Joe Biden's two-term dream is over

[aubiefifty 18,231]

Joe Biden's two-term dream is over as even Democrats realise he's not up to the job

Nick Allen

5-7 minutes

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Joe Biden is clinging to power for now but the prospect of a second term looks remote - REUTERS

 

Joe Biden is flailing. Following his parade of stumbles - verbal and physical - the fall of Kabul has proved not so much the straw, but the sledgehammer, that broke the camel’s back.

Having caused a humanitarian crisis with his incompetence the president is now trying to pretend it's not happening. Initially, he hid for days at Camp David. In a 12-minute speech on Monday he didn't even mention Afghanistan. He seems to wish it would all just go away. His aides, it seems, are afraid to tell the emperor he has no clothes.

Mr Biden will stagger on following this utter disaster but the prospect of a second term, which he very much wants, now seems remote.

Many want his presidency over sooner, wary of other unforeseen catastrophes awaiting America, and the world, over the next three years. The Republican drumbeat to use the 25th Amendment has begun.

Rick Scott, a Republican senator from Florida, said what many were thinking. “We must confront a serious question,” he said. “Is Joe Biden capable of discharging the duties of his office or has time come to exercise the provisions of the 25th Amendment?”

That would require Kamala Harris, a majority of the Cabinet, and two thirds of Congress, to turn on Mr Biden, which is highly improbable (although Ms Harris has put the boot into Mr Biden before).

But the fact the subject is entering mainstream discussion shows the level to which Mr Biden has sunk in such a very short time.

Media are making excuses for Biden

The latest poll showed a majority of Americans - 51 per cent - don't want him to stand again in 2024. Only 34 per cent do. A lot of Democrats are feeling buyers' remorse.

That is despite a daily US media output that continues to largely stick to the, now patently false, narrative that Mr Biden is a steady hand steering America away from the chaos of the Trump era.

In the post-Trump years a form of omerta still exists in the US media about the Biden administration.

There was an example this week when the White House press secretary denied any Americans were “stranded” in Kabul, which is just plainly wrong. “People have been working long hours…” said a news anchor, excusing it. “Semantics,” said another.

There have been comparisons of the US media's treatment of Mr Biden to Franklin D Roosevelt, his hero. Back then, news photographers cooperated by not showing the president in a wheelchair. Another corollary is the way the French media steered clear of Francois Mitterrand's private life.

But there is clearly a double standard going on. Compare the fevered coverage and speculation about Donald Trump’s health when he used two hands to lift a glass of water, or walked awkwardly on a ramp.

Similarly, discussion of the advanced age of Ronald Reagan, a Republican, was not off limits. Spitting Image used to joke that the “president’s brain is missing.”

President looks crabby as his reputation unravels

When I spoke with Joe Biden on the campaign trail last year he seemed sprightly enough. But, eighteen months on, and now 78, the cares of the job are clearly already taking their toll.

It's a job that turned the much younger Barack Obama's hair grey, and Bill Clinton's white.

Mr Biden's temper, which he has always had, appears to be getting worse. He snaps at journalists, even the ones hand chosen to ask questions.

And the carefully constructed image his campaign cultivated, of a master operator on the global stage, has completely unraveled.

Allies, including officials in the UK, believed in that illusion too.

They seemed surprised that Mr Biden would leave desperate Afghans behind to the mercy of the Taliban.

 

US soldiers help evacuees aboard a plane at Kabul airport - REUTERS

 

Perhaps they were unaware of these words spoken by a 32-year-old US senator from Delaware at the end of the Vietnam War.

The senator didn't want to evacuate a single South Vietnamese refugee.

“I may be the most immoral son of a gun in this room,” said the young Senator Biden. “I’m getting sick and tired of hearing about morality, our moral obligation.”

Half a century later it seems Mr Biden is still sick of that moral obligation to friends.

As in 1975, it appears he believes that Americans don't care about what happens in a country far away after their military leaves.

Catastrophic error could open door for Harris

But Mr Biden has long had a wonky political antenna, and it has malfunctioned again this time.

Middle America does care. Their sons and daughters fought and died in Afghanistan, and seeing the Taliban run amok is deeply disturbing.

As Robert O'Neill, the US Navy Seal who shot Osama bin Laden, put it: “Are you kidding me? This president surrendered to the Taliban. Does it get any more embarrassing?”

 

Is Kamala Harris now the president-in-waiting? - REUTERS

 

Mr O'Neill said he and fellow veterans “feel gross” and Mr Biden should be impeached. It's a damning indictment from which Mr Biden will not recover.

Meanwhile, the White House has sought to insulate Ms Harris from the fallout.

The Vice President is on a trip to Southeast Asia, including Vietnam, and has been all but invisible to Americans during the crisis that has engulfed her boss.

Few of her fingerprints are on the sequence of awful decisions that led to the current situation.

Someone has made sure that the Afghanistan disaster belongs to Mr Biden alone.

[AUDub 11,846]

Media having some real "mask off" moments throughout this whole ordeal. 

[CoffeeTiger 5,870]

Stupid article.

No, Democrats don't have 'buyers remorse'.

Republicans have been talking about impeachments and the 25th amendment since literally Biden's first day in office. That they are still doing so now is no surprise. 

Robert O'neill is stupid clout chasing clown. He's used his military service to make a career as a right wing political shock jock. What he has to say about Biden is completely irrelevant. He got banned from flying on Delta because he refused to wear a mask on the flight because he said he's not a "Pu***", then wanted to meet with Delta's CEO to cry about his ban. He's a very, very, poor representation of the U.S. military. 

 

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All that said, From the start I haven't been on board with a 2nd Biden term, mainly because he probably will be too old for the job in a few years. I've been annoyed for years how both Republicans and Democrats want all their leaders to be 75+ years old. 

[aubiefifty 18,231]

2 hours ago, CoffeeTiger said:

Stupid article.

No, Democrats don't have 'buyers remorse'.

Republicans have been talking about impeachments and the 25th amendment since literally Biden's first day in office. That they are still doing so now is no surprise. 

Robert O'neill is stupid clout chasing clown. He's used his military service to make a career as a right wing political shock jock. What he has to say about Biden is completely irrelevant. He got banned from flying on Delta because he refused to wear a mask on the flight because he said he's not a "Pu***", then wanted to meet with Delta's CEO to cry about his ban. He's a very, very, poor representation of the U.S. military. 

 

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All that said, From the start I haven't been on board with a 2nd Biden term, mainly because he probably will be too old for the job in a few years. I've been annoyed for years how both Republicans and Democrats want all their leaders to be 75+ years old. 

most of the dems i know are not as big on biden as they were. i am glad we are out of larryland but we could have done it better. i am tired of the same ol crap on the border. we still got kids in cages.personally i like joe and i am grateful for the stimulus just like i was grateful when trump did it. i also know joe took over things at a pretty tough time. i plan on supporting him until i cannot but i posted this to see how some of you guys feel about it. why did biden falter on the filibuster thing the repubs use to screw us with? oh i ignored the 25th ammendant thing because that would be almost impossible to do. it is my understanding most of the dems would have to agree. but i certainly have not changed sides and there are very very few repubs i would vote for. and also there is some talk going around they are going to mess with medicare which i had to pay for since around reagans days and could not use it until almost two years ago. and it still eats half my social security check already. love it or hate it i am going to be honest on here.

[CoffeeTiger 5,870]

1 minute ago, aubiefifty said:

most of the dems i know are not as big on biden as they were. i am glad we are out of larryland but we could have done it better. i am tired of the same ol crap on the border. we still got kids in cages.personally i like joe and i am grateful for the stimulus just like i was grateful when trump did it. i also know joe took over things at a pretty tough time. i plan on supporting him until i cannot but i posted this to see how some of you guys feel about it. why did biden falter on the filibuster thing the repubs use to screw us with? oh i ignored the 25th ammendant thing because that would be almost impossible to do. it is my understanding most of the dems would have to agree. but i certainly have not changed sides and there are very very few repubs i would vote for. and also there is some talk going around they are going to mess with medicare which i had to pay for since around reagans days and could not use it until almost two years ago. and it still eats half my social security check already. love it or hate it i am going to be honest on here.

These Republicans are so used to viewing their own President as a God that when they see Democrats criticize or question Biden on anything, in their minds, that means Democrats must now hate Biden and regret voting for him. 

You can criticize a politician and disagree with some of his policies and decisions without regretting that you voted for him 

[aubiefifty 18,231]

1 minute ago, CoffeeTiger said:

These Republicans are so used to viewing their own President as a God that when they see Democrats criticize or question Biden on anything, in their minds, that means Democrats must now hate Biden and regret voting for him. 

You can criticize a politician and disagree with some of his policies and decisions without regretting that you voted for him 

i will never regret voting for him unless he does something really bad. trump is a big ol goober acting idiot and i would never stoop low enough to vote for him. just so we are clear.

[AUDub 11,846]

10 minutes ago, aubiefifty said:

 why did biden falter on the filibuster thing the repubs use to screw us with? 

Ask Joe Manchin and Krysten Sinema. 

[BJCrawford 1,568]

1 hour ago, aubiefifty said:

i will never regret voting for him unless he does something really bad. trump is a big ol goober acting idiot and i would never stoop low enough to vote for him. just so we are clear.

This is not about Trump now. That’s history. Biden should not be president. He is clearly not capable when he can’t even take questions that are not scripted.  The only thing worse would be the next in line. No idea what the answer is but the news today is horrible snd not one word from the White House.

[SLAG-91 1,611]

As someone who loathed both of our primary two choices for president (2016 also), I always viewed Biden as a one-termer pretty much irrespective of performance.

It's debatable that he makes it health-wise to the end of this one.

It's a draining job, and it's not like Biden is a bundle of energy on a good day.

[homersapien 12,230]

Biden didn't "surrender to the Taliban"  Trump did, when he "negotiated" the terms.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2021/08/20/trump-peace-deal-taliban/

[jj3jordan 2,171]

2 hours ago, CoffeeTiger said:

These Republicans are so used to viewing their own President as a God that when they see Democrats criticize or question Biden on anything, in their minds, that means Democrats must now hate Biden and regret voting for him. 

You can criticize a politician and disagree with some of his policies and decisions without regretting that you voted for him 

You are completely wrong about republicans. Nobody ever viewed Trump as a God. Biden has earned every bit of criticism he is getting now from all sides. We just knew it would happen all along and some people on this very board said Biden was sharp, lucid, experienced, intelligent, strong, and cognizant.  None of that existed during the campaign or after.  Nobody expects you to admit that but it is true.  The democrats determined that only the rich white guy could win and that’s who they pushed, destroying the other candidates of color and minorities.  

[jj3jordan 2,171]

5 minutes ago, homersapien said:

Biden didn't "surrender to the Taliban"  Trump did, when he "negotiated" the terms.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2021/08/20/trump-peace-deal-taliban/

I knew this would somehow be Trumps fault when Biden left thousands stranded in country without support. I can always count on Homer to blame Trump. So I guess if this NEO had come off smoothly Homer would have given props to Trump for having such a great plan?

[CoffeeTiger 5,870]

6 minutes ago, jj3jordan said:

You are completely wrong about republicans.

 

6 minutes ago, jj3jordan said:

 The democrats determined that only the rich white guy could win and that’s who they pushed, destroying the other candidates of color and minorities.  

Lets try dealing with reality for a change here. The Democrats who have elected Americas first Minority president AND minority/woman vice president in separate elections.  

 

That's over 100 minorities in the Democratic House and Senate. 

Republicans have 22 minorities. 

AND this is after a historically diverse election for Republicans. Republican congresses are usually whiter than even this. 

[aubiefifty 18,231]

22 minutes ago, CoffeeTiger said:

 

Lets try dealing with reality for a change here. The Democrats who have elected Americas first Minority president AND minority/woman vice president in separate elections.  

 

That's over 100 minorities in the Democratic House and Senate. 

Republicans have 22 minorities. 

AND this is after a historically diverse election for Republicans. Republican congresses are usually whiter than even this. 

he will still find a way to make fun of it.

[SLAG-91 1,611]

This is a bit disconcerting...and that's being overly kind.

"Instructed?"  C'mon, now...you can't make the script THAT obvious.

[aubaseball 2,819]

3 hours ago, CoffeeTiger said:

 

Lets try dealing with reality for a change here. The Democrats who have elected Americas first Minority president AND minority/woman vice president in separate elections.  

 

That's over 100 minorities in the Democratic House and Senate. 

Republicans have 22 minorities. 

AND this is after a historically diverse election for Republicans. Republican congresses are usually whiter than even this. 

Do any of your stats change the fact that the nominee was white male?  No.  
And he said before he was even the nominee, that he was going to make a female his running mate.    It’s politics!!! Everyone is going to do whatever to get elected.   He wanted to look progressive and made KH his VP.   She is completely out of her league and shouldn’t even be mayor of Mayberry.   

[CoffeeTiger 5,870]

17 minutes ago, aubaseball said:

Do any of your stats change the fact that the nominee was white male?  No.  
And he said before he was even the nominee, that he was going to make a female his running mate.    It’s politics!!! Everyone is going to do whatever to get elected.   He wanted to look progressive and made KH his VP.   She is completely out of her league and shouldn’t even be mayor of Mayberry.   

So it doesn’t matter that Republicans never nominate anyone that’s not a white Male, but the Democrats do so for the first time in 4 elections and suddenly they are the party that is racists/don’t give minorities a shot? 

Yeah...ok . 

[jj3jordan 2,171]

1 hour ago, CoffeeTiger said:

So it doesn’t matter that Republicans never nominate anyone that’s not a white Male, but the Democrats do so for the first time in 4 elections and suddenly they are the party that is racists/don’t give minorities a shot? 

Yeah...ok . 

The point since you are quite dim is that the democrats could have nominated a minority and probably wanted to. Instead of doing that they abandoned their pledges and commitment to diversity and just went for the win. So when it comes down to it they bailed.

[CoffeeTiger 5,870]

2 hours ago, jj3jordan said:

The point since you are quite dim is that the democrats could have nominated a minority and probably wanted to. Instead of doing that they abandoned their pledges and commitment to diversity and just went for the win. So when it comes down to it they bailed.

I know what you were originally saying. But i didn’t think you were actually serious.

what kind of websites or sources do you actually get your information and ideas from? 

 

[jj3jordan 2,171]

21 minutes ago, CoffeeTiger said:

I know what you were originally saying. But i didn’t think you were actually serious.

what kind of websites or sources do you actually get your information and ideas from? 

 

That Greek tragedy played out in person and prime time.  No information from any website was needed. Do you need a web site to tell you what to think?

[aubaseball 2,819]

9 hours ago, jj3jordan said:

That Greek tragedy played out in person and prime time.  No information from any website was needed. Do you need a web site to tell you what to think?

Yes he does.  He is sheep.  And sheep need a herder.   All of what he says still doesn’t mean one single thing, because in the end an old white guy is sitting in the oval.   

[CoffeeTiger 5,870]

10 hours ago, jj3jordan said:

That Greek tragedy played out in person and prime time.  No information from any website was needed. Do you need a web site to tell you what to think?

 

No, I'm actually genuinely curious what news websites or opinion websites you typically get your news and information from? 

43 minutes ago, aubaseball said:

Yes he does.  He is sheep.  And sheep need a herder.   All of what he says still doesn’t mean one single thing, because in the end an old white guy is sitting in the oval.   

I've never denied that Biden is an old white guy.......That alone does not prove nor show that the Democrats  sabotaged the campaigners of minority candidates to specifically get a white male in office. I don't know why i have to spell this out for you. 

 

I'll ask again...Where are you guys getting these weird ideas from?

 

 

[aubiefifty 18,231]

20 hours ago, BJCrawford said:

This is not about Trump now. That’s history. Biden should not be president. He is clearly not capable when he can’t even take questions that are not scripted.  The only thing worse would be the next in line. No idea what the answer is but the news today is horrible snd not one word from the White House.

as long as trump is in the nes and makin

 

1 hour ago, aubaseball said:

Yes he does.  He is sheep.  And sheep need a herder.   All of what he says still doesn’t mean one single thing, because in the end an old white guy is sitting in the oval.   

trump is a crook. crooks need to be in jail. lock him up by gawd!

[BJCrawford 1,568]

34 minutes ago, aubiefifty said:

as long as trump is in the nes and makin

 

trump is a crook. crooks need to be in jail. lock him up by gawd!

Really? That’s your response? Ok.  

[aubiefifty 18,231]

1 minute ago, BJCrawford said:

Really? That’s your response? Ok.  

what do you want me to do? hug you up and slip you the tongue?