Is Biden Really in Charge?

[DT]

Hence, why I think he may be tired already, and more prone to stuttering, hence why he referred to Morrison as the "fellow from down under."

Biden can find Australia on a map, probably discuss the country's history, some of the political nuances when engaging with their PM.

Trump thinks Australia is where you get those goodly blooming onions ...

 

[Yoused]

Hell, my wife was watching "The Big Sleep" on TCM this afternoon, and for the life of me I couldn't place the very familiar actress opposite Humphrey Bogart. It was Lauren Bacall.

It happens.

That is understandable. You probably got confused because you knew her as Betty Joan Perske.

 

[Herdfan]

I can understand your trepidation at not knowing who is "pulling the strings", but it is almost certainly not some shadowy Trilateral Elders of Rothschilds. If he has "handlers", they are people whom he selected to help him out.

Is that bad? I mean, to have effective handlers, one has to listen to them, and they cannot really force him to do/say things he objects to. The last guy basically listened to no one, doing/saying whatever fit his mood at the time. That went well.

I agree it isn't some shadowy secret society. My guess is that Susan Rice is the one pulling the strings.

But I disagree that he selected them. They selected him because they (the powers at the DNC) knew he was the only one who had a chance to beat Trump. They could hide him in the basement and let Trump implode.

Woodwards new book does delve into the "wall" his aides keep around him to 1) keep him from getting testy when asked a question he doesn't like and 2) to try and prevent his famous gaffes. Cutting his mic seems to be right up their alley.

 

[Yoused]

to try and prevent his famous gaffes

His "gaffes" are, nonetheless, mere misstatements, as opposed to Individual-ONE, who constantly spewed out-and-out lies and nonsense. I have yet to hear Joe the President say anything that comes close to windmill cancer or you have to flush ten times or hydroxychloroquine.

I will concede that the establishment Ds are problematic, in that they continue to strive to maintain the broken, plutocratic system, but at least they are not actively trying to make it worse as are the Rs.

 

[SuperMatt]

My guess is that Susan Rice is the one pulling the strings.

How original…

On Hannity radio, Bill O'Reilly claims Susan Rice secretly controls the government

www.mediamatters.org

Grenell: Forget Biden and Harris -- here's who's really calling the shots in the new administration

Former Obama national security adviser Susan Rice doesn't occupy a seat in the Oval Office, but the White House Domestic Policy Council director is calling all the shots in the new administration, former acting DNI Ric Grenell said Monday.

www.foxnews.com

 

[Hrafn]

I agree it isn't some shadowy secret society. My guess is that Susan Rice is the one pulling the strings.

But I disagree that he selected them. They selected him because they (the powers at the DNC) knew he was the only one who had a chance to beat Trump. They could hide him in the basement and let Trump implode.

Woodwards new book does delve into the "wall" his aides keep around him to 1) keep him from getting testy when asked a question he doesn't like and 2) to try and prevent his famous gaffes. Cutting his mic seems to be right up their alley.

Wait, c’mon. You really want anyone here to take you seriously? Is Biden being anal probed!??!?, Minds want to know.

 

[lizkat]

I’m bad with names. I’m worse with faces.

I must be worse. I often confuse Matt Damon with Brad Pitt when discussing films in which one or the other of them has played a role. I confessed this to a friend once (having misidentified the lead in some movie) and he promptly said "No worries, those white hollywood liberal guys would probably agree they all look alike anyway". My friend is white, as am I, but he is definitely not a liberal. He was laughing but I still couldn't decide if he was kidding. And no clue if Damon or Pitt or both are real-life liberals. So I'm pretty hopeless when talk turns to film stars, in or out of their roles.

On topic: Biden's his own guy. It's just that the world, the country, his own party aren't used to having leaders act like ordinary people. You know, telling the truth while being untactful or ungrammatical sometimes, making mistakes, getting annoyed like regular human beings get annoyed. Not like Trump stirring pots on purpose or manufacturing lies to suit his selfish fantasies.

Biden's more like the guy next door who's got strong ideas and some of them are practical and some of them are half baked and might get laughed at in the next town hall meeting. What he has going for him is knowing how Congress works. Yeah, he's an establishment Democrat. That's fine with me for now.

 

[Alli]

I often confuse Matt Damon with Brad Pitt

I can usually tell who Pitt is. I constantly get Damon confused with Wahlberg.

 

[Herdfan]

I constantly get Damon confused with Wahlberg.

You aren't the only one:

Mark Wahlberg Says People Always Mistake Him for Matt Damon

Two Boston actors who love Tom Brady. What's the confusion?

www.bostonmagazine.com

 

[Huntn]

S

I agree it isn't some shadowy secret society. My guess is that Susan Rice is the one pulling the strings.

But I disagree that he selected them. They selected him because they (the powers at the DNC) knew he was the only one who had a chance to beat Trump. They could hide him in the basement and let Trump implode.

Woodwards new book does delve into the "wall" his aides keep around him to 1) keep him from getting testy when asked a question he doesn't like and 2) to try and prevent his famous gaffes. Cutting his mic seems to be right up their alley.

So the primary process had nothing to do with it? And as I listen to your critiques, I have not forgotten who you supported last time.

 

[Herdfan]

So the primary process had nothing to do with it? And as I listen to your critiques, I have not forgotten who you supported last time.

Did Bernie have a fair shot against Hillary?

Yes Trump. As bad as he was at times, still better than the alternatives.

 

[Edd]

Did Bernie have a fair shot against Hillary?

Yes Trump. As bad as he was at times, still better than the alternatives.

Voting for him in 2016 was dumb, at best. You'd have clueless to not see him for what he was. Voting for him in 2020 was an unethical act, because now you definitely know. He IS the worst of us. In every way possible he's a bad person with bad intentions.

 

[SuperMatt]

Voting for him in 2016 was dumb, at best. You'd have clueless to not see him for what he was. Voting for him in 2020 was an unethical act, because now you definitely know. He IS the worst of us. In every way possible he's a bad person with bad intentions.

Anybody who thinks Trump was better than Hillary is just plain full of . Hillary would have handled the pandemic infinitely better, and I guarantee she wouldn't have incited a mob to attack the Capitol if she didn't win a 2nd term. The only thing Trump supporters got from his presidency were a few SCOTUS judges. No meaningful legislation, no economic boost, nothing. He is definitely in top 5 for worst US Presidents in history.

 

[hulugu]

Anybody who thinks Trump was better than Hillary is just plain full of . Hillary would have handled the pandemic infinitely better, and I guarantee she wouldn't have incited a mob to attack the Capitol if she didn't win a 2nd term. The only thing Trump supporters got from his presidency were a few SCOTUS judges. No meaningful legislation, no economic boost, nothing. He is definitely in top 5 for worst US Presidents in history.

Yep. All of his "accomplishments" could have been accomplished by a bucket of potatoes with Senate Republicans running the shots. I mean really, does anyone think that Trump understands the judicial imperatives of Amy Comey Barrett? Or Gorsuch?

And, the tax code was a prebuilt set of legislation just waiting for a Republican to autopen it.

Similarly, with NATFA 2.0. The only thing he did was rename it.

Clinton was never my choice for president, and I vastly dislike the former president. But, anyone who can look back and not be embarrassed that they voted for Trump over Clinton is just foolish.

 

[SuperMatt]

Yep. All of his "accomplishments" could have been accomplished by a bucket of potatoes with Senate Republicans running the shots. I mean really, does anyone think that Trump understands the judicial imperatives of Amy Comey Barrett? Or Gorsuch?

And, the tax code was a prebuilt set of legislation just waiting for a Republican to autopen it.

Similarly, with NATFA 2.0. The only thing he did was rename it.

Clinton was never my choice for president, and I vastly dislike the former president. But, anyone who can look back and not be embarrassed that they voted for Trump over Clinton is just foolish.

I wonder if the hatred of Hillary was due to the years of negative coverage from right wing media paired with 1000 investigations of her by GOP members of Congress.

They all expected her to get the nomination in 2008, and I think they were all in on that assumption, which is why Obama caught them off-guard.

When she ran in 2016, there had been at least a decade of attacks from the right. Trump's campaign capitalized on this with the constant "Lock her up" chants.

Any outside observer would have seen that Hillary was far more qualified for the job than a pompous real-estate hack and reality TV star. However, a decade or more of negative coverage took a toll on her popularity.

 

[hulugu]

I wonder if the hatred of Hillary was due to the years of negative coverage from right wing media paired with 1000 investigations of her by GOP members of Congress.

They all expected her to get the nomination in 2008, and I think they were all in on that assumption, which is why Obama caught them off-guard.

When she ran in 2016, there had been at least a decade of attacks from the right. Trump's campaign capitalized on this with the constant "Lock her up" chants.

Any outside observer would have seen that Hillary was far more qualified for the job than a pompous real-estate hack and reality TV star. However, a decade or more of negative coverage took a toll on her popularity.

Most certainly. The entire right-wing spent 1992-2016 attacking Clinton, first as the First Lady, then later as a Senator, and as a Democratic candidate, then as the Secretary of State, followed by her presence as the presumptive nominee for the DNC.

I still think her choice as Secretary of State to handle her emails the way she did was a moment of terrible hubris, but that issue shouldn't have sunk her as the future president, especially considering the absolute funhouse of depravity that was sitting on the other side of the debate stage.

How a creepy, bloviating moron became the president is easily the most damning thing said about modern America. How bad was American in 2016? It elected that guy to be its leader.

 

[SuperMatt]

Did Bernie have a fair shot against Hillary?

Yes Trump. As bad as he was at times, still better than the alternatives.

Trump was not better than any alternative. Period. How you could possibly say this of the person who presided over the worst pandemic response on the planet, and LITERALLY attempted to overthrow the government when he didn’t win re-election?

 

[Herdfan]

Trump was not better than any alternative. Period. How you could possibly say this of the person who presided over the worst pandemic response on the planet, and LITERALLY attempted to overthrow the government when he didn’t win re-election?

The pandemic was the pandemic. It was a mess from the WH to the CDC. Conflicting information, partisan bickering, you name it, there is blame to for everyone. And I mean everyone.

As for Trump trying to overthrow the government, we can agree to disagree, but keep in mind, that was AFTER the election. Everyone seems to forget that there were several Dems that tried the same thing when Trump was elected in 2016.

I think the 1/6 Commission may keep him out of the election in 2024. Which kicks the door wide open for DeSantis. Sometimes you need to be careful what you wish for.

 

[SuperMatt]

As for Trump trying to overthrow the government, we can agree to disagree, but keep in mind, that was AFTER the election. Everyone seems to forget that there were several Dems that tried the same thing when Trump was elected in 2016.

And NOW we have confirmation on why you haven’t made a single post in the Jan 6 commission thread. You are completely out of touch with reality.

And the arguments about the pandemic - you ignore the fact that America’s response was far worse than most other countries… even though we are the richest country in the world. And you cannot blame the CDC instead of Trump, because you hold Biden accountable for everything now that he’s president. You want to have your cake and eat it too.

 

[MEJHarrison]

The pandemic was the pandemic. It was a mess from the WH to the CDC. Conflicting information, partisan bickering, you name it, there is blame to for everyone. And I mean everyone.

That's sort of the point. Since there wasn't a good LEADER, it devolved to conflicting information, partisan bickering, etc. It's the fact that things were such a disaster than tells me we had poor leadership through a very difficult time. Other countries did far better than we did, so it can't all be blamed on "the pandemic was the pandemic".