Biden to "step down" Monday?

[Newman]

In a hurricane it's hard to predict which piece of the house will be ripped away next, but rumors are swirling Old Joe will step down as the Democratic candidate soon, perhaps even Monday ("pretty reliable" hearsay from Tom Fitton of Judicial Watch). I think there's something to it because of the following "Page 6" type report this morning:

Jill Biden Whispered Donor Name in Biden's Ear, Said to Thank Them: Report - Business Insider

According to the report, Biden stared blankly and nodded his head while greeting one Democratic megadonor and a family friend at the White House recently, when the First Lady stepped in.

The outlet didn't specify the donor's name or when the supposed exchange took place.

According to the witness, he then uttered the exact same words his wife had told him, according to the outlet.

"It hasn't been good for a long time, but it's gotten so, so much worse," the person told Intelligencer.

Since his disastrous debate performance last week, Biden has tried to reassure Democratic governors, House Democrats, staffers, voters, and donors that he is fit for reelection.

He and his campaign have blamed a cold, bad prep, and jet lag for his poor debate performance against former President Donald Trump on June 27.

Certain oldsters may remember Nancy Reagan prompting her husband occasionally. I do. And I remember the media was keenly interested in such signs of encroaching dementia. True to their anti-conservative leaning wanted him out on his keister sooner than later.

I find this essay in the NYTimes fascinating in several respects, Opinion | There’s No Reason to Resign Ourselves to Biden - The New York Times (nytimes.com) (Michelle Goldberg):

Though Joe Biden’s debate performance last week was among the most painful things I’ve ever witnessed, it at least seemed to offer clarity. Suddenly, even many people who love this president realized that his campaign has become untenable.

For years, loyal Democrats have been suppressing their private anxiety about Biden’s decline. In the debate’s miserable aftermath, there was finally space to acknowledge the obvious: Biden is too old for this.

"Old" isn't at issue, but she knows that.

Anyway,

More than a setback, Biden’s showing at the debate was a revelation, confirming the worst fears of his doubters. Since then, several news reports have made it clear that the Biden we all saw onstage is familiar to those who see him behind the scenes.

In other words, they've been lying. Gee, no wonder they all wore their hangdog faces afterward. Over 51 million people just watched the Big Reveal.

This is familiar. Ms Goldberg genuflects as she must:

It should go without saying that Biden in any condition is preferable to Trump, especially after the sinister Supreme Court ruling on Monday granting presidents immunity for their official acts, an act of civic desecration all but ensuring that a second-term Trump would rule as a vengeful dictator. The stakes of this election are existential; it’s a referendum on whether America will continue to be a liberal democracy. Everyone in the anti-Trump coalition is scared, which is why the argument over what to do about Biden is so heated.

"Goes without saying" is another way of saying it "goes without supporting argument," but that's a different thread.

But meanwhile she sews the opening and closing of her column tightly together:

“Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it is faced,” James Baldwin wrote. The Democratic Party’s predicament is an awful one, but there was a cold, flinty relief in being forced to reckon with it.

James Clyburn, the influential Democratic representative from South Carolina, said on Friday that Biden should “stay the course.” Given the course we’re on, that is ridiculous advice. If you’re in a car careening toward a cliff and can open a door, you should jump out.

If you've crossed that Rubicon, I think Monday's as good a day as any to move forward.

[Celeste Chalfonte]

Here's the sad thing: if, at the start of the campaign season (assuming anyone can tell when that is anymore), he had acknowledged that he had - even if unspecified - health issues that compelled him to step aside and let another, perhaps personally endorsed, candidate take his place, people would now be calling him "courageous" for owning his disability; there is no shame in being ill. The sympathy factor might even have inured to the benefit of the successor candidate. That's now lost for good.

By announcing instead that he will be making no appearances after 8 PM, he as much as said he has dementia, but is clinging cravenly to the illusion charade of competence.

[Lady Marva]

hahaha........... not a chance unless the wife Jill tells him to.

[Newman]

hahaha........... not a chance unless the wife Jill tells him to.

He's certainly digging his heels in.

So I'm probably wrong, which is par for the course. But I gotta tell ya, we had some very liberal guests over the 4th, and they're are uniformed depressed.

As one said, they feel "agnostic" about Biden running, although they all expect him to, and equally resigned to and unexcited about a President Harris at some point.

But at the moment their greatest anxiety centers on the SCOTUS, and the immunity decision they believe opens the door for a Republican dictator on Day !. (They've all completely swallowed the Sotomayor Dissent hysterics.) The dread of a Trump presidency is paralyzing.

I heard not a peep of protest about the media and leading Dems/celebrities completely gaslighting the public for years about Biden's deterioration.

[Lady Marva]

As one said, they feel "agnostic" about Biden running, although they all expect him to, and equally resigned to and unexcited about a President Harris at some point.

Well theres the bad deal............. Harris!

[Newman]

Someone told me once upon a time (I'm old enough to remember once upon a time things) that Americans couldn't really comprehend the Chinese mind when it came to free speech. We tend to think everyone wants it, but her point was that people block disallowed thoughts so effectively they don't consider it censorship at all. It's just proper thinking. Contrary opinions never happen.

I think some of my very liberal friends are experiencing something like that. They don't believe they've been lied to, I guess, and they don't seem to worry about hypocrisy as they accuse Trump of lying ("27 times" or "every 60 seconds") and proclaiming Biden an honest and decent man.

I really don't get it. But I brought up the Abraham Accords at one point and my partner in conversation, an exceedingly bright person, wasn't aware of them. (This sort of blinkered information gathering happened often enough during the Covid debacle.) Maybe we profoundly underestimate how effective media censorship is.

Even today Kamala Harris gave a speech that included saying Trump "promised to be a dictator on Day One." Old Joe still recites the Charlottesville "Fine People" lie. Still claims (in his opening words at the recent debate) that Trump suggested we inject bleach in our arms to combat Covid.

What a world. . .

[Newman]

As smoke from sausage-making clouds up everything, the National Review pauses to recap a scandal from Virginia, only a few years ago:

The Biden Family Tries the Ralph Northam Strategy | National Review (Jim Geraghty)

On the menu today: The American people don’t deserve to be in this mess. When they elected Joe Biden in 2020 — after Biden pledged, “I view myself as a bridge, not as anything else” — they assumed that Joe, Jill, and everyone around them recognized the difficulty of the job, the supreme responsibilities it entails, and the importance of America’s commander in chief possessing a sound mind, reliable memory, and keen judgment. And now, with its joyous era of free travel, state dinners, Vogue covers, and potential pardons at risk, the Biden family is attempting the desperate stratagem of just battening down the hatches, betting that Democrats will lack the nerve to remove the president, and just waiting out the storm. This is the Ralph Northam strategy. It’s a spectacularly selfish, reckless, risky, destructive, and legacy-ruining tactic: effectively declaring that the Bidens will only leave office kicking and screaming, their fingernails digging into the carpet of the Oval Office as they’re dragged out.

I'd forgotten Northam. He was kept in place by the odious cast of characters who would replace him if he resigned. Shades of Kamala Harris et al.

Geraghty quotes himself from 2022:

[I]t’s no big mystery how Northam remained in office. If Northam had resigned or the state legislature removed him from office, the lieutenant governor would take over – and the lieutenant governor, Justin Fairfax, was facing two serious accusations of sexual assault. (The Virginia House Democratic Caucus argued that “the allegations against Lieutenant Governor Fairfax are extremely serious,” and also that the state legislature should not investigate the allegations.) If Northam and Fairfax resigned, then state attorney general Mark Harring would be governor — and Harring admitted he had worn blackface to a college party in 1980.

Geraghty points out a key difference: Northam was term-limited to exactly one term. He and his fellow sinners had a lower bar ahead than facing voters again. Northam "survived" intact by more or less signing up for the progressive battalions, Ralph Northam: How an ostracized governor became a progressive champion | CNN Politics.

When Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam looks back at his tenure, the inflection point between being a run-of-the-mill executive and the progressive leader he has become is a painful one.

But for all the heated commentary the Virginia kerfuffle generated, to me the essential substance of the scandal, wearing blackface in some past occasions, seems trivial in retrospect. Of course, lying and denials worsen everything, and the blackface scandals were the cancel culture of the moment. But in tolerating Northam the Democrats demonstrated that all the indignation about blackface was for show. It ran along the lines of the Me Too allegations, but burned out quickly.

I don't find the substance of the current scandals trivial at all. And the corruption of the news media particularly, in lying and hiding crime and decay, is equally evil.

[scott]

Someone told me once upon a time (I'm old enough to remember once upon a time things) that Americans couldn't really comprehend the Chinese mind when it came to free speech. We tend to think everyone wants it, but her point was that people block disallowed thoughts so effectively they don't consider it censorship at all. It's just proper thinking. Contrary opinions never happen.

I think some of my very liberal friends are experiencing something like that. They don't believe they've been lied to, I guess, and they don't seem to worry about hypocrisy as they accuse Trump of lying ("27 times" or "every 60 seconds") and proclaiming Biden an honest and decent man.

I really don't get it. But I brought up the Abraham Accords at one point and my partner in conversation, an exceedingly bright person, wasn't aware of them. (This sort of blinkered information gathering happened often enough during the Covid debacle.) Maybe we profoundly underestimate how effective media censorship is.

Even today Kamala Harris gave a speech that included saying Trump "promised to be a dictator on Day One." Old Joe still recites the Charlottesville "Fine People" lie. Still claims (in his opening words at the recent debate) that Trump suggested we inject bleach in our arms to combat Covid.

What a world. . .

A guy I follow and sometimes chat with on X went mini-viral with this tweet:

Embedded Tweet

He's a left leaning appellate attorney in New York who sometimes makes sense but spends most of his time dragging people on the left and right.

[Newman]

Maybe this thread was about a week early. President Biden may soon exit race, top Democrats believe (axios.com).

Biden has tested positive for covid, and my liberal dinner guest last night and I were speculating that this might be the excuse Old Joe needed. "Excuse," not reason, of course. Apparently Obama has weighed in. I'd give a penny for Jill's thoughts about now. If she gets power of attorney can she pardon the family?

So will Kamala take the lead? Trump made a casual aside to a reporter's question and said he might leave Vance to campaign in Pennsylvania. It seems likely JD will focus on the Midwest swing states he mentioned often in his acceptance speech last night. Will Kamala do well going head-to-head with him in those states?

I don't think so, so I bet the machinations aren't over. As Tina Turner said, the big wheels keep on turning.

[Celeste Chalfonte]

Maybe this thread was about a week early. President Biden may soon exit race, top Democrats believe (axios.com).

Biden has tested positive for covid, and my liberal dinner guest last night and I were speculating that this might be the excuse Old Joe needed. "Excuse," not reason, of course. Apparently Obama has weighed in. I'd give a penny for Jill's thoughts about now. If she gets power of attorney can she pardon the family?

So will Kamala take the lead? Trump made a casual aside to a reporter's question and said he might leave Vance to campaign in Pennsylvania. It seems likely JD will focus on the Midwest swing states he mentioned often in his acceptance speech last night. Will Kamala do well going head-to-head with him in those states?

I don't think so, so I bet the machinations aren't over. As Tina Turner said, the big wheels keep on turning.

Off-topic, but giving full props to Tina for a magnificent performance (every time), the lyrics were Fogerty's and the first to "say" them was Creedence.

[Newman]

Off-topic, but giving full props to Tina for a magnificent performance (every time), the lyrics were Fogerty's and the first to "say" them was Creedence.

yes, and it wasn't really about political legerdemain . . .

By the way, the latest headline I saw just now suggests Old Joe is still digging in his heels, Defiant Biden Handlers Just Threw Obama, Schumer, and Pelosi Under the Bus and Then Backed Over Them – RedState

I think that's just a stutter-step, though.

[80zephyr]

Maybe this thread was about a week early. President Biden may soon exit race, top Democrats believe (axios.com).

Biden has tested positive for covid, and my liberal dinner guest last night and I were speculating that this might be the excuse Old Joe needed. "Excuse," not reason, of course. Apparently Obama has weighed in. I'd give a penny for Jill's thoughts about now. If she gets power of attorney can she pardon the family?

So will Kamala take the lead? Trump made a casual aside to a reporter's question and said he might leave Vance to campaign in Pennsylvania. It seems likely JD will focus on the Midwest swing states he mentioned often in his acceptance speech last night. Will Kamala do well going head-to-head with him in those states?

I don't think so, so I bet the machinations aren't over. As Tina Turner said, the big wheels keep on turning.

I would love to see an open convention. I think most Democrats believe the presidential race is over, but they want to put up a good front. Who among them really wants to lose to Trump when the way will be clear for a 2028 run?

Mark

[Newman]

I would love to see an open convention. I think most Democrats believe the presidential race is over, but they want to put up a good front. Who among them really wants to lose to Trump when the way will be clear for a 2028 run?

Mark

Yeah, but I still worry about another surprise. Another assassination attempt on Trump, specifically. Who says there's only one attempt allowed?

And the Keystone Kops security service doesn't inspire confidence.

Meanwhile, I speculated in a nearby thread that MD Gov. Wes Moore might get his major league debut as head of the ticket, sending Kamala to an early shower. But if they truly want to just throw in the towel and "focus on the House and Senate," plus get all of Kamal's campaign money, maybe they leave her out there to swing in the wind.

Y'know, it'll be fun to compare the coming news coverage to the LBJ/Goldwater race. That one, on the heels of JFK's assassination, was a foregone conclusion, and the news media—at the time the networks, wire services and newspapers—didn't particularly hide their comfort with the approaching landslide. I remember articles predicting the end of the Republican Party.

This time around I expect the opposite. Most social media and punditry will be all in on the amazing, resurgent Democratic Party and their splendiferous candidate (TBA).

One paranoid conspiracy theory I read about suggests the Democrats only want an election close enough to making stealing it plausible. I think Trump's watchword applies: the win has to be too big to rig. The last one, using the Wuhan cooties as an excuse to throw out all the rules, was like watching a close baseball game, then having the officials retire to a basement somewhere and review all the plays and calls; and later they come up an announce the adjusted score.

[80zephyr]

Yeah, but I still worry about another surprise. Another assassination attempt on Trump, specifically. Who says there's only one attempt allowed?

And the Keystone Kops security service doesn't inspire confidence.

Meanwhile, I speculated in a nearby thread that MD Gov. Wes Moore might get his major league debut as head of the ticket, sending Kamala to an early shower. But if they truly want to just throw in the towel and "focus on the House and Senate," plus get all of Kamal's campaign money, maybe they leave her out there to swing in the wind.

Y'know, it'll be fun to compare the coming news coverage to the LBJ/Goldwater race. That one, on the heels of JFK's assassination, was a foregone conclusion, and the news media—at the time the networks, wire services and newspapers—didn't particularly hide their comfort with the approaching landslide. I remember articles predicting the end of the Republican Party.

This time around I expect the opposite. Most social media and punditry will be all in on the amazing, resurgent Democratic Party and their splendiferous candidate (TBA).

One paranoid conspiracy theory I read about suggests the Democrats only want an election close enough to making stealing it plausible. I think Trump's watchword applies: the win has to be too big to rig. The last one, using the Wuhan cooties as an excuse to throw out all the rules, was like watching a close baseball game, then having the officials retire to a basement somewhere and review all the plays and calls; and later they come up an announce the adjusted score.

Its got to be Harris because the campaign money is her and Joes. My understanding is that it cannot be transferred to any other candidate. So where does that money go if they aren't the candidates? Also from what I have read, black folks will boycott the election if Harris is bypassed.

Stay tuned. Lol.

Mark

[Newman]

Its got to be Harris because the campaign money is her and Joes. My understanding is that it cannot be transferred to any other candidate. So where does that money go if they aren't the candidates? Also from what I have read, black folks will boycott the election if Harris is bypassed.

Stay tuned. Lol.

Mark

I too think you're right about the nontransferable part. Plus, she likely has an ego as big as Joe's and would scorch the Party that pushes her out.

Meanwhile, fun conspiracies abound:

Kamala Harris Is Hiding Something Big Involving January 6, Pipe Bombs, and the Secret Service - Revolver News

...[T]he recent spotlight on Vice President Kamala Harris invites renewed attention to perhaps the darkest and most damning question surrounding the entire Fedsurrection lie: why, against all seeming political interest, would Kamala neglect to mention the fact that she was in the DNC building when the pipe bomb was discovered and removed? Indeed, given how desperate the Democrats have been to hype up January 6th into a “domestic terror” event, to the point of outright fabricating stories to fit this tortured thesis, why would Kamala Harris (or Biden) not publicize the fact that she nearly lost her life to the ostensible MAGA pipe bomb? Put another way, why is Kamala Harris’ narrow brush with the DNC pipe bomb not the Democrats’ top January 6 talking point rather than its most carefully guarded secret? To this day, Kamala Harris refuses to publicly acknowledge her presence in the DNC building!

Maybe she has some good blackmail material.

And meanwhile too, the hagiographies begin:

Kamala Harris for President | The Nation (D.D. Guttenplan)

...Kamala Harris is the candidate best placed to lead the Democrats to victory—not just at the top of the ticket but also in the House and Senate races that will be crucial in delivering the changes this country so desperately needs: Medicare for All (which Harris endorsed in 2017), restoring a woman’s right to control her fertility, securing the right to vote—and the right to join a union, adequate funding for childcare and parental leave, a path to citizenship for millions of immigrants currently living in fear, bold action to address climate change (Harris was an early backer of the Green New Deal), rebalancing the Supreme Court, and a fresh approach to the stalemate in Ukraine and the slaughter in Gaza.

The demands of the moment are enormous, and the risks of another Trump administration—to our democracy, our society, and our planet—terrifying to consider. But Harris’s positions on policy questions are not primarily what commends her candidacy. As Joe Biden’s loyal vice president, she is the only person who can justifiably run on the administration’s record of successes, the best person to defend his legacy, and the only potential candidate with a truly national reputation.

Harris has earned her moment—and if Biden cares about his legacy, he will do his best to make the transition as seamless as possible, either by resigning the presidency (should a man too impaired to campaign effectively really remain as commander in chief?) or by endorsing her in the strongest possible terms.

This guy is hallucinating, but even he asks the question quietly ignored by the left-leaning media, Why is Old Joe still in the Oval Office if he's too infirm to campaign?

As far as spurned black folks go, that's why (I think) Wes Moore is prominent in recent stories. He's black, great resume....