SocraticGadfly: I come to bury Biden, not praise him

June 29, 2024

I come to bury Biden, not praise him

Boy, what a clusterfuck that was June 27!

That said, NO Dem is "stepping forward," contra Politico, to replace him. Maybe DNC minions will organize something in a vape-filled back room, but NO elected politico is stepping forward and inviting a massive sniper squad as a target.

(And, contra the "just a cold" people, Biden's debate prep reportedly went fine.)

As for the "fun"? Here's just a few of my tweets, from oldest to newest, late Thursday:

And:

And:

And:

And:

And:

And:

And:

And:

And:

But, let's go to one or to others. Like, this massive tool and knob of the Blue MAGA / BlueAnon world:

Finally, I'm not a duopolist, so don't blame me. I'm not a Jill Stein-supporting duopolist, so don't blame me for her hypocrisy. Vote PSL.

Speaking of, I assume Jeet's take at The Nation wasn't bad for the left hand of the duopoly. (Not a paid subscriber.) At least it's not John Nichols.

Left-BlueAnon Jared Yates Sexton says "Joe's gotta go."

A majority of Democratic voters agree. 

That's as Puff Hoes talks about "a newly energized Joe Biden" hitting the stump a day later.

But, the most interesting and most in depth comes for last. Sy Hersh has this Substack free. 

He starts by saying this isn't new, and referencing it to the Ukraine and Gaza situations:

The reality behind all of this, as I’ve been told for months, is that the president is simply no longer there, in terms of understanding the contradictions of the policies he and his foreign policy advisers have been carrying out.

Not buying it. This may be "Irish Alzheimer's Joe," or on Israel, "Leon Uris Exodus Joe," as I've said before. I do NOT think the two wars are #DementiaJoe.

That said, the nut graf is here:

The real disgrace is not only Biden’s, but those of the men and women around him who have kept him more and more under wraps. He is a captive, and as he rapidly diminished over the past six months. I have been hearing for months about the increasing isolation of the president, from his one-time pals in the Senate, who find that he is unable to return their calls. Another old family friend, whose help has been sought by Biden on key issues since his days as vice president, told me of a plaintive call from the president many months ago. Biden said the White House was in chaos and he needed his friend’s help. The friend said he begged off and then told me, with a laugh: “I would rather have a root canal procedure every day than go to work there.” A long retired Senate colleague was invited by Biden to join him on a foreign trip, and the two played cards and shared a drink or two on the Air Force One flight going out. The senator was barred by Biden’s staff from joining the return flight home.

Who's to blame? Sy says it's Tom Donilon, and ties it back to Nat-Sec Nutsacks™ land by saying Donilon wanted to be Biden's CIA head.

That said, as far as booting Biden? Not all of Hersh's sources agree. A few want to ride it out, and a few think it's already too late, so just bite the bullet:

Not everyone I talked to today agreed that it is time to force a Biden resignation and hope for the best at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago in August—to dump the ticket and seek new candidates. “My humble opinion,” one longtime contributor to the Democratic Party told me, “is to let the dust settle. Must examine the realistic options before some quick reaction creates an internal Democratic Party split with far-reaching consequences beyond 2024. Accept reality . . . 2024 is likely beyond recovery at this point. Too steep a hill to climb. Plan and execute a long-term plan to counter Mr. Orange and build a moderate platform for the recovery . . . and let Biden wander off to the Jersey Pine Barrens.”

Well, that's interesting.

That said, Allan Lichtman, who's correctly predicted nine of the last 10 races, says that Dems shouldn't dump Biden. He starts by noting Reagan's first-debate clusterfuck in 1984, which I remember, too, and notes concerns about Reagan's age back then.

Besides, there's other good news. Whether because of the early midsummer date or because lots of Merikkka knew in advance it would be train wreck, one-third fewer people watched than four years ago.

And, in addition, Biden will forget about this soon enough anyway.

Kuffner, after more than 24 hours? Still silent, still pretending nothing's happening. Three posts Friday, three Saturday, at least three Sunday before his usual link dump.

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at Saturday, June 29, 2024 Posted by Gadfly

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