OaktownBear said:
LMK5 said:
bearister said:
Biden didn't seem senile at the Democratic debates. It was clear however, that everyone else on stage was smarter than him. That would have been the case even with Joe minus 40 years. A 10 year old could hold his own with tRump, intellectually. tRump is just a bully that regurgitates Tucker, Stephen Miller and Fox & Friends talking points. I'm not happy Joe is our guy, but you gotta dance with the guy that brought you.
Joe "you know the thing" Biden will not look good in a one-on-one debate and his handlers know it (and so does everyone on this board). They are keeping him tucked away as much as possible and for as long as possible. They've made a calculation: Who will hurt their chances more, the chaos in America's lawless Dem-run cities, or having Joe Biden appear in public? They've determined that they'll take their chances with the trashing of urban America. Stay tuned.
Wow. That is a bizarre take. Especially given the "chaos" has subsided. Whether they have hidden him away vs. keeping him and others safe from catching Covid while he issues statements and does interviews from inside is one question, but the bottom line is the reason they think they can afford it is that Trump has spent a couple months doing and saying things to hurt his chances of reelection and seen his standing in the polls plummet. Frankly, I think if Biden were a dazzling and brilliant person they still think the best course is to keep the focus on Trump. A view that is shared by absolutely everyone in the political sphere including Republican operatives, many of whom are focusing on trying to save the House and Senate. The calculation they have made is what helps Biden's chances more, Biden talking or Trump talking. The fact that they think it is Trump talking is 90% related to Trump. Since April 2, Trump's net approval rating (according to Fivethirtyeight) has gone from negative 4.3 to negative 15.4. If you were running against him you would also shut up, sit in your recliner and watch him go while eating your favorite brand of popcorn.
I've seen Biden at several debates over the past several months. He is fine. He has not appeared slow or confused. He is an average to below average debater and always has been. His main issue is he can seem out of touch to the world of Zoomers and Millennials by referring to things like record players, but that is baked in. I remember when Democrats so ramped up how bad George W. was going to be that when he failed to drool or poop his pants on stage it was a huge victory for him. Amazing that you guys are making the same mistake. You don't see the Democrats playing up Mr. "United Shezhsezeh" talking about the "Oranges of the Investigation". You have two guys that pretty equally likely to say something stupid at a debate. One who is expected to and one who isn't and keeps calling the other guy senile. The danger would be all on Trump's side except for the fact that if things stay the same he will have nothing to lose.
I don't think people are voting for BIden because of his oratory skills. Unless he literally wets his pants during the debates, not too many people who are going to vote for him will switch to Trump based on the debate performance. I suspect for many educated suburban and independent folks who tend to be slightly right of center, Trump has crossed the point of no return.
Having said that, why would Biden voluntarily debate Trump more than he needs to when it can only hurt him. Good performance is not going to win over any of Trump's base. It would be like being up by 20 with 3 minutes to go and shooting threes from midcourt with 2 seconds off the 24 second clock each time.