214 Comments

Well you should write Bibi, and see what he thinks of your position.

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Jonathan, I have to congratulate you for driving the MAGA-cult and Putin's stooges (FSB and GOP) out of their minds here simply by writing a thoughtful and smart piece. Those are good techniques and I'm sure the Biden campaign is already on it, because unlike TFG, Biden actually DOES know how to hire the best people.

His record is impressive and they cannot stand it. The economy has rebounded and Trump is going down again when the quiet majority drop kicks him once and for all onto the dust heap of history.

Biden is fine, his memory and cognitive abilities are sharp, even if he occasionally like anyone makes a gaffe. At least he doesn't think Nikki Halley is Nancy Pelosi.

I am looking forward to Biden debating Trump and destroying him as he did last time, because Trump does not know anything about real policy. Not a damn things and Biden can smoke him all day. I'm also looking forward to his laying out the whole of the MAGA GOP coward brigade in the House of Reps at the State of the Union as he did last year, when in a matter of minutes before they knew what had hit them he'd made them promise to not cut Social Security and Medicaid.

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You obviously love Biden and the Democrats quest for power more than you love America. You are no journalist as you make plain. You are a partisan paid to write fawning coverage of those you support on the left. Whatever that is it is not journalism so at least be honest in that one thing as you lie to Americans about the rest. Nothing you write can be trusted. Might as well read what Jill Biden has to say for "balanced" coverage of Ole Joe as she, at least has the excuse of being married to the corrupt lying politician. You should be ashamed to be so corrupt.

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Hey, Not-So-Cultivated Man: Thanks for weighing in. You clearly have no idea that political commentary is also part of journalism, and that your choice (presumably Trump) is the most corrupt liar--by far--to have ever been president. Cheers.

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Feb 16·edited Feb 16

The Clintons and Bidens make Trump look like a saint. And they make you look like a clown.

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Jonathan, you're dueling with an unarmed man.

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The "No Excuses" paragraph leaves out that Biden did have counsel with him and apparently the Attorneys did not object to the line of questioning or the reasons for asking questions. This fall directly as the responsibility of Biden and his attorney's and handlers. I recall just 8 months ago when my mother was diagnosed with dementia and the outbursts and rage she had when she was told of her dementia. Deja vu all over again. I was telling people in 2020 that Biden was showing signs of dementia. Remember there is no cure and dementia is a one way ticket, as dementia is a disease that eventually kills its host. Unfortunately, in our political climate and Biden's inability to understand the devastation of dementia we are stuck with him a war in Ukraine, a war in Gaza, inflation, debt, and a group of progressives that are the true president of the USA. After watching my mother having dementia is extremely tiring, although she did nothing toward the end, she woke up tired. Joe is likely tired, give him the rest he deserves and allow him his dignity in the last yeas of his life.

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Hi, Larry: You make a good point about Biden's attorneys. Where were they? But when you say "a group of progressives are the true president" I have to respectfully disagree. According to people I trust who know the deal, Biden is not senile and is still making all the key decisions. And yes (see below), Republicans should not be the only ones who call us a "republic."

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Wow, the only person on the political left that knows that the USA is a republic and not a democracy. I will continue reading as you seem to have some depth when all the other political left writers have the depth of a sheet of paper. I wish there were moderate Democrats and moderate Republicans that would be able that would be willing to compromise in the best interests of the USA

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Dude, i have eyes - Biden has lost his agency, he walks, talks, and processes like an elderly man with signs of dementia. Uncle Joe is not, nor has he ever been an extraordinary human being; he's just another angry old fart.

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Yup, you’re Dippy alright. And your projection in reality describes only a *small* portion of the walking crooked con man grifter who is Donald Trump. Clueless.

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Alter is an archetypal modern progressive - a soulless power monger who understands how corrupt their methods to stay in power are but simply believes the ends justify the means. His seeming insouciance to how characterless his callous article makes him appear is disturbing. Sadly, he is not alone in his perversity.

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Hi, Mistah: I do not believe the ends justify the means, and would challenge you to preset any evidence that I do.

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Of course you don't - no liberal does - they do it without thinking or regret. It's one of your ilk's superpowers. As a glaring example of your obliviousness to your malady, one only need consider a quote from this very article:

"But with primary filing deadlines already passing, it ain’t gonna happen. So my New Year’s Resolution is to stop agitating for Biden’s withdrawal and start figuring out how to help him get reelected and save the republic."

You clearly realize Biden has done so poorly leading this nation you've been arguing for years he shouldn't be running. Yet, now that that gig is up, you've decided to switch gears - not because Biden would be actually be better than Trump at running the country, but because your hatred for everything Trump stands for compels you to try to help foist the human-wreck Biden off on America for another term anyway. That as ends justifies the means as it gets. Your ends - getting an utterly senile and incompetent old man reelected because he has a D by his name to "save the nation" - justifies your means - trying to dupe voters into distracting from Bidens patently obvious incompetencies via laughably fabulist means.

Lest you get the wrong idea, I detest Trump's persona. But when I compare the mindboggling damage Biden's policies have done to so many aspects of this country to those that Trump championed during his Presidency, I am left holding my nose and voting for the obnoxious but reasonably capable Trump over the almost equally obnoxious and utterly incompetent Biden. I'm not happy about that choice, and as a result I don't ever proselytize for Trump - I am always brutally honest about his considerable personal flaws. But if he was anywhere near as mentally deficient as Biden is now clearly is, which Trump is not, I would not vote for him. For you to prop up someone you know is as patently unfit as Biden by convincing yourself Trump will "destroy the nation" is risibly cynical, completely liberal, and would make your hero Lenin proud.

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So much that you've written here is textbook Putin FSB horseshit. You guys are getting so easy to spot.

All the laughable false equivalencies you've made here between Biden and the TFG, and yet....andddd yeeeettt..... You will vote for Turnip. Pffft...GTFO. ha ah hgaha ah

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Putin! Drink!!!! Trump is a lot of things - an obnoxious child being one you share with him - but he's definitely not a turnip. Biden, on the other hand, merely aspires to be a turnip - a lofty level for him that he's never achieved and, since he is now completely brainless, never will. As far as voting for Trump is concerned, I explained my rationale quite clearly, so you must have had trouble understanding the words I used that were longer than four letters. But don't worry, as you mature, you'll grow to understand them, child.

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The drop dead on the ground hilarious thing here "Mikey" is you're under the impression you're "thinking", instead of reacting with the reptile part of your brain and that there's a "rationale" for supporting Turnip. There is nothing "rationale" about supporting him his time as president shows that and he proves it every day. His legacy is violence and death (Jan 6th), political terrorism (observe the MAGA cowards in Congress doing what he says is best for him and not what's best for the COUNTRY), disrespect for the Constitution (unless he thinks he can game it for himself by claiming as POTUS he has immunity for everything and anything forever) and his attempt at disenfranchising 80 million people who chose Biden and not him in the last election, the greatest number of votes for a president in the history of the nation and one that will be even greater in November as the majority of this country moves on into the future leaving Turnip the irrelevant shtstain he is to everyone but his cult.

IN the meanwhile read this Mikey and GFY, these are President Joe Biden's accomplishments in one term HA HA HA...Maybe clutch your MAGA flag while you do so and weep bitter Turnip tears::

https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2024/02/02/joe-biden-30-policy-things-you-might-have-missed-00139046

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Oh no, you didn't brand me as being the one of the dreaded MAGA did you? Arggggghhhh!!! Hilarious. What a twit you are. I don't give a crap about Trump - he's a troglodyte who happens to be less of one than Biden, that's all. As to what "Biden" has done for this country, I can see all I need to with my own eyes and pocketbook. I don't need to read phantasm put together by the brainwashed likes of you. And unlike you, I don't cry and spend all my waking hours hating boogeymen when political outcomes don't go the way I prefer. Instead, I figure out ways to avoid being damaged by whatever idiocy they inevitably foist on us, and hope the next time around there's less fools like you voting, but of course, that never happens.

But I must admit, you do have a monstrously amusing case of TDS. Thanks for sharing it with me - one can never smile too much. Don't forget to take your meds, though - your hysterical response tells me you've gotten off schedule.

So, arrivederci, my brainless friend. You may have the last vacuous word, as I am sure your Dunning Krueger malady will compel you to deliver. I have no doubt it every bit as hysterically gormless as your heretofore clownish rants have been. Don't disappoint me! Chuckle.

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When you say that you have spent a lot of time with Biden and his gaffes are just more of what he has done for years, you sound credible. When you then go on to say he is a terrific President, you lose ALL credibility. There is not much Biden could have done worse.

You can start with the war in Ukraine, started on his watch. His “minor incursion” comment was mind-bogglingly stupid, deaf, and dangerous. The media has tried to make it disappear but we remember. His allowing Nordstream II to re-open was a dangerous appeasement. Similarly, his cowardly refusal to give Ukraine the weapons it needs at every stage of the conflict has extended it and caused twns of thousands of deaths.

Move on to Iran and Gaza. We can just say that appeasing Iran has been a DISASTER, just as appealing Putin (re-opening Nordstream II) was in Ukraine, and led directly to war.

His fiscal policy is a horrorshow - sky high inflation AND interest rates! People losing real income every week — from gas prices to groceries!

Follow that up with his corruption investigation and his son’s obvious influence peddling operation. You can pretend it’s innocent, but his son will likely be in jail next year if Joe doesn’t pardon him.

I understand that Progressives, Liberals, Moderates and Conservatives all have different priorities and preferences. But, in the end, results are what matter. The FACT is that there are two hot wars being fought by American allies in key strategic theaters than can both be traced to Biden’s policy of appeasement. Prices for all goods and services are fully 20-30% higher or more across the board, and most people’s incomes have not gone up anywhere near that much.

Three years in, to call Biden the most successful President of recent times is just gaslighting.

You need to be honest. It isn’t just the fact of his age and decline. It’s the RESULTS.

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Thanks for sharing your points, NYKIndependent. They are food for thought. Re Ukraine: I don't agree about a direct tie between reopening Norstrom and the invasion. The origins of his decision are complicated and he would have easily taken Kiev had Trump been president. Biden, with the benefit of good intell, was warning of an invasion for weeks, which bought precious time for the West to help Ukraine, which--as everyone knows--was an huge effort led by...Biden. You're right that he didn't provide arms fast enough, but that did not turn out to be fatal. And to use the word "appeasement" without reference to Trump seems to be a significant omission from your argument. None of Iran's meddling --which has gone on for years--seems to me attributable to Biden. Inflation, as you know, is no longer "sky high" and when it was, it was higher in every other industrialized country, so it cannot be entirely laid at Biden's door. Re Gaza: Hamas is Sunni and while it has relations with Iran, oit does not take orders from Iran, as Hezballah does in the north. So "appeasing" Iran--which never happened unless you oppose all efforts to get hostages released (Was Israel "appeasing" Hamas when it agreed to the hostage/prisoner deal?)--had nothing to do with Hamas breaking the ceasefire. Overall, though Biden's Mideast policy is unpopular in the U.S., I think it has been close to spot-on.

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Jonathan, that is an excellent compendium of the talking points. Indulge me with my view (I am one of those few NY 60s/70s Liberal elites with three Ivy degrees who feels the “Liberal” Democrat party has left me completely behind in its push to Progressive extremism.

Trump provided the lethal aid - mostly Javelins - that were a huge part of interdicting the Russian armored column push toward Kyiv. Those two shipments were likely decisive in the fight, according to Ukraine’s senior military staff. The notion that Trump was given to appeasing Putin is one of those memes that has blossomed from media repetition, but has no basis in political history or realpolitik. Trump sent those weapons despite Putin’s outrage. Likewise, he slammed Nordstream II shut - Putin’s largest external energy investment EVER. It would be hard to think of two moe provocative measures against the Moscow madman. Joe & Barack were both opposed to these measures. “Lead From Behind” and “Strategic Patience” were both perceived as weakness by Putin. Dems seem to conflate Trump’s empty flattery as strategic alignment. Years back, Trump called me a genius when he wanted a loan from me. It’s what he does.

Yes, Biden did some things to help Ukraine, but I get the sense from his history of bad decisions and policy of restraint that all of it was forced on him by his advisors (he has an awful lot of hawks around him). He resisted every new weapons system - from HIMARS to ATACMS, Bradleys and Abrams to F-16s and Tomahawks. Just a few hundred of these advanced missiles would have turned the war, and an effective modern airforce would have been decisive if started in 2022. Ukraine has its own remarkable strategic intelligence service, that is deeply embedded in Russian military and intelligence services. They were well aware of what was coming. Our tactical intel has been invaluable to them, of course. But, all of it under Biden has been 90% defensive. Ukraine will never force Russia out with Biden as CIC.

As an energy trader, I know well that oil prices began to rise under Biden because of the message she sent clearly ‘Day One” with his cancellation of the Keystone pipeline, and his policy that has ended LNG terminal permits and stopped almost all new exploration and drilling. The current high production in the US is the product, among other things. of the huge investments in the Permian under Trump’s permissive regime. Biden. Has stated his clear enmity for fossil fuels, and the extremist policies of the Kerry wing have put the US energy industry on warning that it ios doomed here. You old pal Podesta will no doubt sontinue his bizarre regime.

Biden reopening JCPOA negotiations, freeing up that $6 billion, and trying to appease the Mullahs undeniably emboldened them. Their new aggression also fueled oil prices. Joe’s cynical release of the SPR for the midterms was irresponsible and dangerous. Everything Joe did sent a message to Iran that the US backs down and quails under pressure when Joe Biden is in charge.

The rise in oil prices fueled by Biden’s policies, and the massive dump of fresh dollars into the raging fire of inflation started by the COVID recovery’s stress on broken supply lines ignited inflation globally. As my economics professor at Columbia loved to say “If the US catches cold, the whole world sneezes.” even so, the Euro Zone, Italy France — many places had lower inflation than we do — and we are the world’s biggest producer of fossil fuels.

Joe is giving a good speech right now to support the foreign aid bill for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan. The ONLY time Joe is a good speaker is when he wants to spend billions on something. I happen to agree with him on this bill. It’s just a shame that his policies and weakness put the world in this position.

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I left out that Trump has been agitating Europe to step up and do its share of fighting Russia and funding its own defense. It is inexcusable that so many countries refuse to spend to their targets. Trump has never said he would walk away from NATO. He has said repeatedly that the US can no longer just afford to keep writing Europe blank checks. We spend a trillion plus a year on defense and defense aid. It is shameful that those first in the line of fire will not meet their obligations.

PS: Joe has not really met our obligations under the Budapest Memorandum.

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Trump LITERALLY said he’d tell Russia to do whatever the hell they want to NATO members who “hadn’t paid.” That’s walking away from NATO and into World War III.

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Read the context of his remarks, Maggie Haberman’s piece in the Tims about it, and what Stoltenberg has to say about the effect Trump’s comments have had on NATO.

Then get back to me.

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Oh don't be so hard on him, he's got a script he's got to keep to cos if he doesn't his ex-KGB grandmother gets defenestrated.

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You live in some kind of bizarre fantasy world. Inflation has been coming down, interest rates are half of the historical average (my parents' first mortgage was at a 14% interest rate, and that was totally normal), and people are in fact better off in real terms (inflation-adjusted) than they were in 2020.

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No, you are no doubt middle to upper middle class or wealthy, and can't see the impact these higher prices are still having. You probably own your home, while the working poor are now paying ever higher percentages of income on rent. Crime is also impacting the poor, but many liberals and progressives refuse to see it. And the migrant crisis--and it is a crisis on the border and in the cities where they are being dumped, primarily by NGOs and the Biden admin itself. Folks love to blame Abbott and DeSantis for busing migrants north, but the Biden crew started doing this months prior... Writing this as a progressive... Dems, please wake up!

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No, I’m not talking about how I feel, I’m talking about objective economic facts. The working poor are better off now than they were in 2020. Please wake up.

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I'm fully awake and living it.... you can skew the facts to say anything. Economics is not an objective science

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Thanks for noting that, Dan.

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Agree with most of your points, but you have to understand that Alter and the vast majority of people who read his work know that Biden is not a particularly good president. But their visceral hatred of Trump supersedes any ability to admit this.

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You have me there a bit, Joseph. I do tend to slightly overvalue Biden's presidency (despite spending 2023 trying to get him to withdraw) because of my visceral and entirely justified hatred of Trump.

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If you despise Trump, then you better hope there are no debates between him and Biden. I like to write columns too although I am not in the same ballpark as you talent wise. But here is my take.

https://jfbentivegna.substack.com/p/president-biden-has-early-dementia

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This is true. Otherwise intelligent and rational people seem to lose all sense of logic and reason when it comes to Trump.

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Ah, to live in the imagination of the Democratic faithful, where Amy Klobuchar would effortlessly wipe the floor with Trump, and the only problem with Joe Biden is that he’s not being marketed right. And I’ll never get over this Clinton-era belief that Dems have to run as far to the right as possible to avoid “divisive” progressivism. If they’d gotten behind Bernie is 2016, the Trump candidacy would be an amusing historical footnote.

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I wish I thought America was as progressive as you do, Craig. Bernie would have been crushed in both 2016 and 2020 had he been the nominee.....Americans don't go for socialists. Never have; never will.

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Nah. First, to the people scared of socialism, every Dem is already a socialist. I’ve heard Biden called this a million times. Two of the biggest landslides in the 20th century were won by candidates (FDR and LBJ) who ran on explicitly socialist programs. Moreover, this idea that there is a spectrum from left to right and voters locate themselves and the candidates on this spectrum to make their decisions is not how ordinary people think. Especially in 2016, voters were focused more on their perception of the humans on the ballot, and both Don and Hillary were saddled with the perception that they were corrupt and dishonest. Poll after poll showed that this was not an issue with Bernie, who is acknowledged by even his enemies as authentic about his intentions, and was much more popular with independents. And in terms of policy, there are plenty of issues where the reason Hillary lost to Trump is because of issues where the position he ran on was more aligned with Bernie: how free trade hurts blue collar workers, the need to replace Obamacare, suspicion of interventionist military policy. The formerly blue states Hillary lost like Michigan are the exact places that play to Bernie’s popularity and issues. You can never prove or disprove a counterfactual, but I think the party line on Bernie is just a combination of fear and denial.

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I DON’T think that it is the most important issue facing the country, but it is still important. I don’t think you understand though, that the abortion issue is a powerful draw for some Democratic-leaning voters who might be inclined to stay home otherwise. This is the same strategy that Bush II used in 2004 with the gay marriage issue and it might have provided him with his margin of victory in that tight election. They didn’t think that was the most important issue either.

Where is it written that we must only campaign

on the most important issues?

I also would rather see campaigns that are high-minded debates on the real issues. That rarely happens and this year Trump guarantees that this will be an epic shitshow. I didn’t make the situation but you can’t avoid it.

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Biden Saves Republic

Dewey Defeats Truman

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Grab them by the Pu**y

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Bill Clinton

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Very fine people.

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TDS, I understand. BTW, I noticed that after demanding a source for my comment that “over 80% of voters believe Biden is too old,” I posted the link to the ABC/Ipsos poll that’s found it was more precisely 83% of voters who believe Biden is too old. And 73% of Democrats agreed.

Any comment, snarky or otherwise?

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And so 86% believing "Biden is too old to serve" means to you they ALSO think Biden doesn't have the mental capacity??

Different issue entirely.

This is also what that study says:

"Sixty-two percent of Americans think Trump, who is 77, is too old to serve as president. There is a large difference in how partisans view their respective nominees -- 73% of Democrats think Biden is too old to serve but only 35% of Republicans think Trump is too old to serve. Ninety-one percent of independents think Biden is too old to serve, and 71% say the same about Trump."

So with your reasoning that means 62% think Trump doesn't have the mental capacity, correct? and 71% of independents say that about orange AssNeck

( I 100% think Trump's flabby AssNeck is definitely too old to serve as president BTW).

Next time they should ask, who looks more likely to develop a debilitating physical ailment or suffer a heart attack in the next 5 years, eh?

At any rate Biden, makes flubs like all, but is lucid and hires excellent people and has the experience and wisdom to keep doing good things, especially if he gets a Dem Congress. His accomplishments so far are exactly as Jonathan said some of the most impressive of any modern president:

https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2024/02/02/joe-biden-30-policy-things-you-might-have-missed-00139046

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Lucid? Biden, lucid? Really? Have you watched him shuffling around the stage, confused, hand extended to shake no one’s hand, mouth agape? What do you think “too old to be president means?” That he looks, talks, forgets who he’s talking to, but gosh, when he’s not acting confused in public, he’s just laser sharp? As Groucho said, who are you going to believe, me or your own eyes?

Since you suggested that the question should have been about mental capacity, I’ll suggest another; do you think Biden will have better mental capacity in five years, or worse?” I’ll pause while you shout BUT TRUMP!!

Trump is petty, obnoxious, petulant, narcissistic and says stupid stuff to set the media and Dem’s hair on fire. I hate having either of these choices. Personally, I shift between anger and despair that our political system keeps serving up “lesser of two evil elections.” But you can scream BUT TRUMP all you want, but it won’t make Biden appear more vigorous and lucid now, and certainly not in five years.

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I’m starting to wonder if Alter also has cognitive issues, or perhaps his vision is distorted by blue-colored glasses. Biden has moved past the “emperor has no clothes” stage. I wouldn’t be surprised if Biden turns up one day soon as the President who has no pants.

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Whatever you might imagine, Greg, Biden is still wearing pants--and so am I.

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Feb 13·edited Feb 13

Delighted to hear that you’re still wearing pants. But… it was a joke. I think almost anyone who saw my comment understands that.

I actually agree that Hur’s report took a gratuitous shot at Biden’s mental capacity, but it only states what over 80% of voters have already concluded with their own eyes. And they know he won’t be getting any better in the next five years.

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80% of voters? Source?

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ABC/Ipsos poll indicates 86% of voters believe Biden is too old to serve, which includes 73% of Democrats. That’s not Fox News, it’s ABC/Ipsos.

https://abcnews.go.com/amp/Politics/poll-americans-on-biden-age/story?id=107126589

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And so 86% believing "Biden is too old to serve" means to you they ALSO think Biden doesn't have the mental capacity??

Different issue entirely.

This is also what that study says:

"Sixty-two percent of Americans think Trump, who is 77, is too old to serve as president. There is a large difference in how partisans view their respective nominees -- 73% of Democrats think Biden is too old to serve but only 35% of Republicans think Trump is too old to serve. Ninety-one percent of independents think Biden is too old to serve, and 71% say the same about Trump."

So with your reasoning that means 62% think Trump doesn't have the mental capacity, correct? and 71% of independents say that about orange AssNeck

( I 100% think Trump's flabby AssNeck is definitely too old to serve as president BTW).

Next time they should ask, who looks more likely to develop a debilitating physical ailment or suffer a heart attack in the next 5 years, eh?

At any rate Biden, makes flubs like all, but is lucid and hires excellent people and has the experience and wisdom to keep doing good things, especially if he gets a Dem Congress. His accomplishments so far are exactly as Jonathan said some of the most impressive of any modern president:

https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2024/02/02/joe-biden-30-policy-things-you-might-have-missed-00139046

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This ignores the big elephant in the room, his lack of empathy for what is going on in Gaza. All that negates this view of him as a person in charge, who is taking great decisions, and able to judge good from bad.

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Ravi: Biden is enormously empathetic and has been urging more precise targeting from early in the war. Do you really expec him to push for a ceasefire when Hamas won't release the hostages?

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Thanks for engaging and responding to my comments.

1) The continued indiscriminate bombing endangers the hostages, so if the goal is getting the hostages freed, this does not seem to be the way to go (several might already have been killed by "friendly" fire).

2) If Biden were to force the issue, regarding how the war is conducted, there would be some impact

3) Biden has not said anything about the death toll, especially children, till recently, almost as if he had to wait for the polls to tell him that he needed to be empathetic.

4) The way you have phrased it makes it look like there are only two alternatives, let Hamas "win" or kill indiscriminately. Surely you can admit there can be a different way and criticize that is going on ? In all this, it seems like everyone has lost empathy and their "humanness"

.

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Biden undoubtedly deplores what is happening in Gaza, but what can he do? Declare war on Israel? Yank all our funding from Israel? Here's a fact - Israel does not need money from us to be super aggressive. Israelis pay more for defense per capita than we do. They like our money, but they don't need it.

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that's bull. Biden is now trying to send Israel $16 billion. Israel is also deeply reliant on imports and also imported farm labor... But mostly they are reliant on American bombs and weapons systems. Stop funding Israel and this war will stop far sooner than if we continue to allow them to level and then reclaim Gaza in the name of security. Because none of this will make Israel secure in the long run. And it will imperil the US. Why don't you try taking on that third rail, Jonathan?

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There is humanitarian aid to Gaza in there. And it's $14 B. Israel does not need our money for bombs. Take a few seconds and google Wiki for Israel wars. They have been fighting constantly since before the summer of 1948. And if Israel stops fighting, what? Syria, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon will shove the Jews to the sea. Wake the fuck up, Duchess. Israel knows it is responsible for its own security. No one helped in Dachau or Auschwitz, and no one will help them now.

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I corrected myself immediately after that comment. Yes it's $14B in military aid and additional humanitarian aid, per the WSJ: "The bill also includes $14.1 billion for Israel, both for missile-defense systems and to help Israel finance other weaponry, and $9.15 billion to provide food, water and other humanitarian aid in hot spots including Gaza, the West Bank and Ukraine. It provides $2.4 billion to support U.S. operations related to attacks by the Houthis on shipping in the Red Sea... " So apparently Israel does need our money for bombs. No one helped in WW2? Hmmm, I agree we were unforgivably late but we did help eventually... .Unfortunately, I fear Israel is creating ever greater security risks by its "over the top" war conduct.

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oops, it's now $14 billion... which the House will probably end up passing as a separate appropriation while they fight over Ukraine and border $$

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Good point.

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He has not really deplored anything. He could condemn strongly what has happened. and he can stop sending bombs that just kill indiscriminately. Israel cannot continue this without being supplied from outside. it is a myth that they can do this on their own. supply chains from outside supply their effort (note that one of the european courts has stopped supply of parts for the F-16s). If he had condemned the indiscriminate killing instead of offering excuses, Blinken till recently claimed that the responsibility for all this was hamas, you can bet there would have been a different course of action. It is sad that the defenders of what is going on justify it by dehumanizing the other side.

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You haven't been paying attention.

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I think the writer of this article is living in fairy tale land and is trying to have it both ways.

If Biden is competent, as the writer claims, then he should stand trial for the "willful mishandling" of classified documents, spread across his house and garage next to broken furniture and dog crates (yes, the pictures are in the 345 page report if you care to see).

If he's not competent, then he should step aside right now, for the good of the country and the world.

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I assume, Scott, that you want Trump to stand trial. The difference between them is simple: Biden was careless, too, but he returned the docs when asked. That's all it takes--in any case of this kind--to prevent prosecution.

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That's a lie, Biden held onto them for years. He did not return them when they were identified, at all, but you might expect a so-called journalist to know that. And now we are finding out he held them for a purpose, to conceal his influence peddling scheme with Ukraine and others.

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One has to have charges filed to stand trial. Where are the charges??

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I also met Biden in the early nineties, and to claim that he hasn't had cognitive decline since then is the epitome of hyper-partisanship. For all his gaffes over his career, Biden was still considered very articulate. No one ever made reference to his childhood stuttering. Though now Biden can barely finish a sentence without rambling incoherently. It's actually very sad. He may not have full blown dementia as Republicans claim, but he has had serious cognitive decline. He doesn't process information anywhere near as quickly as he use to...and does have difficulty recalling information.

As for the Trump is also having cognitive decline issues. That's hardly a compelling strategy. Two wrongs don't make a right. If you really want to call attention to Trump's own issues, you replace Biden at the convention somehow someway with someone whose alacrity is undeniable.

And no way do you let Biden do unscripted interviews let alone debates. His past gaffes are a lot different that his mental lapses and discombobulated ramblings. Any and every pause, gaffe and incomplete sentence is only going to further reiterate Republican talking points. People in the hyper partisan blue tribe are in serious denial if they think otherwise. The majority of the voters, who are now independent, will see through all of your hyper-partisan drivel, and aren't impressed by the lesser of two evils strategy which is what seems to be the Democratic Party's only strategy at this point. ...that is nothing but whataboutisms.

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You may be right, Beyond Spin. We're gonna find out soon enough. Unfortunately there's no one but Jill and Joe Biden who can do anything about it. I was just offering an approach to making the best out of a bad situation.

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Here's a blog I wrote, that's a review of Thomas Frank's 2016 best seller, Listen Liberal. https://beyondspin.wordpress.com/2024/01/20/listen-liberals/ The afterword of that book provides one of the better and cogent analysis of Trump's victory over Hillary. The real problem with Democrats (and I'm a former DNC member) is that they haven't taken the time to really understand why Trump resonates with such a large demographic. No, this demographic isn't all misogynistic xenophobic racists. Many of these people are just so disenfranchised and disillusioned by the pervasive corruption that they'll believe Trump's sales pitch and drain the swamp rhetoric...even though that sales pitch is obviously just a con.

So rather than whataboutisms about Trump also losing his faculties or Trump being the end of Democracy, Democrats really need to address all the angst and systemic corruption that exists at the federal level.... as I suggested to my friend Tim, after he lost his Senate bid for Ohio, in this blog I made of an email I sent to him: https://beyondspin.wordpress.com/2023/03/03/post-game-dem-party-critique/

Thus what's needed is a REFORM PARTY....not the nihilistic Trump Republican Party or a Biden protect the corporatist status quo Pfizer Blue Party. Biden really has to go.

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Trump needs to go first. Then we can talk....

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Just another whataboutism. Do better.

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No, whataboutism is what they teach you at the FSB internet/web psy-ops school when you put forth so much pearl clutching *concern* for both candidates, to appear objective and then end with you're real point and it's to benefit dictator AssNEck.

He is the greatest danger to this nation at this time and the oh so "open-minded" concerns you lay out here will become even more acute. I'd rather take one step forward with Biden than go back a hundred years with Turnip.

These are Biden's accomplishments. Clearly he gets good things done. Enjoy Boris: https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2024/02/02/joe-biden-30-policy-things-you-might-have-missed-00139046

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Feb 14·edited Feb 14

LOL. Biden is good at putting through large programs that create a lot of corporate welfare and inflation. He's done squat to slow down corporate consolidation. So, he's a corporatist, who doesn't recognize the systemic corruption that only furthers the corporate capture of our Republic. His main concern now seems to be that his ice cream container got smaller.

Those who use Biden as their figurehead, are all about maintaining the corrupt status quo.

So, of course, you just resort to hackneyed arguments with your partisan drivel. And no I don't support the Orange Buffoon in any way, never have and will never vote for him. Thus your other conclusions are completely inane. FWIW here's my story: https://beyondspin.wordpress.com/2023/03/12/welcome-to-my-upside-down-world/

Do you have anything other that cartoonish observations inculcated into your head by watching corporate media or listening to NPR? Probably not.

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Wishful thinking

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