Biden announces that he is running – on empty, and on ads
But it doesn’t matter that he’s got little left in the tank. They’ll push him across the finish line, if necessary.
I don’t usually watch Biden speak, because his mendacity and hypocrisy sickens me. But I forced myself to watch his pre-recorded advertisement-type announcement, and I’m going to post it here because it’s an excellent example of the sort of propaganda that a lot of people swallow. It presents Biden as a sincere, homey, straightforward defender of concepts like “freedom” and “democracy” and “rights.” There’s a huge emphasis on black people in the visuals, which reinforces the idea that we are in some 60s-style civil rights struggle and Biden is some sort of MLK-lite. I think the ad is quite effective at conveying all these thoughts. The fact that it doesn’t in the least present the reality of Biden or his administration is probably irrelevant or unapparent to many many voters:
It is almost certain that Biden will run a campaign much like the last one, avoiding personal appearances and debates. This time his excuse probably won’t be COVID, it will be that he’s extremely busy with the job of being president.
Some people have been remarking negatively on Biden’s slogan,”Let’s finish the job.” For example, here’s Charles C. W. Cooke’s take at National Review:
“Let’s finish this job” is the type of slogan that a popular, successful president might run. And Biden is not a popular, successful president. Seventy percent of Americans — including 66 percent of independents — don’t want him to run again. His approval rating is at 41 percent, with his disapproval at 54 percent. His time in office has been marked by chronic inflation, a problem that only 20 percent of Americans think that Biden has made better, that 28 percent think he’s made worse, and that 49 percent think he’s ignored. Only 14 percent of Americans think that the economy is good or excellent.
I don’t think that matters. Note that the slogan isn’t “Let me finish the job.” Is this a subtle acknowledgement that it’s not Biden who’s completely in charge, but a group effort, and that the voter should trust the group and the powers behind the throne? And “the job” isn’t the economy, it’s “freedom” and “rights” (read: the right to abortion) and “democracy” (read: stifling conservatives, voter ID requirements, and any suggestion that elections aren’t fraud-free). I think Cooke fails to understand what the Biden campaign is about.
When I heard the slogan, I immediately thought of Churchill. But then, I’m a Churchill buff, a condition I assume is vanishingly rare these days. For me, it recalled this February 9, 1941 speech (just the phrase; not the style and certainly not the worthiness of the candidate), which I now offer as a palate cleanser:
It really doesn’t matter how demostrably awful Biden is. My impression is that people just don’t seem to care enough about how bad Biden has been.
I’ve now seen many polls that seem to indicate that voters are dissatisfied with Biden, don’t want him to run, and may even vote for some generic Republican candidate. And some may even vote for Trump. But after the results of the 2022 election I tend to disbelieve such polls. I think far too many voters are afflicted with apathy and ignorance about the current state of affairs.
I hope I’m wrong about the mental state of these voters. I could easily be wrong. I’ve certainly been wrong many times before.
A pre recorded message where he only speaks on camera for a few seconds. That speaks volumes as to his cognitive state. It’s pathetic; he’s pathetic. There is nothing redeemable about him or his family. One could strongly oppose Clinton or Obama on policy grounds, one could question their character, but one had to admit they both were effective, competent and great communicators. None of this has ever been true with Brandon. A self-important, mendacious crank in his prime, he has deteriorated into a senile empty shell, surrounded by corrupt kleptocrats and authoritarian leftist apparatchiks. It’s a tragicomedy and everyone knows it.
He seems like he can no longer control his tongue for pronunciations.
The DNC announcing that there will be no debates may be a bad move for the Dems, while the Rep will hold numerous debates.
Writers like Cooke — a young Reagan/Thatcher-worshipping British guy who moved to the US a decade or so ago thinking this was still the land of the free — have trouble coming to terms with the fact that we are not living in the US of the 1990s or even 2000s anymore. Much of the disapproval of Biden (or of any Democratic president) comes from people who think he’s too moderate. Also, IMHO, the state of the economy and personal appeal have little effect on the electability of a Democrat candidate these days. About 45 percent of the national electorate will automatically vote for any Democrat presidential candidate, whether they like him or not, whether they think he’s doing a good job or not, and regardless of any reservations about particular parts of the Democrat ideological agenda. They equate Republicans to Nazis or the Klan and just will not vote for them. The dopey middle 10 percent of the electorate theoretically might go either way but are much more readily influenced by the MSM than by anything else. And given the way elections are conducted now, it seems that the Democrats can carry at will any competetive state that they need.
It’s hard to see a way forward for opposition to the Democrats. But if you make a living as a writer for conservative publications, you can’t really tell your audience just to give up.
Whoever can win the Democrat/ Marxists nomination will win, vote fraud is wide open without cases being taken in 2020. And as downstairs topic, no media can question Dominion who gets to count your votes in many states without any oversight without fear of being taken to the cleaners.
djf pretty much nails it.
I agree with djf also.
RE: “Let’s finish this job.”
One interpretation is that Brandon and the electorate need to finish the job. What’s the job? Destroying the country?
FJB
yes thats about the size of it,
Well said, djf. It never ceases to amaze me, how many people cannot we the evil of the Democrats. They don’t even bother hiding it.
Fixed that for you Neo. I will say I’m a bit biased against Joe. I mean he is responsible for me taking a $10k paycut. (Pretty much I compared my starting salary at my current company, adjusted it for inflation, and saw what I’m getting now. Yes I’m 10k short.)
The Democrats have perfected vote fraud to the point that I doubt a Republican can win another presidential; election. The Arizona election for governor last fall showed that it is adaptable to local elections.
Mike K (9:00 pm), I don’t want you to be right, but . . . sigh . . .
I watched Newsmax tonight. They had a couple of doctors on who were willing to diagnose Joe’s problem. They claim he has Parkinson’s Disease Dementia. (PDD)
I don’t buy it. Joe has some of the symptoms, but he doesn’t have any tremors that I can see. He is stiff, has trouble with speaking, and keeping focused – which are symptoms of PDD.
Surely, the Democrats and those who are managing him behind the scenes wouldn’t try to foist a man so ill on us. Would they?
He’s obviously not a healthy, vigorous 80-year-old man. I was vigorous and mentally alert at that age. But at age 83 my health turned south, and I’ve never quite recovered. The same thing can happen to anyone over 80. IMO, something has already happened to Joe. His health is an issue that they hope to cover up by limiting his public appearances.
However, I wouldn’t focus on that as much as the awful shape we’re in after two years of his presidency. Inflation – everyone except the wealthy notices it. The open border is a running sore. Rampant crime in our major cities is a disgrace. Our foreign policy is in disarray – new alliances are being made with China. And China insults Biden with impunity. Our schools are a mess. Deficit spending is devaluing the dollar and making us all poorer. Our military is spending time on social justice issues and not on being as lethal as possible. Transgender issues are boiling out of control. Our medical system still hasn’t recovered from the pandemic. There are many more issues that Republicans can run on, but the above are most noticeable.
All that said, my belief is that the next election will be won by truing the vote. That means spending money and time in swing states and counties where attention to thwarting cheating may pay big dividends. Witha candidate such as Biden, the Dems know they will have to cheat to drag his octogenarian carcass over the finish line. We know it too. If we aren’t prepared, shame on us.
“Give us the tools” Churchill, 1941
“I am a tool” Biden, 2023
I didn’t see Biden’s infomercial, but I get the sense that something has shifted in our politics. Candidates have always attacked each other, sometimes with help from friendly media e.g. “Barry Goldwater is going places, and the first place he is going is Germany” intoned Walter Cronkite back in 1964. But Biden’s incessant invoking of “ultra MAGA Republicans” comes off more as an attack on Republican voters. When voters feel like a presidential candidate is coming after them personally, it scares people. Maybe that’s what the Democrats hope to do, to either (a) force people to get back in line, if they know what’s good for them or (b) provoke protests that can then be used as an excuse to crack down on civil liberties.
O/T, but Hunter is supposed to appear in court in Arkansas on Monday. Will he show up?
JJ, there is a form of Parkinson’s which involves very little of the shaking most people think of. My father had it, and I know of other cases. However, this form advances very rapidly, with progressive failure of automatic and semi-automatic internal functions. Daddy died within six years of diagnosis, and at the time of his death his dementia was far less advanced than Biden’s. So I’m inclined to doubt the PDD diagnosis on Biden by doctors who haven’t examined him or looked at his test results.
Whatever the diagnosis, Biden’s cognitive abilities are rapidly declining.
“Let me finish the job” doesn’t work. It’s like Hillary Clinton’s slogan “I’m with her.” Politicians are narcissists, but they do well to keep themselves out of their slogans, so that the election appears to be about more than their own ambitions.
The ad reminds me of the Nixon, Reagan, and Bush commercials that liberals and progressives mocked as manipulative pseudopatriotic hokum. I feel like we’re at an impasse in American politics. Biden is the triumph of hypocritical political B.S. How much further can it go and how much more can we take? I wish we could get rid of all the manipulative nonsense. But the B.S. is the heart of campaign discourse. Somebody who told us the truth would never get elected or be able to govern.
Since there will be no more honest elections the whole subject is moot.
Who’s holding out to get their plants in the ground til after Mother’s Day? Thought I’d change the subject to something you can actually control. Dirt under the fingernails is about as honest as it gets.
JJ,
Based on your lucid writing and communication here I would have never guessed you were north of 83!
I’d hate to encounter your brain before you slowed down. 🙂
ghostsniper:
You sure don’t live in New England. After Memorial Day here.