And then I watched Lawrence O'Donnell tonight and got 'the rest of the story'. Biden's meeting with labor in the midst of the NATO summit and giving a great no teleprompter talk - making sense unlike P01135890. And the full interview unedited with Nancy Pelosi....where she didn't say what the pundits say she said. Goddammit.
I too watched the full MJ interview with Pelosi (a big hero of mine), which btw was *supposed* to be about the op-ed she co-authored with Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya about tyranny in Belarus. She did say that IF Biden is the nominee she will support him 100%, but she also left open the possibility of replacing him. It was definitely not a ringing "shut up and get behind him" endorsement, which struck me as odd coming from the GOAT when it comes to lining up Democrats. Left me feeling like I may never get past this sense that I don't understand anything or anyone anymore...
Of course you know that Pelosi gave up her leadership post, quietly, when she was 82, saying the time had come for a younger generation to take the reins.
But for your comment, Janice, I would not have known about the full interview with Nancy Pelosi. I did watch O'Donnell's interview with John Kirby, who confirmed for me that Joe Biden is definitely up to the task of running this country. Start at minute 9:17 for his comments about Biden: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HDfj7wjMCM0
The president did an excellent job with the NATO conference, and his AFL/CIO speech was amazing – – without a Teleprompter. Meanwhile, Trump had one of his little fascist rallies in which he was an absolute, complete, total, sweaty mess. The most interesting part – – as in the old curse, “ May you live in interesting times “– – was when Trump gave a shout out to Don Junior, remarking, apropos of nothing, that junior has “a beautiful wife. “The problem there, of course, is that Don Junior is not married. He has been engaged for a long time, but he is definitely not married. Trump then compounded this astounding error by referring to junior’s non-existent wife as “Lara” — which is, of course, the name of Eric’s wife. If President Biden did something like that, the New York Times would be running banner headlines on the order of “Dewey Defeats Truman” and screaming for the 25th amendment.
Wow. Just, wow. We need to hang together and keep Trump as far away from the White House as we possibly can.
Yes we do. I am so thankful for all the clear thinking folks that coalesse around the wonderful clear headed Lucian and many other Substackers. Thirty at least. There are many names I see often in other great Substack comments. We are family. The few trolls get kicked in the teeth, as needed. I appreciate so many of you all.
Lucian, I am in total agreement with you. My sister and I are both dems but our thoughts about Biden greatly differ. Tonight, Lawrence O’Donnell reamed those politicians who want to throw Biden under the bus. He showed videos from today and yesterday of just how engaging and lucid he is, especially without a teleprompter. Lester Holt will be holding an interview with him I believe, this week. I sincerely hope that Holt conducts one that makes Biden shine. I’m in with Joe and that’s all there is to it!
Hello my dear friend Lucian, (I am sure we would be if we had ever met at Cornellia Street Cafe forty to fifty some years ago.) You probably knew my theater and art frinds very well, I am sure.
What a fukin pile of shit the inteligencia is. They know nothing of the history of political campaigns of the last seventy years or so. Who the fuck are these idiots who should know by HISTORY that to counter a successful incumbent means a total loss across the board!! Who ARE THESE MOTHER FUCKINIDIOTS!?!!?
Sorry for my brashness, but, I am sure you understand. I hope that some day, we could just sit and sip someting pleasant and just talk. I love everything you write. I have a bit of history that you might appreciate too.
We will get through this shit, if we stand together, forcefully.
I am 100% behind Biden. I did not watch the debate and don't need to. His actions are what I watch and he is brilliant at politics and being president. Why would I give that up one day sooner than I have to. We are sure to lose to Trump if we replace Biden. The money does not transfer, neither do the delegates, so we should be all in, and the naysayers should shut up and let the Republicans implode during their National Convention next week where I am waiting for Trump to tell the city what a dirty, awful, crime ridden place it is, or he will say that it is lovely in his sarcastic way, and then say how he is not supposed to say that it is an awful place. The way that he called Chris Christy not fat so often that it was clear that he meant the opposite.
Ransom, I don't need any apologies for brashness; it's times like this when we can and should say what is at the top of our minds. However, we want to say it. I've had it with these lily-livered blabbering people. They are used to djt and his mindless blithering. They can't be bothered to say anything anymore, though it requires comment every single day. But, holy god above, since they can only accept perfection, when our President Biden has a lackluster debate, the damn sky is falling. Get a grip, folks. This perfection-seeking will be the end of us. And by end, I mean THE end. Of life as we know it. I will leave it to Voltaire: “The perfect is the enemy of the good.” Now, that is a phrase that has stood the test of time.
Yes, Kathy, you are totally correct. A lack luster or even a sh*tshow performance by Trump would have been a non-issue for Republicans( his debate performance was utterly awful btw) and yet, Dems are crowding the fainting couches, clutching their damn pearls. I like what Ransom Rideout said earlier that"to counter a successful incumbent means a total loss across the board". I am with Joe until he tells me otherwise.
I believe there's a reason for the divergent reactions you mention and it's insulting to Trumpists but I'm going to say it anyway. Trumpists don't recognize intelligence when they see it. They think the way he talks is normal. Democrats do not function that way. We do know the difference between intelligent and stupid. That's why Trump's behavior doesn't bother them. They're used to it.
Ever since they started this ageism story in January I have believed that the real reason they’re upset is the thought that a black women might get to be President.
100%! Or at least 99%. A few of them mention VP Harris stepping up to head the ticket, but most of them leave that blank. What are they thinking?? Do they imagine themselves playing kingmaker like a Richard Daley or a Huey Long in the old days?
What's pathetic is watching these experts and reporters doing the GOP's work. I hope someone's studying how fast the Kremlin/China/Iran bots were spewing out !@#%&%# during the debate hoping to catch the ear of American experts and reporters. "I knew we could do make them believe us," brags Putin/Leonard Leo/Steve Bannon/Jared Kushner/Stephen Miller/ assorted masters of the universe desperate to keep their tax cuts.
Hey LaurieOregon! What part of Oregon are you in? Several of us like minded democracy fighters in Oregon that connect on Substack are getting together for lunch on July 22nd near Salem. We are looking forward to meeting each other in person and would love to have you join us.
Jul 11·edited Jul 11Liked by Lucian K. Truscott IV
Hey Karen, it would be great to just meet you too after all this time. Laurie is spot on, as is Ally, the retired police person, over near the coast. She follows Joyce and Heather regularly. We are hoping to get up to Beaverton before the end of Fall to hang with my brother and all the ones I told you about. I'll keep you posted. Hood River is a trip they love to take.
Hey Ransom Rideout, let me know when you’re in Oregon. Ally, Michelle and I are meeting this month. I wish Laurie could join us but maybe another time.
What a great idea! I'm on the north coast and wish I could drive down there. I'll be with you in spirit. Have fun, and keep sharing the energy and determination!
Oregon's north coast is the perfect place for activists to meet, reinvigorate themselves, and cheer each other on! Let me know when you want to meet in Astoria, Seaside, or Cannon Beach!
Jul 11·edited Jul 11Liked by Lucian K. Truscott IV
One of my major questions - why is Obama, Clinton, Hillary, (even maybe "W") not out there screaming from the rooftops in favor of Biden. Where are the surrogates??? They should all be out there every day - each one has a bully pulpit, if they would goddammmm use it! And George Clooney can go to hell as far as I'm concerned!
Jul 11·edited Jul 11Liked by Lucian K. Truscott IV
I sent the entire transcript of that bizarre "speech" last night (thank you, Scott Dworkin for the link) but I doubt if MSNBC will read it. Something is clearly afoot within the bubble and it is all against Biden. It's up to us, the voters, to show the cowards who are trembling at losing their jobs, that we know MORE than they think they do, and we own the vote. They are spineless and embarrassing as far as I am concerned (I am not talking about voters...but about hand wringers.)
Let me start by saying I have so much respect for you, Mr. Truscott. But I am struggling right now.
Part A: I honestly do not care about the opinions of: the media; senators; house representatives; party “leaders”; anyone who the media interviews about their opinions. I am worried about the 51 million who watched that debate. And the millions more who heard about that debate from the 51 million. Or read about it afterwards (ok, that implicates the media). There is nothing you can say that will convince me that that was not a real time display of serious cognitive decline. Period. That will not be forgotten.
Part B: Biden was already trailing the 18-29 vote due to his age, Gaza, environmental issue (unfair in my opinion as he is outstanding on the environment, but it is what it is), etc. That demographic is now gone for sure. I have a hard time believing any of that demo will vote for Biden at this point. They may not vote for Trump, but they will not be motivated to vote for Biden. They just won’t vote, is my fear and what can he do in the next 4 months to change their mind?
Part C: Thank you posting that clip. That’s the Joe I remember and love. But honestly, that brings up another concern. So, he’s good now but a complete and utter cognitive disaster two weeks ago? That makes me worry that he had some sort of cardiac event. I’m sorry if that sounds crazy, but jet lag? A cold? Come on (to borrow a Joe phrase). Occam’s Razor seems appropriate here.
Part D: I am terrified of Trump winning. However, at this point I am more terrified we will lose the White House, the Senate, and the House if he stays on the ticket and I see nothing on the horizon that will change my mind.
Part E: Thank you for your writing and making me think and ponder…
“Cognitive” refers to knowing, thinking, learning, paying attention. Speaking isn’t a component of cognition. Comprehending what you have experienced, heard, or read , that’s cognition. Joe Biden managed to give answers to the debate moderators’ questions. Not smoothly enough to play a president on TV, it is true. Trump did not answer any of them. Either he could not understand the questions and come up with answers, or he had no intention of answering any questions at all, because no one has the right to ask him questions.
We all need to calm down. We do not need to be manipulated by those needing to justify their existance. FUCK THOSE ASSHOLES WHO will destroy us all by dividing us. Undersrand!?!??
We stand undivided against tyranny! Does that mean anything!??!!??!!
Joe Biden is strong, as evidensed by his performance at the NATO 75th aniversary meeting. HE NAILED IT!
He put together a TEAM!! It is the team that does the work. No president EVER has done it alone and many, I mean MANY previous POTUS's have had very serious and visible medical isssues. Where are Biden's visible issues? There is no one alive who could respond to an onslaught of lie after lies for a hundred lies and focus on one cogent response in a CNN ratings question and answer hour and a half. IT WAS NOT A MODERATED DEBATE.
Joe Biden said VERY CLEARLY, to the obviously hard of hearing and click baiting press that EVERYTHING the MOTHERFUCKING LYING ORANGE MONSTER SAID WAS A LIE!!!!
AND it seems Biden could hear TFG ranting even though the microphones were off. I think he was just gobsmacked that the so called moderators weren’t moderating anything & allowing TFG to lie non-stop.
Gobsmacked! That’s the word I’ve been looking for., HulitC. Gobsmacking is another of Donald’s special talents, along with equivocating, prevaricating, smokescreening, gaslighting, projecting, attacking and blaming. Oh, and stiffing people, cheating at literally everything and raping women. His greatest talent and pleasure is in making people hate each other.
I saw, on TV, the back of Joe Biden’s head. I can’t un-see it. I was overwhelmed by how elderly it looked. No matter how successful his presidency has been so far, and how atrocious was Trump’s administration, and how pathetic is Trump’s hair and his personality and his promise to become a dictator, I can’t help it. I want to vote for someone the back of whose head reflects my values, not the shiny skin between hairs.
The phrase “cannot un-see” is having a big moment these days. The weakness of Joe Biden’s hair follicles has bothered me for days. How strange it is, that many people apparently did un-see the violence at the Capitol on January 6, 2021.
Check out the post by Seth Abramson (Proof) on Substack. I read it last night and it is excellent! It’s long but he covers everything! Answers every question I can think of. It is worth the time to read it; then share the info to everyone! I think it will give you some peace of mind.
Jul 11·edited Jul 11Liked by Lucian K. Truscott IV
Really? It wasn’t presented as a paid subscriber only post. Those usually are so described. Did you stick in your email for a look? It is really easy to unsubscribe.
Thank you! I landed on a subscriber only post, but it wasn’t the one you were referring to. I was able to read the one you saw & am sending it around! Thanks again.
OK. I saw his stroke Substack. Sorry. I see nothing there. I watched it all. I have had the most respect for Mr. Moore. Biden was on top of it at the NATO 75th. Who could ask for more.
Jul 11·edited Jul 11Liked by Lucian K. Truscott IV
There was an interview with Bob Woodward on MSNBC after the debate, in which he questioned, WHY was Biden so messed up? There must be a REASON for it and a good reporter might take the time to try and find out the reason as his behavior in the debate just made no sense to him. I wonder. But after reading the above Seth Abramson piece on PROOF, it's good to know there are some honest and sane media pundits (not using that as an insult)!
There’s no shortage of disparate opinions on this issue; in fact, I’ve never seen such a spectrum from a whole bunch of people I respect, including—first and foremost—Lucian. One key aspect about being open-minded and thoughtful is the ability to hold disparate beliefs simultaneously in one’s head. Now would be one of those times. As a counter-example to this post, you should watch Jon Stewart’s recent piece, “Jon Stewart Examines Biden’s Future Amidst Calls For Him to Drop Out:”
What struck me most about this was the multiple examples of Biden’s declining capabilities from instances having NOTHING TO DO WITH THE DEBATE. I’m also quite jaded over the punditocracy’s blathering all day (and night) long, but there’s also some pretty clear evidence that we’re not getting the full story: Biden’s aides and handlers are perhaps as interested in keeping their jobs as Biden is his.
“Better than Trump” is a very, very low bar. It’s a huge gamble either way, but I’m on board with the proposal for an open convention; a “mini-primary,” as Jim Clyburn (who, as Biden’s co-chair of his campaign, has more than a little bit of street cred) advocates.
Jul 11·edited Jul 11Liked by Lucian K. Truscott IV
Sorry, I do think Stewart was cherry picking. You know, those examples were not exactly secret--that's why there were clips. What exactly was being "covered up?" Has anything we DIDN'T have a chance to see happen that is now revealed? And the State of the Union didn't even go down his little chart more than half way. It really shouldn't have a "huh" at all. (Same apparently for the NATO speech) In 4 years there were what, six examples presented? Some of which involved the stutter.
Something clearly was wrong that night. And that clearly wrong has not repeated itself. If you have an anomaly you try to find out why it happened. You don't just say, OH, it isn't anomaly because someone has Kept Things hidden from us. What things? Oh, this half dozen. (MSM hasn't even given those examples. They just quote anonymous sources. )
I don't think Biden is impaired. But we've gone beyond that in terms of shooting ourselves in the foot. But what is facing us now the effect of the a massive propaganda move by particularly the NY Times that is shaking the population into seeing DEMOCRATS as incompetent infighters. Isn't going to matter WHO gets nominated. That infighting is going to and probably has already messed up the party's chances.
What the media COULD have done was taken a hard look at all the possible reasons for the anomaly instead of proclaiming just one. A bad cold is brushed aside without even asking a doctor whether it might have caused the anomaly. Someone used "jet lag" to describe "exhaustion" and it becomes a big joke about the size of the plane. I, in fact, take several days to get over jet lag even WITHOUT a cold and without anything particularly exhausting happening before I got on the plane. Heck, I take a week or more to get over the shift to Daylight Savings. Someone, maybe a CNN moderator, could have MENTIONED that trump was yelling off mike. They sure haven't denied it once Biden brought it up.
The media COULD have published chunks of the transcript and said "look, he's actually making sense here. I wonder why it didn't come across? " I'm reasonably sure they would have had trouble saying "he's incoherent and incompetent except, of course, for what he actually said."
Of course the public isn't going to read the transcript. Only those of us trying to figure out why the anomaly bothered to do so. But it is the job of the media to present what happened, and one of the things that happened was the transcript. Not word boo. There's this thing called lying by omission that everyone points out Fox is good at. The media here was being Foxier than Thou on that score. MSM has failed American utterly, and we all may be much the poorer for it. Even the MSM, once the newly immune president trump uses his "core power" as commander in chief to shut them down because they do Fake News. .
Give me one good reason why a cold and exhaustion COULDN'T be what happened.
By the way, as an excellent example of hubris and self-regard, there is Stewart bragging about how late night comedy has been pointing out trumps lies and idiocies for a long time. True--but it for a long time has been the ONLY place that has pointed them out. The fact that Colbert or Kimmel make jokes does very little about the general indifference of the public to trump's lies. They do it for the laughs. MSM ignores it because it doesn't get enough clicks. Ah, but we expect those lies, so somehow that makes them OK? Get out the marker, I've got a "huh" to inscribe.
I generally like Stewart but he can be an asshole. Like Maher. Don't get me started on Clooney.
Susan, everything you say is justified and well-considered; thank you. Part of the reason why I’m taking the stance I do is because (and I’ve said it in this forum before, just a few days ago) it DOES NOT MATTER what you or I think, since we both read a lot and think about these things incessantly. Ergo, we’re both going to vote for the D candidate no matter what, even if that candidate is a ham sandwich (e.g.)—still better than TFG.
Put your mind in the place of the narrow slice of undecided voters. Then, in my view, it all crystallizes. For example, you say Stewart was cherry-picking and that the video clips he used aren’t exactly secret. OK, I’m with you so far. But, most people somewhere-in-the-middle DO hear this stuff, and DO take it into account, and probably don’t spend the time or energy to dissect who’s bullshitting them from the truth-tellers. If they’re not secret, then let’s assume they all saw them. And many are thinking to themselves, “Who ya gonna believe, me or your lyin’ eyes?” Many of those people have already made up their minds on Biden, and it ain’t good, even if they’re anti-MAGA. All that means is they’ll either stay home on election day or vote for a screwball like RFK, Jr., which is equivalent to not voting. We can do better than that, and we must.
I live in France; resident for the past five years. As Stewart says, if France can hold TWO election in the space on ONE MONTH and vote out fascism, then the US ought to be able to pick not just a decent candidate, but the best candidate, in the space of four months prior to the election. I agree. We all know what the stakes are; I say aim for the fences.
What I keep trying to say is that it didn't have to be this way if MSM had done its job. I don't think that a new candidate will magically fix things. Unless it is Taylor Swift, maybe. Our society has come to the point where maybe she would win.
You are right that people are not going to dissect things. They DO know that Biden was not his usual self. They want reassurance. They let the news tell them what to think. If MSM had given them reason to be reassured, showed them how what it they saw with their own eyes had an explanation relatable to anyone who has had a bad cold they'd have eaten it up. THEN when the they realized the alternate is trump they'd go "yeah, sure. I saw that, and yeah, I can see how you'd do poorly with a cold." At which point the media would fire off clip after clip of Biden doing forceful things and folks would say "wow, they were right, lose the cold and it all comes back again." They'd say, "I'd prefer a younger candidate, for sure. But of two old men, I'll take the one who tells the truth"
All of which would have been much easier if had covered trump's increasing inanities as they showed up, the continuous stream. You don't have to cherry pick with trump: he hands you bushels, pre-picked. In order to believe what you see with your own eyes you have to SEE it.
(BTW, 174 million eligible voters did NOT see anything with their own eyes at the debate because they didn't watch it. They were told not only what happened, which is reportable, they got told WHY MSM had determined FOR them what had happened which is sheer opinion. A neat little package; the public sure does like neat little packages.)
How did the French beat the forces of Le Pen? They UNITED as soon as they actually saw the danger. They moved from "it can't happen here" to "dear lord, it is happening here." My hope is that the rising awareness of Project 2025 will help folks see the danger and vote "blue no matter who." To drill Project 2025 down peoples throats, you need money, which none but Kamala Harris has instant access to.
And sorry, this isn't France. A black/S Asian woman at the top of the ticket? She's already being attacked as a DEI hire. Sorry, I think Biden will do better--or would have done better if MSM hadn't done its best to kill him off. Now it's just keep the fingers crossed. Pray, it that's your thing.
But absent a whole lot of really detailed coverage of Project 2025 and its true clone, Trumps own website, whatever he says--MSM has eliminated "running on one's record" as a factor in this election, when in fact it is the ONLY thing that matters to any one who has a brain cell, which clearly includes people who haven't fallen for MAGA full throttle. A whole lot will depend on what MSM does when Biden does indeed get the nomination. If it continues to moan, game is over. It WILL be interesting to see how they change their narrative, if they do.
Absolutely! Fair weather friends - who needs 'em!!! Just read the Seth Abramson piece noted above and he explains it all...MSM doesn't want to bother finding truth anymore, I guess. And that is very sad and disturbing...to say nothing of bots, etc. Who needs Russian bots when we have our MSM?
Oh, the bots are out there too. We just took down one AI assisted bot network which did exactly the same as the Macedonia grunts did in 2016 and 2020 without AI. Flood social media with fake accounts purporting to be Real Americans with views aimed at raising disruption.
Jul 11·edited Jul 11Liked by Lucian K. Truscott IV
"Jackie? Jackie? Where's Jackie?" Did Stewart include that one, a press conference a year or two ago where Joe called for a congressmember to step up and share credit? The moment waa excruciating to anyone who follows news. Jackie was inconveniently dead, victim of an an auto accident the president surely had been informed of.
The corporate owned MSM gets more unhinged by the day. Fewer and fewer of us are watching/listening. Their response is to lie bigger and louder. Ours is to continue to find alternate sources for real news and to continue to stand up for democracy. If we stay strong and united we can pull off a major reset - where the people, not the 0.01% of the media and big donors pick the president. We can do this.
Every time corporate MSM gets out of hand (usually about three minutes into the show) I grab the remote and switch to Al-Jazeera. Weʼve watched it almost nonstop over the last few days, and weʼre happy. We still do watch local news and half an hour of national news, but as I said, weʼre happy. I canned CNN 20 minutes into the debate and havenʼt been back, and we have briefly watched MSNBC, but we give it up pretty fast. Our son is a TYT person, but I really canʼt get into it.
Oh, gosh. The debate was theater, and it was supposed to counter the scurrilous claims that Joe Biden was losing his marbles. I sat down to watch with some trepidation, but also optimistic that the fine man that is Joe Biden would quite outshine the pond scum that is Donald Trump. My heart sank to my fallen arches as I watched Biden mince towards the podium, stop, mouth agape, and mutter something unintelligible, and make his unsteady way forward again. Might he have come back from that awful start? Yes. He could have caught his wind, and made a case for himself and our fine country. But he didn't. So I can kinda understand people not waiting for the cake to be completely baked to declare it a failure. Did Biden improve as the debate went on? Yes. But was it ever going to be sufficient to neutralize his ghostly/ghastly start? No. Of course it's unfair that Trump almost gets a pass for being an adamantine prevaricator every second. But Democrats are held to higher standards BECAUSE THEY HAVE STANDARDS. The issue is no longer about what's fair and is entirely about winning the election. And money plays an outsize role in that process.
Jul 11·edited Jul 11Liked by Lucian K. Truscott IV
I agree totally about Biden, but think you let the media off the hook too easily regarding the big liar. They should be devoting equal space and time to dissecting djt's words and affect. At least with Project 2025 they finally have something solid to unravel, and are doing so. Instead of harranguing them over Biden coverage, we should be demanding more detailed trump/p25 scrutiny.
The NYT's Editorial Board finally..... finally!....today published their opinion about Trump being unfit for office (or anything else for that matter). I agree with you that the media has been all about Biden's infirmities, and has given trump a lot of latitude. The problem is, of course, that trump's mendacity and corruption are yesterday's news; we have all come to expect that and only that from him. I've said this before but I will say it again: silence from Trump about Biden's current state speaks volumes, as he knows that he doesn't even have to chase down the prey, the prey is already dead for all intents and purposes.
In the Trump clips it's the background music and the sea of vapid faces behind him that really creeps me out. My fellow citizens? Wow. How scared and scary does someone have to be to actually be there in those seats sitting behind that horridly disgusting blithering beast of a human with those dopey Jonestown looks on their faces? Lemmings lining up at the cliff. Totally gives me the creeps.
Great post. I’ve been saying this for months. Trump keeps saying ridiculous,traitorous stuff and no one calls him out on any of it. Why is the media so afriad to criticize him? He rants and raves like a 4 year old. Oh, I forgot. He is a 4 year old
And then I watched Lawrence O'Donnell tonight and got 'the rest of the story'. Biden's meeting with labor in the midst of the NATO summit and giving a great no teleprompter talk - making sense unlike P01135890. And the full interview unedited with Nancy Pelosi....where she didn't say what the pundits say she said. Goddammit.
I too watched the full MJ interview with Pelosi (a big hero of mine), which btw was *supposed* to be about the op-ed she co-authored with Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya about tyranny in Belarus. She did say that IF Biden is the nominee she will support him 100%, but she also left open the possibility of replacing him. It was definitely not a ringing "shut up and get behind him" endorsement, which struck me as odd coming from the GOAT when it comes to lining up Democrats. Left me feeling like I may never get past this sense that I don't understand anything or anyone anymore...
Of course you know that Pelosi gave up her leadership post, quietly, when she was 82, saying the time had come for a younger generation to take the reins.
Thank you. I will have to find that. I have been VERY disturbed by what I have heard in regard to Pelosi.
Janice, can you post the link?
It was a big part of the show last night. Worth watching the whole episode
https://www.nbc.com/the-last-word-with-lawrence-odonnell
I guess it's not yet posted on the MSNBC site until later today or tomorrow.
But for your comment, Janice, I would not have known about the full interview with Nancy Pelosi. I did watch O'Donnell's interview with John Kirby, who confirmed for me that Joe Biden is definitely up to the task of running this country. Start at minute 9:17 for his comments about Biden: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HDfj7wjMCM0
I love it, "P01135890".
The president did an excellent job with the NATO conference, and his AFL/CIO speech was amazing – – without a Teleprompter. Meanwhile, Trump had one of his little fascist rallies in which he was an absolute, complete, total, sweaty mess. The most interesting part – – as in the old curse, “ May you live in interesting times “– – was when Trump gave a shout out to Don Junior, remarking, apropos of nothing, that junior has “a beautiful wife. “The problem there, of course, is that Don Junior is not married. He has been engaged for a long time, but he is definitely not married. Trump then compounded this astounding error by referring to junior’s non-existent wife as “Lara” — which is, of course, the name of Eric’s wife. If President Biden did something like that, the New York Times would be running banner headlines on the order of “Dewey Defeats Truman” and screaming for the 25th amendment.
Wow. Just, wow. We need to hang together and keep Trump as far away from the White House as we possibly can.
Yes we do. I am so thankful for all the clear thinking folks that coalesse around the wonderful clear headed Lucian and many other Substackers. Thirty at least. There are many names I see often in other great Substack comments. We are family. The few trolls get kicked in the teeth, as needed. I appreciate so many of you all.
I feel the same!
😘😘
I did not catch that god awful gaffe from the real gaffe machine!! May I share your post?
Please do!
Did you know that junior's "beautiful wife" used to be married to Gavin Newsom (my governor)? That just boggles my mind.
🤦🏼♀️😱🤮
Lucian, I am in total agreement with you. My sister and I are both dems but our thoughts about Biden greatly differ. Tonight, Lawrence O’Donnell reamed those politicians who want to throw Biden under the bus. He showed videos from today and yesterday of just how engaging and lucid he is, especially without a teleprompter. Lester Holt will be holding an interview with him I believe, this week. I sincerely hope that Holt conducts one that makes Biden shine. I’m in with Joe and that’s all there is to it!
I’m with you!
ME TOO!!!
Hello my dear friend Lucian, (I am sure we would be if we had ever met at Cornellia Street Cafe forty to fifty some years ago.) You probably knew my theater and art frinds very well, I am sure.
What a fukin pile of shit the inteligencia is. They know nothing of the history of political campaigns of the last seventy years or so. Who the fuck are these idiots who should know by HISTORY that to counter a successful incumbent means a total loss across the board!! Who ARE THESE MOTHER FUCKINIDIOTS!?!!?
Sorry for my brashness, but, I am sure you understand. I hope that some day, we could just sit and sip someting pleasant and just talk. I love everything you write. I have a bit of history that you might appreciate too.
We will get through this shit, if we stand together, forcefully.
I am 100% behind Biden. I did not watch the debate and don't need to. His actions are what I watch and he is brilliant at politics and being president. Why would I give that up one day sooner than I have to. We are sure to lose to Trump if we replace Biden. The money does not transfer, neither do the delegates, so we should be all in, and the naysayers should shut up and let the Republicans implode during their National Convention next week where I am waiting for Trump to tell the city what a dirty, awful, crime ridden place it is, or he will say that it is lovely in his sarcastic way, and then say how he is not supposed to say that it is an awful place. The way that he called Chris Christy not fat so often that it was clear that he meant the opposite.
Exactly!
Ransom, I don't need any apologies for brashness; it's times like this when we can and should say what is at the top of our minds. However, we want to say it. I've had it with these lily-livered blabbering people. They are used to djt and his mindless blithering. They can't be bothered to say anything anymore, though it requires comment every single day. But, holy god above, since they can only accept perfection, when our President Biden has a lackluster debate, the damn sky is falling. Get a grip, folks. This perfection-seeking will be the end of us. And by end, I mean THE end. Of life as we know it. I will leave it to Voltaire: “The perfect is the enemy of the good.” Now, that is a phrase that has stood the test of time.
Yes, Kathy, you are totally correct. A lack luster or even a sh*tshow performance by Trump would have been a non-issue for Republicans( his debate performance was utterly awful btw) and yet, Dems are crowding the fainting couches, clutching their damn pearls. I like what Ransom Rideout said earlier that"to counter a successful incumbent means a total loss across the board". I am with Joe until he tells me otherwise.
I believe there's a reason for the divergent reactions you mention and it's insulting to Trumpists but I'm going to say it anyway. Trumpists don't recognize intelligence when they see it. They think the way he talks is normal. Democrats do not function that way. We do know the difference between intelligent and stupid. That's why Trump's behavior doesn't bother them. They're used to it.
The Nattering Nabobs of Negativity!!
Takes you back to a bad time...
I like how Lucian's "lily-livered" is catching on!
Absolutely!
I would join you in that pleasant sip!
I have read your comments and you would be most welcome.
Even if Joe Biden was confined to a wheelchair and had to be fed, he would still be a better president than Trump!!!
Shame on the Democrats who are seeking their 15 minutes of infamy by attacking Biden rather than standing firm.
Ever since they started this ageism story in January I have believed that the real reason they’re upset is the thought that a black women might get to be President.
100%! Or at least 99%. A few of them mention VP Harris stepping up to head the ticket, but most of them leave that blank. What are they thinking?? Do they imagine themselves playing kingmaker like a Richard Daley or a Huey Long in the old days?
This skipping over Harris to “beat” Trump is some racist sexist bullshit
I believe they don’t want Trump to run against an incumbent who beat him AND who is flanked by a colorful VP.
I’ve wondered the same
BETTA BELIEVE!!!
What's pathetic is watching these experts and reporters doing the GOP's work. I hope someone's studying how fast the Kremlin/China/Iran bots were spewing out !@#%&%# during the debate hoping to catch the ear of American experts and reporters. "I knew we could do make them believe us," brags Putin/Leonard Leo/Steve Bannon/Jared Kushner/Stephen Miller/ assorted masters of the universe desperate to keep their tax cuts.
Hey LaurieOregon! What part of Oregon are you in? Several of us like minded democracy fighters in Oregon that connect on Substack are getting together for lunch on July 22nd near Salem. We are looking forward to meeting each other in person and would love to have you join us.
Hey Karen, it would be great to just meet you too after all this time. Laurie is spot on, as is Ally, the retired police person, over near the coast. She follows Joyce and Heather regularly. We are hoping to get up to Beaverton before the end of Fall to hang with my brother and all the ones I told you about. I'll keep you posted. Hood River is a trip they love to take.
Hey Ransom Rideout, let me know when you’re in Oregon. Ally, Michelle and I are meeting this month. I wish Laurie could join us but maybe another time.
What a great idea! I'm on the north coast and wish I could drive down there. I'll be with you in spirit. Have fun, and keep sharing the energy and determination!
Maybe we can get together with you another time. I love the north coast. I’m in Hood River
Oregon's north coast is the perfect place for activists to meet, reinvigorate themselves, and cheer each other on! Let me know when you want to meet in Astoria, Seaside, or Cannon Beach!
On the mark, Laurie.
This for sure. We, the Dems, are definitely doing the GOP’s work for them.
One of my major questions - why is Obama, Clinton, Hillary, (even maybe "W") not out there screaming from the rooftops in favor of Biden. Where are the surrogates??? They should all be out there every day - each one has a bully pulpit, if they would goddammmm use it! And George Clooney can go to hell as far as I'm concerned!
Exactly!
Let’s not forget that we still have the ability to speak out and draw out own conclusions.
The fact that so many don’t see the blatant inconsistencies is staggering! And what does it say about us as a nation?
We are revealing an important aspect of “the ugly American”!
Hopefully we are capable of reveresing the course, if not, it’s curtains for us!
The sense of urgency is, combined with the summer heat, brings to mind the phrase “every dog will have his day!”
My sincere apologies to the dogs.
Rudy Ghouliani’s specialty was throwing lies into the gossip universe so that the truth would take too long to take hold before an election.
Love your take on his name! Good one!
Me too! - that's hysterical!
What's the old saying - a lie goes halfway around the world before the truth can get its' shoes on! ?
He does look like an old time horror movie villain!
Woof!
I sent the entire transcript of that bizarre "speech" last night (thank you, Scott Dworkin for the link) but I doubt if MSNBC will read it. Something is clearly afoot within the bubble and it is all against Biden. It's up to us, the voters, to show the cowards who are trembling at losing their jobs, that we know MORE than they think they do, and we own the vote. They are spineless and embarrassing as far as I am concerned (I am not talking about voters...but about hand wringers.)
There's more of us than there is of them! I still believe this. If not, we are royally screwed.
Well said, Ellen.
As my granddaughter would say, « This is FIRE ». It is. Thank the ffg universe for you and sanity.
Yes! Thank universe for Lucian and Lawrence O'Donnell.
And a lot of us too. There are very good people here.(as opposed to both sides, as many do remember).
Let me start by saying I have so much respect for you, Mr. Truscott. But I am struggling right now.
Part A: I honestly do not care about the opinions of: the media; senators; house representatives; party “leaders”; anyone who the media interviews about their opinions. I am worried about the 51 million who watched that debate. And the millions more who heard about that debate from the 51 million. Or read about it afterwards (ok, that implicates the media). There is nothing you can say that will convince me that that was not a real time display of serious cognitive decline. Period. That will not be forgotten.
Part B: Biden was already trailing the 18-29 vote due to his age, Gaza, environmental issue (unfair in my opinion as he is outstanding on the environment, but it is what it is), etc. That demographic is now gone for sure. I have a hard time believing any of that demo will vote for Biden at this point. They may not vote for Trump, but they will not be motivated to vote for Biden. They just won’t vote, is my fear and what can he do in the next 4 months to change their mind?
Part C: Thank you posting that clip. That’s the Joe I remember and love. But honestly, that brings up another concern. So, he’s good now but a complete and utter cognitive disaster two weeks ago? That makes me worry that he had some sort of cardiac event. I’m sorry if that sounds crazy, but jet lag? A cold? Come on (to borrow a Joe phrase). Occam’s Razor seems appropriate here.
Part D: I am terrified of Trump winning. However, at this point I am more terrified we will lose the White House, the Senate, and the House if he stays on the ticket and I see nothing on the horizon that will change my mind.
Part E: Thank you for your writing and making me think and ponder…
“Cognitive” refers to knowing, thinking, learning, paying attention. Speaking isn’t a component of cognition. Comprehending what you have experienced, heard, or read , that’s cognition. Joe Biden managed to give answers to the debate moderators’ questions. Not smoothly enough to play a president on TV, it is true. Trump did not answer any of them. Either he could not understand the questions and come up with answers, or he had no intention of answering any questions at all, because no one has the right to ask him questions.
YUP. So right.
Exactly, thank you, Carol.
We all need to calm down. We do not need to be manipulated by those needing to justify their existance. FUCK THOSE ASSHOLES WHO will destroy us all by dividing us. Undersrand!?!??
We stand undivided against tyranny! Does that mean anything!??!!??!!
Joe Biden is strong, as evidensed by his performance at the NATO 75th aniversary meeting. HE NAILED IT!
He put together a TEAM!! It is the team that does the work. No president EVER has done it alone and many, I mean MANY previous POTUS's have had very serious and visible medical isssues. Where are Biden's visible issues? There is no one alive who could respond to an onslaught of lie after lies for a hundred lies and focus on one cogent response in a CNN ratings question and answer hour and a half. IT WAS NOT A MODERATED DEBATE.
Joe Biden said VERY CLEARLY, to the obviously hard of hearing and click baiting press that EVERYTHING the MOTHERFUCKING LYING ORANGE MONSTER SAID WAS A LIE!!!!
CLEARLY. I was there listening. Where were YOU???
Seriously. WHERE WERE YOU????? GOT IT??
.
AND it seems Biden could hear TFG ranting even though the microphones were off. I think he was just gobsmacked that the so called moderators weren’t moderating anything & allowing TFG to lie non-stop.
Gobsmacked! That’s the word I’ve been looking for., HulitC. Gobsmacking is another of Donald’s special talents, along with equivocating, prevaricating, smokescreening, gaslighting, projecting, attacking and blaming. Oh, and stiffing people, cheating at literally everything and raping women. His greatest talent and pleasure is in making people hate each other.
I actually thought of using that word! You are so right. Your other words are just as good.
I saw, on TV, the back of Joe Biden’s head. I can’t un-see it. I was overwhelmed by how elderly it looked. No matter how successful his presidency has been so far, and how atrocious was Trump’s administration, and how pathetic is Trump’s hair and his personality and his promise to become a dictator, I can’t help it. I want to vote for someone the back of whose head reflects my values, not the shiny skin between hairs.
The phrase “cannot un-see” is having a big moment these days. The weakness of Joe Biden’s hair follicles has bothered me for days. How strange it is, that many people apparently did un-see the violence at the Capitol on January 6, 2021.
Check out the post by Seth Abramson (Proof) on Substack. I read it last night and it is excellent! It’s long but he covers everything! Answers every question I can think of. It is worth the time to read it; then share the info to everyone! I think it will give you some peace of mind.
I've reposted that everywhere I can.
I think this is it, but only subscribers can read:
https://sethabramson.substack.com/p/proof-exclusive-the-top-25-issues?utm_campaign=posts-open-in-app&triedRedirect=true
Really? It wasn’t presented as a paid subscriber only post. Those usually are so described. Did you stick in your email for a look? It is really easy to unsubscribe.
The one I saw was https://sethabramson.substack.com/p/we-now-know-what-really-happened
THANK YOU!!! I'm sharing this everywhere I can!
Thank you! I landed on a subscriber only post, but it wasn’t the one you were referring to. I was able to read the one you saw & am sending it around! Thanks again.
Google Seth Abramson I guess.
To find it?
https://www.google.com/search?q=michael+moore+interview+on+msnbc+today&sca_esv=a2966af330025d8a&sca_upv=1&
Thought this is worth watching.
OK. I saw his stroke Substack. Sorry. I see nothing there. I watched it all. I have had the most respect for Mr. Moore. Biden was on top of it at the NATO 75th. Who could ask for more.
We need to do the work of getting out the vote up and down the ballot. Consider all the ways you can volunteer or help,
There was an interview with Bob Woodward on MSNBC after the debate, in which he questioned, WHY was Biden so messed up? There must be a REASON for it and a good reporter might take the time to try and find out the reason as his behavior in the debate just made no sense to him. I wonder. But after reading the above Seth Abramson piece on PROOF, it's good to know there are some honest and sane media pundits (not using that as an insult)!
way to go, Lucian! I wish you were running for Pres. You're the most fearless, smart voice in the blogosphere. Please don't stop!
Amen!
There’s no shortage of disparate opinions on this issue; in fact, I’ve never seen such a spectrum from a whole bunch of people I respect, including—first and foremost—Lucian. One key aspect about being open-minded and thoughtful is the ability to hold disparate beliefs simultaneously in one’s head. Now would be one of those times. As a counter-example to this post, you should watch Jon Stewart’s recent piece, “Jon Stewart Examines Biden’s Future Amidst Calls For Him to Drop Out:”
https://youtu.be/S9LZXheHddI?feature=shared
What struck me most about this was the multiple examples of Biden’s declining capabilities from instances having NOTHING TO DO WITH THE DEBATE. I’m also quite jaded over the punditocracy’s blathering all day (and night) long, but there’s also some pretty clear evidence that we’re not getting the full story: Biden’s aides and handlers are perhaps as interested in keeping their jobs as Biden is his.
“Better than Trump” is a very, very low bar. It’s a huge gamble either way, but I’m on board with the proposal for an open convention; a “mini-primary,” as Jim Clyburn (who, as Biden’s co-chair of his campaign, has more than a little bit of street cred) advocates.
Sorry, I do think Stewart was cherry picking. You know, those examples were not exactly secret--that's why there were clips. What exactly was being "covered up?" Has anything we DIDN'T have a chance to see happen that is now revealed? And the State of the Union didn't even go down his little chart more than half way. It really shouldn't have a "huh" at all. (Same apparently for the NATO speech) In 4 years there were what, six examples presented? Some of which involved the stutter.
Something clearly was wrong that night. And that clearly wrong has not repeated itself. If you have an anomaly you try to find out why it happened. You don't just say, OH, it isn't anomaly because someone has Kept Things hidden from us. What things? Oh, this half dozen. (MSM hasn't even given those examples. They just quote anonymous sources. )
I don't think Biden is impaired. But we've gone beyond that in terms of shooting ourselves in the foot. But what is facing us now the effect of the a massive propaganda move by particularly the NY Times that is shaking the population into seeing DEMOCRATS as incompetent infighters. Isn't going to matter WHO gets nominated. That infighting is going to and probably has already messed up the party's chances.
What the media COULD have done was taken a hard look at all the possible reasons for the anomaly instead of proclaiming just one. A bad cold is brushed aside without even asking a doctor whether it might have caused the anomaly. Someone used "jet lag" to describe "exhaustion" and it becomes a big joke about the size of the plane. I, in fact, take several days to get over jet lag even WITHOUT a cold and without anything particularly exhausting happening before I got on the plane. Heck, I take a week or more to get over the shift to Daylight Savings. Someone, maybe a CNN moderator, could have MENTIONED that trump was yelling off mike. They sure haven't denied it once Biden brought it up.
The media COULD have published chunks of the transcript and said "look, he's actually making sense here. I wonder why it didn't come across? " I'm reasonably sure they would have had trouble saying "he's incoherent and incompetent except, of course, for what he actually said."
Of course the public isn't going to read the transcript. Only those of us trying to figure out why the anomaly bothered to do so. But it is the job of the media to present what happened, and one of the things that happened was the transcript. Not word boo. There's this thing called lying by omission that everyone points out Fox is good at. The media here was being Foxier than Thou on that score. MSM has failed American utterly, and we all may be much the poorer for it. Even the MSM, once the newly immune president trump uses his "core power" as commander in chief to shut them down because they do Fake News. .
Give me one good reason why a cold and exhaustion COULDN'T be what happened.
By the way, as an excellent example of hubris and self-regard, there is Stewart bragging about how late night comedy has been pointing out trumps lies and idiocies for a long time. True--but it for a long time has been the ONLY place that has pointed them out. The fact that Colbert or Kimmel make jokes does very little about the general indifference of the public to trump's lies. They do it for the laughs. MSM ignores it because it doesn't get enough clicks. Ah, but we expect those lies, so somehow that makes them OK? Get out the marker, I've got a "huh" to inscribe.
I generally like Stewart but he can be an asshole. Like Maher. Don't get me started on Clooney.
Susan, everything you say is justified and well-considered; thank you. Part of the reason why I’m taking the stance I do is because (and I’ve said it in this forum before, just a few days ago) it DOES NOT MATTER what you or I think, since we both read a lot and think about these things incessantly. Ergo, we’re both going to vote for the D candidate no matter what, even if that candidate is a ham sandwich (e.g.)—still better than TFG.
Put your mind in the place of the narrow slice of undecided voters. Then, in my view, it all crystallizes. For example, you say Stewart was cherry-picking and that the video clips he used aren’t exactly secret. OK, I’m with you so far. But, most people somewhere-in-the-middle DO hear this stuff, and DO take it into account, and probably don’t spend the time or energy to dissect who’s bullshitting them from the truth-tellers. If they’re not secret, then let’s assume they all saw them. And many are thinking to themselves, “Who ya gonna believe, me or your lyin’ eyes?” Many of those people have already made up their minds on Biden, and it ain’t good, even if they’re anti-MAGA. All that means is they’ll either stay home on election day or vote for a screwball like RFK, Jr., which is equivalent to not voting. We can do better than that, and we must.
I live in France; resident for the past five years. As Stewart says, if France can hold TWO election in the space on ONE MONTH and vote out fascism, then the US ought to be able to pick not just a decent candidate, but the best candidate, in the space of four months prior to the election. I agree. We all know what the stakes are; I say aim for the fences.
We don’t know anything. Stand behind Joe Biden, the incumbent with a great track record. People WILL vote for Joe.
What I keep trying to say is that it didn't have to be this way if MSM had done its job. I don't think that a new candidate will magically fix things. Unless it is Taylor Swift, maybe. Our society has come to the point where maybe she would win.
You are right that people are not going to dissect things. They DO know that Biden was not his usual self. They want reassurance. They let the news tell them what to think. If MSM had given them reason to be reassured, showed them how what it they saw with their own eyes had an explanation relatable to anyone who has had a bad cold they'd have eaten it up. THEN when the they realized the alternate is trump they'd go "yeah, sure. I saw that, and yeah, I can see how you'd do poorly with a cold." At which point the media would fire off clip after clip of Biden doing forceful things and folks would say "wow, they were right, lose the cold and it all comes back again." They'd say, "I'd prefer a younger candidate, for sure. But of two old men, I'll take the one who tells the truth"
All of which would have been much easier if had covered trump's increasing inanities as they showed up, the continuous stream. You don't have to cherry pick with trump: he hands you bushels, pre-picked. In order to believe what you see with your own eyes you have to SEE it.
(BTW, 174 million eligible voters did NOT see anything with their own eyes at the debate because they didn't watch it. They were told not only what happened, which is reportable, they got told WHY MSM had determined FOR them what had happened which is sheer opinion. A neat little package; the public sure does like neat little packages.)
How did the French beat the forces of Le Pen? They UNITED as soon as they actually saw the danger. They moved from "it can't happen here" to "dear lord, it is happening here." My hope is that the rising awareness of Project 2025 will help folks see the danger and vote "blue no matter who." To drill Project 2025 down peoples throats, you need money, which none but Kamala Harris has instant access to.
And sorry, this isn't France. A black/S Asian woman at the top of the ticket? She's already being attacked as a DEI hire. Sorry, I think Biden will do better--or would have done better if MSM hadn't done its best to kill him off. Now it's just keep the fingers crossed. Pray, it that's your thing.
But absent a whole lot of really detailed coverage of Project 2025 and its true clone, Trumps own website, whatever he says--MSM has eliminated "running on one's record" as a factor in this election, when in fact it is the ONLY thing that matters to any one who has a brain cell, which clearly includes people who haven't fallen for MAGA full throttle. A whole lot will depend on what MSM does when Biden does indeed get the nomination. If it continues to moan, game is over. It WILL be interesting to see how they change their narrative, if they do.
It's 'who you gonna believe ME or your OWN eyes'...not lyin' eyes! This misstatement bugs me no end and I don't know how it got started!
PS...Good Job, France!!
Absolutely! Fair weather friends - who needs 'em!!! Just read the Seth Abramson piece noted above and he explains it all...MSM doesn't want to bother finding truth anymore, I guess. And that is very sad and disturbing...to say nothing of bots, etc. Who needs Russian bots when we have our MSM?
Oh, the bots are out there too. We just took down one AI assisted bot network which did exactly the same as the Macedonia grunts did in 2016 and 2020 without AI. Flood social media with fake accounts purporting to be Real Americans with views aimed at raising disruption.
Jon Stewart was right on. Thanks for sending.
"Jackie? Jackie? Where's Jackie?" Did Stewart include that one, a press conference a year or two ago where Joe called for a congressmember to step up and share credit? The moment waa excruciating to anyone who follows news. Jackie was inconveniently dead, victim of an an auto accident the president surely had been informed of.
The corporate owned MSM gets more unhinged by the day. Fewer and fewer of us are watching/listening. Their response is to lie bigger and louder. Ours is to continue to find alternate sources for real news and to continue to stand up for democracy. If we stay strong and united we can pull off a major reset - where the people, not the 0.01% of the media and big donors pick the president. We can do this.
Every time corporate MSM gets out of hand (usually about three minutes into the show) I grab the remote and switch to Al-Jazeera. Weʼve watched it almost nonstop over the last few days, and weʼre happy. We still do watch local news and half an hour of national news, but as I said, weʼre happy. I canned CNN 20 minutes into the debate and havenʼt been back, and we have briefly watched MSNBC, but we give it up pretty fast. Our son is a TYT person, but I really canʼt get into it.
Oh, gosh. The debate was theater, and it was supposed to counter the scurrilous claims that Joe Biden was losing his marbles. I sat down to watch with some trepidation, but also optimistic that the fine man that is Joe Biden would quite outshine the pond scum that is Donald Trump. My heart sank to my fallen arches as I watched Biden mince towards the podium, stop, mouth agape, and mutter something unintelligible, and make his unsteady way forward again. Might he have come back from that awful start? Yes. He could have caught his wind, and made a case for himself and our fine country. But he didn't. So I can kinda understand people not waiting for the cake to be completely baked to declare it a failure. Did Biden improve as the debate went on? Yes. But was it ever going to be sufficient to neutralize his ghostly/ghastly start? No. Of course it's unfair that Trump almost gets a pass for being an adamantine prevaricator every second. But Democrats are held to higher standards BECAUSE THEY HAVE STANDARDS. The issue is no longer about what's fair and is entirely about winning the election. And money plays an outsize role in that process.
I agree totally about Biden, but think you let the media off the hook too easily regarding the big liar. They should be devoting equal space and time to dissecting djt's words and affect. At least with Project 2025 they finally have something solid to unravel, and are doing so. Instead of harranguing them over Biden coverage, we should be demanding more detailed trump/p25 scrutiny.
The NYT's Editorial Board finally..... finally!....today published their opinion about Trump being unfit for office (or anything else for that matter). I agree with you that the media has been all about Biden's infirmities, and has given trump a lot of latitude. The problem is, of course, that trump's mendacity and corruption are yesterday's news; we have all come to expect that and only that from him. I've said this before but I will say it again: silence from Trump about Biden's current state speaks volumes, as he knows that he doesn't even have to chase down the prey, the prey is already dead for all intents and purposes.
The nyt sure pulled out all the stops—unsparing. The timing isn't accidental. Synched with the GOP convention.
Since I cancelled my subscription to the "failing NY Times', I hadn't seen that. Well shout it out from the rooftops if anyone cares at this point.
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2024/07/11/opinion/editorials/donald-trump-2024-unfit.html. It's the first time that the board has used this format in an editorial, I believe. Not sure that it's effective but interesting that they chose to attach the bells and whistles they usually eschew.
In the Trump clips it's the background music and the sea of vapid faces behind him that really creeps me out. My fellow citizens? Wow. How scared and scary does someone have to be to actually be there in those seats sitting behind that horridly disgusting blithering beast of a human with those dopey Jonestown looks on their faces? Lemmings lining up at the cliff. Totally gives me the creeps.
Wholeheartedly agree!!! They think it's their 15 minutes of fame. They act like they are at a big circus! (And yeah, they are!)
Great post. I’ve been saying this for months. Trump keeps saying ridiculous,traitorous stuff and no one calls him out on any of it. Why is the media so afriad to criticize him? He rants and raves like a 4 year old. Oh, I forgot. He is a 4 year old
Keep up the great commentary Lucien
You can hardly ignore the effect of the big liar's brownshirts.
Speaking of which, the nyTimes just moved this chilling news:
'A Trump Ally Is Training 75 Armed Citizens. Is That a Militia?
'Bruce Blakeman, the Nassau County executive, is recruiting “special deputies” to deploy during disaster or unrest. Opponents say the move is dangerous.' https://www.nytimes.com/2024/07/11/nyregion/bruce-blakeman-armed-citizens-long-island.html