The Biden administration (was: The NEW 2020 Election Thread)

[Dr. Blutarsky]

Could we be looking at a 2016 rematch this November? Not out of the realm of possibility.

As Biden struggles, Hillary waits for the call

Hillary Clinton continues to hover in the wings, ready to step forward should Joe Biden fail.

Don’t look now, but Joe is failing. Not only has his campaign been rocked by sexual assault allegations from one-time staffer Tara Reade, but the public is beginning to give up on the former vice president. A new Emerson College poll showed 57 percent of likely voters think President Trump will win reelection in November.

Remember, Establishment Democrats put forward Uncle Joe because he was the “safe” candidate, bound to defeat Trump. Oops.

That’s not the only problem that crops up in the Emerson Poll. It also shows Trump supporters 19 points more enthusiastic about their candidate than Biden supporters. That “enthusiasm gap” will drive turnout this fall. With Democrats dependent on young people and minorities, both typically less reliable voters, that lack of excitement for the candidate could be a big problem.

Also less than gung-ho about Biden is, predictably, Bernie Sanders’s army. Though the Vermont socialist has endorsed Biden, 51 percent of Bernie supporters are, according to Emerson, open to voting for a third-party candidate.

Another red flag is Biden’s tepid fund-raising; according to the New York Times, Trump has a monster cash advantage of $187 million. Further, in swing-state polling, the presumptive Democratic nominee is running behind where Hillary Clinton stood at this point in the race, and we know how that turned out.

As all of those issues cast doubt on Biden’s prospects, the presumptive nominee must now fend off Tara Reade’s allegations, which put #MeToo-supporting Democrats into an incredibly awkward spot.

None of this augurs well for the Biden campaign, which will likely confront further obstacles in the months ahead. Eventually, the coronavirus will no longer excuse the former VP’s invisibility; he will have to engage in the kind of give-and-take that often shows him getting befuddled, including real – not scripted – town halls and interviews.

At that point, the public will see what numerous Democrats have noted sotto voce – Obama’s former wing-man is struggling with some cognitive decline.

We really cannot elect a president who mixes up his sister with his wife or who collapses in mid-sentence, unsure of where he’s going next.

Democrats’ obstacle to pushing Biden aside is Bernie Sanders. The Vermont senator was the runner-up in the primaries, and continues to hold onto his delegates. Democratic leaders do not want to see Sanders resurgent; they are convinced he is unelectable. But they also know that if they move to replace Biden at the top of the ticket, and don’t elevate Sanders, the Bernie Bros would revolt.

Indeed, it seems clear that party officials are so worried Sanders might stage another run that they cancelled the 224-delegate rich New York State primary. They claimed the vote would have been dangerous in that epicenter of COVID-19, but since they still plan to host a primary for state and local officials, that excuse seems weak.

As the primaries roll forward, and especially with officials’ thumbs on the scales, Biden will almost certainly win the candidacy. In the absence of a brokered convention, how could Democrats replace their standard-bearer?

One idea has been to convince Biden to step aside in favor of the very popular Michelle Obama, seen as a sure bet to beat Trump. So far, though, the former first lady has reportedly rebuffed all invitations to enter the fray.

That leaves Hillary Clinton. Biden could choose Clinton as his running mate, and then step down before the election and allow Hillary to run in his place.

Clinton is the only VP candidate who would be able to pull off such a last-minute switch. She has the team, the resources and the experience to be the nominee; Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), former Georgia state Rep. Stacey Abrams and Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) do not.

Clinton is ready and eager. She is desperate to avenge her 2016 loss (which she still blames on Putin) and has pumped up her public profile to keep herself in consideration. In past months she has conducted endless interviews, promoted the uber-flattering four-part Hulu film about herself, made headlines by attacking Bernie Sanders and Mark Zuckerberg, and fired unending broadsides against President Trump.

Most recently, she joined Vice President Biden in a town hall devoted to women’s issues, during which she effusively endorsed her long-time colleague. She reminisced about their time together in the Obama administration, talked about their mutual love of Scranton, Pa., where her father grew up, and recalled meetings in the Situation Room.

In fact, Clinton talked so much about their shared history that it was easy to forget that she was endorsing Joe Biden. It almost sounded as though she were touting her own resume instead.

Maybe she was.

How would Hillary stack up as a nominee this time around? Hillary certainly looks stronger and more fired-up than Biden; she has the energy he lacks. She has a bigger following on social media (28 million Twitter followers, compared to 5 million, for instance) and she has a large devoted following who, like Hillary, still cannot believe she lost in 2016.

She could count on President Obama to campaign for her, as Biden also can, and she would also have ever-popular husband Bill helping out. In 2016, Democrats were not wildly excited about her candidacy, but her “enthusiasm” readings were better than Biden’s today. As was her polling in critical battleground states.

Hillary is hideously polarizing, but she would be a more forceful nominee than Biden, has enormous name recognition and, perhaps most important, can begin and end a sentence without major detours. And, she has not been credibly accused of sexual assault.

Hillary may be Democrats’ nominee of last resort. You know she wants it.

https://thehill.com/opinion/campaign/495371-as-biden-struggles-hillary-waits-for-the-call

[jarmo]

For sake of argument lets say there is one murderer who killed 7 people and another one that killed 2. Just because the guy that killed 7 doesn't mean the guy that killed 2 gets a pass.

Of course not. I'm not condoning any kind of assaults or harassment.

But the right are quick to point out the hypocrisy of the left. They should look in the mirror. After all, how many accusations of all kinds of things have been made against their favorite president?





/jarmo

[tim_m]

That's an opinion piece, not based on any real facts she's even considering it.

[tim_m]

For sake of argument lets say there is one murderer who killed 7 people and another one that killed 2. Just because the guy that killed 7 doesn't mean the guy that killed 2 gets a pass.

Of course not. I'm not condoning any kind of assaults or harassment.

But the right are quick to point out the hypocrisy of the left. They should look in the mirror. After all, how many accusations of all kinds of things have been made against their favorite president?





/jarmo

I believe the current total is 25?

[Dr. Blutarsky]

That's an opinion piece, not based on any real facts she's even considering it.

I dont think it is a likely scenario, but it is possible.

[Dr. Blutarsky]

For sake of argument lets say there is one murderer who killed 7 people and another one that killed 2. Just because the guy that killed 7 doesn't mean the guy that killed 2 gets a pass.

Of course not. I'm not condoning any kind of assaults or harassment.

But the right are quick to point out the hypocrisy of the left. They should look in the mirror. After all, how many accusations of all kinds of things have been made against their favorite president?





/jarmo

I believe the current total is 25?

Biden's count is at 8 so he needs to pick up the pace.

[LunsJail]

For sake of argument lets say there is one murderer who killed 7 people and another one that killed 2. Just because the guy that killed 7 doesn't mean the guy that killed 2 gets a pass.

Of course not. I'm not condoning any kind of assaults or harassment.

But the right are quick to point out the hypocrisy of the left. They should look in the mirror. After all, how many accusations of all kinds of things have been made against their favorite president?





/jarmo

I believe the current total is 25?

Biden's count is at 8 so he needs to pick up the pace.

We joke but I do believe this is going to be a major issue in the next election. I don't think the allegation against Biden is going anywhere and we don't know who else could come forward before the election. These types of issues don't tend to be isolated incidents.

We're going to be left with a choice of 2 candidates with questionable behavior (at the least) with women. Biden better vet the hell out of that running mate because that's essentially who's running for the Dems.

[Dr. Blutarsky]

Justin Amash may run as  Libertarian Party candidate. He is a shoo in for that party's nomination if he decides to. While he likely doesn't have a shot, I am interested in hearing him out. 

[COMAMOTIVE]

For sake of argument lets say there is one murderer who killed 7 people and another one that killed 2. Just because the guy that killed 7 doesn't mean the guy that killed 2 gets a pass.

Of course not. I'm not condoning any kind of assaults or harassment.

But the right are quick to point out the hypocrisy of the left. They should look in the mirror. After all, how many accusations of all kinds of things have been made against their favorite president?





/jarmo

I believe the current total is 25?

Biden's count is at 8 so he needs to pick up the pace.

We joke but I do believe this is going to be a major issue in the next election. I don't think the allegation against Biden is going anywhere and we don't know who else could come forward before the election. These types of issues don't tend to be isolated incidents.

We're going to be left with a choice of 2 candidates with questionable behavior (at the least) with women. Biden better vet the hell out of that running mate because that's essentially who's running for the Dems.

Agreed

But he already made a disastrous mistake in announcing it will be woman, imo
Why do this? More evidence that he was pleasing various factions instead of thinking about the fact that he's old as fuck and we'll leave aside his obvious lack of mental alertness for now, and needed to pick the person capable of running the country. Stating in advance it will be a woman, or an african american or whatever excludes that -
McCain fell for that crap and put that idiot as the next up and it burned him.

Sorry - have felt this all along and even more with every passing day - Trump is going to win in an absolute landslide

[LunsJail]

For sake of argument lets say there is one murderer who killed 7 people and another one that killed 2. Just because the guy that killed 7 doesn't mean the guy that killed 2 gets a pass.

Of course not. I'm not condoning any kind of assaults or harassment.

But the right are quick to point out the hypocrisy of the left. They should look in the mirror. After all, how many accusations of all kinds of things have been made against their favorite president?





/jarmo

I believe the current total is 25?

Biden's count is at 8 so he needs to pick up the pace.

We joke but I do believe this is going to be a major issue in the next election. I don't think the allegation against Biden is going anywhere and we don't know who else could come forward before the election. These types of issues don't tend to be isolated incidents.

We're going to be left with a choice of 2 candidates with questionable behavior (at the least) with women. Biden better vet the hell out of that running mate because that's essentially who's running for the Dems.

Agreed

But he already made a disastrous mistake in announcing it will be woman, imo
Why do this? More evidence that he was pleasing various factions instead of thinking about the fact that he's old as fuck and we'll leave aside his obvious lack of mental alertness for now, and needed to pick the person capable of running the country. Stating in advance it will be a woman, or an african american or whatever excludes that -
McCain fell for that crap and put that idiot as the next up and it burned him.

Sorry - have felt this all along and even more with every passing day - Trump is going to win in an absolute landslide

To me, it's no different than a candidate saying he doesn't know who his running mate is but it will be a white man.  We've come to a place in this country where people don't see the problem when that runs the other way. That kind of shit pushed too much of the middle away from Hillary 4 years ago and put the current ding dong in office.

As for McCain's running mate, that felt like a 4th quarter Hail Mary that didn't work. Obama had that election wrapped up.

[COMAMOTIVE]

For sake of argument lets say there is one murderer who killed 7 people and another one that killed 2. Just because the guy that killed 7 doesn't mean the guy that killed 2 gets a pass.

Of course not. I'm not condoning any kind of assaults or harassment.

But the right are quick to point out the hypocrisy of the left. They should look in the mirror. After all, how many accusations of all kinds of things have been made against their favorite president?





/jarmo

I believe the current total is 25?

Biden's count is at 8 so he needs to pick up the pace.

We joke but I do believe this is going to be a major issue in the next election. I don't think the allegation against Biden is going anywhere and we don't know who else could come forward before the election. These types of issues don't tend to be isolated incidents.

We're going to be left with a choice of 2 candidates with questionable behavior (at the least) with women. Biden better vet the hell out of that running mate because that's essentially who's running for the Dems.

Agreed

But he already made a disastrous mistake in announcing it will be woman, imo
Why do this? More evidence that he was pleasing various factions instead of thinking about the fact that he's old as fuck and we'll leave aside his obvious lack of mental alertness for now, and needed to pick the person capable of running the country. Stating in advance it will be a woman, or an african american or whatever excludes that -
McCain fell for that crap and put that idiot as the next up and it burned him.

Sorry - have felt this all along and even more with every passing day - Trump is going to win in an absolute landslide

To me, it's no different than a candidate saying he doesn't know who his running mate is but it will be a white man.  We've come to a place in this country where people don't see the problem when that runs the other way. That kind of shit pushed too much of the middle away from Hillary 4 years ago and put the current ding dong in office.

As for McCain's running mate, that felt like a 4th quarter Hail Mary that didn't work. Obama had that election wrapped up.

All fair points

[Dr. Blutarsky]

As far as Biden's VP pick is concerned, saying it would be a woman just puts him in a box. He can no longer pick someone that is the best choice as a running mate regardless of gender.  If he goes back on pledging it will be a woman, it will bite him.

I dont recall McCain saying he was going to pick a woman VP months before he announced Sarah Palin. He went with a wild card and we all know how that worked out for him, but what Biden did just looks like pandering.

[COMAMOTIVE]

If you believe what came out in the movie Game Change - McCain had very little say in VP -
Didn't know what to make of her at first but once she started talking I got afraid - very afraid

[LunsJail]

As far as Biden's VP pick is concerned, saying it would be a woman just puts him in a box. He can no longer pick someone that is the best choice as a running mate regardless of gender.  If he goes back on pledging it will be a woman, it will bite him.

I dont recall McCain saying he was going to pick a woman VP months before he announced Sarah Palin. He went with a wild card and we all know how that worked out for him, but what Biden did just looks like pandering.

It’s absolute pandering and it wasn’t necessary. From a strategic standpoint, you could end up picking a woman or whoever but why announce that will be the choice. Showed his hand for no reason at all

[jarmo]

https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1256696015702425601

Trump is glad to see that the North Korean dictator is doing well.

If we were still using MySpace, he'd be on Trump's top friends. 



/jarmo

[Dr. Blutarsky]

The only reason Trump is friendly toward Kim is because it would be one of the ultimate deals if he could get NK to get rid of their nukes & open up their markets for trade. And it has stopped the rocket of the week that they had been shooting off a couple of years ago. So far things have stalled so we'll see what happens.

[jarmo]

The only reason Trump is friendly toward Kim is because it would be one of the ultimate deals if he could get NK to get rid of their nukes & open up their markets for trade. And it has stopped the rocket of the week that they had been shooting off a couple of years ago. So far things have stalled so we'll see what happens.

North Korea are allied with China who are basically in a trade war with the USA.... Right?

Still, it's a dictator.....




/jarmo

[Dr. Blutarsky]

The only reason Trump is friendly toward Kim is because it would be one of the ultimate deals if he could get NK to get rid of their nukes & open up their markets for trade. And it has stopped the rocket of the week that they had been shooting off a couple of years ago. So far things have stalled so we'll see what happens.

North Korea are allied with China who are basically in a trade war with the USA.... Right?

Still, it's a dictator.....


/jarmo

 I suppose luring NK to our side would be a benefit with the complicated US/China relationship.  NK relies heavily on China but that also  is a bit of a strained relationship. Kim is a dictator and a fairly brutal one but that's what we have to work with. The US is out of the business of regime change, we have proven that we do not do that very well.

[jarmo]

Isn't Trump trying to get rid off Maduro in Venezuela?

Seems like the US is still in the business of choosing who should rule where. One dictator should be removed, one is a pal...




/jarmo

[tim_m]

The only reason Trump is friendly toward Kim is because it would be one of the ultimate deals if he could get NK to get rid of their nukes & open up their markets for trade. And it has stopped the rocket of the week that they had been shooting off a couple of years ago. So far things have stalled so we'll see what happens.

North Korea are allied with China who are basically in a trade war with the USA.... Right?

Still, it's a dictator.....


/jarmo

 I suppose luring NK to our side would be a benefit with the complicated US/China relationship.  NK relies heavily on China but that also  is a bit of a strained relationship. Kim is a dictator and a fairly brutal one but that's what we have to work with. The US is out of the business of regime change, we have proven that we do not do that very well.

That's an understatement. We are flat out awful about it. We can't even fix our own fucked up governmental system. Like the people who say the people who say asylum seekers should just go back and fix their own countries problems like it's so easy, neglecting that our own is royally screwed up and we are so inept we can't fix it either.  So why do we assume it would be so easy for people with much worse situations in other countries?