No Biden speech thread?

this is actually what i predicted would happen when Biden announced his re election campaign. he would have to pull out. its apparent to all that this is the BEST he is going to be over the next 4.5 years. He knows it, Jill knows it, everyone knows it.

but it has had the remarkable effect of eliminating a primary season where the Dems do their usual eat their own circular firing squad process and come out with a damaged candidate. At least for now they are completely aligned behind Kamala and there is actual enthusiasm for the candidate and not just a semi despair that the vote is only about defeating Trump (which she still has on her side and will probably magnify better than Biden could)

Biden deserves full credit for playing this well and it is no wonder the MAGAs are furious about it.
 
JeepCSC said:
This is more a Lepidus situation where his legions deserted him for Octavian and he was forced into retirement.

The speech was efficient as a political speech (and therefore viewed through a political prism), but was insufficient given the circumstances. So Biden-esque.
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I’m curious—what would have been “sufficient” to you?
 
The content was fine but oh my I had a difficult time discerning the words so had the volume up more than usual. My father lived to be 91 and my mother is currently 89; each of whom's spoken word was/is easier to understand. I do not think that alone is due to his life long stutter challenge.

It takes awhile for the public to know the status of a president, see Reagan and the earlier onset of Alzheimer's. It will not be surprising to learn Biden's decline was evident before the start of 2024.
 
uncgriff said:
it was pretty darned clear. defeating Trump is more important than personal ambition, although he didn't say trump.
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Yeah, really. This seemed perfectly clear to me —

“In recent weeks, it has become clear to me that I need to unite my party in this critical endeavor. I believe my record as president, my leadership in the world, my vision for America’s future, all merited a second term. But nothing, nothing can come in the way of saving our democracy. That includes personal ambition.

“So I’ve decided the best way forward is to pass the torch to a new generation. It’s the best way to unite our nation. I know there was a time and a place for long years of experience in public life. There’s also a time and a place for new voices, fresh voices, yes, younger voices. And that time and place is now.”
 
JeepCSC said:
The reasons why he wasn't running, as that was nominally the point of the speech.
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Why would that make a difference?

1. We know his health and ability to communicate effectively have declined. What would be the benefit of announcing that?

2. We know that there was heavy internal and external pressure for him to step down. We know that his poll numbers cratered, big-time donors withheld money, etc. and we know that Pelosi, Schumer, and a bunch of Dem heavy-hitters were putting massive pressure on him to step down.

What would be the benefit of announcing that?

IMO, it’s better to just leave it at the fact that he’s stepping down and handing over the reigns to bring the Dem party together and to give Dems a fighting chance to beat Trump—which is precisely what he did.
 
JeepCSC said:
So this was merely a polling issue? :rolleyes:
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no, its the root cause of the polling issue when the economy is doing great, inflation is coming down, crime is down, border crossings are down, and the only true negative is you are too old to do the job 4 more years and everyone knows it.
 
uncgriff said:
no, its the root cause of the polling issue when the economy is doing great, inflation is coming down, crime is down, border crossings are down, and the only true negative is you are too old to do the job 4 more years and everyone knows it.
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He didn't even tell us he was too old. It would be like LBJ failing to mention Vietnam in his speech announcing he wasn't running. We know absolutely nothing about the greatest u-turn in recent political history. That could have been a speech he gave last week and no one would have thought twice about it. It was a fine slight-of-hand speech, it was too glib to be treated as anything much beyond theatre. And therefore it failed beyond being a politicking speech.
 
JeepCSC said:
am I being obtuse
He didn't even tell us he was too old. It would be like LBJ failing to mention Vietnam in his speech announcing he wasn't running. We know absolutely nothing about the greatest u-turn in recent political history. That could have been a speech he gave last week and no one would have thought twice about it. It was a fine slight-of-hand speech, it was too glib to be treated as anything much beyond theatre. And therefore it failed beyond being a politicking speech.
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sorry he didn't run it by you. you are just being obtuse.
 
JeepCSC said:
He didn't even tell us he was too old. It would be like LBJ failing to mention Vietnam in his speech announcing he wasn't running. We know absolutely nothing about the greatest u-turn in recent political history. That could have been a speech he gave last week and no one would have thought twice about it. It was a fine slight-of-hand speech, it was too glib to be treated as anything much beyond theatre. And therefore it failed beyond being a politicking speech.
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Biden said “The best way forward is to pass the torch to a new generation.”

That’s clear acknowledgement that he’s too old.

You seem to be whining about nothing. Very inconsequential.
 
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EyeballKid said:
He says d thar


Biden said “The best way forward is to pass the torch to a new generation.”

That’s clear acknowledgement that he’s too old.

You seem to be whining about nothing. Very inconsequential.
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He is just upset that the speech was so well received by the country ;)
 
nycfan said:
Here is the transcript — a really excellent speech:

Gift link - https://www.nytimes.com/2024/07/24/...e_code=1.900.3J53.ldLPL8czutCl&smid=url-share
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WILL THE REAL BILL MURRAY PLEASE STAND UP
 
EyeballKid said:
Biden said “The best way forward is to pass the torch to a new generation.”

That’s clear acknowledgement that he’s too old.

You seem to be whining about nothing. Very inconsequential.
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There will have to be an accounting for the last month/whenever at some point. I expected some watered-down version to begin here. We didn't even get that. "Pass the torch" is a quippy PAC name, it isn't an actual reason/defense/anything.
 
heelinhell said:
He is just upset that the speech was so well received by the country ;)
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I expected it to be well-received (I mean modern-day George Washington was printed on the Duke cheer sheet going in). I also expected it to be light on details about the thought-process that went on over the last month. But simply ignoring everything and anything that transpired was not on my bingo card. Even Nixon mentioned Watergate on his way out.
 
JeepCSC said:
I mean I expected it to be well-received (I mean modern-day George Washington was on the Duke cheer sheet going in). I also expected it to be light on details about the thought-process that went on over the last month. But simply ignoring everything and anything that transpired was not on my bingo card.
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You are simply looking for a reason to be disagreeable on this. Do you really think that the President was going to sit at the Resolute Desk in a primetime address to the nation and the world and go into detail about how he was essentially goaded into stepping down for the good of the party and the country? Come on now, man. The speech accomplished everything that it needed to accomplish in 13 minutes: it formally, officially, cleanly passed the torch to the next generation (which I'm pretty sure, IIRC from the other board, people like you were adamant was necessary). That's all it was supposed to accomplish.
 
JeepCSC said:
There will have to be an accounting for the last month/whenever at some point. I expected some watered-down version to begin here. We didn't even get that. "Pass the torch" is a quippy PAC name, it isn't an actual reason/defense/anything.
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Ah, so you expected him to give his full medical history over the last several months, and to air details of all discussions with Pelosi, Schumer, et al.

Seems pretty dumb to me.
 
CFordUNC said:
You are simply looking for a reason to be disagreeable on this. Do you really think that the President was going to sit at the Resolute Desk in a primetime address to the nation and the world and go into detail about how he was essentially goaded into stepping down for the good of the party and the country? Come on now, man. The speech accomplished everything that it needed to accomplish in 13 minutes: it formally, officially, cleanly passed the torch to the next generation (which I'm pretty sure, IIRC from the other board, people like you were adamant was necessary). That's all it was supposed to accomplish.
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His letter did that. I expected the WH address to do something of substance on the matter. I didn't expect him to bring out cognitive test results, I did expect him to begin the first draft on what was going through his head last summer when he decided to run and this summer when he decided to not. Self-sacrifice isn't a reason, it's merely a posture.
 
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