Well said, as ever. Anyone can have a bad day (or night, or moment). It's appalling that so many people want to toss President Biden aside because of a bad debate performance, without demanding the same of trump, who spent 90 minutes lying, making up total BS and sidestepping questions he didn't want to answer. Interesting that the video of President Biden at the after party just after the debate ended showed him more animated and articulate than during the debate. And his campaign speech the next day was nothing short of his energetic State of the Union performance.
I think POTUS's image will be rehabilitated in short order. The hysteria over his admittedly poor debate performance will subside. Just ask Barack Obama about one disastrous debate. It's not the end of his candidacy. But it's probably going to be just the catalyst needed to give the Biden campaign more energy.
I’m ridin’ with Biden too. What you wrote in this piece hits home with me. Who hasn’t had a bad day or night in their life and who then felt badly after they dropped the ball thrown directly into their hands by someone who expected you to catch it? Joe Biden has 5 decades of federal government experience under his belt and a long list of accomplishments during his current term as President. Although I chose not to view the so called debate live on CNN, I viewed a couple of dropped balls by Biden during the show rehash afterwards on Cable TV. Again as you pointed out, Biden has acknowledged that he dropped a few footballs during the debate but has recovered nicely after the 90 minutes. Everyone who I know acknowledges that they have had dropped balls In their lives like Joe Biden did. We need to extend him the grace that others have extended to us when we have dropped a ball thrown to us. Unquestionably for me Joe Biden is the President that I will be supporting and voting for re-election. I urge everyone to go all out in working to get Joe Biden elected. There can be no alternative to Joe Biden being elected once more in 2024.
Joe looked like me when I went into work sick, knowing full well that I should have stayed home. Trump is a fire hose of stuff use to fertilize fields that even a Olympic athlete would have trouble ducking.
You’re so right, Bob. Biden has been one of the best presidents we could’ve hoped for in a very long time. Even if he isn’t as sharp as he used to be, he has made amazing decisions and if Trump wins Putin will take over all of Europe, country by country starting, of course, with Ukraine.
I agree with you 100%, Bob! Your message convinced me to buy 500 postcards to swing states. I also recommend a recent podcast by Rick Wilson, Lincoln Project, where he talks about how a pilot handles an emergency situation; rule no. one is to 'keep flying the plane and staying calm' and keep doing this while simultaneously assessing the situation to see what's gone wrong and then how to address or work around these things. Kind of like 'ready, aim, fire' instead of 'ready, fire, aim.' I have every confidence in Joe Biden that he would step down if he really believed that he could not do the job and could not win this election because, totally unlike Trump, he cares about our country and all of the people who live in it, not to mention our nation's role as a world leader!!! I also appreciate you quoting Stuart Stevens; especially where he talks about Democrats losing races they should have won because of Democrats fighting with each other or at least not pulling together. Also, I'm very annoyed by 'kneejerk reactions', based on emotions of fear before knowing all the essential facts, pretending to be or being portrayed as honest and open discussions! Additionally, those calling for Biden to step down appear to have no clue about who will take the torch (or suggesting people who do not have the national name recognition and backing political campaign machinery and momentum) to win the election in November or they offer a ridiculous proposal for Democrats to quickly throw together a brand new (not to mention untested) process to pick another Democratic nominee with the political strength to win. In summary; I say 'get a grip' to those calling for Biden to step down; figure out what the real problems are and what the real solutions are; i.e. solutions that truly fix the problems without creating new or bigger problems; before applying the solutions!
Bob you’ve written some very insightful pieces in the ten years I’ve been following you. I agree with you, almost to the letter usually. But I have to disagree completely here.
Joe Biden has looked and sounded frail, elderly, for several months. Yes, he did knock it out of the park in his state of the union. But it was clear in this debate that he couldn’t keep up with Trump mentally.
Joe Biden has been a great servant of our country, he had an exceptional 4 years. But his season has come and gone. Does anyone really think he’ll be better at the next debate? Will he be better a year from now, or in 2 years? We all know these answers. The truth is he probably should not be president today.
I’m not a Democrat, but I’m a proud liberal/ progressive. If the choice ends up as Biden vs Trump, if they roll Biden in laying in a wheel barrow wearing a diaper and sucking his thumb, I’m voting for him.
But the voters who were on the fence - think they are on the fence after this debate?
First though - Biden’s advisors have really F’d up. Or at least it sure seems that way.
I was a USMC F/A-18 pilot. In the brief before every important mission we covered “what if’s” - contingency plans in the event of unplanned circumstances. How could his closest advisors and Democratic leaders not have “what if’d” this? How could they have not forseen this possibility? If we learned 3 weeks from now that Joe Biden died in his sleep, would anyone really ask, “who could have seen that coming, what a shock?” Of course it wouldn’t be a shock.
Who knows, maybe Biden’s inner circle does have a plan, but it sure doesn’t look like it at this moment.
Meanwhile, hope isn’t going to work from this point. They have to take some bold steps - Michelle Obama kind of bold ideally. Making excuses for Biden isn’t going to help. Biden isn’t going to get better.
There is time. D’s can get it together, convince Biden stepping down is the only road ahead, chose a solid successor. OR - do nothing and simply accept the inevitability of Trump 2.0, and continue to watch Biden’s physical and mental degradation. It’s not going to get better.
I'm working on my 200 postcards for Michigan, another very important state we need to win!
Thanks for for your insight on the Big night, and the value of standing by our guy. As Tammy Wynette sang, “Stand by Your Man,” and Biden is our President we will stand by for this critical election. The other guy is Not what our children and grandchildren need in their future.
I was among those who had ambivalent feelings about the debate and what should the party do? Biden absolutely had a horrible night and a cold. The next day, he had a spectacular day in a rally in North Carolina and a crowd that was wildly on his side. You are absolutely right about the chaos that an open convention would generate. The last one I can remember and the only one was Chicago in 1968. Hubert Humphrey kind of survived that and was closing in on Nixon at the end of the campaign and would have won if the campaign had lasted another week. There's really not a parallel but then again there is. But you and your expansive message ought to be repeated in the New York Times and Washington Post. To be absolutely honest, I like times like this:
Seamus Heaney, the Irish Poet and Nobel Prize winner said: History says/Don't hope on this side of the grave/But then, once in a lifetime//The longed for tidal wave/Of justice can rise up/And hope and history rhyme. I'm gonna sign up for the postcards too.
Well said, as ever. Anyone can have a bad day (or night, or moment). It's appalling that so many people want to toss President Biden aside because of a bad debate performance, without demanding the same of trump, who spent 90 minutes lying, making up total BS and sidestepping questions he didn't want to answer. Interesting that the video of President Biden at the after party just after the debate ended showed him more animated and articulate than during the debate. And his campaign speech the next day was nothing short of his energetic State of the Union performance.
I think POTUS's image will be rehabilitated in short order. The hysteria over his admittedly poor debate performance will subside. Just ask Barack Obama about one disastrous debate. It's not the end of his candidacy. But it's probably going to be just the catalyst needed to give the Biden campaign more energy.
I’m ridin’ with Biden too. What you wrote in this piece hits home with me. Who hasn’t had a bad day or night in their life and who then felt badly after they dropped the ball thrown directly into their hands by someone who expected you to catch it? Joe Biden has 5 decades of federal government experience under his belt and a long list of accomplishments during his current term as President. Although I chose not to view the so called debate live on CNN, I viewed a couple of dropped balls by Biden during the show rehash afterwards on Cable TV. Again as you pointed out, Biden has acknowledged that he dropped a few footballs during the debate but has recovered nicely after the 90 minutes. Everyone who I know acknowledges that they have had dropped balls In their lives like Joe Biden did. We need to extend him the grace that others have extended to us when we have dropped a ball thrown to us. Unquestionably for me Joe Biden is the President that I will be supporting and voting for re-election. I urge everyone to go all out in working to get Joe Biden elected. There can be no alternative to Joe Biden being elected once more in 2024.
Joe looked like me when I went into work sick, knowing full well that I should have stayed home. Trump is a fire hose of stuff use to fertilize fields that even a Olympic athlete would have trouble ducking.
You’re so right, Bob. Biden has been one of the best presidents we could’ve hoped for in a very long time. Even if he isn’t as sharp as he used to be, he has made amazing decisions and if Trump wins Putin will take over all of Europe, country by country starting, of course, with Ukraine.
I agree with you 100%, Bob! Your message convinced me to buy 500 postcards to swing states. I also recommend a recent podcast by Rick Wilson, Lincoln Project, where he talks about how a pilot handles an emergency situation; rule no. one is to 'keep flying the plane and staying calm' and keep doing this while simultaneously assessing the situation to see what's gone wrong and then how to address or work around these things. Kind of like 'ready, aim, fire' instead of 'ready, fire, aim.' I have every confidence in Joe Biden that he would step down if he really believed that he could not do the job and could not win this election because, totally unlike Trump, he cares about our country and all of the people who live in it, not to mention our nation's role as a world leader!!! I also appreciate you quoting Stuart Stevens; especially where he talks about Democrats losing races they should have won because of Democrats fighting with each other or at least not pulling together. Also, I'm very annoyed by 'kneejerk reactions', based on emotions of fear before knowing all the essential facts, pretending to be or being portrayed as honest and open discussions! Additionally, those calling for Biden to step down appear to have no clue about who will take the torch (or suggesting people who do not have the national name recognition and backing political campaign machinery and momentum) to win the election in November or they offer a ridiculous proposal for Democrats to quickly throw together a brand new (not to mention untested) process to pick another Democratic nominee with the political strength to win. In summary; I say 'get a grip' to those calling for Biden to step down; figure out what the real problems are and what the real solutions are; i.e. solutions that truly fix the problems without creating new or bigger problems; before applying the solutions!
Thank you for sharing this, Larry. I hope you'll find that postcard writing therapeutic. I do. Much more useful than doomscrolling Twitter!
I signed up for Postcards. Thanks for the info
Great! Happy writing!
Bob you’ve written some very insightful pieces in the ten years I’ve been following you. I agree with you, almost to the letter usually. But I have to disagree completely here.
Joe Biden has looked and sounded frail, elderly, for several months. Yes, he did knock it out of the park in his state of the union. But it was clear in this debate that he couldn’t keep up with Trump mentally.
Joe Biden has been a great servant of our country, he had an exceptional 4 years. But his season has come and gone. Does anyone really think he’ll be better at the next debate? Will he be better a year from now, or in 2 years? We all know these answers. The truth is he probably should not be president today.
I’m not a Democrat, but I’m a proud liberal/ progressive. If the choice ends up as Biden vs Trump, if they roll Biden in laying in a wheel barrow wearing a diaper and sucking his thumb, I’m voting for him.
But the voters who were on the fence - think they are on the fence after this debate?
First though - Biden’s advisors have really F’d up. Or at least it sure seems that way.
I was a USMC F/A-18 pilot. In the brief before every important mission we covered “what if’s” - contingency plans in the event of unplanned circumstances. How could his closest advisors and Democratic leaders not have “what if’d” this? How could they have not forseen this possibility? If we learned 3 weeks from now that Joe Biden died in his sleep, would anyone really ask, “who could have seen that coming, what a shock?” Of course it wouldn’t be a shock.
Who knows, maybe Biden’s inner circle does have a plan, but it sure doesn’t look like it at this moment.
Meanwhile, hope isn’t going to work from this point. They have to take some bold steps - Michelle Obama kind of bold ideally. Making excuses for Biden isn’t going to help. Biden isn’t going to get better.
There is time. D’s can get it together, convince Biden stepping down is the only road ahead, chose a solid successor. OR - do nothing and simply accept the inevitability of Trump 2.0, and continue to watch Biden’s physical and mental degradation. It’s not going to get better.
Sorry that I could not persuade you on this one. I appreciate that you were willing to read it.
I'm working on my 200 postcards for Michigan, another very important state we need to win!
Thanks for for your insight on the Big night, and the value of standing by our guy. As Tammy Wynette sang, “Stand by Your Man,” and Biden is our President we will stand by for this critical election. The other guy is Not what our children and grandchildren need in their future.
I’m riding with Biden too! Thanks for a great article - as usual!
Bob,
I was among those who had ambivalent feelings about the debate and what should the party do? Biden absolutely had a horrible night and a cold. The next day, he had a spectacular day in a rally in North Carolina and a crowd that was wildly on his side. You are absolutely right about the chaos that an open convention would generate. The last one I can remember and the only one was Chicago in 1968. Hubert Humphrey kind of survived that and was closing in on Nixon at the end of the campaign and would have won if the campaign had lasted another week. There's really not a parallel but then again there is. But you and your expansive message ought to be repeated in the New York Times and Washington Post. To be absolutely honest, I like times like this:
Seamus Heaney, the Irish Poet and Nobel Prize winner said: History says/Don't hope on this side of the grave/But then, once in a lifetime//The longed for tidal wave/Of justice can rise up/And hope and history rhyme. I'm gonna sign up for the postcards too.