Joe Biden shouldn't have run again but the Republicans presenting Trump was a perfect call? Looks to me like all we did was trade a humane disconnected grandpa for an evil disconnected grandpa
I find this new newsletter fascinating; I have no problem with honest reporting or opinion.
I think many are missing the larger point here. Biden’s foolish decision to run again and the party leadership’s disingenuous insistence that all was well combined to do serious damage to the credibility of the Democratic Party brand.
Neither Biden’s accomplishments in office nor Trump’s despicable actions are what this piece is about. And neither explain why the approval rating of the Democratic Party is at 27%.
The problem with mea culpas is that unlike at the confessional, in politics they tend to reinforce perceptions of weakness and a “I thought as much” reaction from the uncommitted. Find your keystone message so that the Democratic Arch can withstand the bombardments by the barbarians and build that arch with the granite of decency and solid democratic principles. Stay in message and avoid messaging the past however successful you may deem it because the perception of success did not work in 2024.
This article fails to recognize that democratic voters have significant financial problems and the party platform did not address them. Democrats can talk about Biden's mistake all day and they wont win an election. The problem is the economy; propose a fix for it, and democrats will win in a landslide. Continue on the current course and the US will become a dictatorship
Could we all agree that, as s communicator, Joe Biden was an abysmal failure?
Successful communication is marked by making what is objectively successful of your your record prominent in the minds of those who are not political obsessive. Instead, what disengaged voters noticed most were elevated prices, migrants crossing the border, and more attention being paid to trans rights (somewhat influenced by right-wing messaging).
The Biden campaign reminds in one way of the Iraq War.
There was one thing that Cheney and Rumsfeld were unwilling to do in order to suppress the insurgency in Iraq. Reevaluate their assumptions about what it would take to win.
There was one thing Biden was unwilling to do in order to prevent Trump's return to power. Reevaluate his assumptions about what it would take to win.
Thank you for this very important post! This should absolutely be the litmus test. I agree with the other commenters that we don’t need to obsess about the past, but we need to acknowledge where we went wrong if we’re going to improve going forward.
Biden made a mistake. He let his ego get in the way. The Democratic Party made a mistake. No one besides Dean felt comfortable challenging Biden without facing the wrath of the leadership. The party even rigged the primary to make sure it was impossible. This was wrong. The party needs to get out of this old school seniority based mindset. We need dynamic leaders that meet the moment. The same problem is happening with Chuck Schumer now.
Think for a second about what happened in the 2016 republican primary. Republican voters were pissed about 8 years of Obama. Obama was really ushered into power behind the extreme dissatisfaction with George W Bush during the Iraq war. And what was the republican establishments best idea for 2016… oh, what about his brother? Jeb couldn’t even admit after everything we know now that the war was a mistake.
You know who was able to admit it? Donald Trump. He was freely able to criticize the mistakes that most Americans clearly saw during the Bush administration. We need the same candor from democrats now. Otherwise, voters aren’t going to trust them about all of the great policy changes that Biden made and they could continue.
I know this is really hard for Bulwarkers like us to admit, but I think it is necessary.
The only stench that lingers from Biden is the trump presidency. Biden and Garland are responsible for trump’s comeback and I will never forgive him….it cancels out every good thing he did. Trump should have been in jail the day after Garland was officially Attorney General.
It's called a mental status exam, not a litmus test. It does not involve whether you leave your mouth open some times or have slack articulation. Stage performance seems to dominate our politics - that's why we have a TV star as president (the Ukrainians didn't do too bad with that, though). Presidents no longer have to lead troops into battle swinging a broad sword; they need to understand people, the economy, and a few other things. Find someone who can do that and still do cart wheels and you'll have a good candidate. Did you ever notice Biden's come-backs to stupid questions? Gosh, that and in-depth foreign policy chops, too.
Wow, Lauren. Time to move on. I am not feeling or seeing or hearing much about a “Joe Biden Litmus Test” out there. Not helpful. Talk to us about what is going on in the states, inside DNC planning, the new DNC chair, the numerous advocacy groups that are out there, fighting Russian & MAGA disinformation, our process of media consolidation outside of MSM. Shed some light on a new direction for the Democratic Party. Joe Biden was a good president, he wasn’t perfect, but his time in leadership is passed. Don’t need to re-litigate President Clinton’s push for NAFTA or President Obama’s neglect of Ukraine’s 2014 invasion in retrospect either.
I read your piece three times searching for the cause of your angst. I get it. It could have been so much easier if Biden had been the one-term bridge President that he initially intended, but I suspect he got caught up in a novel virus pandemic, two wars, stubbornly high inflation and trying to make the government work for Americans. He didn’t look up and assess the situation but knew he could “do the job” before him. I understand that many in Democratic leadership need to make way for a new generation. We need good multi-mode communicators and strategists in the opposition to define the agenda and beat back disinformation.
I would also plead for humility and humanity: an awareness of the human condition in your writing. Please avoid using brutal Joe Rogan-esque statements such as “the ex-president’s legacy lingers over the party like the stench of rotting food” but rather employ a thoughtful discourse as is the Bulwark standard. Also, spend some time observing people at various stages in the life course. Know that while younger brains excel in speed and multitasking, 80-year-old brains can compensate with accumulated knowledge and experience, showing strengths in areas like vocabulary and problem-solving. Please have compassion for those young and old who are trying to lead and legislate at this unprecedented time in our history.
The Democratic Party’s all consuming job for the next four years is to move out of policy mode and into modified back bench bomb throwing mode. So we need your opposition reporting more than ever.
Please stop beating a dead horse! During the evening after Mr. Biden’s 2020 inauguration, his sister was asked if her brother should seek a second term. Her response: “WHY NOT!”. As this woman seems to have been involved with many of Mr. Biden’s campaigns, I was immediately convinced that there would be enormous pressure and encouragement to persuade him to seek a second term. As Democrats, we don’t want to, to use your metaphor, scrape the rotten food off the table, but raze the building which houses the damn table to the ground and build a new building and quietly invite sane Democrats, like Josh Shapiro, Andy Beshear, James Carvell and Elissa Slotkin to occupy it until a clear, workable strategy could be formulated to disarm the Republicans. I would also beg the rest of the Democrats to shut the hell up and let the Republican Party do it’s worst, which they’re going to do anyway. Your thoughts?
What about the party leaders hiding Biden's mental problems? Had he stepped down Kamala would have assumed the presidency and would have had a far better chance of rolling over Trump. Him staying was like Ginsburg not retiring in Obama's first term. Everyone thinks that they're irreplaceable.
The Democrats place Joe Biden before the firing squad. But the firing Squad is arrayed in a circle around the intended target. They're shooting each other. No way to run a military campaign. Nor a political one. Identity politics worked very well for decades but has now worn thin and is no longer effective. Chuck Schumer marching arm in arm with Maxine Waters singing "We Will Overcome" while supporters follow carrying rainbow flags will not turn the political tide. Progressive policies and executive orders created a sense of unfairness within a sizable portion of society. Unfairness, perceived or real, is a powerful motivator. Trump cultivated that sense and catalyzed it into grievance. "Retribution" or payback is what he promised and his acolytes took the bait, hook, line and sinker. That's not what Trump truly desires but that's what he promised and it got him elected. Whites dislike DEI because it gives those other people benefits not available to me. Mexican immigrants hate Venezuelan illegals because the Venezuelans got asylum and a path forward while I got nothing and worked like a dog to make it here. Unfairness is powerful. Even monkeys recognize unfairness. Look at Frans de Waal's Ted Talk on one monkey getting a grape while another only received cucumber slices. Now Trump is engaging in authoritarian level unfairness. The Democrats must figure out a way to turn the tables on Trump and point out to the voting populace that may have voted for him but are now unsure about Trump that he is blatantly unfair and needs to go. Replacing Trump will be difficult since a third of the populace is entranced and it thrall to him. He is destroying the government and institutions which kept executive power in check. If there is another election, it is incumbent upon the Democratic Party to put forth a candidate who exemplifies fairness and follows it up with actions that benefit all of society rather than just the few anointed interest groups.
I wonder how much of this is really a shadowy way of pointing a finger at Schumer and asking if the same mistake is happening again. There’s also still some party baggage around how things played out with Feinstein and RBG not retiring sooner.
I also don’t think it is rocket science to think that young people don’t respond to old timers who were responsible for a lot of decisions and actions that haven’t aged well. New blood is needed at a lot of levels in the party.
Can’t believe it’s March 2025 and the entire world is still entirely confused as to what led to Biden running. Sigh…for the umpteenth time.
As I, a neurologist, said then, and I’ll maintain now, I don’t blame Joe Biden for running. I blame the soft-willed people around him who refused to make him exit the stage. Joe Biden ran because he was entirely blind to his limitations. That’s a hallmark feature of Alzheimer’s The lack of insight into one’s own declining faculties. Joe Biden had an admirable career in which he consistently demonstrated pragmatism and selflessness. If he had had any idea what a poor candidate he’d become, he never would’ve run.
But he didn’t. That’s the nature of the beast. It’s why your elderly parent doesn’t just voluntarily give up the car keys. They need to be cajoled, sometimes forcefully. Because in their mind, their driving is just fine.
Joe Biden shouldn't have run again but the Republicans presenting Trump was a perfect call? Looks to me like all we did was trade a humane disconnected grandpa for an evil disconnected grandpa
I find this new newsletter fascinating; I have no problem with honest reporting or opinion.
I think many are missing the larger point here. Biden’s foolish decision to run again and the party leadership’s disingenuous insistence that all was well combined to do serious damage to the credibility of the Democratic Party brand.
Neither Biden’s accomplishments in office nor Trump’s despicable actions are what this piece is about. And neither explain why the approval rating of the Democratic Party is at 27%.
The problem with mea culpas is that unlike at the confessional, in politics they tend to reinforce perceptions of weakness and a “I thought as much” reaction from the uncommitted. Find your keystone message so that the Democratic Arch can withstand the bombardments by the barbarians and build that arch with the granite of decency and solid democratic principles. Stay in message and avoid messaging the past however successful you may deem it because the perception of success did not work in 2024.
This article fails to recognize that democratic voters have significant financial problems and the party platform did not address them. Democrats can talk about Biden's mistake all day and they wont win an election. The problem is the economy; propose a fix for it, and democrats will win in a landslide. Continue on the current course and the US will become a dictatorship
Could we all agree that, as s communicator, Joe Biden was an abysmal failure?
Successful communication is marked by making what is objectively successful of your your record prominent in the minds of those who are not political obsessive. Instead, what disengaged voters noticed most were elevated prices, migrants crossing the border, and more attention being paid to trans rights (somewhat influenced by right-wing messaging).
The Biden campaign reminds in one way of the Iraq War.
There was one thing that Cheney and Rumsfeld were unwilling to do in order to suppress the insurgency in Iraq. Reevaluate their assumptions about what it would take to win.
There was one thing Biden was unwilling to do in order to prevent Trump's return to power. Reevaluate his assumptions about what it would take to win.
Thank you for this very important post! This should absolutely be the litmus test. I agree with the other commenters that we don’t need to obsess about the past, but we need to acknowledge where we went wrong if we’re going to improve going forward.
Biden made a mistake. He let his ego get in the way. The Democratic Party made a mistake. No one besides Dean felt comfortable challenging Biden without facing the wrath of the leadership. The party even rigged the primary to make sure it was impossible. This was wrong. The party needs to get out of this old school seniority based mindset. We need dynamic leaders that meet the moment. The same problem is happening with Chuck Schumer now.
Think for a second about what happened in the 2016 republican primary. Republican voters were pissed about 8 years of Obama. Obama was really ushered into power behind the extreme dissatisfaction with George W Bush during the Iraq war. And what was the republican establishments best idea for 2016… oh, what about his brother? Jeb couldn’t even admit after everything we know now that the war was a mistake.
You know who was able to admit it? Donald Trump. He was freely able to criticize the mistakes that most Americans clearly saw during the Bush administration. We need the same candor from democrats now. Otherwise, voters aren’t going to trust them about all of the great policy changes that Biden made and they could continue.
I know this is really hard for Bulwarkers like us to admit, but I think it is necessary.
The only stench that lingers from Biden is the trump presidency. Biden and Garland are responsible for trump’s comeback and I will never forgive him….it cancels out every good thing he did. Trump should have been in jail the day after Garland was officially Attorney General.
It's called a mental status exam, not a litmus test. It does not involve whether you leave your mouth open some times or have slack articulation. Stage performance seems to dominate our politics - that's why we have a TV star as president (the Ukrainians didn't do too bad with that, though). Presidents no longer have to lead troops into battle swinging a broad sword; they need to understand people, the economy, and a few other things. Find someone who can do that and still do cart wheels and you'll have a good candidate. Did you ever notice Biden's come-backs to stupid questions? Gosh, that and in-depth foreign policy chops, too.
Wow, Lauren. Time to move on. I am not feeling or seeing or hearing much about a “Joe Biden Litmus Test” out there. Not helpful. Talk to us about what is going on in the states, inside DNC planning, the new DNC chair, the numerous advocacy groups that are out there, fighting Russian & MAGA disinformation, our process of media consolidation outside of MSM. Shed some light on a new direction for the Democratic Party. Joe Biden was a good president, he wasn’t perfect, but his time in leadership is passed. Don’t need to re-litigate President Clinton’s push for NAFTA or President Obama’s neglect of Ukraine’s 2014 invasion in retrospect either.
I read your piece three times searching for the cause of your angst. I get it. It could have been so much easier if Biden had been the one-term bridge President that he initially intended, but I suspect he got caught up in a novel virus pandemic, two wars, stubbornly high inflation and trying to make the government work for Americans. He didn’t look up and assess the situation but knew he could “do the job” before him. I understand that many in Democratic leadership need to make way for a new generation. We need good multi-mode communicators and strategists in the opposition to define the agenda and beat back disinformation.
I would also plead for humility and humanity: an awareness of the human condition in your writing. Please avoid using brutal Joe Rogan-esque statements such as “the ex-president’s legacy lingers over the party like the stench of rotting food” but rather employ a thoughtful discourse as is the Bulwark standard. Also, spend some time observing people at various stages in the life course. Know that while younger brains excel in speed and multitasking, 80-year-old brains can compensate with accumulated knowledge and experience, showing strengths in areas like vocabulary and problem-solving. Please have compassion for those young and old who are trying to lead and legislate at this unprecedented time in our history.
The Democratic Party’s all consuming job for the next four years is to move out of policy mode and into modified back bench bomb throwing mode. So we need your opposition reporting more than ever.
Please stop beating a dead horse! During the evening after Mr. Biden’s 2020 inauguration, his sister was asked if her brother should seek a second term. Her response: “WHY NOT!”. As this woman seems to have been involved with many of Mr. Biden’s campaigns, I was immediately convinced that there would be enormous pressure and encouragement to persuade him to seek a second term. As Democrats, we don’t want to, to use your metaphor, scrape the rotten food off the table, but raze the building which houses the damn table to the ground and build a new building and quietly invite sane Democrats, like Josh Shapiro, Andy Beshear, James Carvell and Elissa Slotkin to occupy it until a clear, workable strategy could be formulated to disarm the Republicans. I would also beg the rest of the Democrats to shut the hell up and let the Republican Party do it’s worst, which they’re going to do anyway. Your thoughts?
Ro Khanna kind of kills me. The answer is American carnage?
What about the party leaders hiding Biden's mental problems? Had he stepped down Kamala would have assumed the presidency and would have had a far better chance of rolling over Trump. Him staying was like Ginsburg not retiring in Obama's first term. Everyone thinks that they're irreplaceable.
The Democrats place Joe Biden before the firing squad. But the firing Squad is arrayed in a circle around the intended target. They're shooting each other. No way to run a military campaign. Nor a political one. Identity politics worked very well for decades but has now worn thin and is no longer effective. Chuck Schumer marching arm in arm with Maxine Waters singing "We Will Overcome" while supporters follow carrying rainbow flags will not turn the political tide. Progressive policies and executive orders created a sense of unfairness within a sizable portion of society. Unfairness, perceived or real, is a powerful motivator. Trump cultivated that sense and catalyzed it into grievance. "Retribution" or payback is what he promised and his acolytes took the bait, hook, line and sinker. That's not what Trump truly desires but that's what he promised and it got him elected. Whites dislike DEI because it gives those other people benefits not available to me. Mexican immigrants hate Venezuelan illegals because the Venezuelans got asylum and a path forward while I got nothing and worked like a dog to make it here. Unfairness is powerful. Even monkeys recognize unfairness. Look at Frans de Waal's Ted Talk on one monkey getting a grape while another only received cucumber slices. Now Trump is engaging in authoritarian level unfairness. The Democrats must figure out a way to turn the tables on Trump and point out to the voting populace that may have voted for him but are now unsure about Trump that he is blatantly unfair and needs to go. Replacing Trump will be difficult since a third of the populace is entranced and it thrall to him. He is destroying the government and institutions which kept executive power in check. If there is another election, it is incumbent upon the Democratic Party to put forth a candidate who exemplifies fairness and follows it up with actions that benefit all of society rather than just the few anointed interest groups.
I wonder how much of this is really a shadowy way of pointing a finger at Schumer and asking if the same mistake is happening again. There’s also still some party baggage around how things played out with Feinstein and RBG not retiring sooner.
I also don’t think it is rocket science to think that young people don’t respond to old timers who were responsible for a lot of decisions and actions that haven’t aged well. New blood is needed at a lot of levels in the party.
Can’t believe it’s March 2025 and the entire world is still entirely confused as to what led to Biden running. Sigh…for the umpteenth time.
As I, a neurologist, said then, and I’ll maintain now, I don’t blame Joe Biden for running. I blame the soft-willed people around him who refused to make him exit the stage. Joe Biden ran because he was entirely blind to his limitations. That’s a hallmark feature of Alzheimer’s The lack of insight into one’s own declining faculties. Joe Biden had an admirable career in which he consistently demonstrated pragmatism and selflessness. If he had had any idea what a poor candidate he’d become, he never would’ve run.
But he didn’t. That’s the nature of the beast. It’s why your elderly parent doesn’t just voluntarily give up the car keys. They need to be cajoled, sometimes forcefully. Because in their mind, their driving is just fine.