139 Comments

Yes.

And another thing he can do is point out the dissonance in abandoning our NATO allies after so many of our fathers risked their lives or died to keep a maniac and his depraved credo from taking over the world.

And that he wouldn’t understand the rationale for keeping our alliance in place because no one in his family ever had sacrificed for anything - he’s never had blood in the game, and still doesn’t.

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👆🏼

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Shame on Jon Stewart for his making equivalents of Biden and the Orange Scheiss-Fuhrer and making it sound like Biden is ready for assisted living. This has to stop.

Biden has the toughest job on the planet and the toughest job that has ever existed. And he is doing it excellently. Let's get real here. The stakes are astronomical.

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Thank you! Everybody saying oh great he’s back he’s gonna really take on Trump. I didn’t see that at all. I didn’t continue watching past a certain point. I get really angry when they’ve all picked up the bullshit talking point of Biden is a doddering old fool. Far from it. I have to wonder if I was watching the same Jon Stewart as the people thinking he did a great job. I was thinking he made things worse.

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founding

That kind of seems to be the general call on this right now.

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Have to disagree. What Steward did was simply point out what Biden and the Democrats do not want to admit. Hell yes, he is too old but what Stewart than did as only he seems capable of doing is lay out the binary choices as between good, not great, and simply unacceptable.

Denying reality is not going to win this election for Democrats who far too often are incapable of understanding not everyone agrees with them and that some who do are not The Devil but who need to be persuaded to look at both sides and make the best informed choice. This election is going to boil down to , yes , a lesser of two evils, for many of us. Best the Ds get about recognizing that reality instead of acting as if everyone who disagrees with them is as bad as Trump. If you actually believe in a functioning democracy your job is not to demean those who disagree with you but to get as many as possible who are in the middle, still have functioning brain and can be persuaded to vote in their own self interests. You can't do that if you , at least, do not see the 81 year old Elephant in the Oval Office.

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You do know that partisan hack Robert Hur could find nothing illegal, and so he went with the GOP playbook: throw shit at someone, accuse them of what your candidate is and does, and hope it sticks. His report does clearly exonerate Biden, but the shit was saying, well, I don't want to go to court because a jury will see a frail old man and feel sorry for him. Call bullshit!

Now is not the time to double down on his age, in fact Biden finally spoke to this with anger, clarity and no deference, no stumbling, no apologies. Yes, he's old, and we can all see the toll the presidency is taking on him - look at Obama for chrissakes - but what is the alternative? There is not one Dem coming up who has a strong national profile and could beat Donnie Boy. The Democratic Party has become stagnant, trying too hard to do the right thing. The hell with when they go low, we go high. Stop bringing a knife to a gunfight. and do not keep the issue of his age alive by engaging in that argument, that is exactly what they want. Fight. Continue to hammer what a disgusting excuse for a man Donnie is, show more clips of his mumbling, rambling incoherence. Talk policy: his NATO delusion will destabilize the world. Most people are simply not paying attention. Speak louder. We all recognize the reality of Biden's age, but he's accomplished an insane amount fixing up the chaos and disaster that he inherited. Talk about that. He has the unions behind him. And women, more than you likely realize.

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That's not even a substantive argument, you would need a separate set of convincing data points to cite, each showing not simply that Biden misspoke or got a name wrong, but how exactly that shows he is "too old for the job"!

"Lesser of two evils" paradigms when you haven't shown in what way Biden represents "evil"? Again - not even the sketch of a substantive argument, you would need to pitch right in showing relevant examples that make a case for Biden being "evil."

Very bizarre stuff, although of course online it's all too common to use grandiose, sweeping terms to claim there is a dire threat looming, and then forget to cite credible considerations showing it really IS that dire and horrific.

With Trump and a few others, the examples are practically endless - but is that really the case with Joe Biden? Read Lucian's column from a few days ago on "the stutterer versus the lying rapist," maybe that will make the case more clearly to you!

Oh and one other thing: sometimes the level of quasi-barbaric attacks on basic human rights engaged in by the GOP in recent years practically demands a response that is going to seem intolerant and as you phrase it, "demeaning," see this as well:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paradox_of_tolerance

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JD, if this were a court of law you might be right. It is not. It is an election where most of the people voting will make up their mind not on the strength of legal arguments but on whether or not they believe the price of eggs is too high. This board has a lot of smart people on it who easily fit into what can be called the top 5%. How we think and vote will not make much of a difference. How the average man/woman does will. And, if you expect the average man or woman who is engaged in dealing with everyday life in America to think , act or respond to you then you don't know "'Merica."

Right now 20% of America believes Taylor Swift is part of a plot to re-elect Joe Biden. Do you really expect to be able to engage that cohort in a reasonable discussion on the merits? So, in conclusion, Don't Shoot the Messenger. We are on the same side; we just see whom we need to convince to keep Biden in the job a lot differently when it comes to how to "persuade them." I did not spend my career in the law. I spent it very successfully in mass marketing to consumers. We had to persuade our "jury" with :30 second commercials, not mock courts.

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So we agree! I don't know how you read my comment to have it turn out that the "average man or woman" will respond to me (doing what? Saying what?) when my approach was learned essentially for the first time in my own experience in the fall of 1982, through early 1984, canvassing door to door for a Coalition of Citizens Organizations Acting Together, Minnesota COACT - you IDENTIFY SUPPORTERS ALREADY THERE IN THE COMMUNITY, and waste minimal time on opponents, preferably zero!

There's no point at which I can imagine you inferring I advocated "engaging that cohort in a reasonable discussion on the merits," and I have NO CLUE what you mean by "Don't Shoot the Messenger," I only pointed out boilerplate argumentation and debate requirements for ANY discussion - you made no case Biden is "too old" for anything whatsoever connected to serving as POTUS, for one thing HE CAN DELEGATE AND IN FACT MUST MUST MUST DELEGATE all sorts of authority!

{"CAPS" please not to be heard as "shouting," but "intense emphasis" only RB!}

Not sure if there are font italic and bolding options I haven't found but that's why I use ALL CAPS sometimes, anyway.

Btw - 30 second commercials that "persuade" are only going to utilize the same process: identify already existing supporters or "waverers" who are "actively SOMEWHAT engaged," and OPEN to persuasion - then, sure, bombard 'em with clever, substantive, well-designed commercials, that's classic First Amendment protected speech for a great set of reasons as we both well understand, no doubt!

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Vxvv

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I know. For the first time, I am deeply, deeply disappointed in Jon Stewart.

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Lucian, this needs to get to Biden’s team. Seriously, you are ON POINT.

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Lucian for Biden's campaign manager!

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Yes yes yes

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YES - Send it to Uncle Joe!!

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founding

“I’m with Joe!”, is Kamala Harris’ catch-phrase!

“Uncle Joe” was Joseph Stalin’s deceitful one, and it had dire consequences.

Let’s be clear about this.

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Correct...but it has been used.

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Yes get it them, they need advisors who know how to fight back.

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Feb 14·edited Feb 14

When Biden speaks against t-Rump's evil, vicious, treasonous behavior, the way he did today, the years fall away, and he's no longer the supposedly doddering old man his detractors try to make him. Instead, he's revealed as mature statesman-- a smart, tough, courageous and articulate individual. More of this, please, Mr. President!

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Attention: Karine Jean-Pierre. Seriously, can you tweet this at her? There are solid ideas here.

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Everyone agrees Lucian. Get it to them. Their strategies are lame

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founding

The Biden campaign should use the picture of Trump you did. They should also take your suggestions about Trump's court dates. “Here is what we are doing at the White House while Donald Trump is in court today.”

The point-missing press should also get with the program. (Credit: either Christopher Hitchens or PG Wodehouse.)

As this Kafka-esque time in American politics continues, I continue to be dumbfounded, dispirited, and depressed. I'm surprised every sane person isn't.

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I have been depressed by the potential for great harm to our nation that’s for sure. But we had a little light tonight with the win in NY. The president acted totally presidential today and not like a pushover. 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻🙏

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I'm depressed. It is unending. I am so tired. But that is the plan, make everyone so tired that they don't bother to vote. I'm voting for America, not Russia. We are Americans!

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This would be a good time too to hit Drumpf with some "Putin's Puppet," ads and some clips of his reaction from the Hillary debate.

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… or my personal favorite, with credit to Stephen Colbert, “Vladimir Putin’s c*ck holster.”

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founding

Is it “holster” or “holder?”

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Functionally the same.

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founding

Thank you. I'd never heard either expression.

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Crude...but so descriptive. And, unfortunately, altogether too true.

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WOW!!!

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I think he took some heat for it from ‘upstairs’, but he didn’t lose his job.

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Jon Stewart is back and it is not going to be good for Trump. Last night he featured bit about a candidate for President who was having memory problems and proceeded to show a minute plus of B roll of Trump declaring over and over in depositions "I can't remember."

You are 110% correct, Lucian. Time for Biden and the Democrats to take off the gloves and give this nut job a taste of his own medicine on all the issues where he and the Ds differ with Trump and MAGA. Make them out to be to troglodytes and knuckle draggers they are and constantly make the point while Trump is slinging lies and more lies Joe Biden just keeps on keeping on for the American people on matters and issues of importance.

The Rs have already said they are going to make Joe's age and memory a big issue. Time to counter by pointing out Trump's criminality and the GOP's dereliction of duty as best exemplified by Mike Do Nothing Johnson and his merry band of MAGites.

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founding

Interesting about Stewart last night. Lotta press people thought it wasn't so great for Biden, either.

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The press has to get over being in the tank for *Rump. The more Biden’s team exposes the press bias the better it will be.

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Feb 14·edited Feb 14

Don't hold your breath. The media don't belong to us. They belong to big corporations, operated by corporate boards, who don't really get it and certainly don't understand our day to day world.

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founding

Wonderful article in latest from The Atlantic about the dying media. And we know about big corporations operated by corporate boards. If it's not making money, they're getting rid of it. This is good and bad but the clickbait is doing them in more than almost anything else. Even headlines from good journalists are tainted by clickbait headlines.

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Yep, thanks for the update. Its unfortunate that the writers don't have control over the 'click-bait' headlines. Dan Froomkin has a site/newsletter that addresses this and many other questions regarding the media. https://presswatchers.org/ I don't know if Froomkin is on Substack or not....but he should be..

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No better proof of that than a subscription to the new not so improved under Bezos Washington Post. If all you read were the headlines you would think most of their stories fell under the "Fox Lite" category. Just remember the reporters seldom write the headlines. The editors do. The editors report to Bezos.

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Sincerely do not understand it!!!

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Margo, OK so some in the press figured out bringing up Biden's age and, yes, obvious, memory gaps on occasion is not going into the tank for the home team. But, if you watched and listened to his entire monologue the bottom line is where the Ds need to be playing this game. By contrasting the fact Trump is not just slightly impaired but a clear and present danger to the Republic and the future freedoms and prosperity of the nation. You cannot do that by putting your head in the sand and playing with the Sergeant Schulz defense of "I see nothing." This is going to be steel cage death match of a race and the Ds had better start playing with reality and not fantasy. The "press" at least a lot of it is no longer in the bag for Democrats and democracy and, maybe most importantly, even those who are are not that smart to figure out what is really going on so they go for the obvious cheap shot.

My POV is simply to get all of us beginning to realize this is going to be a race to the bottom in order to beat Biden. Sure, emphasize the positive of what Biden has accomplished but realize a lot of voters out there need to be scared to be motivated. Why? Because in the end ALL voters vote their self interests, not yours. Time the Ds realized that and figure out ways to bring more moderates and independents into the tent than relying on the same old coalition.

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founding

I have thought, since Dobbs, that the R.s would pay dearly for their abortion stunt, the nut jobs in the House (and Senate, let us not forget), doing what the malignant Pied Piper tells them to, Putin love, general dishonesty, and getting nothing done. There are signs the jig is rising, if not up.

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big mistake in my last graph; meant to say " to beat Trump.

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Wow. That is some picture. I believe the convicted sexual abuser claims to weigh about 213 lbs. There's at least 15 lbs in that quadruple chin. Kinda reminds me of ginni.... what's her last name.......

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I'm not defending the orange man, but that is an old picture. He has lost weight, probably from all the stress.

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Ha! Weight loss attributable to Ozempic! No control, no stress in one chin or four on TFG!

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There’s only one reason I wish that Biden was younger. I think a lot of people forget that in his early days he had quite a mouth on him in fact, was known for speaking his mind, a little too clearly. This is the man I want to see between now and next November. Hard-hitting. Because he’s gonna have to do a lot of battling. With sleazeball conservatives like Hur who couldn’t find anything he did that was illegal or unethical so he called him a frail old man. I heard that the ABA is going to go after him for the line he crossed I hope so, but it doesn’t seem like any of them get held to any kind of higher standard.

What’s getting lost in all the noise today is the petition that team Trump made in front of the Supreme Court to knock down the ruling that he is not immune to prosecution as a former president. This is big how those corrupt right wingers on SCOTUS are going to manage it will tell us everything we need to know.

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Don't forget the NATO members who helped in Afghanistan, Persian Gulf, even briefly in Vietnam...

And yes, there have been accomplishments which have not been touted enough by this administration. And it always goes back to this ... one of these men is a cruel, evil, uncaring SOB who will stop at nothing to get and hold onto power, and the other is Joe Biden.

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Feb 14·edited Feb 14

Great advice Lucian. Maybe it’s a NYC thing but I think It’s time for Joe Biden and the Democratic Party to learn to fight dirty EVERY DAY until they win the election. That’s how you beat a bully.

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They need to get James Carville on board. He's a knife-fighter and they need one.

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He looks like a pelican. No wonder he’s so concerned about birds.

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How many filet o’ fish does that hold?

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😝 Ten. Plus ten Big Macs.

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Well said, Lucian.

President Biden can continue to hammer the NATO alliance including a direct appeal to the high percentage of Americans whose lineage is from NATO countries. Another way to slice into Trump's lead with white men and peel off more white wimmin.

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Lucian, how can we get you a direct line into Biden’s ears? Biden’s words today should be a template for his daily comments from the press room or his desk. And his comments should not always just be in reaction to the mango moron’s blather. He needs to go on the offensive, humiliate *Rump everyday, and take credit for all he’s done for the average American. Get under *Rump’s skin early and often. Make him react to Biden, which will only make himself look like the inarticulate pipsqueak he is.

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While we're all together ... Suozzi's win is just the beginning, I predict, of Republicans being handed their teeth because of abortion, the crackpot Republicans in the House, and Trump's separation from decency and sanity.

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The House gained one Dem in NY-3 today! I wrote postcards and donated money. I grew up in his district but now live in Manhattan, NYC!

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I’m celebrating that NY3 victory too! Doesn’t it feel great! 🗽🍎❤️🤍💙

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