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Another reason to flag is because political "discussions" on HN are as neutral and balanced as on Wikipedia...
Joe Biden stands down as Democratic candidate
231–240 of 1001 posts
Re: Joe Biden stands down as Democratic candidate
#232Dannnnnng. I think it's definitely for the best (probably never should've come to this, reminds me of RBG). And that said I really, really liked his presidency, but, he is undeniably really old.
The problem isn't just his age, it's his decrepitude, both physical and mental. I know people in their 90s who are able to speak clearly at any hour of the day...
> decrepitude
What a word, TIL
Re: Joe Biden stands down as Democratic candidate
#233Earlier quoted context omitted.
The problem isn't just his age, it's his decrepitude, both physical and mental. I know people in their 90s who are able to speak clearly at any hour of the day...
Speaking clearly has nothing to do with mental fortitude. Tons of things can affect the fluency of speech. We really need to move past the days where we judge people's intelligence and competence based on how well the connections of their brain are able to influence the movement of the vocal cords and the tongue the lips and the jaw.
Competency is not a requirement for being a politician. Winning the most votes is. And being elocuent and aggressive helps much more than being coherent
Re: Joe Biden stands down as Democratic candidate
#234One of the most effective presidents since Johnson or Truman. But he did campaign on a single term. Let’s hope the Dem’s circular firing squad puts down its guns so they can quickly concentrate on winning the election with someone … probably Harris is the simplest answer.
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Re: Joe Biden stands down as Democratic candidate
#235[flagged]
The large majority of voters wanted him to step down after the debate according to every poll. This is not a decision that goes against the spirit of democracy. To the contrary, sacrificing personal power for the good of the country and the preservation of the ideal that the institution matters rather than the figurehead. It's something we've almost forgotten is possible in the modern age of personality cults and wannabe strongmen.
Re: Joe Biden stands down as Democratic candidate
#236Oof. This guy has been the biggest positive surprise of the US presidents in my lifetime. Expectations were low, but he actually turned out to be a good president (from a European perspective). No new wars, no more talk about shifting defense focus to Asia, generally nothing unreasonable. Good support for Ukraine, no doubts about NATO - rather the opposite. Basically, the rich uncle on the other side of the pond has…
This is a very partial view. A good number of people, including American democrats were disgusted by his unwavering support to the current genocide in Gaza. Many believe he could have stopped it with a phone call and explicitly refused. I know many who swore they would not vote for him, regardless of the circumstances.
The US public is not as supportive of Israel as it used to be but support is still broad. The opinions you're reflecting are a small minority. I would expect that democrats lost votes on their "both sides" approach here since more centrists would have move to the right then people on the left who at best can not vote in protest. Stronger support for Israel would have not only reduced Palestinian suffering in the war but would have also likely gained support for the democrats.
For example, Israel was pressured to delay its offensive in the beginning of the war after the Oct 7th attack, which likely caused more casualties and prolonged the war and it was pressured in other ways that prolong the war. There was certainly nothing like "unwavering support", e.g. there was intense pressure to avoid an operation in Rafah, e.g. with the US administration saying the population could not be evacuated, but then Israel ignored that, and the population did evacuate.
On the other hand, there is virtually no chance that the US could have forced Israel to stop the war because Israelis view this as an existential threat. No threats or measures the US would take would override that view. This is likely why Biden is not able to stop the war by making a phone call.
I think it's important for people that want the war in Gaza to end and to see less casualties and suffering to understand this calculus. Israel's and Hamas'. What those people seem to be working towards in practice is a prolongation of the war, more suffering by everyone, and possibly the election of Trump in the US.
Re: Joe Biden stands down as Democratic candidate
#237Earlier quoted context omitted.
Unfortunately his domestic achievements have been somewhat mediocre. His signature achievements essentially were one time cash payments to people. I really do think his major failure was not pushing for a lasting achievement like implementing federal parental leave. He had the chance, but opted for a 1 year extension of child tax credits. And of course the US has an illegal immigration problem. European right on the…
Genuine question: is the European right actually on the rise? It seems somewhat localized to France, where Macron just unexpectedly outmaneuvered both Le Pen's party and the left coalition that formed to counter Le Pen, securing himself a surprise victory in the snap election everyone thought would be a disaster for him. In the EU as a whole, Ursula von der Leyen just won another 5 years as the President of the Europ…
Here in France, the media isn't so prompt as to call last election's results a "victory" for Macron's party.
Quite the contrary, his party now finds itself with (considerably) less parliament seats that it had, and when it could get a majority by appealing to the "moderate" right, he now has to compromise with the opposition. His party doesn't even hold a relative majority anymore.
Sadly my country hasn't been the only European one where fascism is creeping up again. The far rights came out on top in the last European Parliament election in Belgium, Italy, Austria, Hungary and France. In the other countries, its scores are steadily, dreadfully, increasing with each passing election.
Personally, I blame the increasing economic inequality and austerity politics lead in Europe since the 80s.
Re: Joe Biden stands down as Democratic candidate
#238One of the most effective presidents since Johnson or Truman. But he did campaign on a single term. Let’s hope the Dem’s circular firing squad puts down its guns so they can quickly concentrate on winning the election with someone … probably Harris is the simplest answer.
> But he did campaign on a single term.
He did not really do this.
Re: Joe Biden stands down as Democratic candidate
#239Moderators unflagging this makes a lot of sense. I felt the threads about the assassination attempt a week ago deserved similar treatment for the historical relevance. Whatever is done here should be done with a consistent set of principles applied to both parties.
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Re: Joe Biden stands down as Democratic candidate
#240> It’s a miracle, folks. Donald told the truth for once. It’s the most important election of our lifetimes. And I will win it. Curiously, his tweet from just 18 hours ago seemed like he was still in the race. I wonder what changed.
You behave as though you’re in the race right up to the moment you are not.
It's bizarre people don't get this. What's he supposed to do, tweet "thinking about not running" and flip everybody out?