My Biden-Trump Error. Wow! I did not see that debate coming. I thought I was on solid ground when I made my prediction about the aftermath of the Biden-Trump tussle. I would have given odds on it, but, to be honest, I missed by the proverbial country mile. Here’s what I said hours before the Biden – Trump clash. “After the debate, those with vested interests on either side will declare their combatant the victor.” See here for that post.
Well, the fight didn’t turn out the way I expected it would. I thought President Biden, with his week-long preparation aided by 16 advisers at Camp David, would manage to get through the bout with relatively few gaffs. And I doubted that former president Trump could slide through the 90 minutes without unseemly eruptions. I was wrong on both counts!
Biden’s mental deficits were more obvious to me than I had anticipated; his hesitations when losing the thread of his thoughts were painful to watch. Throughout the debate, I wondered how his Democrat supporters would defend his performance. More on that below.
Equally surprising to me was Trump’s relatively calm behavior. Nevertheless his hyperbole was annoying. “We had the greatest economy in the history of our country.” “He (Biden) caused the inflation and it’s killing black families and Hispanic families and just about everybody. It’s killing people. They can’t buy groceries anymore. They can’t.”
If you’ve read this far, your interest is obvious and I recommend you check out a more complete, and I think thoughtful, review of the debate by NPR. See here for that. And here’s another one well worth reading (see here).
After the debate ended (which I watched streaming on NBC Now), I switched to my local PBS station for instant analysis of the event. The most common expression among the row of commentators, mostly left-leaning, was funereal. And they quickly obliterated my prognostication, blowing it into tiny pieces. Rather than supporting Biden’s performance, they decried it, zeroing in on details of his poor performance. They also reported in some detail how their contacts had indicated that prominent Democrats were slipping into panic mode.
Does this raise the possibility that one of these two unpopular presidential candidates will somehow be sidetracked? That Democrat leaders will pressure President Biden to release his delegates at the Chicago convention so another candidate can emerge? I’ve learned my lesson. After my Biden – Trump error, I’ll refrain from giving political predictions, at least for now.
Somehow, I don’t think you are alone in your prediction not being correct. What a fiasco this whole situation is–with both candidates!
Fiasco summarizes it well. May better days lie ahead.
Oh no Ken don’t stop your political, implications, I love them!
I’ll still discuss politics from time to time, John, especially during this dismal elective season, but I plan to shy away from speculating on which of our two current losers might win an undeserved second term in the Oval Office.
It is sad to see President Biden’s family and “handlers” constantly trot out this elderly man with significant cognitive and physical issues into situations that obviously confuse him and disorient him. My take is they do so because they like the power and money that goes with this position. I think this is elder abuse and shame on his family, particularly Mrs. Biden, for going along with the charade.
You have an interesting point of view, one I’ve considered myself from time to time. Biden seems incapable of analyzing details of complex problems and making rational decisions. So who might be be contributing to edicts coming from the White House? Members of his staff? His wife? A network of Democrats, perhaps certain members of Congress? Yet Biden seems to thoroughly enjoy the perks of our top office. And he’s run for that office before, starting as early as 1987, an effort that crumbled after his plagiarism of a British speech, along with accusations of other plagiarism while in law school, as well as exaggerating his academic record.
As a proud Democrat, I sure as heck hope Biden bows out and we have somebody to throw in the ring to stop the narcissistic dictator (I have 100 adjectives but I’ll save ‘em). Refusing to prep for PTSD.
I understand your frustration Anne, but it appears that it may not be easy to get Biden to bow out. He seems to enjoy his position. And if he doesn’t, replacing him would apparently be difficult. I just read an article on website NBC News headed “Democrats are talking about replacing Joe Biden. That won’t be easy.” It is worth a read. I’d put the URL here, but I tried it, and I immediately lost what I’ve written here. So if you’re interested, use a search engine to find it.
The point is that Biden is still there. Still the guy we elected. We could make up conspiracy theories but I would rather spend my time supporting the honest, experienced, wise and humane candidate.
Thanks for your comment, Becki. I assume you are referring to Biden as being honest, experienced, and humane. If so, a vote for him makes total sense. We’ll have to see what the majority of citizens feel about this race. That’s the beauty of our democracy, which, according to each candidate, will come to an end if his opponent is elected for a second term. I doubt that will happen, regardless of who wins, but, as is apparent from my posts, I do find both Biden and Trump to be among the least attractive presidential candidates I’ve encountered throughout my voting years, a span that stretches over 70 years.
Maybe they’ll select Dr. Ken Goetz as a candidate! He seems to fit the right age group and definitely has maintained his mental acuity. We just don’t know how his golf game measures up?
You triggered a hearty laugh from me, Rob. Thanks for chiming in. As you recognize, from my perspective Biden would be a mere youngster if he were elected for a second term. To be specific, Joe would check in next January at a youthful 82, by which time I will be 93. And Trump? An even younger kid, Donald would crawl into office at 78, almost certainly still in his sophomoric stage. Although my brain is heavily calcified and well-rusted, I might be able to keep up with those two in mental games, but both lads would clobber me in golf, a game I’ve never played.