The problem is that the gaffes are just the tip of the iceberg.
Many prominent Biden allies are pushing for him to step down. It's not the media or George Clooney- its Congressmen. It's a crisis when many of your closest allies question your ability to do the job.
Democratic candidates are crying as they leave "reassurance" meetings with Biden. They understand better than anyone else that their election chances are dire with Biden as an anchor at the top of the ticket.
It's a crisis when the Republicans are on track to control all 3 branches of government in a few months.
If you have any data or hypothesis to explain why the polls are off by >10% then I'd love to hear it.
Otherwise, denying reality is the Trumpian response. I was hoping for a serious answer.
Compare any Biden debate or press conference performance from before 2016 to what he looks like now.
The issue isn't the gaffes, it's the obvious cognitive decline.
Can you explain how you think Biden can win this race?
Hes down 10-15% in the same polls from 4 years ago, hes getting killed in the press, and everytime he goes in front of a camera he reminds people that hes in cognitive decline.
How can the Biden campaign pull off the greatest comeback in political history?
Running a new candidate might be a bizarre and dangerous idea, but the current path leads directly to a Trump reelection.
I haven't personally run for office, but I have volunteered for a few campaigns, both local and national, and the experience really radicalized me.
I used to have faith in the Democratic party. I used to believe they were interested in serious policy. I used to believe the party had a moral compass. After seeing it from the inside, I no longer believe these things.
The people used to run the Democratic Party, but now corporations are in control. The final straw was the Clinton administration, since then the Democratic Party is just Republican-lite.
One of the biggest issues for the Bernie campaign was that the DNC was actively working against him. But on this subject I may be more hopeful than you- I believe Bernie was extremely close to the presidency, and I believe the next person to seriously take up the Bernie mantle will have a great chance at winning.
If theres only two tracks, the full-on genocide Trump track, and the slightly slower genocide Biden track, then yes the moral choice is the Biden track. But in the real world there are infinite tracks.
Biden can choose a track where he stops sending American weapons. Biden can choose a track where the US stops vetoing UN peace plans. He can choose a track where his state department doesn't repeat false Israeli propaganda to the American people.
This idea that US politicians must be subservient to Israel or be voted out is from a bygone era. The modern electorate is much less Zionist than it used to be, and the voices of Palestinians are finally starting to gain traction. Now is the time when a principled leader could end the genocide with popular support, but unfortunately Biden is neither principled nor a leader.
Doing a genocide in order to prevent Muslim bans and border cages is not a principled stance, it is not realpolitik morality; instead it is the banality of evil.
You're right, but you aren't acknowledging that the current path we are on is an absolute disaster too.
Bidens poll numbers are 12-15% lower than they were 4 years ago when he barely defeated Trump.
To win now, Biden needs to pull off the biggest comeback in US presidential history. And the political fallout from Biden's disastrous debate and interview performances hasn't even settled yet.
With Harris, at least we would have a shot at defeating Trump.
The US retains its status as the World’s No.1 Jailer with a prison population of 713 per 100,000 population, more than even any of the world’s most notorious and oppressive regimes like Myanmar (120 per 100,000 population), Cuba (510 per 100,000 population), and Iran (333 per 100,000). The only country that might challenge the US as the world’s No. 1 jailer is North Korea. Although information is limited, North Korea’s incarceration rate is estimated to be between 600-800 per 100,000 population.
Well I'm not at the "destroy the US system" stage yet, I do believe the system can be reformed.
But if it would get to that point, then the justification is simple utilitarianism. If a million people are going to die, and you pull the trolley lever and half a million die instead, then you've done a noble thing.
I agree that politics is dirty, no one is going to have 100% clean hands. But this logic is dangerous, it can be used to justify anything. This logic can be used to justify mistakes and minor corruption, and it can also be used to justify the Holocaust. We have to draw a moral line somewhere. Committing genocide cannot be the cost of doing business.
Thanks for your thoughtful response.
You're right that Biden has taken tons of bribes from Israel. AIPAC has directly given him a record-breaking $5 million dollars, and that doesn't count all of the dark money.
For my defense, I dont think I am being naive- I think I have a relatively clear eyed and nuanced view of the US political system. What I am, however, is an idealist. I cling desperately to idealism like it's a life raft in a sea of evil.
I'm not asking for sainthood, but each president in my lifetime has the blood of hundreds of thousands of innocent humans on his hands. If each US leader continues to be a mini-Hitler, I will not support any of them. And if this is truly the only outcome possible for the US system, then the only moral choice is to destroy the US system.
I find inspiration in the words of Aaron Bushnell, shortly before his heroic self-immolation in protest of the ongoing Israeli genocide:
Many of us like to ask ourselves, 'What would I do if I was alive during slavery? Or the Jim Crow South? Or apartheid? What would I do if my country was committing genocide?' The answer is, you’re doing it. Right now.
I'm a little surprised that this comment has gotten so many upvotes.
Would you apply this same logic to the real world? For example, imagine if a manufacturing facility for Lockheed Martin or General Dynamics was bombed and thousands of working class Americans died. These people are building bombs that are being used in an ongoing genocide.
Would you consider this a heinous terrorist act, or a noble strike in the fight for freedom?