The Biden - Harris Era.

[old salt]

https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-democr ... n-a86a9756

The Democrats Deserve Biden, Even if the Country Doesn’t

They’ve deceived and gaslit us for four years, all in the name of ‘democracy.’ That collapsed Thursday.

by Gerard Baker, July 1, 2024

There is something fitting about the disarray in which the Democratic Party finds itself, a fearful symmetry in the now-fraught relationship between President Biden and panicking friends and colleagues.

Mr. Biden succeeded because he made toeing the party line his life’s work. Like all politicians whose egos dwarf their talents, he ascended the greasy pole by slavishly following his party wherever it led. In the 1970s and 1980s, the Democrats were a party of post-Vietnam peacenik activists, seeking accommodation with the Soviet Union abroad and appeasement of economic decline at home. And Joe was one of them. When that was discredited by three straight election defeats, the Democrats became the New Democrats, and there was Joe again, backing welfare reform, being tough on crime, and getting macho with America’s post-Cold War enemies. After 9/11 the party fell in for a while behind George W. Bush, and of course Mr Biden was right there too, leading from the middle, backing the war on terror and the invasion of Iraq—until it started to go wrong, when, as his party quickly deserted, so did our man of constant borrow.

Finally—or at least we thought it was final, given his already advanced age—in the ultimate act of partisan servility, he became Barack Obama’s vice president, the summit achievement for the incapable but loyal, the apex position for the consummate yes man. His only roles were to offer his signature eloquence on the boss’s achievements (“This is a big f— deal”) or provide advice that could safely be ignored (“Don’t kill Osama bin Laden”).

But then, just as he was ready to drift into a comfortable and well-deserved obscurity, his party needed a front man—a familiar and innocuous face to take down an unpopular president. They sought a loyal and reliable figurehead, a flag of convenience under which they could sail the progressive vessel into the deepest reaches of American life—on a mission to advance statism, climate extremism and self-lacerating wokery. There was no more loyal and convenient vehicle than Joe.

But now, 42 months (and 81 years) in, it is going horribly wrong. Much of his party has no use for him anymore. They are trying desperately to jettison him and, in a remarkably cynical act of bait-and-switch, swap him out for someone more useful to their cause.

Part of me thinks they shouldn’t be allowed to get away with it. I find myself in the odd position of wanting to root for poor mumbling Joe in those intense—and presumably somewhat one-sided—conversations that must be going on this week at Camp David and in the White House.

It’s tempting to say to the Democratic machine frantically mobilizing against him: You don’t get to do this. You don’t get to deceive, dissemble and gaslight us for years about how this man was both brilliantly competent at the job and a healing force for national unity, and now tell us, when your deception is uncovered, that it’s bedtime for Bonzo, thanks for your service, and let’s move on.

It should be we the voters who get to deliver the verdict on the last four years, not a bunch of has-beens, time-servers and fat donors. We should have the opportunity to say what we think about a party and a president who, even as they lectured us for four years about the importance of honesty and the sanctity of democracy, were engaged in an extended act of deceit that itself represents pure contempt for the democratic process.

That is what is so galling about the spectacle we have witnessed since the Democrats’ sham exercise collapsed of its own shame in an Atlanta television studio Thursday.

Until the world saw the truth that they had been insisting was “misinformation,” they evidently thought they could get away with promoting the fiction of Mr. Biden’s competence. In perpetuating that fiction they were also revealing their contempt for the voters and for democracy itself.

How democratic is it to ask us to vote for a man they know is unable to finish a sentence, let alone another four years? What exactly will we be electing in November if we vote for Mr. Biden? A year or two of an administration in which unelected advisers, party hacks, scheming family members and random hangers-on make critical daily decisions about war, peace, the composition of the judiciary and the boundaries of state authority—followed by President Kamala Harris, who has the ineptitude without the excuse of senescence?

The contempt all this reveals for the democratic process is almost on par with that represented in trying to overturn an election. So much for the moral high ground Democrats have claimed to occupy. The events of the past week have exposed the depth of the Democrats’ deception and disregard for democracy. In inadvertently revealing its hypocrisy, Mr. Biden has improbably done his party one final service, one they don’t want but the country urgently needs.

[Brooklyn]

The latest I've heard about Biden's piss poor debate performance is that he was exhausted from a cold and from the trips overseas. If true, it only proves what I've been saying on this forum for years -- we have no goddamn business in European or foreign affairs. That we need to solve our problems at home such as the lack of health care, deregulation such as those that created the East Palestine, Ohio disaster, and the continued decline of the infrastructure. But who listens to what I have to say?

[old salt]

NY Times drops a safe on Biden {for the benefit of non-subscribers}

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/07/02/us/p ... apses.html

Biden’s Lapses Are Said to Be Increasingly Common and Worrisome
People who have spent time with President Biden over the last few months or so said the lapses appear to have grown more frequent, more pronounced and, after Thursday’s debate, more worrisome.

By Peter Baker, David E. Sanger, Zolan Kanno-Youngs and Katie Rogers

Peter Baker, David E. Sanger, Zolan Kanno-Youngs and Katie Rogers are White House reporters. They interviewed current and former White House aides, foreign diplomats, domestic allies and financial donors.

July 2, 2024
In the weeks and months before President Biden’s politically devastating performance on the debate stage in Atlanta, several current and former officials and others who encountered him behind closed doors noticed that he increasingly appeared confused or listless, or would lose the thread of conversations.

Like many people his age, Mr. Biden, 81, has long experienced instances in which he mangled a sentence, forgot a name or mixed up a few facts, even though he could be sharp and engaged most of the time. But in interviews, people in the room with him more recently said that the lapses seemed to be growing more frequent, more pronounced and more worrisome.

The uncomfortable occurrences were not predictable, but seemed more likely when he was in a large crowd or tired after a particularly bruising schedule. In the 23 days leading up to the debate against former President Donald J. Trump, Mr. Biden jetted across the Atlantic Ocean twice for meetings with foreign leaders and then flew from Italy to California for a splashy fund-raiser, maintaining a grueling pace that exhausted even much younger aides.

Mr. Biden was drained enough from the back-to-back trips to Europe that his team cut his planned debate preparation by two days so he could rest at his house in Rehoboth Beach, Del., before joining advisers at Camp David for rehearsals. The preparations, which took place over six days, never started before 11 a.m. and Mr. Biden was given time for an afternoon nap each day, according to a person familiar with the process.

Andrew Bates, a White House spokesman, said on Tuesday that “the president was working well before” the 11 a.m. start time each day, after exercising. Still, at a fund-raiser on Tuesday evening, Mr. Biden blamed fatigue for his debate performance. “I wasn’t very smart,” he said. “I decided to travel around the world a couple times, I don’t know how many time zones.”

The recent moments of disorientation generated concern among advisers and allies alike. He seemed confused at points during a D-Day anniversary ceremony in France on June 6. The next day, he misstated the purpose of a new tranche of military aid to Ukraine when meeting with its president.

On June 10, he appeared to freeze up at an early celebration of the Juneteenth holiday. On June 18, his soft-spoken tone and brief struggle to summon the name of his homeland security secretary at an immigration event unnerved some of his allies at the event, who traded alarmed looks and later described themselves as “shaken up,” as one put it. Mr. Biden recovered, and named Alejandro N. Mayorkas.

He is certainly not that way all the time. In the days since the debate debacle, aides and others who encountered him, including foreign officials, described him as being in good shape — alert, coherent and capable, engaged in complicated and important discussions and managing volatile crises. They cited example after example in cases where critical national security issues were on the line.

Aides present in the Situation Room the night that Iran hurled a barrage of missiles and drones at Israel portrayed a president in commanding form, lecturing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu by phone to avoid a retaliatory escalation that would have inflamed the Middle East. “Let me be crystal clear,” Mr. Biden said. “If you launch a big attack on Iran, you’re on your own.”

Mr. Netanyahu pushed back hard, citing the need to respond in kind to deter future attacks. “You do this,” Mr. Biden said forcefully, “and I’m out.” Ultimately, the aides noted, Mr. Netanyahu scaled back his response.

This account is based on interviews with current and former White House aides, political advisers, administration officials, foreign diplomats, domestic allies and financial donors who saw Mr. Biden in the last few weeks, sometimes just briefly, sometimes for more extended periods. In most cases, they spoke on condition of anonymity because of the delicacy of the matter.

White House officials have said the president is in excellent shape and that his debate performance, while disappointing, was an aberration. Kevin C. O’Connor, the White House physician, said as recently as February that despite minor ailments like sleep apnea and peripheral neuropathy in his feet, the president was “fit for duty.” He said tests had turned up “no findings which would be consistent with” Parkinson’s disease. The White House has declined to make Dr. O’Connor available for questions and did not respond to detailed health questions from The New York Times earlier this year.

Responding to questions from The New York Times, Mr. Bates, the White House spokesman, said Tuesday that Dr. O’Connor had found no reason to re-evaluate Mr. Biden for Parkinson’s disease and that he showed no signs of Parkinson’s and had never taken Levodopa or other drugs for that condition.

Aides to Mr. Biden responded to questions for this story by asking several senior advisers to describe their interactions with Mr. Biden.

“He’s inquisitive. Focused. He remembers. He’s sharp,” said Neera Tanden, the president’s domestic policy adviser. In briefings, she said, “he will ask you a tough question and he will say, ‘How does this relate to an average person?’ And if you haven’t thought of that in that time, you have to come back to him.”

Elizabeth Sherwood-Randall, the president’s homeland security adviser, recounted a June 17 terrorism briefing for Mr. Biden in the Situation Room in which he “digested an immense amount of information” and asked questions that were “probing and insightful.”

Mr. Biden on debate night in Atlanta. His shaky performance alarmed even some of his supporters.
But by many accounts, as evidenced by video footage, observation and interviews, Mr. Biden is not the same today as he was even when he took office 3½ years ago. The White House regularly releases corrected transcripts of his remarks, in which he frequently mixes up places, people or dates. The administration did so in the days after the debate, when Mr. Biden mixed up the countries of France and Italy when talking about war veterans at an East Hampton fund-raiser.

Last week’s debate prompted some around him to express concern that the decline had accelerated lately. Several advisers and current and former administration officials who see Mr. Biden regularly but not every day or week said they were stunned by his debate performance because it was the worst they had ever seen him.

“You don’t have to be sitting in an Oval Office meeting with Joe Biden to recognize there’s been a slowdown in the past two years. There’s a visible difference,” said Douglas Brinkley, a presidential historian. “I’ve been amazed on one hand,” said Mr. Brinkley, who has not seen the president in person in a year. “The president can zip around the country like he does. But the White House may only be showing the Biden they want us to see.”

Mr. Trump, 78, has also shown signs of slipping over the years since he was first elected to the White House. He often confuses names and details and makes statements that are incoherent. He maintains a lighter public schedule than Mr. Biden, does not exercise and repeatedly appeared to fall asleep in the middle of his recent hush money trial. His campaign has released only a three-paragraph health summary. Voters have expressed concern about his age as well, but not to the same degree as Mr. Biden’s.

Mr. Trump has seized on Mr. Biden’s debate performance and called his own often confusing and fact-free appearance that night the “greatest debate performance” in the history of presidential campaigns.

The picture that emerges from recent interviews about Mr. Biden is one of a president under stress — hardly unusual — as he tried to juggle nervous international partners, a recalcitrant ally whose continued war against Hamas was creating yet another threat to a second term and a family crisis with his own son, who was convicted of criminal charges that could send him to prison.

By necessity, it is an incomplete picture. As Mr. Biden has aged, the White House has limited his encounters with reporters. While he frequently stops for a couple minutes to answer a question or two, as of Sunday, Mr. Biden had granted fewer interviews than any president of the modern era and fewer news conferences than any president since Ronald Reagan, according to statistics compiled by Martha Kumar, a longtime scholar of presidential communication.

On the occasions that Mr. Biden has chosen to speak with reporters on short notice, it has not always gone well. In February, he angrily hit back against a special counsel’s report on his handling of classified documents, in which the special counsel, Robert K. Hur, characterized the president as a “well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory.” The furious president defended himself and his memory to reporters but referred to President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi of Egypt as the “president of Mexico” in the process. On Monday, House Republicans sued the Biden administration in an attempt to procure audio of Mr. Biden’s interviews with Mr. Hur.

But those 23 days before Mr. Biden met Mr. Trump on the television stage in Atlanta may be viewed by historians as the most critical three weeks in a consequential presidency, as the president faced an opponent he not only loathed, but viewed as an existential threat to American democracy. Were the wandering, inconclusive thoughts broadcast live to more than 50 million viewers just a bad night, a product of the exhausting month, or something larger? Had he not been crisscrossing the globe so frequently — including leaving Italy for a trip spanning nine time zones to a fund-raiser in Los Angeles — would it have made a difference?

Mr. Biden’s trips to Europe were marked by moments of sharpness in important meetings — including a complex session on diverting income from Russian assets to aid Ukraine — mixed with occasional blank-stared confusion, according to people who met with him. At some points, he seemed perfectly on top of his game, at others a little lost.

In Normandy, he met former soldiers brought to France by a veterans’ group. One American who attended said Mr. Biden at times seemed disoriented. During the later ceremony, the president turned away from the U.S. flag when “Taps” was played instead of facing it, possibly to not turn his back to the veterans. Jill Biden, President Emmanuel Macron of France and Mr. Macron’s wife then followed suit.

There was an awkward moment when Mr. Macron made sure the president got safely down the ramp, then came back up to shake all the veterans’ hands. Mr. Biden had been expected to stay for the handshakes, though aides said he was leaving to lay a wreath.

During a meeting the next day with President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine, Mr. Biden spoke so softly it was almost impossible to hear and said a new burst of aid was meant to reconstruct the country’s electric grid when it was not.

But when it came time for the president’s own speech on D-Day, he delivered it forcefully and clearly, gathering momentum and ending on a vigorous note. It was a reminder that, much like during the State of the Union address earlier in the year, he often rises to big occasions and once he gets the rhythm of a speech, adrenaline appears to kick in.

Age was a running theme throughout the visit to France as the president honored American veterans who were near the century mark.
“Age is just a number,” Hilbert Margol, a 100-year-old who served in World War II, recalled telling Mr. Biden.
“You’re right,” Mr. Biden agreed.

Bill Casassa, 98, who was also honored at the Normandy ceremony and supports Mr. Trump, said he came away with the impression that Mr. Biden was infirm. “He did not appear any different to me in person than he does on television — and that is as a person who is fragile and not really in charge,” Mr. Casassa said.

Another veteran, Marvin E. Gilmore Jr., on the other hand, said he came away with newfound respect for Mr. Biden’s energy. “He greeted me very openly, very warmly and very, very, alert,” said Mr. Gilmore, who plans to vote for him. “There was nothing I saw in him that said he was an old man — and I am 99, three months from being 100.”

After several days in France, Mr. Biden flew home briefly and dealt with the family crisis of his son’s conviction. He hosted an early concert marking the Juneteenth holiday where he was spotted standing stiffly during a musical performance. One person who sat close to the president said that he had a “dazed and confused” expression during much of the event. This person said Mr. Biden had shown a “sharp decline” since a meeting only weeks earlier.

President Biden appeared to freeze up momentarily at a Juneteenth celebration at the White House.
After just a couple days at home, Mr. Biden turned around and flew back to Europe, this time to Italy for a summit of the Group of 7 leaders. Throughout the meetings, the pattern was the same, according to senior officials who attended.

Mr. Biden, one said, appeared “quite sharp in the meetings,” and was well prepared. He articulated American views. He appeared on his game at a news conference with Mr. Zelensky. But at one point Mr. Biden appeared to wander off from the group of leaders to talk to paratroopers and the Italian prime minister, Giorgia Meloni, came up behind him, and gently brought him back. A clip of the event that went viral had been edited to make it appear Mr. Biden had just walked away. In fact, he was greeting a paratrooper. But the image suggested he needed guidance from his host.

A senior European official who was present said that there had been a noticeable decline in Mr. Biden’s physical state since the previous fall and that the Europeans had been “shocked” by what they saw. The president at times appeared “out of it,” the official said, and it was difficult to engage him in conversation while he was walking.

Ms. Meloni and the other leaders were acutely sensitive to Mr. Biden’s physical condition, discussing it privately among themselves, and they tried to avoid embarrassing him by slowing their own pace while walking with the president. When they worried that he did not seem poised and cameras were around, they closed ranks around him physically to shield him while he collected himself, the official said.

Two administration officials who traveled with Mr. Biden to Italy said it is common for leaders to be guided to the day’s events. They said the hotel where the Group of 7 summit was taking place was a warren of confusing corridors filled with 25 world leaders and their security details. But they said Mr. Biden was articulate and sharp through hours of meetings.

Asked if one could imagine putting Mr. Biden into the same room with President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia today, a former U.S. official who had helped prepare for the trip went silent for a while, then said, “I just don’t know.” A former senior European official answered the same question by saying flatly, “No.”

Some White House officials adamantly rejected the suggestion of a president not up to handling tough foreign counterparts and told the story of the night Iran attacked Israel in April. Mr. Biden and his top national security officials were in the Situation Room for hours, bracing for the attack, which came around midnight. Biden was updated in real time as the forces he ordered into the region began shooting down Iranian missiles and drones. He peppered leaders with questions throughout the response.

After it was over, and almost all of the missiles and drones had been shot down, Mr. Biden called Mr. Netanyahu to persuade him not to escalate. “Take the win,” Mr. Biden told the prime minister, without reading from a script or extensive notes, according to two people in the room. In the end, Mr. Netanyahu opted for a much smaller and proportionate response that effectively ended the hostilities.

Mr. Biden left Italy to fly directly to Los Angeles for a star-studded fund-raiser with Hollywood celebrities and former President Barack Obama, stopping back in Washington just long enough for Air Force One to be refueled. Aides pointed to the trip as an example of remarkable stamina for an octogenarian — or for anyone, for that matter.

But Mr. Biden appeared tired during a 40-minute discussion onstage at the event, seated between Jimmy Kimmel and Mr. Obama. A few times, the president stumbled over his words, and when the other men were speaking, Mr. Biden often stared into space, his mouth slightly open, like he would later do at the debate.

After lengthy back-to-back trips to Europe, Mr. Biden flew to Los Angeles for a fund-raising event with former President Barack Obama. However, he appeared tired during a 40-minute discussion onstage.

Two days after finally returning to the White House, Mr. Biden invited members of Congress, former administration officials and leading immigration experts to the White House to celebrate action taken under Mr. Obama to spare young undocumented immigrants, known as Dreamers, from deportation.

Two people with a clear view of Mr. Biden said his quiet, soft-spoken mumbling and occasional fumbling over the right words despite reading from a teleprompter left some in attendance concerned over his condition. He momentarily appeared unable to say the name of Mr. Mayorkas, his homeland security secretary, before recovering, leaving some in the audience jarred.

“Thanks to all the members of the Congress and Homeland Security Secretary — I — I’m not sure I’m going to introduce you all the way,” said Mr. Biden, who has contended with a stutter since childhood. “But all kidding aside, Secretary Mayorkas, as well as Secretary Becerra, and advocates and families for law enforcement, faith leaders, everybody is here.

While many were celebratory at the event, in which Mr. Biden announced a new program to grant relief to roughly 500,000 undocumented immigrants, some attendees shared their concerns about Mr. Biden’s condition with each other. “People were not feeling great,” one person said. Another person hoped it was just a “one-off” bad moment before Mr. Biden’s forthcoming debate.

Since the debate, Mr. Biden has tried to demonstrate that his trouble articulating himself that evening was not indicative of a larger problem. He gave a robust speech at a campaign rally the next day and attended a string of fund-raisers where he hoped to reassure nervous donors.

“He gave a strong speech, he didn’t stumble or mumble or look confused in any way,” said Judith Hope, the former chair of the New York State Democratic Party, who attended a fund-raiser in East Hampton on Saturday. “He was his old Uncle Joe self.”

Ms. Hope attributed the president’s debate troubles to his demanding schedule. “Are you aware of where he has been in the past seven days?” she said, raising her voice. “He continues to keep up a schedule that I could never dream of doing, that would totally defeat a younger person,” she added. “I think we need to examine our expectations.”

[OuttaNowhereWregget]

NY Times drops a safe on Biden {for the benefit of non-subscribers}

As a non-subscriber--I thank you. Keep 'em coming, OS. Good shtuff.

[a fan]

NY Times drops a safe on Biden {for the benefit of non-subscribers}
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/07/02/us/p ... apses.html

Biden’s Lapses Are Said to Be Increasingly Common and Worrisome
People who have spent time with President Biden over the last few months or so said the lapses appear to have grown more frequent, more pronounced and, after Thursday’s debate, more worrisome.

Example # 1,045,345 that the media isn't "liberal", nor in the pocket of Dems.

If Biden doesn't drop out? Trump wins. And the media called it out, for everyone to read.

[OuttaNowhereWregget]

This afternoon's White House press conference. Stunning. The lies and dodges and smokescreens--one after the other after the other. Obviously the pre-presser briefing for KJP was--we're doubling down, defend the wall, he had a cold, he had jet lag, look at his record, he cares more for the American people than he does himself--tripe, tripe, tripe. Just mind-blowing.

[NattyBohChamps04]

From one of the most successful legislative Presidential terms in recent history... Buttigieg, Cooper break ground on new Raleigh-to-Richmond high speed rail line

The $1.3 billion project funded by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law is the largest grant ever received by the NC Department of Transportation. It will provide passenger service between downtown Raleigh and Wake Forest by 2030 and is the first leg of a planned high-speed rail connection between Raleigh, Richmond, Virginia, and the Northeast.

Taking the train in to D.C. is always so much more relaxing than driving. Excited for more routes and faster ones too.

[OuttaNowhereWregget]

KJP - working overtime running cover for Biden yet still finds a way to be arrogant and condescending. "Have you had a cold before?" Too bad the reporter didn't have a snappier comeback.

"There's a cold. There's a jet lag. You combine that...he continues to work on the, with, for the American people day in and day out around the clock. Things happen."

Wow. Alrighty then.

[NattyBohChamps04]

It's amazing the narrative coming out calling for Ds to replace Biden. Fox has posted like 40 stories in 3 days about it.

You have to ask yourself, why are Trump supporters pushing so desperate to get Biden replaced? Wouldn't they just be happy running against the guy vs someone younger that they have little time to make up dirt on?


1.https://www.foxnews.com/live-news/biden ... olt-july-2

2.https://www.foxnews.com/politics/majori ... solid-poll

3.https://www.foxnews.com/politics/shadow ... -2024-race

4.https://www.foxnews.com/politics/fmr-to ... n-overload

5.https://www.foxnews.com/politics/fmr-to ... n-overload

6.https://www.foxnews.com/media/liberal-n ... nfuriating

7.https://www.foxnews.com/politics/atlant ... the-nation

8.https://www.foxnews.com/media/close-bid ... e-him-weep

9.https://www.foxnews.com/media/media-fig ... serve-term

10.https://www.foxnews.com/politics/biden- ... ed-bow-out

11.https://www.foxnews.com/media/ex-obama- ... den-ticket

12.https://www.foxnews.com/media/liberal-c ... hic-debate

13.https://www.foxnews.com/media/liberal-c ... hic-debate

14.https://www.foxnews.com/media/dnc-host- ... p-out-race

15.https://www.foxnews.com/politics/its-ti ... ide-harris

16.https://www.foxnews.com/politics/its-ti ... ide-harris

17.https://www.foxnews.com/politics/biden- ... -going-get

18.https://www.foxnews.com/politics/new-yo ... erformance

19.https://www.foxnews.com/media/biden-deb ... eplacement

20.https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/joe-bid ... akes-place

21.https://www.foxnews.com/politics/biden- ... nors-waver

22.https://www.foxnews.com/media/cnns-dana ... -desperate

23.https://www.foxnews.com/politics/biden- ... opping-out

24.https://www.foxnews.com/video/6356175200112

25.https://www.foxnews.com/politics/pressu ... from-biden

26.https://www.foxnews.com/politics/karine ... ous-debate

27.https://www.foxnews.com/media/democrat- ... lls-report

28.https://www.foxnews.com/politics/majori ... ident-poll

29.https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/bidens- ... uble-trump

30.https://www.foxnews.com/media/ny-times- ... -joe-biden

31.https://www.foxnews.com/politics/longti ... -startling

32.https://www.foxnews.com/politics/biden- ... erformance

33.https://www.foxnews.com/video/6355883033112

34.https://www.foxnews.com/politics/nikki- ... eplacement

35.https://www.foxnews.com/politics/newsom ... ign-expert

36.https://www.foxnews.com/media/hollywood ... ate-report

37.https://www.foxnews.com/politics/watch- ... bate-trump

38.https://www.foxnews.com/politics/democr ... -he-failed

39.https://www.foxnews.com/politics/jill-b ... g-him-race

40.https://www.foxnews.com/politics/former ... eavy-heart

[a fan]

From one of the most successful legislative Presidential terms in recent history... Buttigieg, Cooper break ground on new Raleigh-to-Richmond high speed rail line

The $1.3 billion project funded by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law is the largest grant ever received by the NC Department of Transportation. It will provide passenger service between downtown Raleigh and Wake Forest by 2030 and is the first leg of a planned high-speed rail connection between Raleigh, Richmond, Virginia, and the Northeast.

Taking the train in to D.C. is always so much more relaxing than driving. Excited for more routes and faster ones too.

More jobs, easier to get around in flyover country?

This is Biden, folks. Would be nice to, for the very first time, hear one of the Forums Republicans give this stuff a thumbs up.

Naaaah. He's old. Can't talk about the good things he's done, right?

[Typical Lax Dad]

From one of the most successful legislative Presidential terms in recent history... Buttigieg, Cooper break ground on new Raleigh-to-Richmond high speed rail line

The $1.3 billion project funded by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law is the largest grant ever received by the NC Department of Transportation. It will provide passenger service between downtown Raleigh and Wake Forest by 2030 and is the first leg of a planned high-speed rail connection between Raleigh, Richmond, Virginia, and the Northeast.

Taking the train in to D.C. is always so much more relaxing than driving. Excited for more routes and faster ones too.

That is great news. Economic development. Create more efficiency in the region along with more jobs. What’s the multiplier? That’s good government investment. Hopefully the Cleveland, Columbus, Cincinnati project launches.

[a fan]

KJP - working overtime running cover for Biden yet still finds a way to be arrogant and condescending. "Have you had a cold before?" Too bad the reporter didn't have a snappier comeback.

"There's a cold. There's a jet lag. You combine that...he continues to work on the, with, for the American people day in and day out around the clock. Things happen."

Wow. Alrighty then.

You know what's coming, right?

How old is Trump, again? And how often do the words out of his mouth make ANY sense?

They're going to hammer Trump for this same stuff for the next four years.

And you guys are gonna do the EXACT thing you're complaining about here: you're going to gaslight the rest of us Americans who don't support Trump, and tell us Trump's fine, and we're crazy for calling it out.

You prepping yourself for this, Wreggett?

[youthathletics]

I just wanna see KJP come out say “you know what, you all are right, Joe needs to go, and Jill is fuggin chit up, and making matters worse….I’m out and can’t take this lying and cover up anymore”….mic drop.

[NattyBohChamps04]

KJP - working overtime running cover for Biden yet still finds a way to be arrogant and condescending. "Have you had a cold before?" Too bad the reporter didn't have a snappier comeback.

"There's a cold. There's a jet lag. You combine that...he continues to work on the, with, for the American people day in and day out around the clock. Things happen."

Wow. Alrighty then.

You know what's coming, right?

How old is Trump, again? And how often do the words out of his mouth make ANY sense?

They're going to hammer Trump for this same stuff for the next four years.

And you guys are gonna do the EXACT thing you're complaining about here: you're going to gaslight the rest of us Americans who don't support Trump, and tell us Trump's fine, and we're crazy for calling it out.

You prepping yourself for this, Wreggett?

Trump regularly FELL ASLEEP at his own CRIMINAL TRIAL. If that doesn't speak to his old age and mental sharpness, I don't know what would.

On top of all the word salad, forgetfullness, pauses, and more that you mention.

Here's an interesting exercise for the forumites. Read the transcripts of the debate. Especially for anyone who is bashing Biden's performance. See if his actual words make sense or not.

[old salt]

From one of the most successful legislative Presidential terms in recent history... Buttigieg, Cooper break ground on new Raleigh-to-Richmond high speed rail line

The $1.3 billion project funded by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law is the largest grant ever received by the NC Department of Transportation. It will provide passenger service between downtown Raleigh and Wake Forest by 2030 and is the first leg of a planned high-speed rail connection between Raleigh, Richmond, Virginia, and the Northeast.

Taking the train in to D.C. is always so much more relaxing than driving. Excited for more routes and faster ones too.

More jobs, easier to get around in flyover country?

This is Biden, folks. Would be nice to, for the very first time, hear one of the Forums Republicans give this stuff a thumbs up.

Naaaah. He's old. Can't talk about the good things he's done, right?

...because the CA high speed pork barrel boondoggle destroyed all confidence in high speed rail in the US.

This upgrade of the Raleigh to Boston existing line should have been the lead project.

[a fan]

From one of the most successful legislative Presidential terms in recent history... Buttigieg, Cooper break ground on new Raleigh-to-Richmond high speed rail line

The $1.3 billion project funded by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law is the largest grant ever received by the NC Department of Transportation. It will provide passenger service between downtown Raleigh and Wake Forest by 2030 and is the first leg of a planned high-speed rail connection between Raleigh, Richmond, Virginia, and the Northeast.

Taking the train in to D.C. is always so much more relaxing than driving. Excited for more routes and faster ones too.

More jobs, easier to get around in flyover country?

This is Biden, folks. Would be nice to, for the very first time, hear one of the Forums Republicans give this stuff a thumbs up.

Naaaah. He's old. Can't talk about the good things he's done, right?

...because the CA high speed pork barrel boondoggle destroyed all confidence in high speed rail in the US.

This upgrade of the Raleigh to Boston existing line should have been the lead project.

Oh, that's easy to fix: call the California High Speed rail the "Department of Defense transit project".

Then you won't notice it's over budget. Or that he DoD auditor "can't find Los Angeles". Or that it can't pass an audit. Or that the end project doesn't work like so many DoD projects. Heck, call it "Star Wars High Speed Rail, and name the stations after Reagan.

We can go negative like this all day long. Or, you can simply say that even the most conservative of conservatives like infrastructure spending, and give Biden an "attaboy", since he didn't have thing one to do with California government miscues.

Your choice.

[OuttaNowhereWregget]

KJP - working overtime running cover for Biden yet still finds a way to be arrogant and condescending. "Have you had a cold before?" Too bad the reporter didn't have a snappier comeback.

"There's a cold. There's a jet lag. You combine that...he continues to work on the, with, for the American people day in and day out around the clock. Things happen."

Wow. Alrighty then.

You know what's coming, right?

How old is Trump, again? And how often do the words out of his mouth make ANY sense?

They're going to hammer Trump for this same stuff for the next four years.

And you guys are gonna do the EXACT thing you're complaining about here: you're going to gaslight the rest of us Americans who don't support Trump, and tell us Trump's fine, and we're crazy for calling it out.

You prepping yourself for this, Wregget?

I doubt I'll be around much after the election. I usually lose interest. I've only recently become intrigued with election years since Trump became part of the political landscape. I didn't follow the 2016 election year because I thought Trump was a joke and would lose to Hillary bigly. I was stunned when he got in. Then I started paying attention a little more. But not enough to write about it anywhere. Election year 2020 I was paying attention but I don't think I cared about it enough to write about it. I typically don't watch the news or read the newspaper because of how depressing the state of things is in the world. This election year has caught my interest and then some. But I know me. My pattern is that I lose interest after election day. Maybe this year will be different--I'll see when I get there.

As far as standing by Trump no matter what, I consider that implication ill-advised, if indeed you are directing it at me specifically, in light of the understanding I thought you and I reached the other day. I have criticized Trump on these boards as well. One search of my posts will bear that out. To group me in with Trump-no-matter-what apologists is unfair.

I hope we can continue to be civil and respectful to one another.

p.s. I still would like to hear more about fiscally conservative presidents--the question I asked the other day.

Hope you have an enjoyable 4th.

[MDlaxfan76]

ONW has been a prolific poster, some would say 'troll', on the women's lax boards despite not having any particular connection to the sport...'found it flipping channels'. Became very animated and avid about it; even now has his 'own' thread for his most random musings...other posters who do have a connection to the sport found him to be a whole lot of words that were not complimentary.

That's happening now on the Politics threads.

I think we're going to see the same over the top barrage of same sets of views repeated and repeated and repeated, scouring the internet for content, without any interest in actual discussion, at least not with those with differing perspectives. If not, great. But that's my prediction based on posts so far.

Joe, you are right that constant barrage with no discussion is unhelpful to discussion.

Regardless of who is supported or attacked.

That said, actual discussion can be interesting with those not in full agreement.
But it needs to be in good faith.

Posters who don't do so just clog things up for everyone else.

[old salt]

From one of the most successful legislative Presidential terms in recent history... Buttigieg, Cooper break ground on new Raleigh-to-Richmond high speed rail line

The $1.3 billion project funded by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law is the largest grant ever received by the NC Department of Transportation. It will provide passenger service between downtown Raleigh and Wake Forest by 2030 and is the first leg of a planned high-speed rail connection between Raleigh, Richmond, Virginia, and the Northeast.

Taking the train in to D.C. is always so much more relaxing than driving. Excited for more routes and faster ones too.

More jobs, easier to get around in flyover country?

This is Biden, folks. Would be nice to, for the very first time, hear one of the Forums Republicans give this stuff a thumbs up.

Naaaah. He's old. Can't talk about the good things he's done, right?

...because the CA high speed pork barrel boondoggle destroyed all confidence in high speed rail in the US.

This upgrade of the Raleigh to Boston existing line should have been the lead project.

Oh, that's easy to fix: call the California High Speed rail the "Department of Defense transit project".

Then you won't notice it's over budget. Or that he DoD auditor "can't find Los Angeles". Or that it can't pass an audit. Or that the end project doesn't work like so many DoD projects. Heck, call it "Star Wars High Speed Rail, and name the stations after Reagan.

We can go negative like this all day long. Or, you can simply say that even the most conservative of conservatives like infrastructure spending, and give Biden an "attaboy", since he didn't have thing one to do with California government miscues.

Your choice.

Sure, Conservatives approve of projects that make sense & are actually possible to complete.

Keep harping on DoD bean counting, while the world stands in line to buy the weapons we developed & purchased, faster than we can produce them.

We're diverting Patriot interceptors to Ukraine from allies who have contracted to purchase them, ...they'll have to wait.

How did Macron like losing the nuc sub contracts to AUKUS ?

[old salt]

You know what's coming, right?

How old is Trump, again? And how often do the words out of his mouth make ANY sense?

They're going to hammer Trump for this same stuff for the next four years.

And you guys are gonna do the EXACT thing you're complaining about here: you're going to gaslight the rest of us Americans who don't support Trump, and tell us Trump's fine, and we're crazy for calling it out.

The media has been doing it to Trump since 2015. The public gets it.

The media has finally been embarrassed into covering Biden. The public sees the difference & is responding accordingly.