Yep! This substack and Heather Cox Richardson's give me hope. I can barely stand to watch the news anymore. Either TFG is spewing lies or the Supreme Court is doing something really stupid.
but it did not change my mind. My vote will be for Joe. I believe Incame across something online I did not completely understand, but was that a liarvwill throw out remarks wuicklynonecaftervthevother, until thevother person hearing itvall, and this time forn90nminutes, that other person cannot pissibly remember the first two when the liar is on third lie. Will try to find again and post it
No, Pat, the debate did not change my mind. Frankly, I don't think it was that bad. Joe Biden spoke with honor, integrity, and facts -- unlike Trump who simply lied and took credit for things that Joe Biden did like arranging the $35 insulin cap.
Trump is a felon, an adjudicated sexual predator, a sociopath, a narcissist, and a pathological liar. He has also stated that he intends to be dictator starting day one.
Why in the world are some Democrats having such an intense negative reaction to the fact that for one evening Joe Biden didn't feel well? It has happened to all of us. At least he didn't cancel. He did his best. And by the next day, in North Carolina, he was his usual self again and ON FIRE!
In my opinion, President Joe Biden is the best POTUS in my lifetime.
No. Donald Trump is a serial adulterer, a liar, and a thief. He is a convicted felon and an amoral man. He stands for nothing but snake oil, s**t, and Shinola. These are not traits I look for in a leader. Biden is old, but he is competent, and his values make sense to me.
Pat, the debate did not change my mind at all, reinforced me to try to reach out to get others to vote for our Joe. I wrote below about sone kind of talking that throws out lie aftervlie after lie, orvinformation, that confuses people who do not then have timebtobevenbreplynto first remark much less third or fourth, will see if can find again. for me, snd I hope millions of others, trump is in thecsame category as hitler and pukin (putin) will never change my mind. evil evil evil 40 or 50 lies in 90 minutes. EVIL MONSTER.
they are corrupt too. I already have headache worrying sick the orange pathological liar will not be held accountable tomorrow by those crooked judges. they have gotten so much piwer they are actually smug. despise them and trump for turning on our country, making russia china whoever laugh at us. Where did ourvstrength go to? why are there so many crazies out there who used to vote for good, not devastation. trump belongs in jail, hevdoesn'tvwantbto go, cowardly liar. he is so GUILTY OF SO MANY BAD THINGS, remember his remark that he never slept with a "lady of the night" becausecI cannot wrote other word, and he told us and Joe he never did. My question online immediately was why did you pay her 130,000.00? Everyone one who watched that court hearing knows he paid her, EVERYONE, YET THE LIE SLID OFF HIS TONGUE LIKE WATER. Evil evil pathological liar, Anyobe who believes trump is crazy.
Bill, Katz, I don’t know. I like your hope and I’ve been behind Joe 100% until last night. I would NEVER vote for the GOP spewing filth fountain that is djt. He’s the most despicable political character in my lifetime—and I turn 70 this autumn.
We have to have a Dem in the White House in 2025. But I think Biden has simply aged out. It’s not his fault, it’s the human condition. Our bodies and minds have an expiration date. I will be eternally grateful to him for kicking Trump out in 2020. if he loves our country as much as I think he does, he must know somewhere inside himself, that he’s done his job and it’s time to retire.
I think the DNC has to be assertive and look for a strong, younger, competent and qualified leader to carry the torch going forward.
Biden should have been coached that no matter what is asked, to memorize responses and part of the response must always be an attack at Trump even if the response does t match the question exactly. In that manner, you keep control of the narrative. But he didn’t do that.
Great point. Also, though, Biden's staff should have never allowed their candidate (ours) to agree to a non-fact-checked-in-real-time presidential debate.
You are 100% correct, of course. But give the dog his due. He is a virtuoso liar, a tsunami of filth. He’s perfected his craft and is a formidable character. We’d need a small army of fact checkers to stem his tide of falsehoods. 40% of the population simply doesn’t have tie intelligence, common sense, strength of character and critical thinking skills to fend off his wall of crap. How did America get here? I think it started in the 50’s & 60’s, the brainwashing and manipulation of the masses. We are a consumeristic society and sold our souls to the dumbed down onslaught on our sensibilities.
“ CNN determined ahead of time that Tapper and Bash would be questioners, not umpires. They didn’t follow up questions — except to repeat those that weren’t answered — and left it to the politicians to try and fact-check.”
he did yell back at filthy trump when bidens don was called a felon. I almost cried forvJoe. This filthy despicable con man saying something so hurtful and hateful to Biden made me sick. If he is not held accountable fircall his crimes and his 34 counts Inwill just give up hope.
Too late to say should have. Going forward Sept will not be a debate. Attacks only allow drumpf to spout another denial lie. Focus on how people's lives now and future will improve without the repugs in majority in gov.
Exactly. The incumbent president always controls the narrative and commands the narration. Biden had every opportunity to present his policies as his accomplishments during his tenure. He didn't do that. Biden had every opportunity to stick it to Trump by presenting facts and figures that undermined Trump's narrative. He didn't do it.
Biden convinced me that he's a tired elderly statesman who needs to retire with dignity from public service.
If the country were not so homophobic, I think Pete Buttigieg could become one of the best presidents in recent times. If the country were not so anti-Semitic, Josh Shapiro would be excellent. But too many Americans are bigots whether they admit or not. That's why Obama's two terms were miraculous.
Everybody has good days & not do good days. Yes we are aging. I think he did have a cold/bug and sounded like mild laryngitis . Add having to breathe the same air as the lunatic former president is enough to make an honest person ill. Joe Biden had his energy back today. I too am ridin with BIDEN!
Megan Ross, nevertheless, Biden, his closest advisors and the DNC will decide what to do. We have no influence on that decision. I will vote Dem in 2024, no matter who’s in the ballot.
They're making a lot of mistakes though. They've got to stop trying to get Obama to ....do something. Obama can't do anything. He can't elect anyone but himself. I like Obama, but deep down these fools know who they need to get....& it's none other than William Jefferson Clinton, who is a master at debating. He's also gifted at explaining things & getting things across. He is the one that should help Biden, but when they keep stupidly dissing him & not giving him the respect of asking him to help, he's not going to insert himself. Bill Clinton is hands down the smartest person in the room everywhere he goes, but more importantly he's also a great teacher.
Vote for Biden. There is nothing wrong with his mind, and he doesn't take care of business at a podium, intimidated by a traitor trying to demolish our Constitution.
Tim Freije, obviously President Biden has not "aged out". His results as POTUS are arguably the best I've seen in my lifetime and I will be 3/4 of a century old in early December.
President Biden doesn't beat his own chest like Trump does. He simply makes things better. He tells the truth. He acts within integrity 100% of the time. He delivers results consistently.
And he will ride to his second term on the crest of the biggest BLUE tsunami in American history.
He and his administration do publicize their accomplishments. I’ve found their press releases on the WH site after people said the Biden administration didn’t do or say certain things.
The fascination with DJT drama and desire for clicks push anything with DJT’s name to the front. This is to the detriment of having an informed public. The final day of SCOTUS decisions for the term is Monday.
Very little coverage of the SCOTUS 🤮 so far. Monday SCOTUS may reduce debate “coverage” because they can talk about Donnie. Last chance for a decision on presidential immunity from SCOTUS this term. No mention of what the other cases pending are.
Ashley, Warrenton, Smith, I also think he’s done a very good job. Unfortunately, I think his debate performance will turn off some of the few independent voters we have left and upon whom we are depending on to get us over the top. I made good donations in 2020 & have already done so in 2024. Also donated to Sherrod Brown of OH in 2024. Donated to the GA Dem Senators a few years back. Aided in the voter registration efforts in 2020. Never did this prior to 2020. So I’m all in. I urge everyone to be generous and proactive this year.
I am not a Fairweather Democrat. When the going gets tough, the tough better get going. Right now it's tough and we had better support Joe Biden all the way to his next win in 2024.
First thing I did was make a donation to Joe Biden after the AND sent him a note thanking him for everything that he has done to make America great since 2020 and before.
This man is a great statesman and we have been extraordinarily fortunate to have him as our president for the past three years and, God willing, for the next five years.
Biden small donors continued giving in the hours after the debate in large numbers. I’m not certain voters are moved these days by NYT editorials, WaPo etc., or the ongoing calls from within the house of Dems who always despair over their choices. There is no unicorn candidate to please everyone. (Sticklers for detail can read the transcript to compare Biden’s responses to TFG’s.)
“The campaign said the 11 p.m. to midnight hour, one hour after Thursday's debate, was the single best hour of fundraising since the campaign's launch in April 2023.”
I watched most of this live. It was Joe Biden being Joe. You could compare it to when Clinton became the “come back kid.” Major differences:
* Biden is running against a former president surrounded by personal scandals (plus DJT was found culpable for sexual assault, is a convicted felon surrounded by felons, whose pal Bannon goes to prison Monday.)
* DJT’s ‘handlers’ are inclined to let him do as he wishes which his cult adores.
— Biden is an incumbent, balancing duties & demeanor of the presidency while being over-managed. I suspect his people hide him to avoid mistakes which is the greatest mistake of all. If they keep on, they will all be unemployed before or after the election.
John, I'm ridin' with Biden 100%. First thing I did was make another donation to his campaign and send him a note of gratitude for all of the fabulous results he has delivered since he took office as, arguably, the best POTUS in my lifetime.
Yet the Democratic National Committee will not put them on the ticket because AIPAC does not want them. Biden and Harris landed on the Democratic Party ticket because Biden has ardently supported Zionism throughout his political career and Harris is married to a Jewish man with ties to the Netanyahu Cabinet.
They were not “moderators”…that implies someone who calls out a blatant lie, keeps the answers on point, and keeps the process moving forward rather than collapsing into chaos. CNN bobbleheads did none of this. They were a disgrace to journalism.
Glad you said it....they were trash! They're both dead to me after this lame performance. I wanted to slap them both in the face. Why don't they pick Bob Woodward to do the next one, since Trump respects him. They need to stop someone who is lying by interrupting them. Why would you make rules for a debate, but don't put in there that you can't lie & call people names??
I clearly remember watching when the lunatic former president called our veterans & military " suckers & losers" & disrespected a POW. The lunatic is the real vermin .
he is a mean vicious evil pathological liar who enjoys hurting people. He thinks it makes him superior, but I wish he knew just how much it makes him hated. Really hated!
...and on that note, he's about as despicable as a person can get. Remember how he & Barr were killing all those people on death row at the end of his residency? It's like he has a taste for it now. He takes no responsibility for allowing Covid to infest the U.S., while he dismantled Obama's pandemic response. Jarod & Trump Jr. were intentionally trying to get the blue states infested with Covid but Dems kept wearing masks & taking precautions while in red states they kept fighting people over masks. Remember how California & New York ordered the breathing units, but Trump sent people to confiscate it? People were dying by the 1000snds every day because there wasn't enough of those breathing machines. Meanwhile the WH had rooms full of them. Trump wanted to use that stuff to blackmail people with it for a payout or simply withhold it if they were Dems. Blue state genocide is what it was, I can only imagine what they'll do for their 2nd act. This misogynist SCOTUS is trying to pave the way for a fascist take over & that cannot be allowed to continue. It won't if we vote & watch the polls closely, report any GOP dirty tricks, have lawyers at the ready, cameras, & be ready to put down the false flags the lying GOP throw out to cause chaos.
thank you for responding yo me. I was shocked to read what he and his son innlaw tried to do, withhold face masks during covid that werevtgere to be used to protect people. The whole world should know this, especially the devastated peoplecwho lost a loved one. I cannot imagine their grief. He told us to drink bleach. Many of us remember that.
"Joe Biden is a good and decent man. But in last night’s joint appearance, he was bullied and lost badly. "
Joe Biden is a good and decent man. As these things go. Joe Biden has been a surprisingly successful president. By any metric. Joe Biden did not lose badly in the debate because he was bullied. Biden lost badly because he was inept and incoherent. Biden had only one job on that stage - answer the questions in simple declarative sentences. And he failed. Spectacularly. I do not know whether his campaign can come back from this. I think he must now be completely visible and visibly competent - over and over. Until we can unsee last's night's tragic performance, or at least put it into perspective. If that is even possible at this point.
Joe works! He may not be the best speaker but he knows who to hire and how to get things done for our Country! He’s organized. His “handlers” shouldn’t have scheduled such a late start.
TFG should have been called out. He contributed nothing but noise and lies!
Late start is never a good thing for older folks. At 73 I am pretty with it in the morning; and have always been a morning person. But I for sure pack it in after 9 pm/not near my best
How about late start for someone who had a rally earlier that day & had just finished 2 back to back trips to Europe for meeting with world leaders? He met with folks after the debate at an event. He and Jill were shown at a Waffle House at midnight talking to the “locals.” So he didn’t lack stamina. But something was off.
I was worried that sone nasty person, could have put a tranquilizer innhis tea or soda or water without anyone suspecting it. But Inreadcabout a method of speaking, trumpmthevpigbuses it, to throw out obe remark after another, and thevperson trying to reply gets confused . It has a name if Incan find itbagain, was on fb twice yesterday. I had no idea therecwas such a thing.
I think you mean a “gish gallop”. A suddenly popular term that means a person floods the zone with a firehose of false confusing statements to overwhelm the opposition.
Biden also had a cold & his voice was hoarse which was not helpful. One of the hazards of working, not riding around in a golf cart all day. He had attended a rally before the debate and was out and about afterward. There was a live feed of him with Jill at a Waffle House at midnight talking to “locals.” The next day you may have seen him in NC when his voice and energy were quite good. Indications are he had an off day.
I remember when HRC had pneumonia and felt weak as she was campaigning. There was the same hair on fire blather. She is still hale & hearty.
Younger presidents and other officials have had such difficult moments. A certain group of Dems are always ready to pounce on their own & the media eats it up for the ‘views.’ The transcript and the donations that continued flooding in for Biden say NYT, WaPo, and the pundits did not sway Biden’s supporters. Others have pointed to the transcript as a neutral entity that belies the handwringing.
All the hoopla for a week prior to the debate and mania afterward have served to keep the decisions SCOTUS has puked out to go almost unnoticed. Roberts said the rest that are decided will come out on Monday. That will get more news coverage due to the trump connection. We’ve been waiting to see if they act on immunity.
I beg to differ, it's simple..you vote for an honest man with integrity that has our Country as his first priority or you vote for the guy that lies 99% of the time and wants your votes to stay out of jail and become Putin Jr.
If Biden was running against someone with integrity and had our country as his priority, the outcome could be different. The down playing of Trump's lies, and not just last night, are astounding and unfortunately mainstream media are playing right into his hands.
Through the unforced errors of Biden's debate performance - electing Biden, never an easy proposition, just got exponentially more difficult. It is foolish to panic. It is foolish to pretend. There is too much work to do. Whether or not Biden will ultimately be the Democratic candidate, we must continue to work on getting out the Democratic vote. I just requested 300 more postcards/addresses.
Not inept but did lose his way several times, not all times. As a person who loses words and has for thirty some years, I know how frustrating it can be. President Biden appeared to realize it and was not helped by his stuttering. His expressions about Trump's continuous outright lies were great. Too bad it was a bad day.
I see you are having a really good time trashing our President! If you’re so darn smart, get out and run for the office yourself! Trash talking is easy and does nothing to contribute.
Sorry, Selina, you must be thinking of Trump. President Biden, on the other hand, spoke with honor, integrity, and to the facts.
Trump, a pathological liar, a convicted felon, and adjudicated sexual abuser, a sociopath, and a narcissist spewed lies out of his tiny little mouth as fast as he could move his lips.
How would YOU have liked to try to respond to that? Think about it before you judge our president so harshly.
Did you notice that he was having trouble with his microphone?
Did you know that he was ill?
Did you notice that the pundits for CNN were ready to jump all over Joe Biden after CNN did not set him up for the debate?
Did you notice that the CNN moderators didn't moderate the debate well at all? They allowed Donald Trump to lie with almost every breath without calling him on it. They allowed him not to answer their direct questions a single time.
Does the concept of 'set up' have any meaning to you?
Have you looked into the ownership of CNN lately?
Instead of judging Joe Biden harshly, you might want to do your research and rethink your position.
And one final question. How would YOU like to have faced Donald Trump on national television, a convicted felon, a pathological liar, a sociopath, a narcissist, an adjudicated sex abuser, who is spewing nonstop lies about YOU and YOUR performance with his every breath?
Denial supplemented with conspiracy theory does no good. Biden's inept debate performance ought lead to serious reflection by all of us. Especially Joe Biden.
Whether Biden steps down or pushes on, it does not change our obligation to Get Out The Vote for Democratic candidates.
So in your lights one recognizes moral conscience only in relation to another person so morally degraded his conscience would be pinned at the extreme end of the spectrum. So it goes, Biden is highly moral because in contrast to Trump he lies only 50% of the time instead of Trump’s 99.9%of the time. And in this context, supplying the entire killing machinery to a colonialist nation to obliterate an entire people, their cultural institutions their hospitals and homes is simply an irrelevant consideration for assessing moral integrity. Is that it?
"Joe Biden is a good and decent man. As these things go."
The political choice is binary.
Vote Biden or elect Trump.
The moral merit of the two candidates is relative.
Regarding Israel and Palestine, Biden is the better choice than Trump.
Trump's moving of the US embassy to Jerusalem, his Abrahamic Accords excluding Palestinians, and his support for Israeli settlement policy all worked to tank talks of a two state solution. (Trump has a settlement named in his honor in occupied territory.) Trump is entirely on board with the extremism of AIPAC and the Evangelicals
Biden has criticized Israeli settlement policy for decades. (A reason Netanyahu has campaigned and is campaigning against him.) Biden has strengthened the Leahy Laws with his National Security Memorandum 20. Biden has worked for consensus on a two state solution. Now he is navigating between those who cry antisemitism at any criticism of Israeli policy and those who cry genocide at any support for Israel.
As an American Jew and Zionist who has for decades denounced successive and increasingly extremist Netanyahu regimes and deplored the appropriation of Zionism by racist right wing religious extremists, I am dismayed at the Biden administration's reluctance to enforce the Leahy Laws and to fully pause delivery of offensive weapons to the murderous Netanyahu regime. That said, regarding the best interests of Israelis, Palestinians, and Americans, Biden is still the best choice of those competing for the presidency.
Thank you for taking the time to cover this so completely. I too am troubled by some of Biden’s support of Israel with offensive weapons. But I don’t have one tenth of the information the President has, so because I know Joe Biden is an honorable man, I trust him. The middle east is a gordian knot he’s doing his level best to untangle. Bless him for all his hard work.
Yes. Enforcing the Leahy Laws is legally complex. And politically fraught. Extremist rhetoric obstructs the reasoned debate essential to decision making. My concern is that there is disagreement within the State Department and among responsible elected officials - and I stand with those whose analyses suggest it is past time to limit offensive aid to the Netanyahu regime.
Joe Biden is the best POTUS of my lifetime (and I'm almost 3/4 of a century old). I am so grateful for everything this great statesman has done for our country to turn around the mess that Trump and previous Republican presidents created.
He was ON FIRE the very next day in North Carolina. I don't know about everyone else but when I get sick I just have to lay down and go to sleep. Joe couldn't do that. He had a presidential debate that he had to deal with. He expressed himself with facts, clarity, and honesty. Yes, his voice was weak. He didn't feel well. Cut him some slack, for heaven's sake!
For 37 years, I coached CEOs members of Boards of Directors, and top executives. This is a group of people that can be quite challenging to work with. The honest ones with integrity can be helped but the ones like Donald Trump can't be helped. They are IMPOSSIBLE to work with. The only thing that you can do is decline to work with them.
Joe Biden couldn't decline. He had to stand up in front of the nation and try to have an intelligent debate with a man that all of us know is a pathological liar, a sociopath, and a narcissist -- and incapable of speaking rationally. On a day when Joe Biden had perfect health, that would've been an impossible task.
I am very disappointed in some of my fellow Democrats. All of us descended from tough stock who knew how to face a challenge and go the distance -- not cut and run.
Democrats have changed candidates before at the last minute -- and lost soundly.
At this time we cannot afford to lose soundly. We need to back Joe Biden with everything that we have and trust him to keep doing what he has been doing for the last three years which is being an outstanding President of the United States.
Go, Joe. we are 100% with you all the way!!! ♥️🔥🔥🔥♥️
Thirty years ago, Biden and the Democrats made a difference. However, domestic and geopolitical realities have changed how national leaders respond. We need leaders who can keep up with how technological innovations have changed the economic landscape at home and abroad. We need younger leaders who have the vision to move the nation into the 21st century and beyond, and not someone who talks about the good old days to make America feel great again.
If the Democratic leadership wants to win more elections then it needs to start invigorating it's younger voters and younger leadership.
After seeing him on CNN after the debate and in N.C. the next day, it's almost like someone drugged him! The Joe at the debate was not the Joe we know....
He was obviously ill, and if he had the bug I had for the last 2 weeks, I don’t know how he stood for 90 minutes, much less answered complicated questions. I don’t understand Democrats panicking over one 90 minute debate and not remembering 3 1/2 years of wonderful leadership.
We should be judging Biden on his answers last night and not his form. Just as we should be judging Trump on his lies and (maybe not) on that ridiculous pasted on Cheshire Cat smile.
that is a smug spiteful smile proving what a jerk trump really is. An absolute fool with barely any education that helped him atvall. A complete business failure, cheated paying bills, always cheating, lying or stealing. He is just a male slut, nothing else and without intelligence. A disgrace.
He probably did. He was farting in court & stinking up the place as he pretended to sleep. You can see in some of those group pictures when he was Resident. He stinks.
People didn't know he was ill. It just looked like an old man who couldn't counter Trump's lies, which many people don't know are lies. That's the problem. He confirmed the doubts of people who don't think he's capable of another term. Last night was when he had to bring it, not today or next week.
He had a cold just got back from 2 weeks in Europe and Trump lied constantly in Gish Gallop style. But you all give Trump a free pass. Disgusting. DEMAND THE FELON DROP OUT
I didn't know he was ill. I watched him so hopefully. He has done a very good job in his first term, and I was devastated to see him like that. I feel better to know that he was sick, but I wish people could have told us that.
There is no point in trying to counter Trump's lies - only Jake Tapper of Dana Bash could do that by turning off Trump's mike and telling him to answer the question asked which they didn't do.
“CNN determined ahead of time that Tapper and Bash would be questioners, not umpires. They didn’t follow up questions — except to repeat those that weren’t answered — and left it to the politicians to try and fact-check.”
Because they announced it in advance DJT could make his plan. All he had to do was memorize his list of lies. The times they repeated the question they waited until he finished his lies first - which means he got extra time to tell more lies & not on the topic. Unfriggin believable except this is the network that hosted a townhall packed with maga fans.
A week of “drama” in anticipation and all the noise afterward has helped bury the flurry of SCOTUS decisions from public view. I’m sure Roberts appreciates it. This is where my attention has moved. It makes me nervous and they are poised to drop more.
I can understand the annoyance. DJT made them irrelevant. Plus, factchecking later is useless. Less useful than a judge tells a jury (which is present) to ignore what was said.
Tapper appeared annoyed too. Here’s what he said after interruptions by DJT:
TAPPER: Well, I’m going to ask you a follow-up. You can do whatever you want with the minute that we give you.” No stop sign just a big green light. I looked it up to be certain. (CNN posted the transcript)
BTW, small donors did not flee from Biden. It seems he raised more $$ after the debate.
Thank you, Ann. I didn't notice Tapper's annoyance as much as Dana's, she looked like she was ready to burst when she repeated a question and said just answer yes or no
I agree with you. I am quite concerned about our democracy. I think Trump did so much damage during his four years that we are now in a cold "civil war". I wonder how many Americans realize this?
They lost whatever shred of decency when they railroaded Ted Turner III with a bad deal & then took him off the board of CNN in bad faith. They deserve no benefit of any doubt ever.
They turned off his mic while he was still talking during the 10 minutes I watched. It was too painful to watch more. But they did a good job of sitting back and letting each of them show us who they are. I just wish that Biden had been able to frustrate Trump to the point that his head exploded. Ah well - there will be more opportunities.
I believe his comeuppance isn’t too far off. I want to see him in an orange jump suit that matches his “tan.” Then for Biden to pardon him with the condition he never leave Maro maro, and Hillary speeches must be piped in non-stop. ….
trump is despicable and must never ever get elected again, not even as dog catcher. Would not trust him with even that job. He does not like animals, big sign ofva not nice person. Hecwould notveven pet the service dog y=that had returned from duty overseas, hecwas a disgusting cowardly cold creep.
Stupid MSNBC!! Yeah...so what I want to know is WHO is saying this in the Dem party? Is it Schumer? Only Gov Newson can take the mantel from him & win. Period. However I think it's premature given that it was their first debate & Biden was sick. I had to turn it off after I became incensed when he lied & claimed Biden has made the U.S. a disgrace to the world. He's the one who did that. I saw the stats on it from every country. Both Biden & Obama had to deal with knotheads before them that besmirched America's reputation & they will continue to do that because they don't like U.S. democracy. Ya know....wouldn't you think that in a democratic country, that it wouldn't be allowed for a political party to run in our elections when they are anti-democratic, corrupt, fascist & palling around with dictators? I don't know....maybe it's just me, but it seems to be an obviously low bar to me. Yet our Gov't didn't see fit to codify rules for the parties, apparently. It's illegal in Germany, because they're smarter than we are.
In Britain, they are called "Palace Sources". The media is making it up as they are going along. In the NY Times Friedman an article and the NY Times editorial board wrote an Op Ed telling Biden to withdraw. If you have access read the both of them and substitute Friedman for Biden in his article and NY Times for Biden in the Op Ed. Illuminating. Appreciate your comment.
Britain has a serious problem, but then again it appears that some of them pay them to do that. It's like Murdoch. The times asking Biden to step down was & is pathetic. It's why he won't give them an interview because of their shenanigans. Everyone forgets that the NYT made a deal with Murdoch during the 2016 election. So they LITERALLY threw everything at the wall to stop Hillary Clinton. The misogynist press, NYT, Murdoch, Pecker, Comey, Putin-Assange Hack. These dirty trick campaigns have got to stop or we will lose our democracy, even if we slip by this time. Only one side has ever been involved in this crap & that's republicans. It's time it stops. I'm sick of the anxiety created by these monsters every single election cycle.
I will add that perhaps Joe took cold meds, which can have adverse effects especially on older folks. I take so much allergy medications that nothing makes me feel any different anymore, but that is me.
thank you for saying those kind and caring words. understanding and kindness are very important for goid people because of all the filthy corrupt people in our lives these past years. How many of trumps morons have been jailed, with more to come. Did you ever read the nonsense and garbage they are hoping to impose on us and our country? trump wants control and wants to stay out of jail. I WANT HIM IN JAIL AN SO SHOULD ALMOST EVERYONE ELSE WHO LOVES OUR COUNTRY .
That just doesn’t explain why he was up and raring to go today. Why couldn’t that Joe show himself last night?! I’m sorry to be a Debbie downer here, but he was just terrible and it doesn’t matter what the Biden die hard think, it matters what the people that are wavering on who they are going to vote for think. I can’t imagine there is one single person that wasn’t sure if they were going to vote for Biden or Trump last night. Who decided I think I will vote for Biden. Kennedy got a lot more supporters in the past 24 hours We need another candidate and we need it ASAP.
Well the snap polls didn't show any movement. People need to get a grip! He was sick. Yes, his debate team/campaign are the idiots who caused this. They had him on the wrong side, they told him not to correct Trump's lies, & clearly they aren't very good. I will say it one more time. Forget about Obama coming to "help" Biden. It won't work. They need Bill Clinton. Period. So they need to quit whining & dissing the Big Dog & bring him back in to coach Biden, because he's the master! Do you always count someone else when they "lose" the first battle & pull them out of the war? No, you don't. Biden didn't do good, but did you think Trump was good with his booger nose, lying like a scum, & making the moderators repeat a question twice. If anything Trump punched himself in the face repeatedly. Both candidates did bad.
It’s called Gish Galloping. It is intended to flood a discussion to keep anyone from being able to respond. The RNC is good at it. It’s a cross between filibustering and taunting. Childish, unproductive and on brand.
“The technique wastes an opponent's time and may cast doubt on the opponent's debating ability for an audience unfamiliar with the technique, especially if no independent fact-checking is involved or if the audience has limited knowledge of the topics.” Wikipedia
I don’t think CNN cares. They didn’t care with the big DJT maga packed townhall. CNN said a few days before the debate there would be no live factchecking. The liar had plenty of time to get his list of lies ready and memorize them.
There's a term for this called the "Gish gallop," and whether Trump knows what it's called he's a master of it. You just lie and sling crap a mile a minute aggressively. By the time the other debater rebuts two (of the 10) lies his turn is gone and the whirlwind of lies still spin. Then it's back to the liar. It creates chaos and is especially effective against someone who stutters.
Yes it's a great column. I'd heard of this but didn't fully understand it till I read her column. The good guys need a countermeasure for this. I like his team but they did not serve him well last night. I predict they fix this.
Wait a minute ! This debate was Biden’s idea and he was the one who said no audience and other parameters. He in fact set up all the rules and Trump agreed. Trump did his usual schtick but the country and I were mesmerized by Biden. His appearance, his frailty, his answers, his expression. I wanted to cry for him and I watched until the end but I could not face the comments of all those talking heads gathered on CNN. I just knew they would call on Joe Biden to leave the race. Which is what they discussed and now the NY Times has weighed in and it was not pretty.
I don’t think the Biden team set up the no factchecking rule or agreed to it.
That one was announced later. Same for not having them stay on topic. According to the AP:
“CNN determined ahead of time that Tapper and Bash would be questioners, not umpires. They didn’t follow up questions — except to repeat those that weren’t answered — and left it to the politicians to try and fact-check“
I’ll add that DJT used that to his advantage. Not only did he lie but by staying off topic he got more time to lie when the question was repeated.
At one point DJT was interrupting Tapper as Tapper tried to go to the next question. Eventually Tapper told him something like ‘let me ask you this question and then you can do what you want.’
Mary, that’s his “special gift”, being a powerful virtuoso liar. So nauseating!!
I just don’t have faith that a significant percentage of American voters can discern that and base their voting choices on the obvious that Trump is a ticket to disaster for this country.
“CNN determined ahead of time that Tapper and Bash would be questioners, not umpires. They didn’t follow up questions — except to repeat those that weren’t answered — and left it to the politicians to try and fact-check.”
The CNN director said moderators were not fact checkers. That was basically left to Biden - as though you can factcheck & respond to questions in the time allotted. A definite advantage to the liar. Then when the liar wouldn’t stay on topic they’d let him blab and feed him the question again. He seldom mentioned the topic & got extra time for his lies.
It's utterly insane that there was no fact checking. And that was exactly the strategy. There's no need to remember facts, history or policy when you can just shout lies.
Judith. CNN made a conscious decision to not fact check in real time, they stated that it was not their function, If not the function of journalist, then whose function is it? I miss reporting by Dan Rather and those of his kind.
Former longtime journalist here. CNN is guilty of journalistic malpractice, full stop. The only reason NOT to fact-check a known serial liar in a presidential debate is because you want him to win.
Questionable advertising too. As I recall, an awful lot time and noise was lent to 'mythical' microphone muting. The only person I heard warned was Biden.
Why fact-check when all you're after is ratings, and you've got the lock on the event? It's that simple. If there's another debate, and CNN hosts it, do you think those who are inclined to watch will boycott because of no fact checking this time? Nope! They've got a model that works, and the only way to change it would be for everyone to tune out.
CNN is a money making machine. Fact checking is not the issue here. We all know Trump is a convicted felon and a sociopath. What was exposed at this sordid affair was the unhappy reality that Biden is now not up to the tasks a president must confront seven days a week.
I felt … blindsided. Had I known Biden has been sick with a cold all week, and its impact on his ability to speak, I could have better calibrated my expectations. I’m upset his campaign team did not give us all a heads up. He’s still absolutely my guy, and he was on fire today in North Carolina. If anyone here has not seen him at the rally today, I know ABC news has the entire speech. Historically incumbent presidents don’t do well in their first debate of the season… and I’m disappointed so many are so quick to judge. He’s got an incredible record.
He does have a very good record, but we need a candidate who conveys strength, leadership, command of the facts. He has been effective these past four years, but can he win. That is the only question in this election. I am no longer hopeful that he can.
I have a different opinion on this. If Biden continues a strong comeback such as the one in NC today, the debate will barely be a blip on the radar in a week, unless the party keeps panicking. Nothing happened last night that made Trvmp gain ANY popularity or swayed anyone his direction. TFG gets sentenced soon, and who knows what kind of trainwreck he can cause for himself in 2 weeks. Biden's performance can be sloughed off to illness. Biden has the experience to run this country and he cares about average Americans. TFG is only a con man and more people are learning that daily.
Someone on Twitter made a good point - when trump was indicted, the GOP rallied behind him; when trump was in court, the GOP rallied behind him and when trump was convicted, the GOP was 100% behind him. And we as Dems can't take one bad debate? And are discussing if he should be replaced? That is just - shameful. If they can stand behind a grifting con man whose only goal is to stay out of jail and become a dictator, severing our democracy, I'm pretty damn sure we can get behind a leader who has already shown us he can do the job! FFS... get over it.
Exactly. They need to get a grip & knock it off already. I'm sick of it. Nobody "won" in that debate. Tapper & Bash engaged in gross journalistic malpractice. They will pay the price for that in due time. CNN was literally stolen from Ted Turner III. Funny how that rotten deal that bankrupted him (Time/Warner) coincided with Bush Jr. in power. A lot of evil took place under the illegitimate smirking chimp that MSM cannot accept. I don't know if you should be a journalist if your memory is that bad. I have a memory like an elephant & I will never forget what the reTHUGs have brought to us. Gov. Newson is correct. He said...you don't abandon someone because he makes a mistake. What a bunch of jellyfish. I'd give 'em what for if I knew who was saying all of this crap. I can't stomach weak sh*t like that.
It's like a boxing match. He didn't do well in the first round, so you end the match?? Meanwhile Trump punched himself in the face in his usual grievance liefest that forced the lame "moderators" to repeat their question.
Bravo! You said what many of us are thinking! Who the hell trashes a President who has worked tirelessly for us the way Joe has been doing most of his life and particularly the last 4 years? One bad night and these pansies want to toss him overboard? Ingrates!!! I understand there is a ton of panic because the threat of the orange walking time bomb is unthinkable, but that doesn’t mean we dump Joe. It means we redouble our efforts and get him re-elected. Biden or bust!
He is an absolute con man and is *only* looking out for his rich friends. I wish regular people were learning it enough to turn their backs on TFG!!! Doesn't look like they are.. :(
Changing the candidate at this date would all but guarantee the convicted felon a win. We need to rally support for Joe Biden more strongly than ever. All this panic is undermining Joe. He came back strong today, which should surprise nobody.
They do thrive on chaos. I'm riden with Biden come hell & high water. He has dedicated most of his life to upholding our democracy & protecting our freedom. How quick THEY forget.
Biden's dopey debate team & campaign need to be TOLD also. If Biden needs help...they best put aside their stupid, wrong, prejudice against Bill Clinton & give him a call. Clinton was flawless at debate & could assess how Biden should go about it. Carville could help too. There is a lot of tunnel vision in the beltway with their infatuation of Obama...& yes he has the cutest smile, I get that, but Obama isn't able to explain things to Joe, assess him, &/or coach him. Clinton has the detailed mind to do that. Nothing against Obama, it's just that Biden needs Bill Clinton.
Yeah. Trust me...my gut doesn't lie. This is not over, it's not a big deal. Trump is a blithering idiot talking about Hannibal Lector, wind mills, sharks, & electricity. He punched himself in the face in that debate by not answering a question so the moderators had to ask him the question again.
I'll admit that I've never been a huge Biden fan. That said, I think the, "Can he win?" question isn't substantially different now than it was four years ago, when the orange slime lost by 7 million votes. Has the slime really gained that many supporters in that time? I doubt it.
Those polls are off too. Why would Msnbc talking heads spend so much time on them when they know Trump had Cohen pay an IT person to hack the polls in 2016 so he'd look more favorable. In fact, Trump has lost 20% of the GOP that voted for Haley. Then he said he didn't need them. Hmmm see does he not need them because he's confident they can steal/hack/rig another election with GOP help? Or is it his ever shrinking grip on reality that caused him to say that? Either way, I still don't see him getting that 20% or many of those Independents. He's such a psycho...he's talking about locking up Dems, putting us in interment camps & then thinks Dems will vote for him. I'm sorry, but I just don't see how threatening people with jail & then thinking they'll vote for him is going to get him votes. It's illogical. He makes no sense.
Of course the polls are off. The polls are ALWAYS off. Almost until Election Day, 2016, the polls said Hillary was going to win easily. Recently, Nate Cohn, who conducts those headline-making NY Times polls (and it's journalistic malpractice for a news REPORTING organization to be making its own news, but that's another post), admitted that his data sets consisted of unengaged voters---i.e., uninformed, apathetic people. People who keep hearing the orange one's name over and over, thanks to 24/7 MSM coverage. As in 2016, Rump is getting nonstop publicity that he could never hope to buy.
Yes. That....and the polls don't account for cheating, rigging & hacking. I mean would it hurt the snufflepuffs to mention that little factoid? I roll my eyes at them. The press continues to fail, not just by their stupid hand wringing, but also their vast omissions of large swaths of information that could engage people, educate them, & allow them to understand that most things are not so black & white. For example, the Israel/America alliance cannot just be changed with a snap of the finger, nor should it. To change policy that is decades old, is to fundamentally change interactions on the ground in the middle East. That change, because we're going to show those fascists in Israel how we play hardball, could backfire & cause a literal war. These folks demanding this of our government have no concept of what the possible repercussions could be. That's why Presidents don't change intricate foreign policy over protests by kids that really don't have a full picture of how to solve what has transpired in the Israel/Palestine saga.
I don't agree at all about U.S. actions and policy in regard to Israel. There are a lot more people than kids who are protesting. But I'll leave it at that.
Polls don't need to be specifically rigged or their data hacked. That is, any desired results can be obtained by the phrasing of questions and the choice of media and demographics. For instance, simply doing polls by phone, either cell or landline, inevitably skews results a lot. Just that one parameter changes everything, let alone the cross-section of numbers called. Deliberate cheating isn't required.
And yes, news outlets of all kinds, whether Fox or MSNBC, continually leave out, "the rest of the story." It's a matter of time/space constraints and editorial policy.
I like what Monique Pressley wrote: “The proof of Biden’s ability to run the country is the fact that he is running it. Successfully. Not a debate performance against a pathological lying sociopath.”
Joe knows what he is doing and I still believe that he’s the best choice this election, he has an excellent team and administration. This about more than a singular man. It is about democracy, a plan for the future. Biden has my unwavering vote. I think people saying he should drop out are narrow sighted, ageist, and probably dont even have a viable alternative plan. It is SO EASY to say “bow out Joe” and a lot more responsible to say, steady, he will be fine. Just fine. Look at all that he has accomplished. The country is looking in the mirror, does it want to see superficial flash, or authenticity, honesty, and a real, competent, imperfect human
Thank you! I’m happily riding with the guy who got out of his sickbed and was prepared to debate policy. They over prepared him for policy and he got hit with a serial liar. I wish people would stop the hand wringing and get busy supporting a very good President.
Being over-prepared hurt Biden. Jen Psaki made a good point about this last night. She said that in her experience, Joe has always been prepared with facts and statistics and those don't go over well when faced with the likes of DJT and his lies. He couldn't make those statistics matter in the two minutes he had. Biden does his best speaking freely or with a prepared speech.
Thank you, Dan and Co., for providing this steady space for us to discuss and ponder.
Kinda sad, well very sad - last week watched a podcast of 2 former Dem (was Obama) debate coaches talking about this very thing. It was well known that for either Obama or Biden to memorize policy facts and figures wouldn't be a winning strategy for either of them performing well in debate.
I agree Tina ! This was not a true debate. They were both given a fixed amount of time to answer the same question, then onto the next question. In a debate you challenge what the other person said and nail them on it and once you have opened a wound you try to make it really hurt. Viewers don't forget that. This never happened and it wasn't designed to happen.
If there is another so called debate I think Biden will do better. He needs to challenge Trump every time he lies, even if that is against the protocol. Trump didn't respect the protocol. He never answered half the questions by using up the time with adding something he wanted to say in a previous question. He got away with that. Biden needs to attack him when he lies, attack him when he doesn't answer a question.
He also needs to at one point turn to the camera and say something like "Who do you want as your President - Someone who can't tell the truth, can't be trusted, and has no moral compass or compassion for others to guide him", "If that's the kind of person you want to be your leader, vote for him"
If you want a President who listens to all points of view, searches for truth and justice, believes in democracy and meaningful discussion, and will be guided by fairness, compassion, and what is best for the country, then vote for me".
Another thought, Robert, is that President Biden should not agree to another debate unless it is going to be properly moderated. He should not have to call Trump on lying; the moderators should do that. He should not have to call out the fact that The Trumpster didn't answer the question; the moderators should do that.
It should not be President Biden's job to have to moderate Trump as well as answer the questions from the moderators. I just don't think it's possible.
I don't trust CNN at all. I wouldn't agree to another debate that is hosted by them unless the rules of the game or dramatically changed and I'm not even sure I trust them to adhere to the new stricter rules.
I agree Ashley that the moderators could have intervened and it would have been much better for Biden if they had. But they didn't and that must have been part of the protocol I believe. Trump took advantage of that - "Oh I don't have to answer the questions I don't like that's great"
. In a situation like that I think Biden has to call him out, and really call him out, embarass him and don't let him get off the hook. It is surprising how that could make Trump lose his composure and start to rail on about things his coaches don't want him to. This is something listerners will remember, and maybe, just maybe change their mind about Trump.
Yes, Biden had a bad night. That’s a fact. But I think I was more shocked at what happened after the debate than during it. The cries for a new candidate and his resignation were more heartbreaking than watching him get bullied. It infuriates me that most Republicans have stood by Trump through J6, through being found guilty of sexual assault and 34 counts of illegally influencing the 2016 election and much more. And we abandon Biden with 1 debate? I loved the Joe that spoke in NC today and will never waver in my support of the man who brought us back from the brink.
The hand wringing and suggestion that we abandon Joe is on my last nerve. Tried watching MSNBC awhile and I had to turn it off before I threw something at the screen. My neighbors could probably hear me screaming SHUT UP! This is the thanks he gets for all he has done? Wow!!!
It reminds me of some people during the 2016 election. I said, "if Trump gets in, we'll lose the SCOTUS". They said, "Well I just don't trust her". I said, " But the GOP are lying about her...none of it's true. Why let them win?" Over every malicious fake story engendered by Murdoch & Pecker....the weak ones would cry, "I don't want someone who has all of this chaos around them". I countered with, "but it isn't HER chaos, it is lies manufactured by GOP some are the same ones used against Bill Clinton. Why do you believe them?" They'd say, "How do you know they're lies". I'd say, "because I've known the Clintons since the 1990s. I know what they've done for people. I know how they targeted him with the purpose of destroying him personally & professionally. It was corrupt, wrong, & evil. I will not allow them to choose for me, not ever." Their response..."Well...I just don't know if I can vote for her, but I don't want him either."
I couldn't get through to these people because the propaganda was too thick, to prevalent, & even with multiple sources I couldn't convince them. So, I'm not the one to "convince" them. I message for the Dem party as a whole, not individuals & 99% of the time I'm right. My answer to that problem is to make propaganda illegal like other democracies across the world. We have to find a way to do it.
President Biden has given unceasingly to our country his entire career. In the last three years he has delivered astonishing results particularly after the mess he inherited from the Orange Dumpster.
If the Democrats try to change horses in the middle of the stream only four months before the election, they will look like fools first. Second they will take the worst beating in the history of presidential elections and usher in a dictatorship from Donald Trump.
It’s got to be so hard to debate someone who lies a mile a minute. I’m still behind Joe. When he took office people were lined up in their cars for food and jobless. He has really cleaned up a big mess in the past few years.
Romney did the same thing to Obama during their first debate in 2012, and people panicked then too. Once I read about the Gish gallop after that debate I recognize it all the time! Shame on CNN for not fact checking and allowing that to happen, again!
The problem is that those candidates were many years younger than Biden is now. What Biden‘s performance showed is that he is old and he’s not getting younger. Obama had a bad night, right but he wasn’t 81.
c'mon...the writer of this page predates our president by a full decade. He may have to edit his prose a bit more than he once did, if his fingers don't type as well as they did 4 decades ago, but you can see that his mind remains sharp and he's contributing in a remarkable way. There are very few things that require a president to respond instantly. The president is surrounded by advisors of his own choosing. This president has done very well at that task. Wise decisions are made in the context of skilled teammates. Remember the revolving door in the last administration? Have you noticed it's absence this time around? Firing people is not a sign of genius. Hiring the right people is more indicative of skill and maturity.
I completely agree with your comments made. Again, though, I think Biden's staffing let us all down regarding the terms of this first debate and not cancelling it - even last minute, when Biden was, it seems like must have been apparent to those on site around him, last evening, not up to performing adequately. I recently saw a podcast of two of Obama's debate coaches speaking about what a challenge it is to coach a sitting president to prep for a debate. This intelligence was horribly lacking, somehow.
Trump should never be allowed to get away with lying like that. The commentators after the debate could have focused a bit more on that, in my opinion. As for Joe Biden, he came back strong today in North Carolina. I have no doubt he is up for the job. Don’t forget he was also sick last night. He was still coughing today.
Tapper/Bash were NOT moderators; they were “readers”! My 2 grandkids would’ve been better🤦🏽♀️ They’d have held TFG to answering the actual questions & called him on his BS. Not doing so is “not a debate”. Wow! TFG cheated at debating😳😒😖😡 and the umpires did not call him out!
Biden had a bad night! Get over it! As usual tRump got a pass. HE NEVER ANSWERED THE QUESTIONS and LIED, LIED, LIED. Nothing was fact-checked! The headlines demonize Biden to ensure their piece gets read. It's 9 PM--a god forsaken hour to hold a debate and the time of night perfect for tRump because he’s a social media person who has told the world that he doesn’t retire until well after the early hours of the morning. He probably got a great nap in because unlike Biden, he never had to work at a job. So, America, throw Biden under the bus because he didn't perform. What were we looking for? Biden answered the questions and gave the country the information that shows we're a working democracy, albeit a flawed one with the MAGA's in the House and the Supreme Court. Biden let the audience know that the U.S. has a plan for immigration but that the MAGA Republicans repudiated it because they were told to by, yep, you know who. The entire night, tRump wanted to instill panic over the border. The border. I live in Phoenix. I was born and raised in Texas. I love my Mexican heritage. I have family in Mexico. I have more fear of tRump and what his Maga commandos plan to do to democracy if tRump makes it to the white house. THIS band of thugs will run the country--tRump will be off golfing. All tRump will have to do is play the part of the man at the table of power, pound on the desk, throw bottles of Ketchup, grunt, spew out maledictions, until the next round of golf where he can go play because there will always be someone at his side ready to enforce his fascist Project 2025. Not one question about that either. Not that tRUMP would have answered. Remember, his entire plan revolves around immigration. This is how I saw the debate: tRump was as expected, (sigh) and was given a bow and a pass. Biden sidestepped sainthood, dammit, and he should pay for that! Crucify him!
I still want names of people that are saying this, so I can cut them with my steely tongue & make them ashamed of their fair-weathered attitude & weak, sniveling panic-prone speech that plays right into the fascist's hands. Man...they need to keep that crap to themselves. Nobody needs to hear that negative freak-out talk.
You got that right! Dude can't even control his bowels people. We are talking about a dude that wears diapers & soils himself whenever things don't go his way. He's a criminal who wants to use the government to enrich himself. I mean...WTF?? How hard is this choice? I'd vote for the corpse of FDR's dead dog Falla before I'd vote for that disgusting evil creep the fascists want. I will crawl through broken glass to vote against this scum....
I gave up on CNN a long time ago, along with WaPo and the new NYT. the moderators sucked. It was one night people. Mr. Rather is right, Barack Obama bombed that first debate.
It would have been really nice if there was real time fact checking as Mr. Marmalade blathered his lies.
Meanwhile, I fully expect Biden’s speech when he wins the nomination to be on par with the SOTU.
This is like a marathon or a football game if you will but although a team may lead in the first quarter, a game is four quarters. Trump surged to a lead last night because Biden committed a bunch of double faults (sorry for mixing sports) but the race has four months to go. If this debate performance happens again in September, then I’d be worried, but we have a long way to go. The game is not won in the 1st quarter.
I knew he had a cold and all that but that doesn’t explain some of the statements or misstatements he made. If he was sick it should have been postponed.
The debate highlights the issues with appearing opposite the lying, convicted felon. He knows he can say whatever he wants whenever he wants. His opponent be it Clinton or Biden have to address their own platform while also trying to fight off a barrage of falsehoods fired from a machine gun.
Biden, for whatever reason started out very slow. He did regain his footing somewhat but the dye had been cast.
The Presidency is more than just one man (in most cases). Biden has had and will continue to have help from solid people. Trump on the other hand will have a cadre of yes men - making him much more dangerous.
The election is about democracy - period. We must vote for democracy not a dictatorship.
Obviously I am feeling demoralized after the debate.
As an aside, I believe Biden's political ego is risking everything he says he stands for. Is it too late to pivot. Do we have a dark horse that could beat Trump?
1) Feinstein died in office because her ego could not acknowledge her infirmity
2) RGB was asked to step down while a Dem President could appoint here replacement. She didn't and died during the Trump administration. Gorsuch was her replacement. Roe V Wade then died.
3) Biden is old. Objectively old. (yes, so is Trump) But in the interests of democracy and progress, shouldn't Biden step aside? It appears he is falling into the same ego trap; believing only he can "save" us. Instead it feels like he is risking it all, by (potentially) losing to Trump or dieing himself. His ego is superseding the interests of democracy.
Joe was exhausted, tired, he had a cold, it was 9:00. This guy has the weight of the world on his shoulders; he is the leader of the free world and his day job requires 24/7 daily! He was tussling with the devil himself last night given all of that. Have you seen him in NC today after being rested? He’s on FIRE! That’s my Joe; I wish he’d been there last night, but he never ever gives up. He gets back up to fight another day~no excuses, no lies! Just action. He’s been a public servant for each of us for 50 years! GO, JOE🇺🇸😡🇺🇸
To me he seemed overprepped and worn down from prepping. They could have had a one sentence strategy something like, everytime TFG speaks pickout the lie and spend the next two minutes lambasting him for what he just said. I honestly believe Biden could have done that. Instead, I felt like Joe seemed to be sorting through millions of statements he had been prepped on and subsequently looked confused and delivered word salads.
God bless you, Anj. All these whiners about Joe are getting on my last nerve.
I stand with you and Joe Biden all the way to the finish line!
Democrats need to notice how the Republicans as sorry as they are, rally around Donald Trump no matter how despicable he is.
Joe Biden is sick and his microphone doesn't work so he doesn't come across like his usual fabulous self. Some Democrats just can't handle the heat and they want to dump him.
Your saying what the GQP wants to hear. That is the reason they agreed to the debate. They know Dems are a sky is falling people at the slightest excuse
Yes. Dems are often a "sky is falling" people. We are thoughtful and worried. We yearn for the confidence the ignorant often exude. We want democracy to stand and we are still traumatized by Trump's first win. The sky did fall.
Ignoring the age vulnerability, isn't honest. It is not about my vote. It is about the ones on the fringes. The ones who ARE influenced by the perception that Biden is weak. This is not a "slight excuse". It is about tactics. It is about winning.
Those harping on his age is MSM or more specifically the NYT. Then dumbo Msnbc followed suit. I don't run Msnbc, but whoever does needs to be replaced. You don't take a right wing talking point & run with it. Melber is nauseating about bringing up the age thing. Most of that talking point is being manipulated by corrupt right wing ops. Go watch Trump in one of his crazy rallies & get back to me...then talk to me about age. Trump is older than Biden in every way but chronologically. Trump has shown signs of dementia, unhinged ranting, & talks like a stuffed sausage. Trump doesn't excercise in his life, Biden excercises as part of his lifestyle. Trump drinks nasty diet coke & eats fast food. Biden doesn't live on that trash. Trump is forgetful, he is illogical, he is unhinged, emotionally immature, narcissistic, selfish, incompetent, a criminal rapist & fraudster. Biden is intelligent on running the gov't, foreign policy, protecting U.S. interests, & flexible in thinking. Biden is one of the most straight-talking honest congressmen. Trump is a lying, rat f*cking criminal who possesses no ability to run anything let alone our government, he's a corrupt, self-dealing conman who didn't even reach the WH legitimately. Biden is fit & trim. Trump is fat & flabby. The choice is clear. It's eye-rolling at this point to belabor the point of age, when you can't change it, the man was sick during the debate & it was designed to be a distraction. People have to focus on the larger picture & stop spinning out about things that cannot be changed. The end result will not be about "tactics", it will be about women's rights, democracy, SCOTUS corruption, stopping fascist lawlessness, protecting our institutions, education, social security, & our civil rights.
H Hospel, get over it. President Biden is doing an astonishing job as POTUS He's got the job! He's delivering astonishing results. There's no question about his ability to do the job.
Right now Biden is the one with the knowledge to run this country. He wants to finish what he started. If he thought it was best for the country he would step aside, I have no doubt.
50 years you say....my point exactly. He is an honest guy. He gets my vote. But the salient question is, "is there someone else with a better chance to win?" We really really need this win.
Not against TFG. There checked it out! Yes, in another 4 years. We have a plethora of great choices. But not today. Today it’s Joe Biden, just as Governor Newsom said last night. One bad night (we’ve all had those moments)! Don’t throw the baby out with the bath water! Don’t be reactionary! Today, democracy demands support🇺🇸💙🇺🇸
H Hospel, if the Democrats try to change horses in the middle of the stream only four months before the election, they will look like fools first. Second they will take the worst beating in the history of presidential elections and usher in a dictatorship from Donald Trump.
No. Gov. Newson is the only one that could be successful & he is not having this hand wringing right now. You do NOT abandon a winning horse in the middle of the race. It's just not smart. He's a winner. He's won before. What you are reacting to is the lies & propaganda the right wing Fox types are putting out FOR you to have a melt down over. You are taking the bait. #RESIST
The hell??? No it was NOT about ego with Feinstein, nor was it ever the case with Biden. You are talking about things you don't understand right now. First of all if RGB stepped down during Obama's admin you ACTUALLY believe he would've been allowed to appoint someone? That's laughable. He had a seat open to appoint Garland & McConnell thwarted it by making up a stupid, random rule. He was too weak to raise hell over it & do anything about it. You are fantasizing. Feinstein stayed because WE needed her. Only the disrespectful squad tried to drive her out of the position he earned. Her record is exemplary....if you bothered to check. She was instrumental in getting the assault rifle banned during the Clinton administration.
You are full of it about your claim that Biden thinks only he can "save" us. That's bullsh*t! That is Trump. GET A CLUE. I'm sick of people making such ridiculous statements. This is not about his age. He was sick. His debate team & campaign deserve as scathing a rebuke as this, as well, for refusing to prep him for Trump's inevitable liefest. I've been a Democrat for over 40 years....and no one, with as successful a record as Biden has should ever "step down" just to assuage the weak, & the fearful who over-react & fall victim to the machinations of the fascist republican party. I will remind you what is at stake...it is this country's democracy. No this is not ego...it's closer to common sense. You don't switch horses when you're breaking records & winning! You are fair weathered. You back him when he's winning, but if the guy makes a mistake you want to abandon him?? No wonder we are where we are.
I disagree. Biden has done a superlative job as President. He knew the technical arguments, but what was needed in this instance was jingoism and zinger. Joe Biden is ill-suited for slinging bullshit on a good day. He's too rooted in logic and fact. But isn't that what it takes to be a good president (which he is?) Historically, when dems have changed horses, they've lost. We can't allow Trump to win. We must stick with the decent, proven, loyal American president, Joe Biden.
Thanks for the clear-eyed view, Dan. President Biden missed a tremendous opportunity last night, and probably made his re-election much more difficult. But the fact remains that it's necessary, especially in light of Felonious Trump's performance. While Trump started out somewhat confidently and carefully, it didn't take him long to veer into his lane of lies when he realized that neither the moderators nor his opponent were going to challenge him. I only hope that the crescendo of lies was enough to scare the independent voters who are actually paying attention.
I think President Biden was overprepared and under-relaxed. Without notes or a teleprompter, he was unable to gather his thoughts, especially when Felonious Trump unleashed his barrage of lies. President Biden's performance in today's rally in NC was somewhat comforting, but where was that guy last night? I hope he channels him going forward.
Tired, not well, it was late and Trump barraged with lies like an AR-15. He did not “debate”. He never answered the questions given, followed his own meandering agenda and lied/projected continuously.
Joe does not handle the barrage well; he is very careful with his language because of his speech impediment. This is not his best venue. Watch him today in NC all rested up on HIS trust, not Donald’s lying Gush gallop. Look that one up (HCR).
I agree for the most part, but President Biden stumbled right out of the gate, and Felonious Trump saw sharks circling in the electrified water and started throwing chum. I think Biden looked like he hadn't slept in 24 hours. which may have been the case, with the understandable anxiety of the encounter, and being under the weather.
Sure...but so what. He was sick & his campaign failed in debate prep. They are the ones responsible. He should have gotten some prednisone to put that cold down & give him needed energy. It works like a charm.
I think Biden, like many of us, was shocked how the incompetent "moderators" sat there like robots while Trump lied & rat f*cked him with accusations that were true about him, his intentions, & future plans. The set up of that debate was ineffective & a loser all around. This is not how they should do the other ones. I hope those two pathetic clowns doing the moderating pay a price for allowing a known criminal, liar & fraudster to take over a platform with no clapback. Shame on them & shame on CNN. Biden's team needs to stop whining & chasing after Obama because he cannot help Biden win. They best swallow their inappropriate "pride" & reach out to Carville & Clinton for tips, coaching, & assessment. Bill Clinton is the best at debate in the history of politics.
I turned the debate off after the LIE Trump made claiming that Biden lowered world trust in the U.S., when there are actual stats proving the opposite. I was too disgusted to watch that. I found out later later how Donald punched himself in the face by not answering the questions given & by rambling on with his grievance. CNN punched themselves in their face too by giving a platform to a fascist criminal psychopath. We will not forget or forgive that any time soon.
It was hard watching it, and I think that the moderators didn't do anyone any justice. Regardless, I'm still Ridin with Biden!!
You and me both! There is absolutely no way in God's green earth that I would even give a thought to voting for the republican candidate.
I have gotten over my shock. It’s Biden to the end. There is no choice. Biden must win and there must be a giant blue wave to elect super majorities.
Let’s go.
Yep! This substack and Heather Cox Richardson's give me hope. I can barely stand to watch the news anymore. Either TFG is spewing lies or the Supreme Court is doing something really stupid.
Lately it’s both.
Stupid is not the word...anti-American is more like it.
terrible to watch
but it did not change my mind. My vote will be for Joe. I believe Incame across something online I did not completely understand, but was that a liarvwill throw out remarks wuicklynonecaftervthevother, until thevother person hearing itvall, and this time forn90nminutes, that other person cannot pissibly remember the first two when the liar is on third lie. Will try to find again and post it
But did the debate change your mind?
No, Pat, the debate did not change my mind. Frankly, I don't think it was that bad. Joe Biden spoke with honor, integrity, and facts -- unlike Trump who simply lied and took credit for things that Joe Biden did like arranging the $35 insulin cap.
Trump is a felon, an adjudicated sexual predator, a sociopath, a narcissist, and a pathological liar. He has also stated that he intends to be dictator starting day one.
Why in the world are some Democrats having such an intense negative reaction to the fact that for one evening Joe Biden didn't feel well? It has happened to all of us. At least he didn't cancel. He did his best. And by the next day, in North Carolina, he was his usual self again and ON FIRE!
In my opinion, President Joe Biden is the best POTUS in my lifetime.
No. Donald Trump is a serial adulterer, a liar, and a thief. He is a convicted felon and an amoral man. He stands for nothing but snake oil, s**t, and Shinola. These are not traits I look for in a leader. Biden is old, but he is competent, and his values make sense to me.
Pat, the debate did not change my mind at all, reinforced me to try to reach out to get others to vote for our Joe. I wrote below about sone kind of talking that throws out lie aftervlie after lie, orvinformation, that confuses people who do not then have timebtobevenbreplynto first remark much less third or fourth, will see if can find again. for me, snd I hope millions of others, trump is in thecsame category as hitler and pukin (putin) will never change my mind. evil evil evil 40 or 50 lies in 90 minutes. EVIL MONSTER.
they are corrupt too. I already have headache worrying sick the orange pathological liar will not be held accountable tomorrow by those crooked judges. they have gotten so much piwer they are actually smug. despise them and trump for turning on our country, making russia china whoever laugh at us. Where did ourvstrength go to? why are there so many crazies out there who used to vote for good, not devastation. trump belongs in jail, hevdoesn'tvwantbto go, cowardly liar. he is so GUILTY OF SO MANY BAD THINGS, remember his remark that he never slept with a "lady of the night" becausecI cannot wrote other word, and he told us and Joe he never did. My question online immediately was why did you pay her 130,000.00? Everyone one who watched that court hearing knows he paid her, EVERYONE, YET THE LIE SLID OFF HIS TONGUE LIKE WATER. Evil evil pathological liar, Anyobe who believes trump is crazy.
CRINGE !!!
bluecwave must come to save our country and us. 💙🇺🇸💙🇺🇸💙🇺🇸💙🇺🇸💙🇺🇸💙
Bill, Katz, I don’t know. I like your hope and I’ve been behind Joe 100% until last night. I would NEVER vote for the GOP spewing filth fountain that is djt. He’s the most despicable political character in my lifetime—and I turn 70 this autumn.
We have to have a Dem in the White House in 2025. But I think Biden has simply aged out. It’s not his fault, it’s the human condition. Our bodies and minds have an expiration date. I will be eternally grateful to him for kicking Trump out in 2020. if he loves our country as much as I think he does, he must know somewhere inside himself, that he’s done his job and it’s time to retire.
I think the DNC has to be assertive and look for a strong, younger, competent and qualified leader to carry the torch going forward.
What are our options?
Biden should have been coached that no matter what is asked, to memorize responses and part of the response must always be an attack at Trump even if the response does t match the question exactly. In that manner, you keep control of the narrative. But he didn’t do that.
Great point. Also, though, Biden's staff should have never allowed their candidate (ours) to agree to a non-fact-checked-in-real-time presidential debate.
You are 100% correct, of course. But give the dog his due. He is a virtuoso liar, a tsunami of filth. He’s perfected his craft and is a formidable character. We’d need a small army of fact checkers to stem his tide of falsehoods. 40% of the population simply doesn’t have tie intelligence, common sense, strength of character and critical thinking skills to fend off his wall of crap. How did America get here? I think it started in the 50’s & 60’s, the brainwashing and manipulation of the masses. We are a consumeristic society and sold our souls to the dumbed down onslaught on our sensibilities.
100%
per the AP:
“ CNN determined ahead of time that Tapper and Bash would be questioners, not umpires. They didn’t follow up questions — except to repeat those that weren’t answered — and left it to the politicians to try and fact-check.”
When he did the orange wonder responded with something like “you’re the liar’ followed by a flood of more lies.
he did yell back at filthy trump when bidens don was called a felon. I almost cried forvJoe. This filthy despicable con man saying something so hurtful and hateful to Biden made me sick. If he is not held accountable fircall his crimes and his 34 counts Inwill just give up hope.
Dementia narrows one's scope, and agility and does so significantly. Doesn't it?
Yes, apparently dementia enhances Trump's continual ability to spout lies.
AGREED!
🙌🏻
Too late to say should have. Going forward Sept will not be a debate. Attacks only allow drumpf to spout another denial lie. Focus on how people's lives now and future will improve without the repugs in majority in gov.
Exactly. The incumbent president always controls the narrative and commands the narration. Biden had every opportunity to present his policies as his accomplishments during his tenure. He didn't do that. Biden had every opportunity to stick it to Trump by presenting facts and figures that undermined Trump's narrative. He didn't do it.
Biden convinced me that he's a tired elderly statesman who needs to retire with dignity from public service.
If the country were not so homophobic, I think Pete Buttigieg could become one of the best presidents in recent times. If the country were not so anti-Semitic, Josh Shapiro would be excellent. But too many Americans are bigots whether they admit or not. That's why Obama's two terms were miraculous.
Not certain they were miraculous, but they were definitely step in the right direction and inspired lots of hope for many people.
HHMM Shapiro
Sorry, I can't "like" this comment. Maybe if you watch Biden's rally today in North Carolina, you'll change your mind. Again. #flipflop
Everybody has good days & not do good days. Yes we are aging. I think he did have a cold/bug and sounded like mild laryngitis . Add having to breathe the same air as the lunatic former president is enough to make an honest person ill. Joe Biden had his energy back today. I too am ridin with BIDEN!
Megan Ross, nevertheless, Biden, his closest advisors and the DNC will decide what to do. We have no influence on that decision. I will vote Dem in 2024, no matter who’s in the ballot.
They're making a lot of mistakes though. They've got to stop trying to get Obama to ....do something. Obama can't do anything. He can't elect anyone but himself. I like Obama, but deep down these fools know who they need to get....& it's none other than William Jefferson Clinton, who is a master at debating. He's also gifted at explaining things & getting things across. He is the one that should help Biden, but when they keep stupidly dissing him & not giving him the respect of asking him to help, he's not going to insert himself. Bill Clinton is hands down the smartest person in the room everywhere he goes, but more importantly he's also a great teacher.
North Carolina has been a solidly GOP state since the days of Jesse Helms. It does not matter how well Biden puts on a show for the cameras.
He was reading from a teleprompter.
Who cares?
Vote for Biden. There is nothing wrong with his mind, and he doesn't take care of business at a podium, intimidated by a traitor trying to demolish our Constitution.
Tim Freije, obviously President Biden has not "aged out". His results as POTUS are arguably the best I've seen in my lifetime and I will be 3/4 of a century old in early December.
President Biden doesn't beat his own chest like Trump does. He simply makes things better. He tells the truth. He acts within integrity 100% of the time. He delivers results consistently.
And he will ride to his second term on the crest of the biggest BLUE tsunami in American history.
He and his administration do publicize their accomplishments. I’ve found their press releases on the WH site after people said the Biden administration didn’t do or say certain things.
The fascination with DJT drama and desire for clicks push anything with DJT’s name to the front. This is to the detriment of having an informed public. The final day of SCOTUS decisions for the term is Monday.
Very little coverage of the SCOTUS 🤮 so far. Monday SCOTUS may reduce debate “coverage” because they can talk about Donnie. Last chance for a decision on presidential immunity from SCOTUS this term. No mention of what the other cases pending are.
Ashley, Warrenton, Smith, I also think he’s done a very good job. Unfortunately, I think his debate performance will turn off some of the few independent voters we have left and upon whom we are depending on to get us over the top. I made good donations in 2020 & have already done so in 2024. Also donated to Sherrod Brown of OH in 2024. Donated to the GA Dem Senators a few years back. Aided in the voter registration efforts in 2020. Never did this prior to 2020. So I’m all in. I urge everyone to be generous and proactive this year.
Ridin' with Biden ALL THE WAY.
I am not a Fairweather Democrat. When the going gets tough, the tough better get going. Right now it's tough and we had better support Joe Biden all the way to his next win in 2024.
First thing I did was make a donation to Joe Biden after the AND sent him a note thanking him for everything that he has done to make America great since 2020 and before.
This man is a great statesman and we have been extraordinarily fortunate to have him as our president for the past three years and, God willing, for the next five years.
watch Lawrence O'Donnell
https://youtu.be/Qs1yiaeYuXY?si=xCUuMuo6yFrrlA-q
Biden small donors continued giving in the hours after the debate in large numbers. I’m not certain voters are moved these days by NYT editorials, WaPo etc., or the ongoing calls from within the house of Dems who always despair over their choices. There is no unicorn candidate to please everyone. (Sticklers for detail can read the transcript to compare Biden’s responses to TFG’s.)
“The campaign said the 11 p.m. to midnight hour, one hour after Thursday's debate, was the single best hour of fundraising since the campaign's launch in April 2023.”
https://www.reuters.com/world/us/biden-campaign-says-raised-14m-debate-day-morning-after-2024-06-28/
I agree. This is so well said. 🇱🇷♥️🇱🇷
Ridin' with Biden 100%.
https://youtu.be/NNbpReScD_I?si=-CjeyjiRJcUC2QJE
I watched most of this live. It was Joe Biden being Joe. You could compare it to when Clinton became the “come back kid.” Major differences:
* Biden is running against a former president surrounded by personal scandals (plus DJT was found culpable for sexual assault, is a convicted felon surrounded by felons, whose pal Bannon goes to prison Monday.)
* DJT’s ‘handlers’ are inclined to let him do as he wishes which his cult adores.
— Biden is an incumbent, balancing duties & demeanor of the presidency while being over-managed. I suspect his people hide him to avoid mistakes which is the greatest mistake of all. If they keep on, they will all be unemployed before or after the election.
AB SOLUTELY!!!
blue wave coming 💙🇺🇸💙🇺🇸💙🇺🇸💙🇺🇸💙
The Democratic Party has many healthy, intelligent and experienced members. It is not a choice between Biden and a Republican nasty.
John, I'm ridin' with Biden 100%. First thing I did was make another donation to his campaign and send him a note of gratitude for all of the fabulous results he has delivered since he took office as, arguably, the best POTUS in my lifetime.
And you are, arguably, the most delusional person on earth.
Yet the Democratic National Committee will not put them on the ticket because AIPAC does not want them. Biden and Harris landed on the Democratic Party ticket because Biden has ardently supported Zionism throughout his political career and Harris is married to a Jewish man with ties to the Netanyahu Cabinet.
Nasty is as nasty does in November.
They were not “moderators”…that implies someone who calls out a blatant lie, keeps the answers on point, and keeps the process moving forward rather than collapsing into chaos. CNN bobbleheads did none of this. They were a disgrace to journalism.
Glad you said it....they were trash! They're both dead to me after this lame performance. I wanted to slap them both in the face. Why don't they pick Bob Woodward to do the next one, since Trump respects him. They need to stop someone who is lying by interrupting them. Why would you make rules for a debate, but don't put in there that you can't lie & call people names??
I clearly remember watching when the lunatic former president called our veterans & military " suckers & losers" & disrespected a POW. The lunatic is the real vermin .
he is a mean vicious evil pathological liar who enjoys hurting people. He thinks it makes him superior, but I wish he knew just how much it makes him hated. Really hated!
...and on that note, he's about as despicable as a person can get. Remember how he & Barr were killing all those people on death row at the end of his residency? It's like he has a taste for it now. He takes no responsibility for allowing Covid to infest the U.S., while he dismantled Obama's pandemic response. Jarod & Trump Jr. were intentionally trying to get the blue states infested with Covid but Dems kept wearing masks & taking precautions while in red states they kept fighting people over masks. Remember how California & New York ordered the breathing units, but Trump sent people to confiscate it? People were dying by the 1000snds every day because there wasn't enough of those breathing machines. Meanwhile the WH had rooms full of them. Trump wanted to use that stuff to blackmail people with it for a payout or simply withhold it if they were Dems. Blue state genocide is what it was, I can only imagine what they'll do for their 2nd act. This misogynist SCOTUS is trying to pave the way for a fascist take over & that cannot be allowed to continue. It won't if we vote & watch the polls closely, report any GOP dirty tricks, have lawyers at the ready, cameras, & be ready to put down the false flags the lying GOP throw out to cause chaos.
thank you for responding yo me. I was shocked to read what he and his son innlaw tried to do, withhold face masks during covid that werevtgere to be used to protect people. The whole world should know this, especially the devastated peoplecwho lost a loved one. I cannot imagine their grief. He told us to drink bleach. Many of us remember that.
Well said!!
I agree with you! This clip will likely make you feel way better:
https://youtu.be/GgjyHwQOUoo?si=QZ1sgygMI22SvY_n
exactly! Lawrence O’Donnell is a treasure!
I agree. The moderators were useless. How they got the job I'll never understand.!
AMEN!!
Agree 100%
absolute disgrace
I agree 100%. Looks to me like CNN is owned by the Dark Side.
This clip might make you feel way better:
https://youtu.be/GgjyHwQOUoo?si=QZ1sgygMI22SvY_n
So, you expected the moderators to do the debate for Biden?
"Joe Biden is a good and decent man. But in last night’s joint appearance, he was bullied and lost badly. "
Joe Biden is a good and decent man. As these things go. Joe Biden has been a surprisingly successful president. By any metric. Joe Biden did not lose badly in the debate because he was bullied. Biden lost badly because he was inept and incoherent. Biden had only one job on that stage - answer the questions in simple declarative sentences. And he failed. Spectacularly. I do not know whether his campaign can come back from this. I think he must now be completely visible and visibly competent - over and over. Until we can unsee last's night's tragic performance, or at least put it into perspective. If that is even possible at this point.
Joe works! He may not be the best speaker but he knows who to hire and how to get things done for our Country! He’s organized. His “handlers” shouldn’t have scheduled such a late start.
TFG should have been called out. He contributed nothing but noise and lies!
Late start is never a good thing for older folks. At 73 I am pretty with it in the morning; and have always been a morning person. But I for sure pack it in after 9 pm/not near my best
How about late start for someone who had a rally earlier that day & had just finished 2 back to back trips to Europe for meeting with world leaders? He met with folks after the debate at an event. He and Jill were shown at a Waffle House at midnight talking to the “locals.” So he didn’t lack stamina. But something was off.
And he was sick, besides.
Our president has dementia.
And anyone, even Presidents can have an off day!
I was worried that sone nasty person, could have put a tranquilizer innhis tea or soda or water without anyone suspecting it. But Inreadcabout a method of speaking, trumpmthevpigbuses it, to throw out obe remark after another, and thevperson trying to reply gets confused . It has a name if Incan find itbagain, was on fb twice yesterday. I had no idea therecwas such a thing.
I think you mean a “gish gallop”. A suddenly popular term that means a person floods the zone with a firehose of false confusing statements to overwhelm the opposition.
Biden also had a cold & his voice was hoarse which was not helpful. One of the hazards of working, not riding around in a golf cart all day. He had attended a rally before the debate and was out and about afterward. There was a live feed of him with Jill at a Waffle House at midnight talking to “locals.” The next day you may have seen him in NC when his voice and energy were quite good. Indications are he had an off day.
I remember when HRC had pneumonia and felt weak as she was campaigning. There was the same hair on fire blather. She is still hale & hearty.
I know what you mean, I'm 73 also!!
Younger presidents and other officials have had such difficult moments. A certain group of Dems are always ready to pounce on their own & the media eats it up for the ‘views.’ The transcript and the donations that continued flooding in for Biden say NYT, WaPo, and the pundits did not sway Biden’s supporters. Others have pointed to the transcript as a neutral entity that belies the handwringing.
All the hoopla for a week prior to the debate and mania afterward have served to keep the decisions SCOTUS has puked out to go almost unnoticed. Roberts said the rest that are decided will come out on Monday. That will get more news coverage due to the trump connection. We’ve been waiting to see if they act on immunity.
true trump was despicable, mean, evil, hurtful and a pathological liar.
Power to the elderly, who are far more than the younger. Experience does not fade.
😊
Now do Trump and his 90 minutes of lies
"Now do Trump and his 90 minutes of lies."
Trump is essentially irrelevant to the consideration of whether Biden is still electable and what it will take to elect him.
I beg to differ, it's simple..you vote for an honest man with integrity that has our Country as his first priority or you vote for the guy that lies 99% of the time and wants your votes to stay out of jail and become Putin Jr.
If Biden was running against someone with integrity and had our country as his priority, the outcome could be different. The down playing of Trump's lies, and not just last night, are astounding and unfortunately mainstream media are playing right into his hands.
Vote Biden or elect Trump.
Elect Biden or institute Project 2025.
Through the unforced errors of Biden's debate performance - electing Biden, never an easy proposition, just got exponentially more difficult. It is foolish to panic. It is foolish to pretend. There is too much work to do. Whether or not Biden will ultimately be the Democratic candidate, we must continue to work on getting out the Democratic vote. I just requested 300 more postcards/addresses.
https://www.turnoutpac.org
honestly said. no trump, never, not ever. Please God, let him be jailed for his lies, his evil, his filth and rottenness and his cruelty,
Thank you so much!! Very well put!! GOD bless you and us!!!
TFG will be the stain on the Republican Party for all time.
???
Not inept but did lose his way several times, not all times. As a person who loses words and has for thirty some years, I know how frustrating it can be. President Biden appeared to realize it and was not helped by his stuttering. His expressions about Trump's continuous outright lies were great. Too bad it was a bad day.
Thanx!!
He went into zombie - land. Out of it. Absolutely verbal spaghetti. And looked like the walking dead.
I see you are having a really good time trashing our President! If you’re so darn smart, get out and run for the office yourself! Trash talking is easy and does nothing to contribute.
Sorry, Selina, you must be thinking of Trump. President Biden, on the other hand, spoke with honor, integrity, and to the facts.
Trump, a pathological liar, a convicted felon, and adjudicated sexual abuser, a sociopath, and a narcissist spewed lies out of his tiny little mouth as fast as he could move his lips.
How would YOU have liked to try to respond to that? Think about it before you judge our president so harshly.
Get a fuckin life
Watch his speech this morning at the North Carolina rally.
It was great, Greg. THAT is our POTUS!!!
agree!
Sorry, lin, I disagree with you.
Joe Biden is as far from inept as a man could be.
Did you notice that he was having trouble with his microphone?
Did you know that he was ill?
Did you notice that the pundits for CNN were ready to jump all over Joe Biden after CNN did not set him up for the debate?
Did you notice that the CNN moderators didn't moderate the debate well at all? They allowed Donald Trump to lie with almost every breath without calling him on it. They allowed him not to answer their direct questions a single time.
Does the concept of 'set up' have any meaning to you?
Have you looked into the ownership of CNN lately?
Instead of judging Joe Biden harshly, you might want to do your research and rethink your position.
And one final question. How would YOU like to have faced Donald Trump on national television, a convicted felon, a pathological liar, a sociopath, a narcissist, an adjudicated sex abuser, who is spewing nonstop lies about YOU and YOUR performance with his every breath?
How would YOU have handled it ?
You might want to watch this:
https://youtu.be/GgjyHwQOUoo?si=QZ1sgygMI22SvY_n
Denial supplemented with conspiracy theory does no good. Biden's inept debate performance ought lead to serious reflection by all of us. Especially Joe Biden.
Whether Biden steps down or pushes on, it does not change our obligation to Get Out The Vote for Democratic candidates.
I can't "Like" this comment. Sorry.
Don’t worry.
Excellent commentary
So in your lights one recognizes moral conscience only in relation to another person so morally degraded his conscience would be pinned at the extreme end of the spectrum. So it goes, Biden is highly moral because in contrast to Trump he lies only 50% of the time instead of Trump’s 99.9%of the time. And in this context, supplying the entire killing machinery to a colonialist nation to obliterate an entire people, their cultural institutions their hospitals and homes is simply an irrelevant consideration for assessing moral integrity. Is that it?
"Joe Biden is a good and decent man. As these things go."
The political choice is binary.
Vote Biden or elect Trump.
The moral merit of the two candidates is relative.
Regarding Israel and Palestine, Biden is the better choice than Trump.
Trump's moving of the US embassy to Jerusalem, his Abrahamic Accords excluding Palestinians, and his support for Israeli settlement policy all worked to tank talks of a two state solution. (Trump has a settlement named in his honor in occupied territory.) Trump is entirely on board with the extremism of AIPAC and the Evangelicals
Biden has criticized Israeli settlement policy for decades. (A reason Netanyahu has campaigned and is campaigning against him.) Biden has strengthened the Leahy Laws with his National Security Memorandum 20. Biden has worked for consensus on a two state solution. Now he is navigating between those who cry antisemitism at any criticism of Israeli policy and those who cry genocide at any support for Israel.
As an American Jew and Zionist who has for decades denounced successive and increasingly extremist Netanyahu regimes and deplored the appropriation of Zionism by racist right wing religious extremists, I am dismayed at the Biden administration's reluctance to enforce the Leahy Laws and to fully pause delivery of offensive weapons to the murderous Netanyahu regime. That said, regarding the best interests of Israelis, Palestinians, and Americans, Biden is still the best choice of those competing for the presidency.
Thank you for taking the time to cover this so completely. I too am troubled by some of Biden’s support of Israel with offensive weapons. But I don’t have one tenth of the information the President has, so because I know Joe Biden is an honorable man, I trust him. The middle east is a gordian knot he’s doing his level best to untangle. Bless him for all his hard work.
Yes. Enforcing the Leahy Laws is legally complex. And politically fraught. Extremist rhetoric obstructs the reasoned debate essential to decision making. My concern is that there is disagreement within the State Department and among responsible elected officials - and I stand with those whose analyses suggest it is past time to limit offensive aid to the Netanyahu regime.
I’m also hopeful the Bibi regime is coming to an end. Israel’s very own form of Trump is making it harder to find a path to peace.
they were useless moderators who did nothing to try to control trump or to warm him about his pathological lying.
Me, too.
Joe Biden is the best POTUS of my lifetime (and I'm almost 3/4 of a century old). I am so grateful for everything this great statesman has done for our country to turn around the mess that Trump and previous Republican presidents created.
He was ON FIRE the very next day in North Carolina. I don't know about everyone else but when I get sick I just have to lay down and go to sleep. Joe couldn't do that. He had a presidential debate that he had to deal with. He expressed himself with facts, clarity, and honesty. Yes, his voice was weak. He didn't feel well. Cut him some slack, for heaven's sake!
For 37 years, I coached CEOs members of Boards of Directors, and top executives. This is a group of people that can be quite challenging to work with. The honest ones with integrity can be helped but the ones like Donald Trump can't be helped. They are IMPOSSIBLE to work with. The only thing that you can do is decline to work with them.
Joe Biden couldn't decline. He had to stand up in front of the nation and try to have an intelligent debate with a man that all of us know is a pathological liar, a sociopath, and a narcissist -- and incapable of speaking rationally. On a day when Joe Biden had perfect health, that would've been an impossible task.
I am very disappointed in some of my fellow Democrats. All of us descended from tough stock who knew how to face a challenge and go the distance -- not cut and run.
Democrats have changed candidates before at the last minute -- and lost soundly.
At this time we cannot afford to lose soundly. We need to back Joe Biden with everything that we have and trust him to keep doing what he has been doing for the last three years which is being an outstanding President of the United States.
Go, Joe. we are 100% with you all the way!!! ♥️🔥🔥🔥♥️
Thirty years ago, Biden and the Democrats made a difference. However, domestic and geopolitical realities have changed how national leaders respond. We need leaders who can keep up with how technological innovations have changed the economic landscape at home and abroad. We need younger leaders who have the vision to move the nation into the 21st century and beyond, and not someone who talks about the good old days to make America feel great again.
If the Democratic leadership wants to win more elections then it needs to start invigorating it's younger voters and younger leadership.
Ditto! 🇺🇲🇺🇲🇺🇲
100% agree, Susan.
I’ll take a good and decent man any day over a habitual liar.
💙🇺🇸 Ridin with Biden
Yes! Me as well!
I hope you’ve read the transcript.
After seeing him on CNN after the debate and in N.C. the next day, it's almost like someone drugged him! The Joe at the debate was not the Joe we know....
And Yes, Joe has my vote!
He was obviously ill, and if he had the bug I had for the last 2 weeks, I don’t know how he stood for 90 minutes, much less answered complicated questions. I don’t understand Democrats panicking over one 90 minute debate and not remembering 3 1/2 years of wonderful leadership.
Exactly!! We have Biden’s back just like he has ours!!
We should be judging Biden on his answers last night and not his form. Just as we should be judging Trump on his lies and (maybe not) on that ridiculous pasted on Cheshire Cat smile.
Hate that stupid “smile”
No warmth in it..ever. Smiles like a reptile.
Now that's funny!!
he does though, his smile is fake, odd, wacky like he is.
It's not so much a smile as it is a smirk, and there is a difference.
Did you ever notice that republicans always smirk when they're telling lies. I've been disgusted by this since the 1980s.
So you aren't the only one to notice this. It's good that you made the comment.
that is a smug spiteful smile proving what a jerk trump really is. An absolute fool with barely any education that helped him atvall. A complete business failure, cheated paying bills, always cheating, lying or stealing. He is just a male slut, nothing else and without intelligence. A disgrace.
I loved it when Biden told him that he has the morals of an alley cat!
Yes loved that, it says it all!
Me, too!!!! it was the highlight of the "debate" for me.
I don’t know….I’m a dog guy, but it really lumps all alley cats into pretty low cohort.
Smiles like a 7th grade boy who just farted in class.
He probably did. He was farting in court & stinking up the place as he pretended to sleep. You can see in some of those group pictures when he was Resident. He stinks.
Greasy orange “shit gibbon”. I had to look it up! 🦧
First thing I said when I saw him was...he looks like a booger nose. Lulz
Me, too. I love that it was coined specifically for DJT
How easily they forget! I'm choosing to remember Biden's State of the Union address and my spirits are still high. I'm still ridin' with Biden!
Biden every day & night. He has been working for us for decades & will continue to do so. I'm all in!
Me, too, Megan!!! ♥️🇱🇷🇱🇷🇱🇷♥️
People didn't know he was ill. It just looked like an old man who couldn't counter Trump's lies, which many people don't know are lies. That's the problem. He confirmed the doubts of people who don't think he's capable of another term. Last night was when he had to bring it, not today or next week.
He had a cold just got back from 2 weeks in Europe and Trump lied constantly in Gish Gallop style. But you all give Trump a free pass. Disgusting. DEMAND THE FELON DROP OUT
I demand he drop out… soooo????
We do not have to listen to the lies and verbal assaults.
I didn't know he was ill. I watched him so hopefully. He has done a very good job in his first term, and I was devastated to see him like that. I feel better to know that he was sick, but I wish people could have told us that.
He did great the next day in North Carolina.
Plus, you might find this clip uplifting
https://youtu.be/GgjyHwQOUoo?si=QZ1sgygMI22SvY_n
He managed to read a 20 minute speech off a teleprompter, without blanking out.
Everyone knows he is not fit.
He was so pale and looked sick !
There is no point in trying to counter Trump's lies - only Jake Tapper of Dana Bash could do that by turning off Trump's mike and telling him to answer the question asked which they didn't do.
From the AP:
“CNN determined ahead of time that Tapper and Bash would be questioners, not umpires. They didn’t follow up questions — except to repeat those that weren’t answered — and left it to the politicians to try and fact-check.”
Because they announced it in advance DJT could make his plan. All he had to do was memorize his list of lies. The times they repeated the question they waited until he finished his lies first - which means he got extra time to tell more lies & not on the topic. Unfriggin believable except this is the network that hosted a townhall packed with maga fans.
Thank you for this added information. Dana did repeat the question and she did appear annoyed the trump ignored her.
A week of “drama” in anticipation and all the noise afterward has helped bury the flurry of SCOTUS decisions from public view. I’m sure Roberts appreciates it. This is where my attention has moved. It makes me nervous and they are poised to drop more.
I can understand the annoyance. DJT made them irrelevant. Plus, factchecking later is useless. Less useful than a judge tells a jury (which is present) to ignore what was said.
Tapper appeared annoyed too. Here’s what he said after interruptions by DJT:
TAPPER: Well, I’m going to ask you a follow-up. You can do whatever you want with the minute that we give you.” No stop sign just a big green light. I looked it up to be certain. (CNN posted the transcript)
BTW, small donors did not flee from Biden. It seems he raised more $$ after the debate.
https://ny1.com/nyc/all-boroughs/news/2024/06/28/biden-campaign-14-million-debate-fundraising
I donated because I wanted him to know we have his back! Don’t step down Joe we love you.
Thank you, Ann. I didn't notice Tapper's annoyance as much as Dana's, she looked like she was ready to burst when she repeated a question and said just answer yes or no
I agree with you. I am quite concerned about our democracy. I think Trump did so much damage during his four years that we are now in a cold "civil war". I wonder how many Americans realize this?
I questioned the integrity of CNN. I felt that way before the "debate".
They lost whatever shred of decency when they railroaded Ted Turner III with a bad deal & then took him off the board of CNN in bad faith. They deserve no benefit of any doubt ever.
That pretty much says it all.
Yep
Agreed....they let djt rant on...dodge the questions.
Thank you Joannie
You hit the proverbial nail on the proverbial head
They certainly did not. I question the integrity of CNN. I am not at all impressed.
They turned off his mic while he was still talking during the 10 minutes I watched. It was too painful to watch more. But they did a good job of sitting back and letting each of them show us who they are. I just wish that Biden had been able to frustrate Trump to the point that his head exploded. Ah well - there will be more opportunities.
For a man with a sore throat from a cold Joe did pretty darned good
Yes, and whose microphone wasn't working properly.
Exactly! They let him get away with his BS , he always get away , slippery slim that he is.
I believe his comeuppance isn’t too far off. I want to see him in an orange jump suit that matches his “tan.” Then for Biden to pardon him with the condition he never leave Maro maro, and Hillary speeches must be piped in non-stop. ….
trump is despicable and must never ever get elected again, not even as dog catcher. Would not trust him with even that job. He does not like animals, big sign ofva not nice person. Hecwould notveven pet the service dog y=that had returned from duty overseas, hecwas a disgusting cowardly cold creep.
... and look at the ugly things he has said about our servicemen.
Trump is despicable.
He’s got nothing to bring. What we saw on Thursday is what the people in the White House see every day.
A senile old man.
Maybe this clip will make you feel better:
https://youtu.be/GgjyHwQOUoo?si=QZ1sgygMI22SvY_n
https://youtu.be/GgjyHwQOUoo?si=QZ1sgygMI22SvY_n
Are Democrats panicking? I see and hear LOTS of media coverage about needing a new nominee all remarkably devoid of names or formal statements.
Think it is an RNC / media push.
Signed, life long Republican who never has and NEVER, EVER will vote for Trump.
Stupid MSNBC!! Yeah...so what I want to know is WHO is saying this in the Dem party? Is it Schumer? Only Gov Newson can take the mantel from him & win. Period. However I think it's premature given that it was their first debate & Biden was sick. I had to turn it off after I became incensed when he lied & claimed Biden has made the U.S. a disgrace to the world. He's the one who did that. I saw the stats on it from every country. Both Biden & Obama had to deal with knotheads before them that besmirched America's reputation & they will continue to do that because they don't like U.S. democracy. Ya know....wouldn't you think that in a democratic country, that it wouldn't be allowed for a political party to run in our elections when they are anti-democratic, corrupt, fascist & palling around with dictators? I don't know....maybe it's just me, but it seems to be an obviously low bar to me. Yet our Gov't didn't see fit to codify rules for the parties, apparently. It's illegal in Germany, because they're smarter than we are.
In Britain, they are called "Palace Sources". The media is making it up as they are going along. In the NY Times Friedman an article and the NY Times editorial board wrote an Op Ed telling Biden to withdraw. If you have access read the both of them and substitute Friedman for Biden in his article and NY Times for Biden in the Op Ed. Illuminating. Appreciate your comment.
Britain has a serious problem, but then again it appears that some of them pay them to do that. It's like Murdoch. The times asking Biden to step down was & is pathetic. It's why he won't give them an interview because of their shenanigans. Everyone forgets that the NYT made a deal with Murdoch during the 2016 election. So they LITERALLY threw everything at the wall to stop Hillary Clinton. The misogynist press, NYT, Murdoch, Pecker, Comey, Putin-Assange Hack. These dirty trick campaigns have got to stop or we will lose our democracy, even if we slip by this time. Only one side has ever been involved in this crap & that's republicans. It's time it stops. I'm sick of the anxiety created by these monsters every single election cycle.
Me too. We need warning labels on Cable News (for entertainment purposes only). Not sure what to do about the NYT we parted company a long time ago.
Media is owned by the dark oligarchs
Thank you, GOD Bless you too!!
I will add that perhaps Joe took cold meds, which can have adverse effects especially on older folks. I take so much allergy medications that nothing makes me feel any different anymore, but that is me.
That's a good point, but what a stupid out-of-touch campaign/debate team does he have? If anything...he should've taken Prednisone.
Thumbs Up!!
thank you for saying those kind and caring words. understanding and kindness are very important for goid people because of all the filthy corrupt people in our lives these past years. How many of trumps morons have been jailed, with more to come. Did you ever read the nonsense and garbage they are hoping to impose on us and our country? trump wants control and wants to stay out of jail. I WANT HIM IN JAIL AN SO SHOULD ALMOST EVERYONE ELSE WHO LOVES OUR COUNTRY .
Because the alternative is a reality I’ve read about in History books.
That just doesn’t explain why he was up and raring to go today. Why couldn’t that Joe show himself last night?! I’m sorry to be a Debbie downer here, but he was just terrible and it doesn’t matter what the Biden die hard think, it matters what the people that are wavering on who they are going to vote for think. I can’t imagine there is one single person that wasn’t sure if they were going to vote for Biden or Trump last night. Who decided I think I will vote for Biden. Kennedy got a lot more supporters in the past 24 hours We need another candidate and we need it ASAP.
Well the snap polls didn't show any movement. People need to get a grip! He was sick. Yes, his debate team/campaign are the idiots who caused this. They had him on the wrong side, they told him not to correct Trump's lies, & clearly they aren't very good. I will say it one more time. Forget about Obama coming to "help" Biden. It won't work. They need Bill Clinton. Period. So they need to quit whining & dissing the Big Dog & bring him back in to coach Biden, because he's the master! Do you always count someone else when they "lose" the first battle & pull them out of the war? No, you don't. Biden didn't do good, but did you think Trump was good with his booger nose, lying like a scum, & making the moderators repeat a question twice. If anything Trump punched himself in the face repeatedly. Both candidates did bad.
Here , here.
I agree with you, Mary.
https://youtu.be/GgjyHwQOUoo?si=QZ1sgygMI22SvY_n
Exactly!
Wonderful leadership. Some decent things. And a very very bad thing.
Hoping you’re correct!
Shame on CNN for not fact checking. It was always going to be an issue.
I agree! I thought they were supposed to fact check in real time. I think Trump kept the lies coming so fast and furious that they couldn’t keep up.
It’s called Gish Galloping. It is intended to flood a discussion to keep anyone from being able to respond. The RNC is good at it. It’s a cross between filibustering and taunting. Childish, unproductive and on brand.
“The technique wastes an opponent's time and may cast doubt on the opponent's debating ability for an audience unfamiliar with the technique, especially if no independent fact-checking is involved or if the audience has limited knowledge of the topics.” Wikipedia
So very on point!
And it’s apparently very effective on those who stutter.
CNN should have expected that! The moderators let Trump run the debate - they were useless!
I don’t think CNN cares. They didn’t care with the big DJT maga packed townhall. CNN said a few days before the debate there would be no live factchecking. The liar had plenty of time to get his list of lies ready and memorize them.
Amen!!
There's a term for this called the "Gish gallop," and whether Trump knows what it's called he's a master of it. You just lie and sling crap a mile a minute aggressively. By the time the other debater rebuts two (of the 10) lies his turn is gone and the whirlwind of lies still spin. Then it's back to the liar. It creates chaos and is especially effective against someone who stutters.
Yes! Be sure to look for Heather Cox Richardson's letter commenting on last night's "debate"; she commented on this technique, and more.
Yes it's a great column. I'd heard of this but didn't fully understand it till I read her column. The good guys need a countermeasure for this. I like his team but they did not serve him well last night. I predict they fix this.
Wait a minute ! This debate was Biden’s idea and he was the one who said no audience and other parameters. He in fact set up all the rules and Trump agreed. Trump did his usual schtick but the country and I were mesmerized by Biden. His appearance, his frailty, his answers, his expression. I wanted to cry for him and I watched until the end but I could not face the comments of all those talking heads gathered on CNN. I just knew they would call on Joe Biden to leave the race. Which is what they discussed and now the NY Times has weighed in and it was not pretty.
I don’t think the Biden team set up the no factchecking rule or agreed to it.
That one was announced later. Same for not having them stay on topic. According to the AP:
“CNN determined ahead of time that Tapper and Bash would be questioners, not umpires. They didn’t follow up questions — except to repeat those that weren’t answered — and left it to the politicians to try and fact-check“
I’ll add that DJT used that to his advantage. Not only did he lie but by staying off topic he got more time to lie when the question was repeated.
At one point DJT was interrupting Tapper as Tapper tried to go to the next question. Eventually Tapper told him something like ‘let me ask you this question and then you can do what you want.’
Classic Trump. Lies and babbling.
Mary, that’s his “special gift”, being a powerful virtuoso liar. So nauseating!!
I just don’t have faith that a significant percentage of American voters can discern that and base their voting choices on the obvious that Trump is a ticket to disaster for this country.
CNN didn't even make the effort to fact-check. Maybe they thought that all they had to do was ask questions and present the program.
That was CNN's goal.
They did a fine job, didn't they, bless their hearts.
That was the plan. From the AP:
“CNN determined ahead of time that Tapper and Bash would be questioners, not umpires. They didn’t follow up questions — except to repeat those that weren’t answered — and left it to the politicians to try and fact-check.”
The CNN director said moderators were not fact checkers. That was basically left to Biden - as though you can factcheck & respond to questions in the time allotted. A definite advantage to the liar. Then when the liar wouldn’t stay on topic they’d let him blab and feed him the question again. He seldom mentioned the topic & got extra time for his lies.
They didn't try. It was despicable.
They were incompetent, plain & simple.
It's utterly insane that there was no fact checking. And that was exactly the strategy. There's no need to remember facts, history or policy when you can just shout lies.
Plus, CNN announced it in advance. That way DJT had plenty of time to figure out his plan & memorize his list of lies.
Judith. CNN made a conscious decision to not fact check in real time, they stated that it was not their function, If not the function of journalist, then whose function is it? I miss reporting by Dan Rather and those of his kind.
Former longtime journalist here. CNN is guilty of journalistic malpractice, full stop. The only reason NOT to fact-check a known serial liar in a presidential debate is because you want him to win.
Questionable advertising too. As I recall, an awful lot time and noise was lent to 'mythical' microphone muting. The only person I heard warned was Biden.
You hit the proverbial nail on the proverbial head!
CNN is an entertainment channel and journalism left the building a long time ago (this statement applies to ALL the cable "news" networks.
Why fact-check when all you're after is ratings, and you've got the lock on the event? It's that simple. If there's another debate, and CNN hosts it, do you think those who are inclined to watch will boycott because of no fact checking this time? Nope! They've got a model that works, and the only way to change it would be for everyone to tune out.
Patricia, I agree.
Watch it with that broad brush you're painting with.
Well said, Linda!!!
CNN is a money making machine. Fact checking is not the issue here. We all know Trump is a convicted felon and a sociopath. What was exposed at this sordid affair was the unhappy reality that Biden is now not up to the tasks a president must confront seven days a week.
Once again, John, you are wrong. Fact checking AND moderating are the issues. So is having a microphone that worked properly for Joe Biden.
For some reason you seem to really be against Joe Biden. Makes me think you're a plant for the extreme right.
I don't trust CNN. Fact checking most definitely IS the purpose of good journalistic behavior and CNN purports to be in journalism.
I felt … blindsided. Had I known Biden has been sick with a cold all week, and its impact on his ability to speak, I could have better calibrated my expectations. I’m upset his campaign team did not give us all a heads up. He’s still absolutely my guy, and he was on fire today in North Carolina. If anyone here has not seen him at the rally today, I know ABC news has the entire speech. Historically incumbent presidents don’t do well in their first debate of the season… and I’m disappointed so many are so quick to judge. He’s got an incredible record.
Its not like every one of us is not tired on Thursdays. At least those of us that work. Biden works. Can't speak for Trump.
He does have a very good record, but we need a candidate who conveys strength, leadership, command of the facts. He has been effective these past four years, but can he win. That is the only question in this election. I am no longer hopeful that he can.
I have a different opinion on this. If Biden continues a strong comeback such as the one in NC today, the debate will barely be a blip on the radar in a week, unless the party keeps panicking. Nothing happened last night that made Trvmp gain ANY popularity or swayed anyone his direction. TFG gets sentenced soon, and who knows what kind of trainwreck he can cause for himself in 2 weeks. Biden's performance can be sloughed off to illness. Biden has the experience to run this country and he cares about average Americans. TFG is only a con man and more people are learning that daily.
Someone on Twitter made a good point - when trump was indicted, the GOP rallied behind him; when trump was in court, the GOP rallied behind him and when trump was convicted, the GOP was 100% behind him. And we as Dems can't take one bad debate? And are discussing if he should be replaced? That is just - shameful. If they can stand behind a grifting con man whose only goal is to stay out of jail and become a dictator, severing our democracy, I'm pretty damn sure we can get behind a leader who has already shown us he can do the job! FFS... get over it.
Exactly. They need to get a grip & knock it off already. I'm sick of it. Nobody "won" in that debate. Tapper & Bash engaged in gross journalistic malpractice. They will pay the price for that in due time. CNN was literally stolen from Ted Turner III. Funny how that rotten deal that bankrupted him (Time/Warner) coincided with Bush Jr. in power. A lot of evil took place under the illegitimate smirking chimp that MSM cannot accept. I don't know if you should be a journalist if your memory is that bad. I have a memory like an elephant & I will never forget what the reTHUGs have brought to us. Gov. Newson is correct. He said...you don't abandon someone because he makes a mistake. What a bunch of jellyfish. I'd give 'em what for if I knew who was saying all of this crap. I can't stomach weak sh*t like that.
It's like a boxing match. He didn't do well in the first round, so you end the match?? Meanwhile Trump punched himself in the face in his usual grievance liefest that forced the lame "moderators" to repeat their question.
Bravo! You said what many of us are thinking! Who the hell trashes a President who has worked tirelessly for us the way Joe has been doing most of his life and particularly the last 4 years? One bad night and these pansies want to toss him overboard? Ingrates!!! I understand there is a ton of panic because the threat of the orange walking time bomb is unthinkable, but that doesn’t mean we dump Joe. It means we redouble our efforts and get him re-elected. Biden or bust!
Well said, Linda!!!!!!!!
Thank you. You took the words right out of my mouth.
A m e n, Emma!!! That was so well said.
He is an absolute con man and is *only* looking out for his rich friends. I wish regular people were learning it enough to turn their backs on TFG!!! Doesn't look like they are.. :(
This strengthens your point, I think:
https://youtu.be/GgjyHwQOUoo?si=QZ1sgygMI22SvY_n
Changing the candidate at this date would all but guarantee the convicted felon a win. We need to rally support for Joe Biden more strongly than ever. All this panic is undermining Joe. He came back strong today, which should surprise nobody.
I have come around to thinking that the GQP wanted Democrats to panic and that is exactly what they created
They do thrive on chaos. I'm riden with Biden come hell & high water. He has dedicated most of his life to upholding our democracy & protecting our freedom. How quick THEY forget.
Biden's dopey debate team & campaign need to be TOLD also. If Biden needs help...they best put aside their stupid, wrong, prejudice against Bill Clinton & give him a call. Clinton was flawless at debate & could assess how Biden should go about it. Carville could help too. There is a lot of tunnel vision in the beltway with their infatuation of Obama...& yes he has the cutest smile, I get that, but Obama isn't able to explain things to Joe, assess him, &/or coach him. Clinton has the detailed mind to do that. Nothing against Obama, it's just that Biden needs Bill Clinton.
EXACTLY!! Spot on. 👍
I concur!
Quit your whining all you whiny Democrats … He’s the best we’ve got and He’s done a damn good job. Come on!!!
Yeah. Trust me...my gut doesn't lie. This is not over, it's not a big deal. Trump is a blithering idiot talking about Hannibal Lector, wind mills, sharks, & electricity. He punched himself in the face in that debate by not answering a question so the moderators had to ask him the question again.
Exactly!
This! I want some hope but am very worried. The only calculus that matters is winning this election.
Watch this. It will make you feel better
https://youtu.be/GgjyHwQOUoo?si=QZ1sgygMI22SvY_n
I'll admit that I've never been a huge Biden fan. That said, I think the, "Can he win?" question isn't substantially different now than it was four years ago, when the orange slime lost by 7 million votes. Has the slime really gained that many supporters in that time? I doubt it.
Those polls are off too. Why would Msnbc talking heads spend so much time on them when they know Trump had Cohen pay an IT person to hack the polls in 2016 so he'd look more favorable. In fact, Trump has lost 20% of the GOP that voted for Haley. Then he said he didn't need them. Hmmm see does he not need them because he's confident they can steal/hack/rig another election with GOP help? Or is it his ever shrinking grip on reality that caused him to say that? Either way, I still don't see him getting that 20% or many of those Independents. He's such a psycho...he's talking about locking up Dems, putting us in interment camps & then thinks Dems will vote for him. I'm sorry, but I just don't see how threatening people with jail & then thinking they'll vote for him is going to get him votes. It's illogical. He makes no sense.
Thank you! People need to stop wetting the bed, trust Joe, and get out there and volunteer!
Of course the polls are off. The polls are ALWAYS off. Almost until Election Day, 2016, the polls said Hillary was going to win easily. Recently, Nate Cohn, who conducts those headline-making NY Times polls (and it's journalistic malpractice for a news REPORTING organization to be making its own news, but that's another post), admitted that his data sets consisted of unengaged voters---i.e., uninformed, apathetic people. People who keep hearing the orange one's name over and over, thanks to 24/7 MSM coverage. As in 2016, Rump is getting nonstop publicity that he could never hope to buy.
Yes. That....and the polls don't account for cheating, rigging & hacking. I mean would it hurt the snufflepuffs to mention that little factoid? I roll my eyes at them. The press continues to fail, not just by their stupid hand wringing, but also their vast omissions of large swaths of information that could engage people, educate them, & allow them to understand that most things are not so black & white. For example, the Israel/America alliance cannot just be changed with a snap of the finger, nor should it. To change policy that is decades old, is to fundamentally change interactions on the ground in the middle East. That change, because we're going to show those fascists in Israel how we play hardball, could backfire & cause a literal war. These folks demanding this of our government have no concept of what the possible repercussions could be. That's why Presidents don't change intricate foreign policy over protests by kids that really don't have a full picture of how to solve what has transpired in the Israel/Palestine saga.
I don't agree at all about U.S. actions and policy in regard to Israel. There are a lot more people than kids who are protesting. But I'll leave it at that.
Polls don't need to be specifically rigged or their data hacked. That is, any desired results can be obtained by the phrasing of questions and the choice of media and demographics. For instance, simply doing polls by phone, either cell or landline, inevitably skews results a lot. Just that one parameter changes everything, let alone the cross-section of numbers called. Deliberate cheating isn't required.
And yes, news outlets of all kinds, whether Fox or MSNBC, continually leave out, "the rest of the story." It's a matter of time/space constraints and editorial policy.
Ridin' with Biden.
Sit back and watch. We are going to have the biggest Blue tsunami ever seen in US election history.
https://youtu.be/GgjyHwQOUoo?si=QZ1sgygMI22SvY_n
Think President should have rescheduled. He was ill.
Ill….yes, I guess you can call dementia an illness.
Thursday night was no surprise. Everyone knows Biden is exhibiting dementia, and has been since the day he took office.
That was not the effects of a cold, or exhaustion; it was a very old man struggling to communicate inchoate thoughts.
In North Carolina, he was reading a teleprompter; something he also often has trouble doing, but was able to hold it together for a short speech.
His own White House staff says he is only coherent between the hours of 10am and 4pm.
If that’s good enough for you, fine; say so. But stop lying to yourself and everyone else.
This clip may make you feel better:
https://youtu.be/GgjyHwQOUoo?si=ZYOoBxxXH2WUPON9
That makes me feel better, Erin. Thank you. 🙏🏻 Truly.
I like what Monique Pressley wrote: “The proof of Biden’s ability to run the country is the fact that he is running it. Successfully. Not a debate performance against a pathological lying sociopath.”
Joe knows what he is doing and I still believe that he’s the best choice this election, he has an excellent team and administration. This about more than a singular man. It is about democracy, a plan for the future. Biden has my unwavering vote. I think people saying he should drop out are narrow sighted, ageist, and probably dont even have a viable alternative plan. It is SO EASY to say “bow out Joe” and a lot more responsible to say, steady, he will be fine. Just fine. Look at all that he has accomplished. The country is looking in the mirror, does it want to see superficial flash, or authenticity, honesty, and a real, competent, imperfect human
Thank you! I’m happily riding with the guy who got out of his sickbed and was prepared to debate policy. They over prepared him for policy and he got hit with a serial liar. I wish people would stop the hand wringing and get busy supporting a very good President.
Being over-prepared hurt Biden. Jen Psaki made a good point about this last night. She said that in her experience, Joe has always been prepared with facts and statistics and those don't go over well when faced with the likes of DJT and his lies. He couldn't make those statistics matter in the two minutes he had. Biden does his best speaking freely or with a prepared speech.
Thank you, Dan and Co., for providing this steady space for us to discuss and ponder.
Kinda sad, well very sad - last week watched a podcast of 2 former Dem (was Obama) debate coaches talking about this very thing. It was well known that for either Obama or Biden to memorize policy facts and figures wouldn't be a winning strategy for either of them performing well in debate.
Spot on. Thank you!
I agree Tina ! This was not a true debate. They were both given a fixed amount of time to answer the same question, then onto the next question. In a debate you challenge what the other person said and nail them on it and once you have opened a wound you try to make it really hurt. Viewers don't forget that. This never happened and it wasn't designed to happen.
If there is another so called debate I think Biden will do better. He needs to challenge Trump every time he lies, even if that is against the protocol. Trump didn't respect the protocol. He never answered half the questions by using up the time with adding something he wanted to say in a previous question. He got away with that. Biden needs to attack him when he lies, attack him when he doesn't answer a question.
He also needs to at one point turn to the camera and say something like "Who do you want as your President - Someone who can't tell the truth, can't be trusted, and has no moral compass or compassion for others to guide him", "If that's the kind of person you want to be your leader, vote for him"
If you want a President who listens to all points of view, searches for truth and justice, believes in democracy and meaningful discussion, and will be guided by fairness, compassion, and what is best for the country, then vote for me".
Bravo
Another thought, Robert, is that President Biden should not agree to another debate unless it is going to be properly moderated. He should not have to call Trump on lying; the moderators should do that. He should not have to call out the fact that The Trumpster didn't answer the question; the moderators should do that.
It should not be President Biden's job to have to moderate Trump as well as answer the questions from the moderators. I just don't think it's possible.
I don't trust CNN at all. I wouldn't agree to another debate that is hosted by them unless the rules of the game or dramatically changed and I'm not even sure I trust them to adhere to the new stricter rules.
I agree Ashley that the moderators could have intervened and it would have been much better for Biden if they had. But they didn't and that must have been part of the protocol I believe. Trump took advantage of that - "Oh I don't have to answer the questions I don't like that's great"
. In a situation like that I think Biden has to call him out, and really call him out, embarass him and don't let him get off the hook. It is surprising how that could make Trump lose his composure and start to rail on about things his coaches don't want him to. This is something listerners will remember, and maybe, just maybe change their mind about Trump.
Tina, I agree with you 100% -- and with Monique Presley.
President Biden is arguably the best president I've seen in my lifetime. He quietly delivers massive results.
As Democrats, I think we need to rally behind our man and do everything in our power to get him reelected.
Yes, Biden had a bad night. That’s a fact. But I think I was more shocked at what happened after the debate than during it. The cries for a new candidate and his resignation were more heartbreaking than watching him get bullied. It infuriates me that most Republicans have stood by Trump through J6, through being found guilty of sexual assault and 34 counts of illegally influencing the 2016 election and much more. And we abandon Biden with 1 debate? I loved the Joe that spoke in NC today and will never waver in my support of the man who brought us back from the brink.
Exactly!! We have have to have Biden’s back like he has ours. And for our democracy for our country, our children and grandchildren.
The hand wringing and suggestion that we abandon Joe is on my last nerve. Tried watching MSNBC awhile and I had to turn it off before I threw something at the screen. My neighbors could probably hear me screaming SHUT UP! This is the thanks he gets for all he has done? Wow!!!
Linda, your comments just made me laugh out loud. This is exactly how I feel!!!
How soon they forget.Biden will not hedge. He is a genuine representer of democracy & honesty!
It reminds me of some people during the 2016 election. I said, "if Trump gets in, we'll lose the SCOTUS". They said, "Well I just don't trust her". I said, " But the GOP are lying about her...none of it's true. Why let them win?" Over every malicious fake story engendered by Murdoch & Pecker....the weak ones would cry, "I don't want someone who has all of this chaos around them". I countered with, "but it isn't HER chaos, it is lies manufactured by GOP some are the same ones used against Bill Clinton. Why do you believe them?" They'd say, "How do you know they're lies". I'd say, "because I've known the Clintons since the 1990s. I know what they've done for people. I know how they targeted him with the purpose of destroying him personally & professionally. It was corrupt, wrong, & evil. I will not allow them to choose for me, not ever." Their response..."Well...I just don't know if I can vote for her, but I don't want him either."
I couldn't get through to these people because the propaganda was too thick, to prevalent, & even with multiple sources I couldn't convince them. So, I'm not the one to "convince" them. I message for the Dem party as a whole, not individuals & 99% of the time I'm right. My answer to that problem is to make propaganda illegal like other democracies across the world. We have to find a way to do it.
You and me both, Dolores.
President Biden has given unceasingly to our country his entire career. In the last three years he has delivered astonishing results particularly after the mess he inherited from the Orange Dumpster.
If the Democrats try to change horses in the middle of the stream only four months before the election, they will look like fools first. Second they will take the worst beating in the history of presidential elections and usher in a dictatorship from Donald Trump.
Have I told you lately that you rock? Well, you do!! Thank you for your latest article. Thank you for helping keep us all steady.
What jcl said.
It’s got to be so hard to debate someone who lies a mile a minute. I’m still behind Joe. When he took office people were lined up in their cars for food and jobless. He has really cleaned up a big mess in the past few years.
Heather Cox Richardson introduced a new term to me today, a Gish Gallop. A torrent of lies intended to overwhelm someone. Where do you even start?
Biden has done a terrific job for nearly four years. But that first fifteen minutes of debate were devastating.
Romney did the same thing to Obama during their first debate in 2012, and people panicked then too. Once I read about the Gish gallop after that debate I recognize it all the time! Shame on CNN for not fact checking and allowing that to happen, again!
The problem is that those candidates were many years younger than Biden is now. What Biden‘s performance showed is that he is old and he’s not getting younger. Obama had a bad night, right but he wasn’t 81.
c'mon...the writer of this page predates our president by a full decade. He may have to edit his prose a bit more than he once did, if his fingers don't type as well as they did 4 decades ago, but you can see that his mind remains sharp and he's contributing in a remarkable way. There are very few things that require a president to respond instantly. The president is surrounded by advisors of his own choosing. This president has done very well at that task. Wise decisions are made in the context of skilled teammates. Remember the revolving door in the last administration? Have you noticed it's absence this time around? Firing people is not a sign of genius. Hiring the right people is more indicative of skill and maturity.
✔️💯AbsoFREAKINGlutely‼️🇺🇸💙
I completely agree with your comments made. Again, though, I think Biden's staffing let us all down regarding the terms of this first debate and not cancelling it - even last minute, when Biden was, it seems like must have been apparent to those on site around him, last evening, not up to performing adequately. I recently saw a podcast of two of Obama's debate coaches speaking about what a challenge it is to coach a sitting president to prep for a debate. This intelligence was horribly lacking, somehow.
Which to me makes Obama’s performance even WORSE in hindsight. And Obama didn’t have a head cold, either.
Devastating, yes. Career-ending, no!
Trump should never be allowed to get away with lying like that. The commentators after the debate could have focused a bit more on that, in my opinion. As for Joe Biden, he came back strong today in North Carolina. I have no doubt he is up for the job. Don’t forget he was also sick last night. He was still coughing today.
Tapper/Bash were NOT moderators; they were “readers”! My 2 grandkids would’ve been better🤦🏽♀️ They’d have held TFG to answering the actual questions & called him on his BS. Not doing so is “not a debate”. Wow! TFG cheated at debating😳😒😖😡 and the umpires did not call him out!
Biden had a bad night! Get over it! As usual tRump got a pass. HE NEVER ANSWERED THE QUESTIONS and LIED, LIED, LIED. Nothing was fact-checked! The headlines demonize Biden to ensure their piece gets read. It's 9 PM--a god forsaken hour to hold a debate and the time of night perfect for tRump because he’s a social media person who has told the world that he doesn’t retire until well after the early hours of the morning. He probably got a great nap in because unlike Biden, he never had to work at a job. So, America, throw Biden under the bus because he didn't perform. What were we looking for? Biden answered the questions and gave the country the information that shows we're a working democracy, albeit a flawed one with the MAGA's in the House and the Supreme Court. Biden let the audience know that the U.S. has a plan for immigration but that the MAGA Republicans repudiated it because they were told to by, yep, you know who. The entire night, tRump wanted to instill panic over the border. The border. I live in Phoenix. I was born and raised in Texas. I love my Mexican heritage. I have family in Mexico. I have more fear of tRump and what his Maga commandos plan to do to democracy if tRump makes it to the white house. THIS band of thugs will run the country--tRump will be off golfing. All tRump will have to do is play the part of the man at the table of power, pound on the desk, throw bottles of Ketchup, grunt, spew out maledictions, until the next round of golf where he can go play because there will always be someone at his side ready to enforce his fascist Project 2025. Not one question about that either. Not that tRUMP would have answered. Remember, his entire plan revolves around immigration. This is how I saw the debate: tRump was as expected, (sigh) and was given a bow and a pass. Biden sidestepped sainthood, dammit, and he should pay for that! Crucify him!
Couldn't agree more
One little snag & they jump off the ship. I'm with Biden all of the way.
I still want names of people that are saying this, so I can cut them with my steely tongue & make them ashamed of their fair-weathered attitude & weak, sniveling panic-prone speech that plays right into the fascist's hands. Man...they need to keep that crap to themselves. Nobody needs to hear that negative freak-out talk.
Stay the course. Geez Louise, it's the Convicted Felon, raging, perseverating, lying Trump who should be getting MSM calls to step away.
My family will walk through fire to vote for Biden/Harris. Last night (the first half) was difficult. So what?
Nevertheless, we persist.
You got that right! Dude can't even control his bowels people. We are talking about a dude that wears diapers & soils himself whenever things don't go his way. He's a criminal who wants to use the government to enrich himself. I mean...WTF?? How hard is this choice? I'd vote for the corpse of FDR's dead dog Falla before I'd vote for that disgusting evil creep the fascists want. I will crawl through broken glass to vote against this scum....
I gave up on CNN a long time ago, along with WaPo and the new NYT. the moderators sucked. It was one night people. Mr. Rather is right, Barack Obama bombed that first debate.
It would have been really nice if there was real time fact checking as Mr. Marmalade blathered his lies.
Meanwhile, I fully expect Biden’s speech when he wins the nomination to be on par with the SOTU.
This is like a marathon or a football game if you will but although a team may lead in the first quarter, a game is four quarters. Trump surged to a lead last night because Biden committed a bunch of double faults (sorry for mixing sports) but the race has four months to go. If this debate performance happens again in September, then I’d be worried, but we have a long way to go. The game is not won in the 1st quarter.
Brad, Biden was sick. He did not commit any "faults". With honor, integrity, and spoke to the facts.
This may make you feel better. It certainly did me.
https://youtu.be/GgjyHwQOUoo?si=QZ1sgygMI22SvY_n
I knew he had a cold and all that but that doesn’t explain some of the statements or misstatements he made. If he was sick it should have been postponed.
I agree Mr. Rather.
The debate highlights the issues with appearing opposite the lying, convicted felon. He knows he can say whatever he wants whenever he wants. His opponent be it Clinton or Biden have to address their own platform while also trying to fight off a barrage of falsehoods fired from a machine gun.
Biden, for whatever reason started out very slow. He did regain his footing somewhat but the dye had been cast.
The Presidency is more than just one man (in most cases). Biden has had and will continue to have help from solid people. Trump on the other hand will have a cadre of yes men - making him much more dangerous.
The election is about democracy - period. We must vote for democracy not a dictatorship.
And we need a very strong and solid candidate in the ring.
Obviously I am feeling demoralized after the debate.
As an aside, I believe Biden's political ego is risking everything he says he stands for. Is it too late to pivot. Do we have a dark horse that could beat Trump?
1) Feinstein died in office because her ego could not acknowledge her infirmity
2) RGB was asked to step down while a Dem President could appoint here replacement. She didn't and died during the Trump administration. Gorsuch was her replacement. Roe V Wade then died.
3) Biden is old. Objectively old. (yes, so is Trump) But in the interests of democracy and progress, shouldn't Biden step aside? It appears he is falling into the same ego trap; believing only he can "save" us. Instead it feels like he is risking it all, by (potentially) losing to Trump or dieing himself. His ego is superseding the interests of democracy.
Joe was exhausted, tired, he had a cold, it was 9:00. This guy has the weight of the world on his shoulders; he is the leader of the free world and his day job requires 24/7 daily! He was tussling with the devil himself last night given all of that. Have you seen him in NC today after being rested? He’s on FIRE! That’s my Joe; I wish he’d been there last night, but he never ever gives up. He gets back up to fight another day~no excuses, no lies! Just action. He’s been a public servant for each of us for 50 years! GO, JOE🇺🇸😡🇺🇸
To me he seemed overprepped and worn down from prepping. They could have had a one sentence strategy something like, everytime TFG speaks pickout the lie and spend the next two minutes lambasting him for what he just said. I honestly believe Biden could have done that. Instead, I felt like Joe seemed to be sorting through millions of statements he had been prepped on and subsequently looked confused and delivered word salads.
God bless you, Anj. All these whiners about Joe are getting on my last nerve.
I stand with you and Joe Biden all the way to the finish line!
Democrats need to notice how the Republicans as sorry as they are, rally around Donald Trump no matter how despicable he is.
Joe Biden is sick and his microphone doesn't work so he doesn't come across like his usual fabulous self. Some Democrats just can't handle the heat and they want to dump him.
Ingrates.
Your saying what the GQP wants to hear. That is the reason they agreed to the debate. They know Dems are a sky is falling people at the slightest excuse
Yes. Dems are often a "sky is falling" people. We are thoughtful and worried. We yearn for the confidence the ignorant often exude. We want democracy to stand and we are still traumatized by Trump's first win. The sky did fall.
Ignoring the age vulnerability, isn't honest. It is not about my vote. It is about the ones on the fringes. The ones who ARE influenced by the perception that Biden is weak. This is not a "slight excuse". It is about tactics. It is about winning.
Those harping on his age is MSM or more specifically the NYT. Then dumbo Msnbc followed suit. I don't run Msnbc, but whoever does needs to be replaced. You don't take a right wing talking point & run with it. Melber is nauseating about bringing up the age thing. Most of that talking point is being manipulated by corrupt right wing ops. Go watch Trump in one of his crazy rallies & get back to me...then talk to me about age. Trump is older than Biden in every way but chronologically. Trump has shown signs of dementia, unhinged ranting, & talks like a stuffed sausage. Trump doesn't excercise in his life, Biden excercises as part of his lifestyle. Trump drinks nasty diet coke & eats fast food. Biden doesn't live on that trash. Trump is forgetful, he is illogical, he is unhinged, emotionally immature, narcissistic, selfish, incompetent, a criminal rapist & fraudster. Biden is intelligent on running the gov't, foreign policy, protecting U.S. interests, & flexible in thinking. Biden is one of the most straight-talking honest congressmen. Trump is a lying, rat f*cking criminal who possesses no ability to run anything let alone our government, he's a corrupt, self-dealing conman who didn't even reach the WH legitimately. Biden is fit & trim. Trump is fat & flabby. The choice is clear. It's eye-rolling at this point to belabor the point of age, when you can't change it, the man was sick during the debate & it was designed to be a distraction. People have to focus on the larger picture & stop spinning out about things that cannot be changed. The end result will not be about "tactics", it will be about women's rights, democracy, SCOTUS corruption, stopping fascist lawlessness, protecting our institutions, education, social security, & our civil rights.
H Hospel, get over it. President Biden is doing an astonishing job as POTUS He's got the job! He's delivering astonishing results. There's no question about his ability to do the job.
Right now Biden is the one with the knowledge to run this country. He wants to finish what he started. If he thought it was best for the country he would step aside, I have no doubt.
50 years you say....my point exactly. He is an honest guy. He gets my vote. But the salient question is, "is there someone else with a better chance to win?" We really really need this win.
Not against TFG. There checked it out! Yes, in another 4 years. We have a plethora of great choices. But not today. Today it’s Joe Biden, just as Governor Newsom said last night. One bad night (we’ve all had those moments)! Don’t throw the baby out with the bath water! Don’t be reactionary! Today, democracy demands support🇺🇸💙🇺🇸
Well said! Anyone who is panicking today should spend their time writing postcards to encourage people to vote!
Well, to answer directly, I thought two speakers last night after the debate sounded presidential. They were Kamala Harris and Gavin Newsome.
Yes!
H Hospel, if the Democrats try to change horses in the middle of the stream only four months before the election, they will look like fools first. Second they will take the worst beating in the history of presidential elections and usher in a dictatorship from Donald Trump.
No. Gov. Newson is the only one that could be successful & he is not having this hand wringing right now. You do NOT abandon a winning horse in the middle of the race. It's just not smart. He's a winner. He's won before. What you are reacting to is the lies & propaganda the right wing Fox types are putting out FOR you to have a melt down over. You are taking the bait. #RESIST
The hell??? No it was NOT about ego with Feinstein, nor was it ever the case with Biden. You are talking about things you don't understand right now. First of all if RGB stepped down during Obama's admin you ACTUALLY believe he would've been allowed to appoint someone? That's laughable. He had a seat open to appoint Garland & McConnell thwarted it by making up a stupid, random rule. He was too weak to raise hell over it & do anything about it. You are fantasizing. Feinstein stayed because WE needed her. Only the disrespectful squad tried to drive her out of the position he earned. Her record is exemplary....if you bothered to check. She was instrumental in getting the assault rifle banned during the Clinton administration.
You are full of it about your claim that Biden thinks only he can "save" us. That's bullsh*t! That is Trump. GET A CLUE. I'm sick of people making such ridiculous statements. This is not about his age. He was sick. His debate team & campaign deserve as scathing a rebuke as this, as well, for refusing to prep him for Trump's inevitable liefest. I've been a Democrat for over 40 years....and no one, with as successful a record as Biden has should ever "step down" just to assuage the weak, & the fearful who over-react & fall victim to the machinations of the fascist republican party. I will remind you what is at stake...it is this country's democracy. No this is not ego...it's closer to common sense. You don't switch horses when you're breaking records & winning! You are fair weathered. You back him when he's winning, but if the guy makes a mistake you want to abandon him?? No wonder we are where we are.
I disagree. Biden has done a superlative job as President. He knew the technical arguments, but what was needed in this instance was jingoism and zinger. Joe Biden is ill-suited for slinging bullshit on a good day. He's too rooted in logic and fact. But isn't that what it takes to be a good president (which he is?) Historically, when dems have changed horses, they've lost. We can't allow Trump to win. We must stick with the decent, proven, loyal American president, Joe Biden.
Watch this. Perhaps it will make you feel better.
https://youtu.be/GgjyHwQOUoo?si=QZ1sgygMI22SvY_n
Thanks for the clear-eyed view, Dan. President Biden missed a tremendous opportunity last night, and probably made his re-election much more difficult. But the fact remains that it's necessary, especially in light of Felonious Trump's performance. While Trump started out somewhat confidently and carefully, it didn't take him long to veer into his lane of lies when he realized that neither the moderators nor his opponent were going to challenge him. I only hope that the crescendo of lies was enough to scare the independent voters who are actually paying attention.
I think President Biden was overprepared and under-relaxed. Without notes or a teleprompter, he was unable to gather his thoughts, especially when Felonious Trump unleashed his barrage of lies. President Biden's performance in today's rally in NC was somewhat comforting, but where was that guy last night? I hope he channels him going forward.
Tired, not well, it was late and Trump barraged with lies like an AR-15. He did not “debate”. He never answered the questions given, followed his own meandering agenda and lied/projected continuously.
Joe does not handle the barrage well; he is very careful with his language because of his speech impediment. This is not his best venue. Watch him today in NC all rested up on HIS trust, not Donald’s lying Gush gallop. Look that one up (HCR).
I agree for the most part, but President Biden stumbled right out of the gate, and Felonious Trump saw sharks circling in the electrified water and started throwing chum. I think Biden looked like he hadn't slept in 24 hours. which may have been the case, with the understandable anxiety of the encounter, and being under the weather.
Sure...but so what. He was sick & his campaign failed in debate prep. They are the ones responsible. He should have gotten some prednisone to put that cold down & give him needed energy. It works like a charm.
I think Biden, like many of us, was shocked how the incompetent "moderators" sat there like robots while Trump lied & rat f*cked him with accusations that were true about him, his intentions, & future plans. The set up of that debate was ineffective & a loser all around. This is not how they should do the other ones. I hope those two pathetic clowns doing the moderating pay a price for allowing a known criminal, liar & fraudster to take over a platform with no clapback. Shame on them & shame on CNN. Biden's team needs to stop whining & chasing after Obama because he cannot help Biden win. They best swallow their inappropriate "pride" & reach out to Carville & Clinton for tips, coaching, & assessment. Bill Clinton is the best at debate in the history of politics.
I turned the debate off after the LIE Trump made claiming that Biden lowered world trust in the U.S., when there are actual stats proving the opposite. I was too disgusted to watch that. I found out later later how Donald punched himself in the face by not answering the questions given & by rambling on with his grievance. CNN punched themselves in their face too by giving a platform to a fascist criminal psychopath. We will not forget or forgive that any time soon.
https://youtu.be/GgjyHwQOUoo?si=QZ1sgygMI22SvY_n