Some liberal "Trump is horrible!!!!" liberal retweeted something about how people don't like either leading candidate for president.
The tweet also claimed Biden's record is horrible. The person noted the "both candidates are bad" message is the one he supported. Also, the part where when Trump is clearly the candidate, Biden will step aside was answered with an "I hope so."
It was a ridiculous comment that is not in the realm of reality. Biden's record is not horrible (the tweet was from a Republican, so you have a mix of bias and bullshit, since the economic situation alone suggests things are not truly horrible). Biden has no intention to step aside.
It is far from clear (even with 2023 polls saying Haley would triumph as she is about to be a distant second, maybe, in Iowa) that even a non-Trump will make it closer. That's more conceivable if they can sell they are different, even though they consistently were Trump enablers and shared the basic policies. Plus, I'm unsure about Republican voters (and some others) strongly supporting a non-white woman candidate.
The original tweet argued that if someone new ran, they would win. The hope of the "somebody else" is akin to the dream of the backup QB. Well, it worked, until it didn't, with Joe Flacco and the Cincinnati Bengals.
This is a guy who almost cried hoping Michael Bloomberg was the nominee of the Democrats in 2020. Nobody else could save us!
He also wants the Democrats to support removing the insurrection disqualification from Trump. If they did that the Republicans "would have to" go along. He might want to stick to being a law professor.
There is also this:
This is incredibly facile, I grant you. But if you are wondering why young people don’t really feel in touch with Joe Biden, understand that the man was born in 1942. He is 81 years old. He was first eligible to vote in 1963. If an 81-year-old was president in 1963, he would have been born in the Arthur administration. And Biden is about as relevant to the issues young people hold dearly today as someone first eligible to vote in 1903 was to Joe Biden as a young voter.
This is someone who thought Sanders would win in 2020 and is also an Elizabeth Warren supporter. He noted she shouldn't run now either. How about in 2020? Who else was going to win in 2020?
You had a bunch of old people and also-rans. Biden was just who we needed -- a safe, reassuring presence. There is really not a great difference this time. Along with the fact Biden can run on his record. Starting from scratch with a new candidate is just risky. It also is generally not done. First term presidents able and willing to do so run again.
Anyway, I am not a "young person" and neither is that writer. He's around my age even if he sounds like a grumpy old man. Who would these young people feel in touch with? Let's say Biden was 60. His age would not be an issue. Would young people under 40 "really feel in touch" with him? The life experiences of people who were born in the 1960s (the edge of the baby boomers) are quite different. Facile indeed.
Let's take Bush41. George Bush Sr. was not an old man when he was president. He was sometimes labeled "out of touch" including the assumption (not true) that he was not aware of how supermarket checkout machines worked or something.
I don't think the average young person felt him very approachable. I think he was a patrician type not seen as a "regular guy" type. Age was not the issue there. His son apparently was the guy you wanted to drink a beer with (putting aside the guy was dry by then). People had other issues with him.
Biden comes off as old. This is not only because he is fairly old. Trump is a bit younger. He comes off as less decrepit.
Sanders is about the same age. He comes off as a grumpy old man with more energy. There are various pols in their 70s that seem younger than Biden. But, they are not much more "in touch" with young voters. This is adding to the "incredibly facile" part.
How out of touch is Joe Biden? Many young voters are likely to be attracted to him. He is a kindly grandpa who supports good things. What exactly does Biden think about or what life experiences does he lead with (other than perhaps dreams of working with Republicans, putting aside what he has as president) that young people feel is not relatable?
I don't see it. He sometimes might make a comment that seems out of date but so does the parents of a teenager. Again, the guy can be twenty or thirty years younger and still seem "out of touch" to a young voter.
One comment suggested that people are trying to ignore that his age is an issue. This is a strawman as well. No one really says that. They are aware that it would be nice if someone younger was president.
A Generation X president would be nice. They just think that it is low in the order of concerns. They also realize that we really cannot do anything about it. Changing horses midstream would have been risky, even if halfway likely to happen. The chances -- all things being equal -- it actually would have helped is far from clear too.
What is the point of people to keep on referencing his age? Has it -- as compared to late-term Reagan -- actually affected his job? Oh, he now and then, among the thousands of things he did, seems to have had a senior moment. The guy had moments all of his career. That's just bullshit.
Oh, something might happen to him. We have multiple high-level people (including the assumed Senate Majority Leader if the Republicans win) over seventy-five in government. We rarely worry about that. Is Kamala Harris THAT bad or something?
A thing that pops up on that blog regularly is sneers at "the Blob" (the latest thing from those who brought you "the Village") or the MSM (including potshots at the NYT specifically) with the current line that aids and abets Trumpism. Why do these things not do the same? It helps send a different form of the 2016 "both are horrible" bit. Once you do that, good luck adding "But I'm not saying they are the same!"
Over and over again there are sneers at Biden, who has done a lot of good things, including as noted by Erik Loomis himself (the author of that facile bit and a labor guy). "I'm not saying he's too old but" is akin to another guy who repeatedly said he's too old "but the other guy is so very horrible."
The first person wanted MICHAEL BLOOMBERG as the nominee. Now wait! He's a true blue liberal! Really!
The blog also likes to post a lot of bad news. You would not know that good things happen that much. This includes good things the Biden Administration has done. A recent post that noted it was very impressive he bit the bullet and got us out of Afghanistan is one exception.
Need more of that type of thing. Ditto media coverage such as MSNBC that is not so much about Trump. Other things are happening.
It's okay, especially in a blog generally read by fellow travelers, to talk about things about Biden that concern people. The criticism, to repeat, is not about that. (There are avenues where leading with that is a problem. Liberal op-ed writers focusing on that a lot are a concern.) It is that you have to have a sense of perspective about these things.
Maybe "incredible facile" comments are best left unsaid.
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Thanks for your .02!