops, sorry, no, Joseph Stalin"
As @Casino_Royale points out, the attempt to right his mistake makes it worse. He knows it is a tremendous error and tries to make it better
STOP IT
People make slips of the tongue.
The problem is Biden has lost the benefit of the doubt. Had it been eg George W Bush, or Boris, or many other leaders, it would be laughed at, their critics enjoying the mistake and people would be calling it something other other than dementia.
I wouldn't be too critical of Biden. If he isn't fully compos mentis he can't really be expected to make the right decision. But the behaviour of those closest around him is a disgrace.
Yes, I don't actually blame Biden. I am pretty sure he has full-on dementia now, he is not respinsible for this, no more than my poor demented mother who orders eighteen different kinds of cake in a morning, forgetting each time
My mum is in sheltered housing, Biden is supposedly running the USA. It is obscene and those who have long enabled this need to face a courtroom. But first, and more urgently. he needs to step down or be thrust from office, and somebody with a functioning brain has to takeover. If that's the mediocre Harris, so be it. She is sane
The problem for us is that Biden could be ordering eighteen different kinds of Navy Seal attacks in a befuddled morning.
As Trump will no doubt point out endlessly if this is allowed to run until November.
This was supposed to be the big day when he was going to do a big boy press conference (this team's words) to put all this nonsense of Biden having to step down to bed.
The thing is everyone is so focused on everything he says that even if he makes a minor faux pas then it is turned into something huge. He can't campaign like that. The free world relies on Trump being beat.
This is not "a minor faux pas"
This is like Churchill at Yalta, after a masivve ruckus about his boozing screwing his brain, then giving a massive broadcast speech and drunkenly calling Stalin "Adolf Hitler, oops, sorry, no, Joseph Stalin"
As @Casino_Royale points out, the attempt to right his mistake makes it worse. He knows it is a tremendous error and tries to make it better
STOP IT
Wifey used the “it’s like him getting you confused with Hitler” description. I just showed her the clip. Without preamble. She’s also political.
I assume that the rumbling of the last 24 hours now becomes unstoppable. And with respect to the man, he has the nuclear codes. So I think there is now a greater than 50% chance that he resigns the presidency.
This was supposed to be the big day when he was going to do a big boy press conference (this team's words) to put all this nonsense of Biden having to step down to bed.
The thing is everyone is so focused on everything he says that even if he makes a minor faux pas then it is turned into something huge. He can't campaign like that. The free world relies on Trump being beat.
Yes, some of the things are probably a bit unfair. Once the media decide you are for the knackers yard they will elevate every little thing. They did it with Gordon Brown, they did it was Rishi Sunak.
But obviously we are at a stage now where he stood there butt naked in front of 10's millions of people unable to even complete a sentence for over 30 mins. That is clearly at his worst, but it also clearly happens often.
AFAICS it now happens every single time he faces a live cameria, even with the aid of teleprompters
He makes huge errors, or he sounds mad, or he simply mumbles into silence, staring vaguely into space
Why are we even arguing this. He's senile and demented, he is unfit for the biggest job in the world (by some distance)
I wouldn't be too critical of Biden. If he isn't fully compos mentis he can't really be expected to make the right decision. But the behaviour of those closest around him is a disgrace.
Yes, I don't actually blame Biden. I am pretty sure he has full-on dementia now, he is not respinsible for this, no more than my poor demented mother who orders eighteen different kinds of cake in a morning, forgetting each time
My mum is in sheltered housing, Biden is supposedly running the USA. It is obscene and those who have long enabled this need to face a courtroom. But first, and more urgently. he needs to step down or be thrust from office, and somebody with a functioning brain has to takeover. If that's the mediocre Harris, so be it. She is sane
The problem for us is that Biden could be ordering eighteen different kinds of Navy Seal attacks in a befuddled morning.
As Trump will no doubt point out endlessly if this is allowed to run until November.
FFS.
Biden could take the opportunity to get the Navy Seals to protect democracy by taking out Trump.
Hours before a high-stakes press conference aimed at dispelling concerns about his cognitive health, President Joe Biden appeared to confuse the leaders of Ukraine and Russia.
“Ladies and gentlemen, President Putin,” Biden said as he introduced Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at a NATO event in Washington on Thursday.
I think this is all showing why a period of calm reflection after the debate ending in a “it is time for a new generation” speech would have been a much more dignified way out.
But unfortunately people cling on, and as power drains away everything just starts to look sadder and more humiliating. I feel sorry for the guy, but he needs to go.
If I was Putin and I was planning something dramatic and nasty, now would be the optimal moment, with America so fundamentally weak and leaderless, with a president who is clearly mad. Who is in charge? Who gives the orders? Who commands the US military? No one???
It's like some terrible movie, but it is real. Kick this senile twat out of the White House, NOW
The Dems need to go all in and ask Biden to stand down .
If he refuses then of course it’s a disaster . But they simply can’t risk another debate car crash .
No one believes for a second that he can serve another 4 years . He might have originally thought he could scrape a win and then handover but that’s no longer possible .
If I was Putin and I was planning something dramatic and nasty, now would be the optimal moment, with America so fundamentally weak and leaderless, with a president who is clearly mad. Who is in charge? Who gives the orders? Who commands the US military? No one???
It's like some terrible movie, but it is real. Kick this senile twat out of the White House, NOW
Why now? If he hangs on until January 20th Putin's oppo is back in the Whitehouse.
Am I the only person on here who doesn't give a monkey's about the USA?
Yes, probably
Given that the West now unfortunately faces an existential struggle against Russia, and probably China, Iran. North Korea, etc, America becomes MORE salient, not less
I entirely agree we often over-emphasise American politics and culture in the UK, we should spread our net wider. But right now we all desperately need a strong, confident USA. We are close to getting the opposite under a dangerously demented old fool like Biden
Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelenskiy had been due to give a press conference at the end of the Nato summit, starting just now.
But journalists waiting have just been told the event has been cancelled – meaning Zelenskiy won’t have to respond to questions about Biden’s gaffe earlier. (Guardian)
Am I the only person on here who doesn't give a monkey's about the USA?
Yes, probably
Given that the West now unfortunately faces an existential struggle against Russia, and probably China, Iran. North Korea, etc, America becomes MORE salient, not less
I entirely agree we often over-emphasise American politics and culture in the UK, we should spread our net wider. But right now we all desperately need a strong, confident USA. We are close to getting the opposite under a dangerously demented old fool like Biden
America is the armoury of liberal democracy
Even a demented old Biden would be better than Trump.
Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelenskiy had been due to give a press conference at the end of the Nato summit, starting just now.
But journalists waiting have just been told the event has been cancelled – meaning Zelenskiy won’t have to respond to questions about Biden’s gaffe earlier. (Guardian)
And there it is. The West, and NATO, and Ukraine, are all weakened by the need to cover for a senile POTUS
Jon Sopel @jonsopel · 37m Holy shit. How much more do people have to see of this?
Actually, in itself, this is a mistake anyone could make. But it's the cumulative effect of course.
It not only the slip of the tongue, it is he says it, then wanders off from the mic seemingly oblivious to the mistake, clearly somebody shouts at Zelenskyy at him and he wanders back and then says Zelenskyy....
This was supposed to be the big day when he was going to do a big boy press conference (this team's words) to put all this nonsense of Biden having to step down to bed.
The thing is everyone is so focused on everything he says that even if he makes a minor faux pas then it is turned into something huge. He can't campaign like that. The free world relies on Trump being beat.
This is not "a minor faux pas"
This is like Churchill at Yalta, after a masivve ruckus about his boozing screwing his brain, then giving a massive broadcast speech and drunkenly calling Stalin "Adolf Hitler, oops, sorry, no, Joseph Stalin"
As @Casino_Royale points out, the attempt to right his mistake makes it worse. He knows it is a tremendous error and tries to make it better
STOP IT
Wifey used the “it’s like him getting you confused with Hitler” description. I just showed her the clip. Without preamble. She’s also political.
I assume that the rumbling of the last 24 hours now becomes unstoppable. And with respect to the man, he has the nuclear codes. So I think there is now a greater than 50% chance that he resigns the presidency.
If Biden does resign the presidency as well, then an inauguration followed by a few months of incumbency surely has to be to Harris's advantage in terms of winning in November.
Had Biden been persuaded to relinquish the nomination a couple of weeks back, he would have avoided the added scrutiny of the campaign and with minimal public appearances might well have been able to carry on for another 4 months.
The Democrats deserve to die forever for this, if only the alternative wasn't Trump
The scary thing is for all people saying they didn't want this, Biden and Trump probably were the preferred choices of their respective parties.
I'd still be angrier at the GOP for abandoning all morals to back a criminal, since Trump is dangerous regardless of his mental state, but as much as I was for a Democrat bluff until November, the bluff has been revealed too early, and Biden is not up to a campaign, never mind the presidency.
To be fair, Biden rescues that pretty well.
But one has to wonder, as a full time cynic, whether he had an earpiece and someone shouted 'no, not putin'.???
No, he didn't
When there are enormous question marks over your sanity, memory, clarity, and mental stability, and you make the NATO summit a test of your cerebral mettle, to convince people you are still up to the job, and you then announce President Zelensky as "President Putin"? That is easily as bad as it gets
What could he do that is worse in this context? Actually shitting himself might be forgivable; accidents happen; this is not forgivable, it is not an accident, he is demented
He has failed the NATO test as he failed the debate test, the Dems need to depose him this weekend. Enuff
It makes the world dangerous - Putin and even the chinese do not respect weakness - the US and therefore the western world leadership is weak because of this - he needs to resign immediately. Starmer should be stating this as well (a test of true leadership ) and not trying to placate
Should he? Makes no difference and antagonises the Dems. To leave well alone seems prudent.
you dont think Putin has been advised that if he is wanting to use a tactical nuclear weapon this is the best time as the quickness of a response could be comprimised by having the President unable to make a coherent decision because he has lost touch on reality? World politics is not a game where you play nice
For sure this is a shit situation.
After reading Eisenberg's books I'm don't think an incapacitated President would be much of an impediment to the US's nuclear strategy, they seem to plan almost everything.
Jon Sopel @jonsopel · 37m Holy shit. How much more do people have to see of this?
Actually, in itself, this is a mistake anyone could make. But it's the cumulative effect of course.
It not only the slip of the tongue, it is he says it, then wanders off from the mic seemingly oblivious to the mistake, clearly somebody shouts at Zelenskyy at him and he wanders back and then says Zelenskyy....
That's what naturally happens when you make a slip of the tongue.
When it happens, I don't realise I've called my daughter by her sister's name until she points it out.
Jon Sopel @jonsopel · 37m Holy shit. How much more do people have to see of this?
Actually, in itself, this is a mistake anyone could make. But it's the cumulative effect of course.
It not only the slip of the tongue, it is he says it, then wanders off from the mic seemingly oblivious to the mistake, clearly somebody shouts at Zelenskyy at him and he wanders back and then says Zelenskyy....
That's what naturally happens when you make a slip of the tongue.
When it happens, I don't realise I've called my daughter by her sister's name until she points it out.
I don't realise I've called my wife by her sister's name until she points it out.
Jon Sopel @jonsopel · 37m Holy shit. How much more do people have to see of this?
Actually, in itself, this is a mistake anyone could make. But it's the cumulative effect of course.
It not only the slip of the tongue, it is he says it, then wanders off from the mic seemingly oblivious to the mistake, clearly somebody shouts at Zelenskyy at him and he wanders back and then says Zelenskyy....
That's what naturally happens when you make a slip of the tongue.
When it happens, I don't realise I've called my daughter by her sister's name until she points it out.
Am I the only person on here who doesn't give a monkey's about the USA?
Yes, probably
Given that the West now unfortunately faces an existential struggle against Russia, and probably China, Iran. North Korea, etc, America becomes MORE salient, not less
I entirely agree we often over-emphasise American politics and culture in the UK, we should spread our net wider. But right now we all desperately need a strong, confident USA. We are close to getting the opposite under a dangerously demented old fool like Biden
Jon Sopel @jonsopel · 37m Holy shit. How much more do people have to see of this?
Actually, in itself, this is a mistake anyone could make. But it's the cumulative effect of course.
It not only the slip of the tongue, it is he says it, then wanders off from the mic seemingly oblivious to the mistake, clearly somebody shouts at Zelenskyy at him and he wanders back and then says Zelenskyy....
That's what naturally happens when you make a slip of the tongue.
When it happens, I don't realise I've called my daughter by her sister's name until she points it out.
Come on man.....
I've said he's lost the benefit of the doubt and has to go.
But he's lost the benefit of the doubt due to the cumulative series of events, not any individual one.
Individually each event can be explained. Cumulatively . . . he has to go.
It's not impossible that the Biden news conference due within the hour now becomes a statement by Biden of his intention to resign as POTUS! The sands are shifting beneath Biden's feet. His situation evokes that of Hemingway's character in The Sun Also Rises who replied, when asked how he went bankrupt, "Two ways. Gradually, then suddenly."
The USA will get through this period and together with the other two historic democracies of the west, the U.K. and France emerge stronger from this period of chaos.
It's seldom I have felt frightened for the West. For all of the lives of almost everyone on here, bar @JackW and @Big_G_NorthWales who can remember WW2, the West has been secure and fairly dominant. The USSR threatened but never really menacds; we were so much richer and more glamorous and successful. They could never compete with the Beatles then the internet
But now? I am anxious, for the first time in my life. Our system may be in terminal decay, and we face rivals - esp China - with equal power and maybe more persuasive systems, even if we find them abhorrent
If we want westerm democracy to endure, we need a rough tough able America. That needs a sane president (and much else, but let's start there)
Perilous times. Even in sibilant Provence. Bon nuit
Jonathan Swan @jonathanvswan · 1h Trump advisers have been working more attacks on Kamala Harris into the speeches and messaging (incl signs, videos) planned for the GOP Convention next week...
Am I the only person on here who doesn't give a monkey's about the USA?
I'm so bored with the USA.
That’s a bit silly when they’re helping you sleep safely at night.
Well I'm going to sleep more soundly tonight in the knowledge that Biden has finally messed up so badly that there's no longer any prospect that the Democrats' nominee is going to be a senile old man destined to defeat at the hands of an evil meglomaniac.
Jon Sopel @jonsopel · 37m Holy shit. How much more do people have to see of this?
Actually, in itself, this is a mistake anyone could make. But it's the cumulative effect of course.
It not only the slip of the tongue, it is he says it, then wanders off from the mic seemingly oblivious to the mistake, clearly somebody shouts at Zelenskyy at him and he wanders back and then says Zelenskyy....
That's what naturally happens when you make a slip of the tongue.
When it happens, I don't realise I've called my daughter by her sister's name until she points it out.
I don't realise I've called my wife by her sister's name until she points it out.
Jonathan Swan @jonathanvswan · 1h Trump advisers have been working more attacks on Kamala Harris into the speeches and messaging (incl signs, videos) planned for the GOP Convention next week...
Well yea. They will try to make her look mad and she often doesn't help herself. And many of the people criticising Biden will then turn on her.
Bit still she is 100 times better than Trump and 50 times better than Biden
It's not impossible that the Biden news conference due within the hour now becomes a statement by Biden of his intention to resign as POTUS! The sands are shifting beneath Biden's feet. His situation evokes that of Hemingway's character in The Sun Also Rises who replied, when asked how he went bankrupt, "Two ways. Gradually, then suddenly."
Alternatively, Biden's news conference will just be cancelled.
Comments
May include bill to auto enrol voters.
But one has to wonder, as a full time cynic, whether he had an earpiece and someone shouted 'no, not putin'.???
Constituencies by census population too.
And digital ID proof for postal voters, similar to the system for claiming Universal Credit.
Two can play at that game.
When there are enormous question marks over your sanity, memory, clarity, and mental stability, and you make the NATO summit a test of your cerebral mettle, to convince people you are still up to the job, and you then announce President Zelensky as "President Putin"? That is easily as bad as it gets
What could he do that is worse in this context? Actually shitting himself might be forgivable; accidents happen; this is not forgivable, it is not an accident, he is demented
He has failed the NATO test as he failed the debate test, the Dems need to depose him this weekend. Enuff
The Democrats have to ask themselves is Joe Biden mentally and physically capable of seeing out the last months of his Presidency or not.
But no, it seems to be real
FFS
Could be very tasty for Foxy.
This was supposed to be the big day when he was going to do a big boy press conference (this team's words) to put all this nonsense of Biden having to step down to bed.
Well. Here's some news.
Got five years to say fuck 'em.
You are utterly irrelevant.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OaqxIXs_mn4
"Learning How to Ride a Bike | Big Train"
"Vance has been married to a former law school classmate, Usha Chilukuri Vance, since 2014. They have three children.[117] For some of his professional career, Vance and his wife lived in San Francisco.[118]
Vance was raised in a "conservative, evangelical" branch of Protestantism, but by September 2016, he was "thinking very seriously about converting to Catholicism" but was "not an active participant" in any particular Christian denomination.[119] In August 2019, Vance was baptized and confirmed in the Catholic Church in a ceremony at St. Gertrude Priory in Cincinnati, Ohio. He chose Augustine of Hippo as his Confirmation saint. Vance said he converted because he "became persuaded over time that Catholicism was true", and described Catholic theology's influence on his political views."
(Links omitted.)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J._D._Vance#Personal_life
But I do think he rescued it well - given the awful mess he made. Still a bloody disaster, but either he has an earpiece or he is not completely gone.
Of course we will be told tomorrow that it was jet lag from the long flight over from, erm, Washington.
Much depends on whether Dems think the Senate is salvageable. You’d want to avoid giving up a Senator from a tough state to win in Georgia if Ossoff was in the frame .
If Biden does withdraw then I can only see Harris in contention . The Dems can’t win if they piss off black voters and the optics would look terrible if they tried to put someone else in .
The one problem I can really see with it is that no one has a clear idea of who actually lives in any given constituency. Auto-enrolement is fine until you realise that we don't actually count how many people there are living in any given place. Okay we do it once every 10 years for the census but even with the legal penalties for non compliance there are still large numbers of people who get missed off either through accident or design (their own). And how much of the population moves in the intervening decade? A significant number I would suggest.
So I think auto-enrolement is a good idea in principle but might throw up its own huge issues practically.
"Rare news conference: The president’s last solo news conference was in November of last year, during a summit with President Xi Jinping of China. He has held only 14 solo news conferences, according to data compiled by Martha Kumar, an emeritus professor of political science at Towson University in Maryland. It is the fewest presidential news conferences since Ronald Reagan."
In time we will find out that every at the White House knew, the media knew, but they are so scared that they will get Trump that they did everything to cover it up. Now they may well get Trump because of it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ZDrxsJkRbQ
"Tony Blair and Demis Hassabis Discuss the Opportunities of AI"
But obviously we are at a stage now where he stood there butt naked in front of 10's millions of people unable to even complete a sentence for over 30 mins. That is clearly at his worst, but it also clearly happens often.
My mum is in sheltered housing, Biden is supposedly running the USA. It is obscene and those who have long enabled this need to face a courtroom. But first, and more urgently. he needs to step down or be thrust from office, and somebody with a functioning brain has to takeover. If that's the mediocre Harris, so be it. She is sane
I do it regularly with my kids. Talking with one daughter and mistakenly use her sister's name and then she'll always say "I'm not ******, I'm *****" which is embarrassing, of course I know that its just a slip of the tongue.
However I'm not POTUS, nor under scrutiny for not being mentally cogent enough to continue.
He's lost the benefit of the doubt. I still think he's probably just an old man who is deteriorating, not dementia, but he is an old man who is deteriorating and shouldn't be POTUS anymore.
"By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail"
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-13624565/Pictured-Man-police-want-talk-two-suitcases-containing-human-remains-dumped-Clifton-Suspension-Bridge.html
He takes a traceable taxi to the bridge only to find the railing at too high for him to throw the suitcases over the bridge. Are we sure he didn't used to work for CCHQ and he is trying to discard the bodies of those who ran the Tory GE campaign?
Oliver Johnson
@BristOliver
·
23m
We're squarely into Alastair Campbell "if it's still a story after X days" frenzy territory now, aren't we?
As BartholomewRoberts says, he's lost the benefit of the doubt. And the world is going to suffer a lot because of it when Trump wins - a stupid, vicious, criminal in White House who openly likes authoritarians.
This is like Churchill at Yalta, after a masivve ruckus about his boozing screwing his brain, then giving a massive broadcast speech and drunkenly calling Stalin "Adolf Hitler, oops, sorry, no, Joseph Stalin"
As @Casino_Royale points out, the attempt to right his mistake makes it worse. He knows it is a tremendous error and tries to make it better
STOP IT
Ronald Reagan did indeed challenge Gerald Ford for the 1976 Republican presidential nomination. IN THE PRIMARIES and caucuses, in other words the normal way. Though the end-game did have some interesting twists and turns.
The problem is Biden has lost the benefit of the doubt. Had it been eg George W Bush, or Boris, or many other leaders, it would be laughed at, their critics enjoying the mistake and people would be calling it something other other than dementia.
As Trump will no doubt point out endlessly if this is allowed to run until November.
FFS.
I assume that the rumbling of the last 24 hours now becomes unstoppable. And with respect to the man, he has the nuclear codes. So I think there is now a greater than 50% chance that he resigns the presidency.
He makes huge errors, or he sounds mad, or he simply mumbles into silence, staring vaguely into space
Why are we even arguing this. He's senile and demented, he is unfit for the biggest job in the world (by some distance)
Gone by next week
SCOTUS have said he has that right.
“Ladies and gentlemen, President Putin,” Biden said as he introduced Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at a NATO event in Washington on Thursday.
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2024-election/biden-press-conference-rcna161134
Jon Sopel
@jonsopel
·
37m
Holy shit.
How much more do people have to see of this?
But unfortunately people cling on, and as power drains away everything just starts to look sadder and more humiliating. I feel sorry for the guy, but he needs to go.
It's like some terrible movie, but it is real. Kick this senile twat out of the White House, NOW
If he refuses then of course it’s a disaster . But they simply can’t risk another debate car crash .
No one believes for a second that he can serve another 4 years . He might have originally thought he could scrape a win and then handover but that’s no longer possible .
Given that the West now unfortunately faces an existential struggle against Russia, and probably China, Iran. North Korea, etc, America becomes MORE salient, not less
I entirely agree we often over-emphasise American politics and culture in the UK, we should spread our net wider. But right now we all desperately need a strong, confident USA. We are close to getting the opposite under a dangerously demented old fool like Biden
America is the armoury of liberal democracy
But journalists waiting have just been told the event has been cancelled – meaning Zelenskiy won’t have to respond to questions about Biden’s gaffe earlier.
(Guardian)
But anyone else would be better right now.
It has to be Harris.
There's the problem, right there
Natalie Fleet MP
@Nataliefleet
·
15h
As a vulnerable child, I needed a Labour government.
https://x.com/Nataliefleet/status/1811291926915604606
I appreciate all your reasons.
But I'm not.
Had Biden been persuaded to relinquish the nomination a couple of weeks back, he would have avoided the added scrutiny of the campaign and with minimal public appearances might well have been able to carry on for another 4 months.
Complaining about employment and housing affordability in Bolsover.
Both are a lot better now than they were in 2010.
After reading Eisenberg's books I'm don't think an incapacitated President would be much of an impediment to the US's nuclear strategy, they seem to plan almost everything.
When it happens, I don't realise I've called my daughter by her sister's name until she points it out.
But he's lost the benefit of the doubt due to the cumulative series of events, not any individual one.
Individually each event can be explained. Cumulatively . . . he has to go.
It’s going to be good.
But now? I am anxious, for the first time in my life. Our system may be in terminal decay, and we face rivals - esp China - with equal power and maybe more persuasive systems, even if we find them abhorrent
If we want westerm democracy to endure, we need a rough tough able America. That needs a sane president (and much else, but let's start there)
Perilous times. Even in sibilant Provence. Bon nuit
Jonathan Swan
@jonathanvswan
·
1h
Trump advisers have been working more attacks on Kamala Harris into the speeches and messaging (incl signs, videos) planned for the GOP Convention next week...
NewsWire
@NewsWire_US
·
45m
BIDEN PRESS CONFERENCE DELAYED -
Bit still she is 100 times better than Trump and 50 times better than Biden