The Real Danger Within the Democratic Party of a Fundamental Crack-Up
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- čas přidán 8. 07. 2024
- It was once a fringe opinion to say President Biden should drop his re-election bid and Democrats should embrace an open convention. That position is fringe no more. But when the conventional wisdom shifts this rapidly, there’s always the danger of overlooking its potential flaws.
My colleague, the Times Opinion columnist Jamelle Bouie, has been making some of the strongest arguments against Biden dropping out and throwing the nomination contest to a brokered convention. So I invited him on the show to talk through where he and I diverge and how our thinking is changing.
Book Recommendations:
Into the Bright Sunshine (global.oup.com/academic/produ...) by Samuel G. Freedman
Wide Awake (www.bloomsbury.com/us/wide-aw...) by Jon Grinspan
Illiberal America (wwnorton.com/books/9780393635928) by Steven Hahn
Thoughts? Guest suggestions? Email us at ezrakleinshow@nytimes.com.
You can find transcripts (posted midday) and more episodes of “The Ezra Klein Show” at nytimes.com/ezra-klein-podcast (www.nytimes.com/column/ezra-k...) . Book recommendations from all our guests are listed at www.nytimes.com/article/ezra-... (www.nytimes.com/article/ezra-...) .
This episode of “The Ezra Klein Show” was produced by Elias Isquith. Fact-checking by Michelle Harris, with Kate Sinclair and Mary Marge Locker. Our senior engineer is Jeff Geld, with additional mixing by Efim Shapiro and Aman Sahota. Our senior editor is Claire Gordon. The show’s production team also includes Annie Galvin, Rollin Hu and Kristin Lin. Original music by Isaac Jones. Audience strategy by Kristina Samulewski and Shannon Busta. The executive producer of New York Times Opinion Audio is Annie-Rose Strasser. Special thanks to Sonia Herrero.
It’s one thing to support Biden. It’s another thing to destroy people trust of the Democratic Party by telling them they are “bed wetters” for just recognizing a weakness in this candidate in this important time in democracy.
Exactly. I feel like so many institutions and centers of power are making mistakes like this and then wondering why trust in them is falling
That's what the DNC and mainstream Democrats do. "You can't complain! Fall in line!" Is how progressives and critics on the left are dealt with.
Bidens weaknesses can simply be mitigated with AI to digitally enhance him physically & remove stutters / gaffes.
Biden is the best person to beat Biden. Just look at thr record between Biden and Trump. Biden has a great team around him. Trump people that had around him are, awaiting court, in prison. Most people would rather have Biden than project 25 and a felon that is wanting to take away the people rights. Vote Biden is great. Trump is a danger to USA. VOTE BIDEN ALL THE WAY.
Whaaaaa Whaaaa. Democracy
I’m getting Ruth Bader Ginsburg flashbacks.
That was the first thought that came through my mind. Democrats keep losing because they would rather hang to power than make hard decisions.
You mean Diane Feinstein who died in office in the past year, and didn’t even know she was dying
RBG didn't have a Vice Supreme Court Member. Biden will have a Vice President. I'ce said before that this will be a race of Vice Presidents and not Presidents for the first time in American history and even of the history of democracies.
@@shaunzaarrae3727 Let's hope she can convince the Lord Almighty to come down.
Joe Biden Ginsburg
NYT is so out of touch with the average worker in America.
How so?
@@Michilar : Not understanding anything about what their lives are like, how they think, what they value, and how they come to conclusions about the world.
@@MichilarBecause they, like the rest of the bicoastal D elites, live in a complete bubble.
@@itsallfunandgames723 I agree that in general, the pundits don't really understand what motivates people, etc, however, in the case of Biden, I think they are more on the mark than off the mark. The vast majority of even Democrats did not want Biden to run and that was before the debate.
The New York Times worships at the altar of the Corporate Duopoly. They are pathetic scumbags.
“He has a good team” is not cutting it when the Middle East is on fire and there is another war with a nuclear power. He can’t just dodder through this. This is absolutely unacceptable.
Keeping DEMENTIA Secret
since 2019 also unacceptable.
What planet are you on? (1) Shale Revolution = We no longer care about the Middle East's oil. (2) We're done trying to deal with a mess in the Middle East that Britain and France created with Sykes-Picot. (3) You can't be isolationist and anti-war/anti-corporation AND also demand that we "do something". (4) Biden has done more not only to repair our alliances and build new ones in 3 years than the last several administrations combined. (5) He'll probably do more in the next few years than you will accomplish in your CZcams lifetime.
@@ShirleyAnnPetrillo-oj7sc I agree: You should have told us, Shirley. I can never trust you, now. 🙄
It is unacceptable and, with this now being public knowledge, it is enough to hand the presidency to Trump (unless Biden steps down and ends the insult to American voters).
@@ronald3836 I believe people would rather vote for Biden's coffin than to allow Trump and MAGA to get anywhere near the White House or any other position of power ever again. That said, Progressives need to be blocked, too.
Why are we arguing about how little someone can do to still be fulfilling the duties of president?
Karine Jeane Pierre yesterday in the Press Briefing being like "He had an EIGHTEEN MINUTE! phone call with the congressional black caucus yesterday!" like she's a proud mamma talking about how good her baby did.
Biden has spoken publicly 16 times since the debate yet the media dwells on one. Motive?
@@lindamckibben2828 Clearly it's a conspiracy. 🙄
@@lindamckibben2828 Watch his most recent NATO speech and comment here again.
@@lindamckibben2828 one? Have you watched the interviews he's done since, or the coverage of the NATO summit?
This didn't age well already
I love how the NYT is like, trying to distance themselves from the shit show that is the Democratic Party. The NYT are the Democratic Party. They're one and the same. But like rats deserting the always sinking ship, now they're all condescending and coolly judgmental. Joe Biden's condition doesn't need to be carefully parsed and considered. It speaks for itself.
This podcast episode perfectly encapsulates the Democratic Party’s inability to react to challenges and just bury its head into the sand. They come up with a million excuses not to improve the situation and let their leadership stay in power. Should be called the Party Formerly Known as Democratic.
The largest investment in the Infrastructure Act since the Eisenhower Highway Program, Biden did it.
-Inflation Reduction Act in that we see the largest investment in Green Energy in America's history, creating the most American JOBS in green energy in history, assures the US leadership in green energy while impacting the health of our planet over the next decade, Biden did it. Medicare is finally able to negotiate drug prices for seniors, capping insulin costs to $35 per month, Biden did it. Expanded Veteran's healthcare coverage, yep Biden. Chips and Science Act investing in American manufacturing Biden's. Ended America's longest war when multiple Presidents couldn't summon the result, Biden again. A bunch of student debt relief, yep, Biden. An incredible vaccine rollout in the American Rescue Plan for America to recover under Biden. National Labor Relations Board protects the rights of private-sector employees, under Biden. There is something to vote for in 2024. Vote.
And to say there's no "evidence" that Harris is a bad candidate, is absolute lunacy. The evidence is all over CZcams. Google: Tulsi Gabbard Harris debate.
Of course Ezra loves the Democrat establishment when he gets the invites to the luncheons
It’s fascinating. A lot of talk about how to influence public opinion based on optics, and perception. Zero talk about how to help the country, which should be the goal of a political party.
It’s all about convincing people to not believe what they’re experiencing and to buy the spin.
Really well said
This sounds to me, listening to it, like an attempt to walk back the Times's full-throated calls for Biden to step down.
Blue MAGA is out there, they can't be reasoned with, they can't be bargained with and they absolutely will not stop, EVER.
The thing is, news organizations aren’t really unified institutions with a single opinion. There are probably a lot of journalists with major disagreements on this in the NYT
Why is everyone ignoring that the 25th Amendment can be used to remove him?
Because it would be hard. It takes a majority of either congress of a majority of principal officers of executive departments declaring that he is incapacitated to the point that he can't execute his duties. That is a high bar which he doesn't appear to have met yet, even if it seems he likely will within 4 years. It is also a move that Biden can contest
@@youareobscure Thanks for that answer. I didn't realize it was that complicated because when Trump was president I kept hearing CNN panels saying that his cabinet can just take a vote & use the 25th amendment to boot him out. They made it sound like it was something quick.
@@notawinemom8540 The cabinet would be at least part of the principal officers. But yeah, since it requires him to be unable to perform his duties then if he arguably isn't, then it could be contested in court
@@notawinemom8540 That's only for when Democrats are doing it.
@fredfreddy8684 how?
If it were done right, Joe Biden handing the baton forward to another generation could be a powerful compelling example of a party that is all about the future, in stark contrast to the man who only serves himself. It’s not a defeat for Biden but showing him as up there in stature with George Washington, who also passed the baton forward.
So many Secrets. So much Money.
So many Top Ranked Democrats
involved.
REALITY has arrived. Consequences will follow soon
Bidens basically George Washington. Got it.
@@WhizzingFish12 He could be, but he refuses.
None of these people will say it, but they've trapped themselves with Identity Politics. They've trapped themselves in a DEI cage.
They know Kamala can't win, they know she's radioactive, but they can't fire the DEI hire.
Biden has spoken publicly 16 times since the debate yet the media dwells on one. Motive?
The cope is real for these partisan people. Arguing about how little he does vs. the administration.
He's the president he needs to be ready at all hours and lead his own staff. Not the other way around which it has been (he needs cards higlighting what to do at events, what questions will be asked, lots of teleprompter speeches etc.) When he's on his own he struggles and thats what people see.
Most independent/swing voters focus on the candidate and it's clear Biden isn't the person he was even a few years ago.
Trump did even less. He just made speeches, signed stuff other people took care of, played golf and watched TV. That why the presidency didn't age him like it did all other presidents.
I agree, except Warren Buffet? Or
"He is not making strange or erratic decisions in the way Trump did."
At the end of this four years, Biden's excellent staff has got to be burn't out. But if Trump had to be constantly surrounded with people to prop him up.... Isn't a Propped up Biden preferrable?
I think people are reading into Biden's stutter way too much. My father has a stutter. He's almost the same age as Biden, and he talks in a very similar way. Especially if he's under pressure, or getting emotional, it comes out. He's getting old, he used to be able to compensate for it better.
When I watched the debate, that's what I saw. And old guy who's stutter is coming out, under extreme pressure. It's a shame, because people listen to the way you talk, and naturally draw conclusions about your intelligence.
I've seen this happen with my old man his whole life. He's professionally licensed as both a mechanical and industrial engineer, and spent his career working for defense contractors designing and testing vertical launch missile systems. He's no fool. But God forbid he stutters, or he has to restart a sentence. If he does that, even the clerk at the pharmacy will start to condescend to him and talk to him like he's five.
Some people just communicate differently. They require a little bit more time. It's not automatically linked to their intelligence or mental capacity.
I will say, I never understood why/how Biden won the primaries. It's really weird that this is the candidate the party chose. I am also quite surprised that liberals seemed totally unaware of how Biden speaks. When he was one candidate among many in the primary, I didn't vote for him. But here we are.
But the president doesn't do everything in government, we don't live in an authoritarian dictatorship.
A narcissist old man doesn’t know want to leave 🤔
Which narcissist old man are we talking about, again?
@@WhiteCamry Both, of course
Or maybe he knows he's the only one who can beat a real narcissist, you know, the type that puts his name on everything and attacks people who stop being subservient.
Has never happened before in history...
@@facespaz you mean the guy whose threatening the country. If I don’t win you deserve trump… hmm i like being a hostage
Robbers never enjoy their theft; they must always pay the piper. The democrat party decided to play banana Republic.
Insinuating that Joe Biden is handling global crises w aplomb at this moment is buck wild.😂
The problem with all this Harris/not Harris, Convention/not Convention is the party is consumed with how to make what they do APEAR FAIR, rather then focusing on what the FAIREST THING THEY COULD DO IS. As soon as your going to the second order of trying to figure out how to make your action APEAR some way rather then having a commitment to the thing in itself you are gaslighting and people know it.
Even with as talented as Ezra is, I'm paused at 0:58 asking myself if I want to continue listening. -Why wait so many days after recording a discussion about something developing so fast that your listeners will be far more informed than you were when you had the discussion? Ezra hadn't heard about the Warner visit cancelation (or even the plan for it, I don't think), the Parkinsons doctor visits, the rising number of black church leaders opposing Biden dropping out ..... hadn't even watched the Friday ABC interview yet .... my goodness that feels like ages ago!
Having the Black church cravenly weaponized again is tiring.
@@jimAthompsonfuel4u Oh right, let's weaponize Ezra instead.
I found it interesting anyway, but yes, in a fast-moving situation like this, they need to get the podcast out in hours, not days -- even at the price of not editing it as well.
@@5pp000 LOL I decided not to listen and there in my right-side suggestion feed, what do I see but a new Michael Moore upload about the same subject. I was like 'YES!' because I was still in the mood to hear a good rant about Biden .... so I clicked on it .... and Moore had ALSO recorded his on Friday (but at least he had seen the ABC interview0).
Oy!
Well said!
Amazing how people are trying to justify the unjustifiable - seriously undermines the claim by the USA being a role model - makes the need to consider alternatives imperative
If you think Biden should stay, then I think you should get a team of carers too.
POTUS is not a part-time position. What if critical decisions needs must be made outside of Biden's 6 hour window of lucidity? The very fact that this conversation must take place answers the question it poses.
The question that begs to be addressed is how do we reverse the deterioration of our society that has us making a choice for POTUS between two such obviously unfit candidates.
So what if he has a good staff as you say. And so what if having a good staff is an important part of being President. Is is not ok for the staff to run the country. You need a President who is strong enough and wise enough to be able to make a decision when he feels his adviser’s advice is wrong. You need a President who can think for himself. Biden cannot. He is not fit to serve and should resign immediately.
If the stories about Trump's incompetency as a leader are even half true, he makes Biden look like Bismark.
You say it's not okay for the staff to run the country.... says who? why not?
Are we just gonna ignore Michelle Obama polling extremely high? Harris concerns aren't that she's a black women, it's that she's not confident nor does she seem genuine.
Michelle has emphatically stated that she is not interested; she hates politics. Agree with you about Harris.
The problem the Democrats have is exactly the same as the center-left and left-wing parties have in Europe. They’ve left large swaths of the electorate behind in pursuit of their dreams. And if you have more immediate concerns, like paying for groceries, tough. The professors never taught their young protégés that there were people who didn’t much care about things like carbon neutrality if they couldn’t feed their families.
democrats have had very little role in US federal economic policy. If you can find me a lasting federal economic policy that emanated from progressives in the last 30 years, I'll eat my shoe. You don't see stock buybacks dominating fortune50 company budgets, and private equity destroying healthy businesses, because of center-left economics.
IMO, the amazing thing is the Republicans have branded themselves as the party of the economy, and this is still widely believed, even after they've totally destroyed the economy. Every important industry today is dominated by a monopoly or an oligopoly. Their colossal size, and the lack of competition, means they can price gouge. You're talking about groceries... grocery stores have merged down in just a few giant companies. Then when you go inside the grocery store, odds are, 88% of what you spend at the grocery store goes to PepsiCo conglomerate. Not to mention, meat packing, dairy, and US agriculture have all become dominated by cartels and oligopolies.
This is why you feel like you're getting ripped off a dozen different ways... you are! Between health insurance, healthcare, housing, groceries tech products, airlines, power, media... you are being harmed by the lack of fair competition in the US economy. And that's not the result of progressive policies. That's flat Reaganism.
Republicans destroyed the economy in 2008 through deregulation, then authorized the bailouts while GWB admin was calling the shots. GWB used deficit spending w/Medicare Part D, which was widely seen as a handout to his core constituency. Trump admin, 2017 tax code, we freely added two trillion to the deficit to pay for tax cuts for millionaires and dole out another handout to the richest companies in the world.
And yet, the Republican's branding is so good, they're still considered fiscally conservative, and the party who knows how to run the economy. Even when their actual record on the economy is just a litany of catastrophic failures. You literally could not be _more_ wrong on economic policy, than the Republican party has been for the last 25 years straight.
Groceries are going to get a lot higher in the coming years. With climate change, a lack of people to harvest crops and no water for crops you're going to see farms close or food rot in the fields. I really worry about what is coming and pray it's not Trump handling the next four years.
Except those same voters found out you can't advance EVER under the parties of the Right, who promote only about profit and tax breaks for the wealthy at best and nationalism and racism and concentration camps at the worst.
And NEVER about say, supplemental income and actual affordable housing, because their donors and owners would have their taxes raised on their zillions.
@@ashley3471I pray with you, Ashley, to any Gods that love us!
In New York State we already saw fruit crops rot on the ground last year, because of anti immigrant hate in the areas where we could have put those folks to seasonal work!
Ashley is right -expenses will rise as resources fall and we get a reputation for turning away people running from worse poverty than we have seen since the Dust Bowl days, people who just might be willing to work at any job at all. Do you want them to be picking crops, learning to be elder caregivers, answering the census so we get more money given to our local areas, OR do you want them selling candy on the subways or coke in the alleys?
When in doubt there's no doubt. Simply the focus on debating this 4 months away from the election and not on the critical issues on hand, is fatal for the Democrats. Hopefully not for our democracy. Joe Biden and Jill Biden have made this about his career and success. If they can't see just how serious what is at stake then that alone makes him unfit.
Jill Biden will not be remembered kindly.
Trump 2024....we are coming !!
Just one person’s opinion but if whoever Dems put up against Trump does not have to compete for the nomination, he/she will lose. Don’t “hand” it to Harris or anyone else.
Dems need the best person who can make the most forceful case. The only way to find that person is to have contenders compete and then have the party choose whoever it deems most capable. The arguments against a process are basically that its too risky and it would be better to at least defend House and Senate seats. That is so weak. Dems need to win. Anything else means the end of democracy as we know it. If Kamala can win a contested convention, then so be it. If she can’t, then how will she beat Trump? Biden made a terrible choice running again when he was clearly not able and that poor judgment put the party in a terrible position. The lack of a competitive primary process is why Dems are at a disadvantage now so please do not compound that mistake. There is no safe or easy move. The hard way is the right way. The easy way is the wrong way. Winning must come first.
@@ntran74 TDS is an interesting phenomenon. It is people who suffer from it that see it in others. I suppose that is because Trump projects all his flaws on others so his followers mimic.
@@ntran74 TDS is an interesting phenomenon in that those who suffer from it only see it in others.
It's called a primary. The dems don't believe in democracy so they didn't allow challenges to biden and hold a true primary.
@ntran74 They need help 😂. I know a good therapist, lmao.
These guys have apparently never heard a Harris word salad performance.
The levels of leftist elitist costal bubble cope going on the last week and half have been astronomical.
Telling no one brings up Bidens condescending "you ain't Black" as a earlier bell weather to his personal arrogance. Bboth he, Jill & his sin are its all about me?
Turning the candidate into the enemy is the prime achievement of the NYT in the past months. They could have been uniting us and giving us the tools to beat Trump, but instead they made good people like you think that the most successful president in my lifetime is an evil force in our country. Sad.
How about Nikki donors, "you ain't MAGA."
Harris has two main weaknesses. First, like Hillary Clinton, she just rubs people the wrong way. It’s the lack of true charisma. Second, and even more important, is that she has serious electoral weaknesses. I’m from Chicago and know the Midwest well. If we can’t win Wisconsin, Michigan, and Pennsylvania, we are probably toast. They are the bottleneck. We have two governors in the region - Shapiro and Whitmer - who have won in those states and would likely win at the presidential level. I would combine them on one ticket and “Presto”, we are over the top. Harris is from California. She will not be perceived as well in a state like Wisconsin. Sorry, this isn’t about a black woman. It’s about winning!
Whitner is toast, her Covid policies will become a major talking point and she will crash in the polls
Joe used her as a black woman. But, from a state that the democrats would win anyway. The threshold should have been selecting a woman. Joe was showing his aged thinking back then.
Harris quit in SC!
Lastly, the polls, presently, are lies. Maybe MAGA at work.
@Agtsmirnoff she would not be running against Reagan or Eisenhower.
@@larryames8831they don’t call Gretchen-Hitler for no reason…
Hillarys issue wasnt just vibes. she had been peddling influence for decades and her husband was president. Youre just another sixty something stuck in the past if you think biden is more viable than harris. open convention is good for everyone EXCEPT dinosaur biden
Old aging cannot be reversed that can only become worse
Don’t worry! Dementia gets better with time!
@@ntran74 To be fair, there is a new med out there that's just being released.......
No it won't get better. No we are not propping up Biden's damaged brain with a med that will make him 2% better for 3 hours. Ridiculous. Give him a job bagging groceries but DEFINITELY NOT THE JOB OF BEING THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.
That drug is Hopium 😊😮
@@raiconlan1 No, that's the one I'm on 🙂 This new one is called Donanemab, just approved by FDA.
even when they step out of the bubble to criticize they still sound like theyre stuck in another bubble
The excuses for not having a short primary or open convention are so bad and nonsensical it’s ridiculous
Somebody please do something to get this guy out of the race!!
We're barreling 100mph straight into Project 2025 with a Trump dictatorship.
Sounds like a higschool radio station
These old Democrats just so believe in their own awesomeness they don't think age applies to them.
Biden truly exemplifies the boomer mentality of never walking away when the fate of others demands them to.
Tbh I lost trust in bouies’s judgment when on tiktok, he kept going on about how the debate doesn’t matter because that’s what all the data shows. Like I get what he’s saying and the data is there, but it gets at the overreliance/fitting to data despite the possibility of contingent events. That wasn’t a normal debate about policies, and it literally caused donors to pull out/nyt to call for his stepping aside. If he can’t see that as effect of/catalyzed by the debate, then what ever would?
The best the NYT can say about Harris is that she " is not uniquely bad" 😂
'without a vision .. the people shall perish' ...
and the worst type o blind is the one who doesn't want to see. (Biden, not you, btw).
Anyone failing to answer to first question in this interview with a clear and unequivocal NO, is simply not living in the real world. Of course he's not fit for office. How is this even a discussion?
It just cracks me up that my MAGA uncle's boomer memes on Facebook were more on point than the entire media establishment up until a few weeks ago.
Never underestimate a conservative...
Not really. Democrats on the left of the party were bringing this up during the 2020 primaries. They were told by the Democratic establishment to STFU and vote for Biden because of his "electability" and that any criticisms of him would result in a potential win for Trump. Basically, he didn't win because he was the best man for the job, he was propped up by party elites.
Conservatives just hopped on the bandwagon because they don't know how to talk policy.
People elect a President, a person, someone with views and positions on policy. They also try to assess his/her leadership ability and demeanor. Part of what you are missing here is how much is he in control? How much is he being influenced by senior leaders in his admin who are not elected and may have their own agendas not particularly favored by those who elected him. I think it’s Biden’s feebleness that concerns most. Obviously the country will run without him, the question is who is really running it.
The comment that the people's of the usa opinion whether or not he should run isn't important because they aren't the "right players" is a brilliant example of why "democracy" in the usa is an oxymoron
20 min. in with no mention of the question that matters most by far: Can Biden beat Trump? If re-elected he could resign anytime for health reasons, so I don't care much if he's "fit to serve a second term".
You just answered your own question: No!
The uncomplicated approach is asking the question: Can he win the votes of the American people? At this point, it's a low probability. So, do you stick with Biden and loose?
Strongly believe that Biden will do what is right for the American people.
From what I've seen I wouldn't put money on Biden being alive in 4 years. His deterioration is obvious and probably becoming more rapid by the day. Bidens line "as long as I did my best" was really bad.
Biden has spoken publicly 16 times since the debate yet the media dwells on one. Motive?
I wonder if Ezra considers himself an "ELITE". In the next podcast please provide a definition of an elite.
in the top 10% economically - private prep schools - top tier colleges - family money & connections .. high end jobs - catalytic marriages .. just ask his wife ....
GREAT question.
Sometimes listening to Klein talk to some other leftist NYC bubble creature sounds like listening to aliens having a conversation.
@@twelvecatsinatrenchcoat reminder - there are elites from the right who also sound alien .. but in a more alarming and cruel way
If the question was about Trump you know this guy would say “absolutely not capable to govern”!!!
He's been governing for almost 4 years.
The only alternative is President Trump - Biden and all the screwballs need to go quickly. The world is waking up.
“Right?” Count between these two: 443. Apparently no one in media under age 45 can complete two sentences without saying “right?”
i know, right?
Let’s talk about evaluating Trump. I don’t want to hear one sentence about Biden’s abilities without comparing him to Trump.
Don't worry - they will remove your Comment like they always do to mine. DEM lovers are cowards.
The democrats made their bed, now they will sleep in it.
The rubbish that these people talk is unbelievable. His brain is completely gone and they still think he'scapable of performing his duties. He's not capable of running a McDonald's outlet, never mind running the country.
I think NYT is just filling space. I’m ridin with Biden. FULL STOP.
WeAre not looking at the administration’s past performance. We are looking at the man. Is he fit to serve? The obvious answer is that he is not. He should resign immediately.
If Biden resigns before the end of his term, then MAGA Mike Johnson becomes V.P.
I began cringing early in Biden's presidency. I recall news cameras catching him dozing off early on at a European summit meeting around 2021. I use that as an example that his age related behavior is not new. Biden took office with age deficiencies, so there is no question he should step down for the good of the Democrtic Party. I know what 78 functions like. We all function differently with age. Eighty-one is not too old, he is just not functioning at 81 as well as he should to remain at the helm of the party.
This started with Joe Biden going on national broadcast and calling MAGA a national security threat.
At the end of the day, the toothpaste never goes back in the tube. Things that have been covered up, are never going away. The question of yesterday, was it Parkinsons, Lewy Body, Dementia, etc. I just don't see it ever going back to the way it was before the debate.
REALITY is hard to swallow after
so many years of DECEPTION.
Biden has done 16 successful speech events since the debate, yet media is stuck. Motive?
@@lindamckibben2828 It's not the media. They are the messenger. Orders have come from above. Clooney, Axelrod, CNN, NYT are following the line from the highest authority, Biden has been given the word and at some point will get in line
@@ShirleyAnnPetrillo-oj7sc It was for me as well, but that was ten years ago now. Trust but verify ALL of them.
Terrorist attacks and Wars arent on a 6am-Noon schedule. Wtf?
Who is actually running the country? Jill?
it's not a question of will he die - why mention that? - he's deteriorating NOW - he ALREADY is not fit for the job - choose someone else !
There is no way that you can really give credit to Biden actually making important staff decisions
The irony is Biden touted his electibility in 2020 over sanders who is older but way way more lucid
Keep him in. He's never been better.
Jamelle Bouie dodges every critical question with "Idon't know". Got it. Means "No". Well, that is the NYT, "Paper of Record" aka State Media of the US.
The New York Times is the new National Inquirer
To all the fantasy football commenters _this is not a game_!
All professions need a mandatory retirement age. In Australia, physicians do not have a retirement age, and it can get quite scary when you have 95 year old doctor still practicing medicine and you can tell that they are starting to slip (I remember one consultant that was dementing in his early 70s - he would show up at the wrong hospital for rounds, he would forget some of his colleagues that he had worked with for years). It's bad enough that physicians aren't forced to retire - it's even worse when you have elected leaders who can't be forced to retire.
I'm sick of Biden acting as if he knows best if his cognition is intact. That's like a person assessing their own sanity - no one thinks they're crazy, but they think they're not crazy ESPECIALLY when they are!
Many people with cognitive deficits lack the insight into their cognitive decline. Biden shouldn't be making the call on whether or not he is fit. A team of independent geriatricians should assess him and release the findings. If he really thinks his mind is intact, what does he have to fear from that? Just get him to do a MoCA or an ACE III cognitive assessment, and release the results.
Much like people are not talking about their concerns of Harris' race and gender, no one is talking about the real fear of an open convention: a progressive candidate winning the nomination.
They act as though he functions at all.
I think you guys completely misunderstand the criticisms of Harris. My recollection of the reporting is that her staff was silently outraged due to her laziness, her unwillingness to read position papers or engage in briefings. Her long absences from contact. Going off-script on speeches and saying stupid things that would dominate the reporting. For hard-working staff members - that was infuriating. I’m not saying any of those things are true, but that was the reporting at the time as I recall. So she quickly garnered the reputation of being a lightweight, not up to the job.
Choices have Consequences
I don't know that she's a lightweight. I also really don't think she is corny either. Quite the opposite. I think she could have tried a lot harder on the border, but couldn't be bothered to work really hard at something despite being from California with two immigrant parents like immigration because it wasn't an easy glamorous issue like abortion.
He isn't the best candidate in terms of critical discussion of issues he's 🙄 a hot mess. As far as capacity he's not capable of driving much less running the country
I stand with Biden… I’ll vote for his corpse before voting for Felon Trump. How is this even a debate? And isn’t Vp a position for this exact type of scenario?
Typical woman.
It's a debate because the Democrats have been warning us about the dangers of Trump ad nauseam (while not doing very much against it for 4 years) and then they presented us with a petrified Biden that couldn't stop Trump from winning a presidential debate by lying a gazillion times and by humiliating him for his geriatric performance.
I do not use Fake News and I do not know how this got into my feed.
Dumb, farcical journalism
🤦🏻 Such waffle
The unstated agenda is clear
It's remarkable how lucky Donald Trump is. The lack of a frank self-assessment by the Democrats in the last couple of years has now created the very real danger that we get Trump back, a massive unforced error. When I think back to Romney vs Obama, I would not have voted for Romney but had no doubt that he was capable of doing the job. Now there is finally a real possibility that neither candidate is fit to serve, really something we have not seen before.
On the Dems changing theory of politics and non-white voters: I think Ian Haney-Lopez has a great solution to this problem. I'll never understand why he isn't front and center in these kinds of conversations.
30:14 There aren't severe enough words in the English language to characterize just how silly, just how bad refusing to do that really was. It really calls into question just how seriously Biden takes the idea of saving democracy in America.
My father is basically politically incoherent, he is the type of voter that can be swayed from Trump to Biden and back again with the shifting of the winds and I have 0 doubt that continued and increased stimulus checks would absolutely guarantee his vote, I have little doubt that there are millions of swing voters that this would be true for.
Biden’s first stimulus check led to 20% inflation, and you wanted him to continue to do it?
Same boat with my daddy lol
that's a trip. My dad literally calls Obama a communist dictator... He used to say Obamacare was communism gaining a irreversible foothold, and said it was selling American down the river, and we lost our freedom, and there are going to be death panels. But homeboy loves his expanded coverage now that's he 75, lol. Apparently he found a way to tolerate this loss of freedom when it comes to his paying for his heart surgery and diabetes medicine.
you can't help some people, lol. they live on their own planet.
Excellent discussion- thank you.
Great conversation!
Aging decline isn’t a straight line. There can be periods of decline that plateau or even reverse. Nutrition, exercise, rest, positive relationships can lead to optimal performance-young or old. Stress can have negative effects-young or old.
He has Parkinsons, seemingly rapid-onset, with associated cognitive decline
Just cancelled my subscription to the new york post i mean new york times
Tell me lies, tell me so many lies.
So you are saying democracy is in danger and you run Biden without even primaries? Yeah, sure thing, bud.
Democracy in action can sometimes be messy and that's ok once the right outcome is reached.. It wouldn't be ideal for the Dems to change candidate at this point, but we are where we are. Bouie seems to think keeping your eyes closed and hoping the mess magically goes away is preferable.
Oh please! Nobody is saying a Black woman cannot win. PLENTY of DEMS are saying Kamala Harris cannot win. Or have you forgotten her showing in the primaries?
There needs to be an alternative path to the Democratic party period.
You should not laugh about speculating when some will die. I know politics is a great game, but sometimes you have to stop yourself and take a sip out of the humility cup. Don't lose the respect when talking about people. Regardless who they are. Call your parents to get educated. The start of this conversation was awful.
Perhaps take another sip from the humanity cup and realize that these people have the power to end humanity with the push of a button and if they have mental health issues the whole world is in danger (this goes for Trump just as well).
Programs like this make the president less effective!!
I respect that you admit the unfortunate rhetoric about Trump from Democracy crats who are nearly insane.
What Democrats think they voted for his “team”?
And they said Trump ..wouldn’t leave 🤣🤣🤣
Millions of us will write Joe in.
The main argument against Biden is the impression, correct or not, that he is not up to the task of prosecuting the case for himself and his administration and against Donald Trump. If that debate had any cognitively functioning person, he or she would have stomped Trump all over that stage. He just doesn't have the ability to forcefully argue the case, and what else is a campaign about if not that.
Can’t DO The Job.
Can’t HAVE The Job.
This podcast would be more authentic if these guys said ‘we’ instead of ‘the Democratic Party’.
Harris having been the chief law enforcement officer of California would be a feather in her cap, had she not sucked so badly at it. One of the Attorney General’s primary duties is to provide guidelines to law enforcement on how to enforce new laws, or old laws in light of new appellate court decisions. We could never get anything from Harris. She seemed never to want to take a stand on anything.
What has changed?
Staff and Succession planning. That's it. Run on your staff. Corporate types on LI discuss "teams" constantly, unending-ly, and ad nauseam, but... run a team.
Ezra Klein is a master of his craft.