Biden, the placeholder candidate
Whenever I see a poll on Trump vs. Biden it amazes me that so many people support Biden. It shows how many people hate Trump with a white-hot passion, because otherwise the number of people supporting Biden would be limited to his immediate family, and maybe not even all of them.
Even when I was a Democrat I considered Biden a mediocrity at best, but now he’s a mediocrity who appears to be in precipitous decline. And yet unless the DNC intervenes – which it very well might – he is slated to become the presidential nominee of the Democratic Party. That it has come to this is phenomenal and a very disturbing sign.
However, I’m convinced that most people checking off that “Biden” box do not consider that he will really be the nominee, and that if he is he won’t really be the one in charge. As long as someone or something stops Trump, a huge number of people would be satisfied. Whether it be a tissue of lies (“Russiagate”) or a doddering old man (Biden) or a virus (COVID), the silver lining in all those clouds is that Trump will be gone from power. The details of who will replace him and/or who will be pulling his strings are not all that important to this group, as long as it’s a suitable liberal/leftist entity or entities.
It never bothers the Left that the people they want to elect will do things at the behest of people not elected.
Exhibit A: Same sex marriage. Every candidate they ran since 1992 was on record opposing it. Every single candidate they ran since 1992 did the correct volte-face at the same time. Every single progressive who voted for them knew exactly what the score was, at least every single one I questioned (“why you voting for Hillary, she’s against same sex marriage”) said so: that they knew what was really going to happen and were comfortable with the public message being different.
I watched governor Cuomo’s briefing this mornng. After 15 minutes of useful, well communicated information, he segued into politics and, basically, campaign rhetoric. For another 20 minutes at least. The whole time I watched, none of the advisors he had with him said anything.
He’s running for president, this cycle or the next.
I am concerned that the opposing candidate will be Bill Gates. I hope I’m wrong.
It will have to be the next cycle. Over half the committed delegates are assigned, and there is no way to get anyone other than maybe Sanders the nomination.
An awful lot of people in this country still are completely apolitical (some of my relatives, sad to say) and all they know or care about is to vote for the person with a D after their name. Being so unknowing (ignorant in a truer meaning of the word) they have no idea of Biden’s mental state and don’t care.
Ah, but a placeholder for who? “What rough beast, sensing its hour to be born, slouches its way toward Bethlehem?”, with apologies to both the author of that line and those of you whose memory is better than mine.
Well said, Neo. It is truly not important who replaces him or pulls his strings, as long as Trump is gone. I’m stunned that we’ve gotten to this point. And I’m stunned that the Democrats have allowed their party to get to this point. I would ask rhetorically if they have no shame, but I know the answer: no. There are times I would like to see the Democrats field a good candidate, because I get impatient with Trump. But my god, Biden? Do any of them have any respect for the office or for the American people?
It will either be someone “safe”, i.e. another long-time insider they can pretend is a moderate, or somebody who has never held office before but has big name recognition outside of politics.
I think they will stick with Biden. The real key will be the VP pick. Looks like it will be a woman, but which one? Whomever it is will the President in very short order, that is If elected.
I too am appalled that Biden is polling with or better than Trump. We can say we don’t believe polling but they could be right.
Karl Rove thinks it is absurd that anyone other than Biden will be the presidential candidate. Some of these pundits can’t be trusted. Dick Morris comes to mind. His hatred of the Clinton’s ultimately destroyed his media career. My guess is that Rove at least tries to be accurate.
If Rove is correct, the big prize is the VP slot.
Bill Gates is a weird possibility. I was a big fan of him back when he was running Mister Softee, but I think he is now a pale and pathetic shadow of his former self. A complete suck-up to political correctness. Maybe that suggests he would angle for the presidency.
Other than the fact that he sort of predicted our current epidemic crisis, his prescriptions for the crisis are terrible, IMHO.
TommyJay, look at Gate’s China connections. I find it unsurprising that he predicted this crisis. Also interesting, Birx and Fauci are both deeply involved with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
“and that if he is he won’t really be the one in charge.”
Elect the Dying Woodrow Wilson with a smart wife!
“On October 2, 1919, Wilson suffered a serious stroke, leaving him paralyzed on his left side, and with only partial vision in the right eye.[260] He was confined to bed for weeks and sequestered from everyone except his wife and his physician, Dr. Cary Grayson.[261] Dr. Bert E. Park, a neurosurgeon who examined Wilson’s medical records after his death, writes that Wilson’s illness affected his personality in various ways, making him prone to “disorders of emotion, impaired impulse control, and defective judgment.”[262] Anxious to help the president recover, Tumulty, Grayson, and the First Lady determined what documents the president read and who was allowed to communicate with him. For her influence in the administration, some have described Edith Wilson as “the first female President of the United States.”[263] In mid-November 1919, Lodge and his Republicans formed a coalition with the pro-treaty Democrats to pass a treaty with reservations, but the seriously indisposed Wilson rejected this compromise and enough Democrats followed his lead to defeat ratification.[264]
Throughout late 1919, Wilson’s inner circle concealed the severity of his health issues.[265] By February 1920, the president’s true condition was publicly known. Many expressed qualms about Wilson’s fitness for the presidency at a time when the League fight was reaching a climax, and domestic issues such as strikes, unemployment, inflation and the threat of Communism were ablaze. No one close to Wilson was willing to certify, as required by the Constitution, his “inability to discharge the powers and duties of the said office.”[266] Though some members of Congress encouraged Vice President Marshall to assert his claim to the presidency, Marshall never attempted to replace Wilson.[267] Wilson’s lengthy period of incapacity while serving as president was nearly unprecedented; of the previous presidents, only James Garfield had been in a similar situation, but Garfield retained greater control of his mental faculties and faced relatively few pressing issues.[268]”
La Wik
This is the proverbial “beginning of the end” for the white power structure running the Democratic Party and mainstream American media.
Turnout may have been up in South Carolina this year but that’s because there were five Democrats on the ballot instead of just two. Biden got fewer votes in 2020 than Hillary did in 2016 and had a smaller margin of victory over Bernie. Biden is not going to motivate African-Americans to turn out. He’s not going to motivate Hispanic-Americans to turn out. He’s not going to motivate young voters to turn out. He’s not going to motivate the Left to turn out.
Even if Biden somehow manages to beat Trump, the days of the Democrats and media liberals being able to talk like AOC but then act like Bill Clinton is coming to an end.
Mike
Gerald:
Because his wife (PhD) can be the Surgeon General as well! Where would we be without the experts at MSNBC (and CNN)? The first woman President courtesy of the 25th Amendment. Who will Slow Joe pick for that potentiality, RBG? 🙂
I don’t believe Biden will be on the ballot in November (60%).
There are rules for death, resignation, vacancies.
Vox wrote up something in 2016 saying the superdelegate-like DNC folk could change the nominee, and even fewer would be needed by the RNC.
Here’s a 2020 version, with coronavirus and Trump as incumbent:
https://www.vox.com/2020/3/27/21186614/what-happens-presidential-nominee-coronavirus
For Democrats in 2020, that would mean DNC Chair Tom Perez would confer with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, and New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy (the current chair of the Democratic Governors Association) and then issue a report to the full 447-member DNC. The party as a whole would then meet, deliberate, and pick a new nominee.
If a nominee had already selected a vice presidential pick, that could certainly factor into the party’s decision if the nominee dies. But Pildes noted it would not automatically mean the vice presidential pick would become the nominee.
They have the convention, they vote Biden. Biden later resigns.
Or, maybe he resigns at the convention, but I think a few weeks later.
Easily could be wrong, tho! (40%)
But Trump creams Biden…
If it’s not Biden how do they deal with Bernie? He’s “dropped out of the race” but leaving his name on ballots to collect delegate votes. All the scenarios discussed leave him out as if he has no say. His support may require the Dems to go full commie.
Here’s a clip from Prager U showing the hatred some have for Trump:
Do New Yorkers Hate President Trump more than Corona Virus?
I’m hoping that most of these people are just trying to show how much better they think they are than the rest of us; and that they truly don’t mean it
But, watch the clip to the end – that last guy is a true gem!
The polls are garbage. We have seen a significant realignment. Pollsters have no idea how to calibrate their results. They are spitballing WAGs as badly as the virus modelers.
Trump has extraordinarily high approval from Republicans. He is attracting higher than normal numbers from blacks and Hispanics. His incredible rally attendance was usually 1/4 Democrats. Obviously the virus could change everything, but the things we know as of now make the polling numbers and pollsters’ “adjustments” seriously suspect. Don’t trust the way they adjust their raw numbers.
An explanation for Biden’s viability: Democrats are never exposed to his rambling gibberish. The Biden dementia videos never appear on Democrat media (MSM) or social media that filters disagreeable reality from Democrats. Democrats will cancel their convention so Biden won’t have to speak live to a TV audience. Only when (if) a face-to-face debate with Trump happens will Democrats see the horror. And it will be too late.
I am sticking with my belief that Hillary will be the nominee. Those interested in her world should sign up at her Onward Together organization https://www.onwardtogether.org/
She certainly is acting like a candidate, and she can have a national organization operational overnight. In her world it is only a matter of timing. The decision to run has been made.
I can see a time when BIden announces that he is unable to make the run and expresses gratitude that Hillary is willing to take it on.
Cuomo is a likely Hillary VP pick.
Deplorable Dave — I have an inordinate number of progressive Democrats in my social circle. The Bernie Bros are not shy at all about telling the Blue No Matter Who wing how demented Biden is.
Articles and pundits are starting to admit there is no stopping Trump (not even cuomo), because of their social justice stance when Trump was stopping flights and more…. Devastating to Biden, there are plenty of records of him and many others calling Trump xenophobic, and more to prevent him taking action while they were also forcing him to focus on impeachment… social justice buried their chances along with crazy crap on a cracker in terms of desperate moves to remove him…
the one thing that would have given them a chance is the one thing they dont know how to do… govern to prosperity and decency for everyone equally…
They do not know how to lead, without the power to force the people to follow
The crazier they act in locking people down unconstitutionally the less people will vote them back into office next term. people have long memories when they arent distracted by living, and covid has them sitting around without distraction.
Dick Illyes,
18 months ago (?) comedian Dennis Miller put forth the prediction that Hillary would be the nominee and he’s stayed with it all along, even when she didn’t enter the race. Although I usually admire his thinking, this was one time when I thought he was missing some fundamental logic.
Each week that goes by now I believe his prediction may prove prophetic.
Perhaps the greatest criticism of Barack Obama is that 20 years after leaving the White House, eight years of another Democrat being President, and losing in the biggest upset in modern political history, the Clintons still basically run the Democratic Party.
Mike
Hillary will not be the nominee. Partisan Democrats will have little trouble ignoring Biden’s cognitive decline.
There are a lot of people, including Republicans (and including me), who don’t like Donald Trump on a personal level – they don’t necessarily object to his policies, they object to his personality.
Therefore, almost any decent Democratic candidate could beat Trump.
Unfortunately the Dems refuse to nominate a decent candidate. Biden was what was left when the smoke cleared; he’s not a particularly good candidate by any other standard. He’s not charismatic, he doesn’t have a “vision”, he’s not articulate, and he’s never been the “smartest guy on the room”. He’s also an Old White Guy, which isn’t a plus in today’s Democratic party.
Hillary may still have a shot at the nomination, but she hasn’t gotten more popular since she lost the last time; if anything she’s less trusted now than she was then. Also, her nomination, or Cuomo’s, would be a public confirmation that the entire primary season was a complete waste of time and energy. If all of those primaries didn’t produce a nominee, then what was it all for ?
So it’ll be Trump (the devil we know) against someone that most people don’t really like very much.
IF this is true richf then we will be communist in less than 10 years because they will ACT in a way that will ingratiate you to be stupid, while the only way to fix anything is not act that way!!!
game set match
or
Game Over
it really that simple… your post basically says you favor image over substance
that you want a hero that acts like a hero that your preconceptions like
and if you cant find that, you will take the villian instead cause they are more appealing
funny… but Lucifer was the prettiest and most beautiful of all the angels
serial killers get their prey how?
con men?
its a long list… but you basically note that faking it is what people prefer
could be why we will be like venzeula… as chavez said the right things
oh… and you cant overlook that is exactly how Hitler rose to power too
we are doomed..
Artfldgr, I obviously didn’t make my point very well.
I didn’t say that I prefer image over substance; I said, or at least tried to imply, that the Democrats prefer image over substance, and that the available candidates don’t even have a very good image.
Therefore I expect that Trump will win a second term.
When the hats were being thrown into the ring for the Democratic position, I heard Greg Gutfeld, a former Never-Trumper, thought Michelle Obama would be presented as the potential nominee
There are no ugly heroes
There are no pretty villains
The world is like the movies…
(where do you think we got our sense of what looks right and what looks wrong and what should or shouldn’t be? the neighborhood bodega?)
this is not at you richf
its a general comment as to why we are going into the crapper… with the ladies leading the way as they have been doing more and more for thirty years… [till they have no one to marry, and hate their mates to the point we import to replace them]
“Michelle Obama would be presented as the potential nominee”
In what way is Michelle Obama qualified to be President?
Mike
Artfldgr,
“The world is like the movies…”
Have you heard the Gil Scott-Heron song, “B Movie?”
https://youtu.be/xSOp507HJMA
He wrote it in the Reagan era about Reagan, when Reagan beat “Skippy” (his nickname for peanut farmer, Jimmy Carter). It’s amazing how relevant it still is.
If Scott-Heron were alive today he would not be surprised that the President is a former reality TV star.
Lately I keep thinking about another Scott-Heron song, “The Revolution will not be Televised.”
He is not a reality TV star…
he is a billionaire who self promoted on a reality TV show
Snooky is a reality TV star
sigh
In what way was Barrack Obama qualified to be president?
He looked good and spoke well.
In practical terms though he was grossly unqualified. And imo it showed.
“They do not know how to lead, without the power to force the people to follow” – Artfldgr
Very apt summation of the Left in all it’s different factions.
If you are curious about the concept Artfl expresses, try an internet search on the phrase – his formulation does not get a direct hit, being directed specifically at the political ideology rather than business management principles.
This is a good representative article, but the point is: the Democrats (and no few Republicans) totally focus on what they can TELL people to do, not what they can PERSUADE them to do.
https://medium.com/swlh/how-to-lead-when-you-have-no-authority-9f22206356d4
If you are listening to the Daily Briefings, you can hear President Trump persuading, not telling — although he sometimes mentions that he does have the authority to do something, he’s just not using it.
Throwing decisions back to the governors is brilliant — and in accord with the Constitution, what a shock.
This site gives a lot of famous quotes on the subject, which all tend in the same directon. And that’s been true for a long, long time.
https://www.leadershipnow.com/leadershipquotes.html
“He makes a great mistake … who supposes that authority is firmer or better established when it is founded by force than that which is welded by affection.”
— Terence, born c. 195 BC
Here are some people leading by force.
https://theconservativetreehouse.com/2020/04/10/spot-someone-not-wearing-a-mask-snitching-on-your-neighbors-now-theres-an-app-for-that/
Lost of potentially falsifiable hypotheses here!
* * *
Paul in Boston on April 10, 2020 at 10:00 pm said:
If it’s not Biden how do they deal with Bernie? He’s “dropped out of the race” but leaving his name on ballots to collect delegate votes. All the scenarios discussed leave him out as if he has no say. His support may require the Dems to go full commie.
Deplorable Dave on April 11, 2020 at 2:15 am said:
An explanation for Biden’s viability: Democrats are never exposed to his rambling gibberish. The Biden dementia videos never appear on Democrat media (MSM) or social media that filters disagreeable reality from Democrats. Democrats will cancel their convention so Biden won’t have to speak live to a TV audience. Only when (if) a face-to-face debate with Trump happens will Democrats see the horror. And it will be too late.
Bryan Lovely on April 11, 2020 at 4:24 am said:
Deplorable Dave — I have an inordinate number of progressive Democrats in my social circle. The Bernie Bros are not shy at all about telling the Blue No Matter Who wing how demented Biden is.
Dick Illyes on April 11, 2020 at 2:56 am said:
I am sticking with my belief that Hillary will be the nominee.
Art Deco on April 11, 2020 at 10:08 am said:
Hillary will not be the nominee. Partisan Democrats will have little trouble ignoring Biden’s cognitive decline.
MBunge on April 11, 2020 at 9:48 am said:
Perhaps the greatest criticism of Barack Obama is that 20 years after leaving the White House, eight years of another Democrat being President, and losing in the biggest upset in modern political history, the Clintons still basically run the Democratic Party.
MBunge on April 11, 2020 at 1:30 pm said:
“Michelle Obama would be presented as the potential nominee”
In what way is Michelle Obama qualified to be President?
Chester Draws on April 11, 2020 at 3:55 pm said:
In what way was Barrack Obama qualified to be president?
He looked good and spoke well.
In practical terms though he was grossly unqualified. And imo it showed.
* * *
Biden, Bernie, Hillary, or Obama (her on the ballot, him in the driver’s seat).
Maybe Cuomo, but a lot of the news coming out of NY doesn’t look good for him.
Cue Some Mysterious Democrat leaping into the convention to Save the Day.
Up against Donald Trump.
November is going to be interesting.
Joe Biden’s staff thinks he’s already President.
This could be a problem, because Hillary Clinton still thinks she won in 2016.
https://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2020/04/with_bernie_sanders_out_of_the_way_joe_biden_gets_underfoot.html
Background from the NY Post (via the AT link):
As I recall, Biden learned the trick of making aid contingent on Red/Blue votes from Obama.
Contrast Trump, who is getting praise from Governors of California and New York (with some grumbling) — both Deep Blue.
For now.
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In what way is Michelle Obama qualified to be President?
That’s one question. The other would be, “In what way has Michelle Obama demonstrating an abiding interest in public life above and beyond the perks that come with it?” A decade ago, Pat Buchanan, who had observed two First Ladies up close, offered that MO was ‘not a happy camper’ and for that reason he thought it a distinct possibility that BO would retire after one term. Ask yourself what she did for a living for 17 years, and you get an answer as to what her actual technae is. In her interests, she’s a good deal closer to Nancy Reagan than she is to Hellary. If she’s fortunate, her daughters won’t turn out like Patti.