271 Comments

I miss Charlie ....

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He's still on Substack writing a publication called To the Contrary.

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What you say (Biden stay in the W.H.) might work if he is safely ahead in September In the meantime, some live practice is necessary, in case it's needed.

Border is fine, something for Congress to fight about, but the priority must be the ceasefire. Israel should agree to a "permanent" one, as it will obviously be Hamas to break it and then....whatever comes after. Israel has not come close to completing the job and is without a way to do it.

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So sick of Bill Kristol, unable to give Biden the credit he deserves. Everything he writes about Biden is qualified. Go push another Sarah Palin on us, Bill. I know you were a big fan

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@ Bill

America doesn't seem to have realized that Biden is a good President and has fond memories of the era when the Presisent pressured NOAA to change hurricane maps.

So your startegy has some flaws in it.

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William, I keep trying to keep

an open mind about your

posts. There have been a

couple of good ones over the

past 7 posting days. Then

you post something like this.

President Biden is a human,

just like the rest of us,

including you. Thus, he's apt

to make gaffes and

teleprompter errors.

He's NOT apt to pull our

country out of NATO, to allow

another dictator to damage

an allie if they don't pony up

the $ he/Trump thinks they

should which he's notorious

for not paying his bills.

Biden's not about to pull out

of a nuclear proliferation

agreement with an upcoming

enemy. I could go on.

Most of ALL though,

President Biden's not about

to enlist thousands of people

and many congresspeople to

attempt to overthrow the

government and kill and

injure people in the process,

so he can stay in power.

President Biden has too much

respect for our Constitution,

his oath of office, our

country, its laws and

people to even consider it.

So, please stop.

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Thank you.

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Political one-liners are extremely valuable later in the campaign. The President is collecting them at each stop he makes. Regarding Trump Bibles in Florida he stated "I almost wanted to buy one just to see what the hell’s in it,” Strategists are preparing future ads that will be directed at Trump and Kennedy. We are too far out. The polls reflect Dems are starting to coming home. Many GOP and Haley voters are trying to decide where to cast their vote. Regardless of individual fear, Trump is in trouble.

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I suppose Bill is entitled to his opinion but so are others. Biden's appearance at the Union endorsement was another master class in how to politic. His barbs were funny and biting and clearly communicated why Joe was on the working persons side and MAGA is not. With Trump I like to look at the awkward shock of the folks stuck behind him. With Joe yesterday the guy behind him said it all, the Union folks are behind Joe.

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Written by the same guy who believes Biden shouldn't be the candidate (then who? remains unanswered and how would that happen? does too.) Is he suggesting the Vice President, a Black....woman? When the last 15 years has suggested that White men would rather have a king than a Black President?

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founding

RE: Pretty Good President, Not So Good Candidate

I suppose Kristol actually writing the words "pretty good president" is progress of sorts. Here's a different take on that headline: Petty Good Writer, Not So Good Cheerleader...Or Campaign Strategist

We know you're for Biden only because he'll be the nominee and he's not Donald Trump or RFK Jr. or some other wacko. And fair enough, Bill. But with the stakes this time around being what they are, do try to curb your enthusiasm a bit so it doesn't seem so, oh, IDK... unseemly. (/S, just in case)

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If Biden's afraid of the Israel lobby - or any lobby - he shouldn't be President.

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Apr 25·edited Apr 25

I think it was Mika Brzezinski who compared Biden to a Labrador Retriever. For reasons I personally can scarcely fathom, he can't resist coddling (or should I say, *cuddling*) every manner of group or person except the truly offensive. That used to be called retail politics. It's a lost art. It's easy to hold it in contempt. But he obviously relishes it, and not only because it's arguably part of his job.

Indeed, in an age when large elements of the population are willfully isolating themselves even at the cost of suicidal depression, Biden arguably deserves the nation's at least grudging thanks.

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That's how Biden is described in Franklin Foer's book The Last Politician. Seems accurate to me. But a President needs to know when to stop politicking and start President-ing.

Biden would have gotten loads of thanks if he hadn't run again. Definitely mine. Instead I'm peeved that we have to carry him over the finish line.

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And who do you think should be running? Every time I've asked the question I get names of people who have never said they want the job or they're people with little experience in dealing with obstinate (not to mention stupid) member of both parties, have little to no foreign policy experience, come from areas that are smaller than the suburbs of my desert valley, aren't known for compromising or even connecting with ordinary people, or have woefully unrealistic ideas about how government works. The minute the Rs became Trump's Pets, I knew the only person who had a ghost of a chance of getting anything done was Joe Biden in 2020 and in 2024. Assuming the Orange Snake doesn't get elected again, the Ds can then come up with a worthy successor to the best president I've seen in a long time. Whoever that person is, he or she will have gigantic shoes to fill.

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I ask the same question & they can never name someone who could actually win against tRump

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How much experience did Obama have? Clinton? Carter? Kennedy? Truman?

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Kennedy - 3 term House of Rep, Senator

Clinton - 2 term governor of Arkansas, state attorney general, lawyer

Truman - Senator for 10 years, county judge prior to that, known for investigating fraud and waste in government defense spending during WWII - Senate Special Committee to Investigate Contracts Under the National Defense Program, with Truman as chairman. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Truman_Committee

Carter - Annapolis graduate, submarine duty, taught nuclear engineering in Navy, 2-term Georgia state senator, governor of Georgia. Staunch civil rights defender dating back to his Navy days. Successful businessman.

Obama - community organizer for poor and blacks in Chicago before getting a law degree from Harvard, president of Harvard Law Review, civil rights attorney, state senator known for passing some 300 bills, then US Senator. (Personally, I voted against him in the primaries when he ran for President because I thought he needed more experience in the Senate. He proved me wrong for the most part.)

Ranking wise: The Ds, including all of the above are doing better than the Rs. Carter's the weakest, but he's actually ranking higher in the polls now (22). And St. Ronnie is dropping (16). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Historical_rankings_of_presidents_of_the_United_States https://www.npr.org/2024/02/19/1232447088/historians-presidents-survey-trump-last-biden-14th

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I know who they are. The point is there are plenty of Democrats with equal or more experience available.

County judge. Lol.

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I know who they are. The point is there are plenty of Democrats with equal or more experience available.

County judg

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Agreed, Eva. I can think of a few Democrats that I think could be good Presidents, maybe will be good Presidents someday, IF they can pass the vetting by the party and the press that none of them have had yet, which is a very open question. But I don't think that they could beat Trump this year. And that's the important thing.

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Lol you have to do no such thing. Stop it.

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Apr 25·edited Apr 25

In politics, gaffes come with the territory, especially Biden territory. Granted, there's an argument for limiting his opportunity to commit them, especially if the media is going to blow them up no matter how trivial the context. I would generally prefer that more political surrogates be enlisted for the non-essential communications tasks. But as I said, the guy has always been a gaffe machine. The big question is whether and why his snafus get pounced on more than Trump's, and whether in the end it will matter.

Bill, of course, didn't (still doesn't, I assume) want Biden to run at all. For me the only issue is Biden's physical stamina, which he and his handlers must presumably take care to ration.

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Excellent question regarding Trump's snafus. His handlers are doing a good job of keeping him under wraps, to say nothing of his court appearances, but my impression of what we DO hear from him is that he has deteriorated quite a bit since he left office, and he wasn't very coherent then. I suspect that the more we hear from him, the worse he's going to sound, and I don't just mean gaffes.

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founding

One of the *best* things President Biden has done in the campaign is showing up for the Building Trades Union meeting, at the same time its leader released a devastating video denouncing donald trump. That video needs to get major media play everywhere in America, and Biden was smart to help amplify the message. It's understandable that Bill Kristol is likely to be tone deaf about unions. But Joe Biden knows them well, and the Democratic base he needs to consolidate behind him does, too. The union message is also resonating among young people, who are the drivers of organizing efforts at Starbucks and Amazon, for example, as well as among auto workers in red and purple America. Pundits should exercise caution when they question Joe Biden's political instincts.

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Apr 25·edited Apr 25

OK, wait a second, Bill. Are you suggesting that Biden should get a major endorsement, and be invited to speak to the people who endorsed him, and he should say no? Are you saying he should snub them because he’s afraid of stuttering or something? Whose side are you on, Bill?

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founding

Kristol is frequently mistaken, but never in doubt.

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Excellent observation!

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Apr 25·edited Apr 25

Hmmm......Biden's "pause" overshadowing all the other news of the day.....really? I guess you must be listening to right wing media outlets who of course, jump on the smallest of missteps. None of my family had heard a peep about this. Way more important things to be talking about in the world and our country.

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It clearly overshadows it for Bill…🤦🏻‍♀️

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Oh come on! Now Harvey Weinstein’s conviction is overturned? WTF?

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