April 2, 2020

Does Biden's new ad suggest 4 ways that he will meet the challenge of campaigning in the time of coronavirus?

Here's the ad:

Here's WaPo's Jennifer Rubin detecting 4 things Biden is doing. First, I'll just say: Nearly all of that ad is saying Americans are coming together and accomplishing something. The only issue identified is that those working on the front lines need proper equipment. That's completely uncontroversial. Biden simply says that he would give them the equipment they need. Everyone wants that. Asserting earnestly that he wants that to be done does not give us any information about how he could do it any better than Trump.

Anyway, here's Rubin with 4 things:
First, Biden will not spare President Trump from the charge that he failed as commander in chief, sending troops (health-care workers) into the fray without sufficient protection and equipment. The more Trump protests that governors do not need ventilators or that there are plenty of tests, the more fodder he provides to Biden that Trump is a derelict, incompetent commander in chief.
Wow. Biden didn't insult Trump like that! There would be blowback if he did. Criticizing from home? We can all do that. It doesn't cause medical equipment to appear. Rubin may want Biden to talk like some random social-media blowhard... or columnist in WaPo, but he's not doing that in this ad, and a lot of us would be disgusted if he did.
Second, Biden now can put meat on the bones of his message that the election is a fight for the “soul of the nation.”.... In Biden’s telling, Republicans focus on bailing out corporate interests (e.g., the giant slush fund) and savaging regulations (even clear-air requirements in the middle of a respiratory illness) while Democrats want to focus on more help for nurses and responders, more unemployment pay and more help for small business....
I heard the "soul" theme in the ad but I don't remember this kind of ideological polemic. I think Biden is restricting himself to trying to seem kinder and gentler. I don't remember any stress on the difference between Republicans and Democrats. I remember the idea that America is coming together and not even any assertion that that Biden has anything special to offer in this regard. He was praising the soldiers in this war and expressing a desire to equip them properly.
Third, the Democrats’ best argument in 2018 was health care. Now that we are in a health-care epidemic not seen for 100 years, Democrats have an obvious upper hand....
Biden could argue that Democrats — because of their interest in financing day-to-day health care — would be better at handing a sudden, extreme health-care crisis. But he did not even attempt to do that in this ad.
Finally, Biden plainly wants this to be about a contrast in leadership styles. In place of Trump’s bombast, irrationality and vindictiveness, Biden presents a calm and empathetic figure....
This is the one thing that I agree this ad is trying to do. That's Biden's pitch. Don't you want to listen to me? He read competently from a polished script to make this ad. That is, it's an ad. Trump we see endlessly on camera, in real time, pressured by questions for over an hour every day. The 2 men are not doing the same thing. It's hard to look at Biden's ad and imagine him at the lectern attempting to do the work of the presidency before our eyes. That would be a different test indeed!

132 comments:

Mike Sylwester said...

Democracy Dies in Darkness!

David Begley said...

“Nearly all of that ad is saying Americans are coming together and accomplishing something.”

Tough to do when the Governors of N.Y. and MI are PROHIBITING doctors from prescribing HCQ. They have blood on their hands. And I don’t say that lightly. Seriously. This is a total outrage. Beyond the pale. Unthinkable. Incomprehensible.

Mike Sylwester said...

Governors of N.Y. and MI

Should be: Governors of NV and MI

Marcus Bressler said...

No malarkey there.

THELYINGDOGFACEDPONYSOLDIER

Lincolntf said...

We all saw what happens when Democrats attempt to manage Healthcare on a national scale. A massive and costly disaster that must never be repeated.

rehajm said...

Trump stands up there for hours every day and counters the endless heckling from MSM. One earnest challenging question and Biden will be finger pointing, angling for a fist fight or a push up contest and peppering em with insults from the 1920s...

Do they not understand that video is forever?

David Begley said...

Mike S

Just saw Dr, Oz on Fox and Friends say that Cuomo is doing it. Oz is in NYC.

Wilbur said...

A quick search turned up these insults from the 1920s: (from http://brooketowns495.blogspot.com/2013/10/lexicon-by-decade-insults-and.html)

Bearcat- A hot-blooded girl; In Google Books, it came up quite a bit but it was mostly incorrectly read texts that actually said bearest. There was a spike in the 1920s but most references seemed to relate to agriculture or the wilderness. In COHA, the first uses of “bearcat” occur in 1920, with the intended meaning.

Bimbo- a young woman that is promiscuous or unintelligent. This stemmed from the original usage meaning a male bimbo in 1919 which came from the Italian use of the word meaning "baby."

Crackers- Someone who is crazy. This was originally British slang that, as explained in 20th Century Words, "combines the idea of having a 'broken' head with the suffix -ers."

Dumb Dora- A dumb girl; again no hits in Google Books but in COHA, it began to be used in 1920 and was used once or twice a decade until 1970 where it seemingly disappeared. It doesn’t seem that this was a frequently used saying.

Hincty/Hinkty- This term describes someone that is conceited or stuck-up. It's origins are unknown but according to 20th Century Words, it may have come from "handkerchief-head" which is an "Uncle Tom Negro."

Nobody Home- Someone that’s dumb; In Google Books, the first usage that fits this description is in 1922. The COHA has it starting in the early 1940s and slowly rose. It has remained pretty steady, which makes sense since it is something we still sometimes say today.

Nitwit- This is a stupid person. It orginally was a term of a specific British dialect but it became widely popular by the end of the decade. It is thought that the term started by saying someone has the brains of a nit, or a louse.

Pill- an unlikeable person; This is very hard to find since it is a noun used in regular speech. I was able to find it in 1921 with this meaning.

Wet Blanket-A killjoy; Originally showed up in 1920

Gunner said...

Does Rubin still think recognizing Jerusalem as Israel's capital is bad because Trump did it and not dreamboat Mitt Romney?

David Begley said...

“In a notable reversal, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D) is now reportedly asking the federal government to send shipments of hydroxychloroquine to help during the pandemic after first threatening “administrative action” against doctors who prescribed the drug for Chinese coronavirus patients.”

Whitmer wised up. But she should still be recalled.

tim in vermont said...

If Democrats had got their way, we coulda been Italy! That’s a hell of an argument. The UK doesn’t seem to be doing particularly well either. Remember when Rubin lied and claimed to be a Republican? They do that because they wouldn’t want honest debate about globalist ideas in the media. So they have pretend debates.

Shouting Thomas said...

Biden’s presentation is boiler plate mush.

It’s a collection of trite cliches with maudlin background music that’s supposed to convey emotional depth.

Corporate PSA.

One of my jobs was producing this crap. (So, I’m a whore.) This shit was supposed to motivate employees, but even the people who produced it knew that it was just corporate background noise, best ignored unless online surveillance mandated you watch it.

Shouting Thomas said...

Does the issue of whether states have the constitutional power to enforce this shutdown interest you, professor?

tim in vermont said...

Everybody knows that Biden, even if elected, will never have to face hostile questioning, no matter the magnitude of whatever fuckup he manages, triggering war with Russia, taking pallets of ChiCom money to paper over our current little spat, anything. So his lack of ability to handle tough questions is not an issue.

tim in vermont said...

For instance, nobody is going to ask Biden if he supports the tax cut for the wealthy that Pelosi is proposing.

tim in vermont said...

Retroactive to when it was imposed. A clawback of taxes that the Republicans levied on the wealthiest Americans. A “stimulus” for millionaires and billionaires.

Kevin said...

Biden simply says that he would give them the equipment they need.

Actually he says if they don’t have the equipment he’ll tell them to stay home and let the people fend for themselves.

He won’t go to war with the Army he has, but would let the other side wage war until he got the Army he needed.

JPS said...

"the Democrats’ best argument in 2018 was health care."

But in a distinction our host made first – "Democrats — because of their interest in financing day-to-day health care" – the Democrats' edge on this concerns how we pay for it and how we deliver it. It does not concern technology and innovation, the capabilities that are still our edge over the rest of the world. They take that as a given and assume it will remain so no matter what layers of added bureaucracy they throw over it. I'm not as sure.

Yesterday a French friend of my wife's on Facebook was triumphantly posting the message from a Norwegian university (from a couple of weeks ago, since deleted) to their students abroad, advising them to come home from countries with poorly developed health care systems, like the United States. Ha! But I can't help noticing that while France's (and Italy's) healthcare systems seem to do a wonderful job of meeting people's day-to-day needs, they don't seem to be doing so well in the face of unusual or unforeseen circumstances like these.

Oh, and, good for Biden for bravely coming out in favor of proper PPE. That's the kind of bold, decisive leadership we need in these trying times.

Browndog said...

I see Joe tweeted about that grave injustice that women are only paid 79 cents to a man's dollar. In the middle of a pandemic.

Joe is now an NPC.

gspencer said...


And the elder abuse continues.

Here’s that 03/17/20 appearance of Joe, frozen at his podium until CEO/CFO* Jill comes to the rescue. It takes him a second before he recognizes her.

*of the LetsMilkJoeForAllItsWorth, Inc. of which “Doctor” Jill is the majority shareholder,

at 03:25,
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=207&v=tIwH4kF5OvY&feature=emb_logo

exhelodrvr1 said...

Jennifer RUbin is one of the best examples of TDS in a "conservative" - pay her no mind.

Kevin said...

The Biden Administration is going to perfectly battle a global pandemic?

The Obama-Biden Administration couldn’t build a healthcare website.

Laslo Spatula said...

"Does Biden's new ad suggest 4 ways....?"

Considering the rape allegations about him, my worry is that a four-way involving Biden could be nonconsensual.

I am Laslo.

tim in vermont said...

Tell us again how it’s a mistake to bring strategic manufacturing back home from China Joe.

Fernandinande said...

Trump ... sending troops (health-care workers) into the fray without sufficient protection and equipment.

I wonder why some people have seized on the idea that the President sends health care workers anywhere.

Unless they're in the military, healthcare workers are perfectly free to take a staycation if they feel like it.

Sally327 said...

I wonder how much that ad cost. And how many ventilators and other equipment Biden could have purchased to donate to hospitals with that money. But then Biden has never been known for his charitable giving. Maybe empathy will cure the virus. We can always hope.

tim in vermont said...

I remember the Dems arguments on health care, that were repeated her ad nauseum by ARM, for example. “We spend to much on health care!"

Fernandinande said...

The Obama-Biden Administration couldn’t build a healthcare website.

Because Owl Gore didn't invent the internet the right way.

Brian said...

Good campaign ads don't need Rubin to explain how good they are point by point.

iowan2 said...

Yesterday we talked about the media.

This juxtaposition of Biden, and then the media, "adding context" proves the assertion the media (Democrat Party Leader) has a singular focus. Set the Democrat narrative.

That narrative is, President Trump did not take this serious, and delayed taking action.
Never specifics. Always the "Trump delayed" narrative.

Pay attention. ALL reporting will at least once set the "delayed" narrative.

Sebastian said...

Fisking Rubin?

Barrel-scraping. Althouse! She's not worthy of you. Neither is Joe, actually.

wendybar said...

Jennifer Rubin the "Conservative" voice of the Washington Post is whacked. If she is a Conservative, then I'm a fangirl of Alexandria Occasio Cortez and think she would be the best President ever...(And I don't and she WOULDN'T be!!) Why she still has a job is beyond me.

wildswan said...

The country is working to get through this without giving in to fear even though information is uncertain, even though "science" is changing, even though medicine might locally become overwhelmed. Trump is working to meet the crisis by overcoming shortages however caused and by explaining what we are finding out as we go.

On the other hand, The Regulators are preventing possible solutions to shortages such as the shortage of hand sanitizers due to alcohol shortages. Breweries could supply this needed alcohol. After all they put out a product so pure that people can drink it. Surely they could supply alcohol at the needed concentration and purity. But the FDA and other agencies are moving at Federal speed - 25 miles an hour on the freeway - in this case as in many others to consider alternatives to the usual ways of doing things, For example, they are still finding reasons why breweries can't supply alcohol instead of finding ways so that they can. The Regulators will give up delay and delay and delay when we pry their cold, dead hands off society.

I am sure that Joe Biden has a heart for the American people and he also is a good enough politician to know when it's time to show that heart. (see ad) But can Joe Biden understand that the science isn't settled on what is happening so that the President must act on what he knows and change when he knows better? Isn't it likely that Joe will learn some set of facts from the CDC and go on repeating them (in a confused way) long after everyone else including the CDC, has, shall we say, refined those facts? And, moreover, is Joe Biden, as he is today, up to challenging the lazy, inert Regulators on behalf of the American people? Can he grasp The Regulators arguments day after day and wrestle them down, and then shift his grip and grasp their new arguments and wrestle with them? Can he struggle to get things done and struggle again and struggle again as Trump does?

I think Biden can't do more than shelter in place and that place cannot be the White House. We're in a crisis and we need a President, not a mascot.

David Begley said...

Does anyone seriously believe Biden could perform the duties of President; especially during a crisis?

dbp said...

There is an enduring theme in the press of this thing called a "dog whistle". A conservative will use what most people regard as a normal turn-of-phrase and a fireman/reporter will decipher it into a racist call to action, that is supposedly very clear to conservatives. Even though the only people who can detect it are liberal elites who work in media.

It is generally dismissed by normal people as a kind of perverse wishful thinking: Leftists are somehow capable of reading the minds of people they do not know and have never met. But maybe there is something to this phenomenon after all. As innocuous and bland as Biden's prepared statements, Jennifer Rubin is hearing things that "only her kind" can hear. By her kind, I of course mean elite leftists.

So, I guess they were right all along about dog whistles. They exist, but only provably on the left.

tim maguire said...

Jennifer Rubin is evidence that the WaPo isn't even interested in being a real newspaper. Biden is in a tough position and he is still trying to figure out how to remain relevant. He isn't being helped by toadies like Rubin.

Sebastian said...

"Why she still has a job is beyond me"

Easy. She's the WaPo's middle finger to the deplorables.

narciso said...

When they didnt replace the protective gear, you dog faced pony soldier.

Leland said...

Now that's a fisking. For me, once I read Jennifer Rubin as byline; I knew it would be bad.

Mike (MJB Wolf) said...

That lie about the EPA will be popular but it’s ours propaganda, like the rest of WaPo. The Trump admin is temporarily declining to FINE business that self-report paperwork violations, so compliance investigators can maintain social distancing and focus on more necessary tasks. Rubin is making a slowdown on policing paperwork sound like those eeevil Republicans have some giant spigot we like to open up and let pollution loose when we can get away with it. This is just a small example of how the news business is dying and being replaced by thugs with bylines churning out CCP propaganda. That sweet Bezos cash hey Jen!

Browndog said...

The Obama-Biden Administration couldn’t build a healthcare website.

Not true.

The level of success of any endeavor is directly proportional to the level government spending, according to democrat governing philosophy.

Therefor, the Obamacare website was one of the best websites ever created.

Temujin said...

1) Trump took over from Obama/Biden who had left the strategic cupboards virtually bare. There were no stockpiles built up by Biden when he had the chance to do so, when there was no pandemic sucking up every piece of equipment on earth. He had the chance to have the vision and foresight, as did Obama. They failed miserably at that.

2) Those "corporate interests" are some of the largest employers in the nation. Not to mention the needed products or services they bring. Why is it that Democrats always accept large sums of campaign contributions from these companies, have relatives who sit on the boards of these companies, but then hold them out as straw men when it comes to election time. By the way, Rubins employer, Jeff Bezos, is probably getting help from the Feds as well.

3) The Dems love to shout that they are the health care party, but they fucked it up royally since Obama dismantled our previous system. They shoved a half-assed system through congress on a weird maneuver and back room promises (that did not come through), then spent a year trying to get a website to work. Yeah- they gave us health care. Remember the doctor you used to have and liked? Remember your insurance company before they went away? Remember those premiums that were 1/3 the cost they are now? And lastly- have you seen the mess going on in the UK with their national health system? If you had that here, you would have twice the deaths already.

Calling the Dems the health care party is like calling Mosckvich an auto manufacturer. Yeah sure, they made some cars, but would you buy one for yourself?

4) Biden has a long history of being an 'in your face' guy. That's his schtick. If he appears calm and empathetic it's because his brain is addled and he cannot recall groping or sexually attacking women he came across. Ask Tara Reade how empathetic he is.

For that matter, ask Jennifer Rubin if she ever heard of Tara Reade.

Screw WaPo.

gilbar said...

That's Biden's pitch. Don't you want to listen to me? He read competently from a polished script to make this ad. That is, it's an ad.

i want to see the Bloopers Reel! i'll bet it's HILARIOUS!
seriously, how many takes did it take to make this? how many naps ?

tim in vermont said...

Stuff like this is why the WaPol fired their ombudsman.

Ron Winkleheimer said...

He isn't being helped by toadies like Rubin.

Absolutely correct. If you want political advise on what american voters will respond to, perhaps you shouldn't consult people who were totally convinced that there was no way Trump could win. But Rubin isn't in the political advice business. She is in the "stay employed by telling liberals what they want to hear while pretending to be a conservative" business.

tim maguire said...

Ron Winkleheimer said...Rubin isn't in the political advice business. She is in the "stay employed by telling liberals what they want to hear while pretending to be a conservative" business.

So very true. Lying to people who want to be lied to.

Bay Area Guy said...

Rubin is useless, amazed she still has a column. The ad is nice - vacuous, but nice.

Bill, Republic of Texas said...

Did Biden explain why he and Obama failed to buy the medical masks the DHS asked them to buy?

Did he explain why he and Obama, not only failed to buy the requested masks, no replenish the millions of masks used in the last flu scare?

What the hell did they spend all that money on?

RMc said...

He isn't being helped by toadies like Rubin.

She desperately wants Biden to be some well-spoken, brilliant liberal firebrand, which is the exact opposite of what he actually is. (If I were a Dem, I'd be furious: all these candidates, and this is the guy we picked? Really?)

stevew said...

Rubin's bias is showing, I suspect she isn't aware of its existence.

The ad is effective in so much as it conveys a sense of calm and support for America and Americans. It is a good contrast to the shitshow webcast and podcast he put out recently.

Todd said...

No one has yet explained how Trump was supposed to give anyone anything. He supposed to write a check out of his "trust"? He is the President, not a dictator (that the left keeps calling him). What he going to do, write an EO forcing all the medical suppliers to give all their stuff to the NG who will then distribute it to the folks that need it? Sure he MAY could but then there would be 50 different judges all doing stays while the suites work their way through the system AND 100 different news articles are written about how they were all right and this is the end of America and Trump really, really IS a fascist, and impeachment 3.23 gets kicked off.

So, sure, Trump can make ALL this go away but he is just to EVIL and does not want to. But Biden is better! Can DO better!

Asshats...

DavidUW said...

Biden is even more of a condescending jerk than Obama as he readily and quickly (as extensively documented) insults voters in public to their faces. Also his condescension is particularly galling considering he has perhaps a room temperature IQ.

But sure, he's all here for the "soul" of the nation.
And no one in the press will call him out on it.

gilbar said...

Kevin said...
Actually he says if they don’t have the equipment he’ll tell them to stay home and let the people fend for themselves.
He won’t go to war with the Army he has, but would let the other side wage war until he got the Army he needed.


That's what the man said:
I would never send an American soldier anywhere in the world without the equipment and protection they need

So, if Jo had been President in 1941; how LONG would he have waited for our American Solders to get the equipment and protection they needed Before sending them into battle?

If, all we had were M4 Sherman tanks, and B-17's; would he have waited until we had
M26 Pershing tanks and B-29's?
M48 Patton tanks and B-36's?
M1 Abrams tanks and B-2's?
I wonder what Germany and Japan would have been doing in that time?

Similarly, i wonder what Covid-19 would be doing while Jo waits to get our heroes their proper gear?

Kevin said...

I agree this election is about the soul of the nation.

It’s just that Biden is on the wrong side of that argument.

WWIII Joe Biden, Husk-Puppet + America's Putin said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
WWIII Joe Biden, Husk-Puppet + America's Putin said...

Democrats "have the upper hand" on healthcare because they have media hacks like Rubin to sell that snake oil.
The never ending call for state run health care. They re-name it as they go.

narciso said...

So gretchen whitmer went on the non john stewart dailyshow because shes on the ball.

Mike (MJB Wolf) said...

Some enterprising reporter should look into why the 100,000,000 N95 masks in our FEMA stockpile were not replenished after the Swine Flu pandemic killed 12,500 Americans during Obama’s first term. If Team Biden had restocked those things then we could have moved EARLIER (remember that word Joe) to the present crisis by directing that PPE where it was needed. But we didn’t. Joe had a chance to address this problem EARLIER and allow us to move SOONER but he failed us. They did nothing while Americans died of H1N1 and then did not refill the stockpile. They were too busy spying on Trump and milking foreigners for cash and favors to do their damned job. Heckuva job Joey. Wish you’d come up with a four-point plan a little EARLIER!

WWIII Joe Biden, Husk-Puppet + America's Putin said...

VP Biden was in charge of Ukrainian business, and he used his power to enrich his son Hunter with laundered tax payer money funneled to a corrupt Ukrainian energy company.

Most Americans don't make 50,000.00+ a month, let alone a year.
Most Americans cannot afford that fancy Porsche, father of the stripper baby without consequence, and million dollar Hollywood abodes.

That is all WE need to know about the soul of Joe.

Biden is a lot like Hillary. Another top untouchable poll who used power for personal family enrichment.

The media have nothing to say about this. This would end the career of anyone else.

Jersey Fled said...

I don't know. Obama kind of made through eight years by occasionally standing in front of a teleprompter and reading a prepared speech.

You remember those frequent news conferences and daily briefings, don't you?

Jersey Fled said...

And of course you remember how Obiden-Bama sent our diplomats into foreign countries fully prepared for any dangers they may face there.

Limited blogger said...

I believe a majority of Americans think Trump is doing as good a job as possible under the circumstances.

They will vote to re-elect him and do the job of fixing all the failings in pandemic response that have been exposed.

Howard said...

This post is the perfect example of better than nothing is a high standard. Politics is beyond irrelevant right now.

mockturtle said...

Campaigning should be put on hold during this public health and economic crisis. Biden and Pelosi's remarks will not play well outside the beltway.

Gusty Winds said...

There is not a word of truth in anything Jennifer Rubin writes. Biden is begging to be relevant. Even his own party knows he is irrelevant.

Gusty Winds said...

I think we should stop talking about Joe Biden as a coherent individual. We should address all things Biden as "the Biden handlers" etc....

They're propping his corpse up. Now they say he is willing to get on the phone with Trump to tell him how to manage this crises. What a joke.

Ken B said...

Some people worship their hatreds. Rubin is one such.

Buckwheathikes said...

"I would never send an American soldier anywhere in the world without the equipment and protection they need." - Joe Biden

Ambassador Chris Stevens is rolling over in his grave.

Lurker21 said...

You are analyzing the ad. Rubin is providing (unsolicited) advice to Biden, telling him what she thinks he should do. Or she's talking about the dream Biden, the ideal Biden, that she wants him to be. Maybe it's a mixture of both: she sees some of the deficiencies of the ad and is telling him what to do, but she also reads things into it that she wishes were there, but aren't.

The ad isn't very effective, but it works better than her strategy would. Maybe Biden's dilemma is whether to be scripted, safe, sane and responsible, or to go off script and on the attack. It's a variant of McCain's and Romney's problem - do I want to really go after Obama, or do I want people to think I am a "nice guy"? - but it's complicated by Biden's greater cognitive problems.

Todd said...

Howard said...
This post is the perfect example of better than nothing is a high standard. Politics is beyond irrelevant right now.

4/2/20, 8:23 AM


I typically hope for "better than the prior administration" as this is not my first rodeo. Sometimes I am happy, sometimes not.

The prior administration set a bar so low a turtle could get over it and Trump instead pole vaulted it. If the congress can be flipped, his next term should be even better. Now THAT will be a hard act to follow.

MacMacConnell said...

Rubin and Biden never built anything in their lives. Trump knows how that works, he has done it his whole life. Rubin and Biden think those things can be shit out their asses.

h said...

"There is no problem so large that it cannot be solved with mealy-mouth platitudes." BIden for President.

Howard said...

Well Todd as much as I cannot stand President Trump and vehemently disagree with your assessment of his pole vaulting performance, I actually hope that you're wet dream of a republican Congress and a trump victory is true. That would mean that this pandemic turned out to be a nothing Burger.

Howard said...

You and I are on the same page, Mockturtle.

Bruce Hayden said...

I don’t think that in the current situation, the Democrats could pick a worse candidate strategically than China Joe Biden.

They can’t effectively attack Trump for dawdling, because Trump was already cranking up his Wuhan Coronavirus task force In the midst of being impeached for his completely legitimate telephone call with the Ukrainian President, that peripherally mentioned Biden and his pressuring the Ukrainian government not to investigate the money his son made there, as a result of his father being VP. And while the Ukrainians gave Hunter millions, the Chinese gave him over a billion to manage. The sham impeachment, that might have distracted Trump from jumping on to fighting the virus earlier (but probably didn’t), was at least partially in order to defend Biden from paying for his corruption.

So, maybe Biden can run as the calm father figure sitting above the fray. Who would be making the hard decisions then? He is stuck there. He was Obama’s VP. When Eisenhower appeared in this role, the reality was that he was actually making the big decisions in the background. That was just his management style, perfected running an international coalition that won the European theater part of WW II. Obama though just smiled and let the bureaucrats do what they did best - they dithered, bickered, and made self serving decisions. Obama was above the fray, at a time when he should have been cracking the whip in the background.

The reality, repeatedly brought forth in Trump’s fight against the Wuhan Coronavirus, is that a big part of the problem is the bureaucracy. Not, as with the FBI, DOJ and CIA, with active, often illegal, subversion. But through ineptitude and bureaucratic fighting for parochial interests. The CDC and FDA, in particular, have often seemed more a part of the problem, than of the solution. The CDC centralized testing, in their own hands, then wasn’t able to test accurately, and only could do so at a small fraction of the volume required. The result was that when we might have mitigated the damage the best, early on, we couldn’t, because the infection couldn’t properly be accurately detected and identified. We also have depleted reserves of masks and missing stockpiles of ventilators, that weren’t replenished under Obama/Biden. Meanwhile, the FDA continues to try to force everything from the manufacture of masks, through the repurchasing of malarial drugs, to new treatments and vaccines, through its time consuming, labyrinth, procedures. When the goal should be flattening the curve, their goal is still preventing more Thalidomide babies. That is who Obama let make the decisions when he faced a milder pandemic, and that is who China Joe would trust (esp now that he can’t be trusted, mentally, to do anything else).

Will said...

Maybe someone new on the scene could make this argument. Joe Biden most definitely cannot.

America already saw that Joe Biden did in fact send Americans to Benghazi without the "equipment and protection they need". Just ask Ambassador Chris Stevens.

Furthermore, when some wanted to mount a rescue effort there, Joe Biden ignored their cries for help and left those people to fight alone on rooftops for 12 hours. So yes, let's talk about the soul of our nation.

If you remember, there were 4 YEARS between the passage of Obamacare and the go-Live date of the website. During those 4 years Joe Biden and team did not manage the project diligently nor heed the increasingly urgent warnings it was not ready for prime time. After the website was turned on, a fiasco ensured and it took 4 MONTHS before the site was even minimally useful.

Compare that to the 4 months we have had since coronavirus came on the scene. The response this time has been far more global and comprehensive. Trump is doing far better on a much more complex issue than Biden did on fixing a website.

Finally, Joe Biden has consistently been a block behind the parade as he struggles to stay relevant, often recommending moves that were already done a month ago. There has been little value-add in anything Biden has said.

Bay Area Guy said...

Figurehead Joe has two options!

1. Be replaced by Dem Candidate ? (Cuomo, Hillary, Michelle,)

2. Pick VP ? (who will ascend to presidency, after he steps down.)

Option 2 is much cleaner: Remember this trial balloon from 2 months ago? Seems like 2 years ago.

Will said...

Maybe someone new on the scene could make this argument. Joe Biden most definitely cannot.

America already saw that Joe Biden did in fact send Americans to Benghazi without the "equipment and protection they need". Just ask Ambassador Chris Stevens.

Furthermore, when some wanted to mount a rescue effort there, Joe Biden ignored their cries for help and left those people to fight alone on rooftops for 12 hours. So yes, let's talk about the soul of our nation.

If you remember, there were 4 YEARS between the passage of Obamacare and the go-Live date of the website. During those 4 years Joe Biden and team did not manage the project diligently nor heed the increasingly urgent warnings it was not ready for prime time. After the website was turned on, a fiasco ensured and it took 4 MONTHS before the site was even minimally useful.

Compare that to the 4 months we have had since coronavirus came on the scene. The response this time has been far more global and comprehensive. Trump is doing far better on a much more complex issue than Biden did on fixing a website.

Finally, Joe Biden has consistently been a block behind the parade as he struggles to stay relevant, often recommending moves that were already done a month ago. There has been little value-add in anything Biden has said.

Roy Lofquist said...

Identifying problems is easy peasy. Finding solutions is hard. Making the solutions work is a rare talent.

I thank my lucky stars that the Orange Guy is in charge.

Pookie Number 2 said...

Fascinating how none of Rubin’s recommendations include any advocacy of anything conservative.

Although the media’s largely-successful effort at recasting a philandering buffoon as the second coming of Hitler helps me understand how Goebbels was so effective, I think Trump has enough legitimate flaws to warrant criticism. But the absolute dearth of any conservative advocacy really proves Rubin’s unprincipled dishonesty.

Tommy Duncan said...

Joe's voice sounds weak and tired. There is no vitality. He needs to project strength in the face of crisis. Instead he seems fragile.

Ron Winkleheimer said...

By the way, talking about the "soul of the nation" is just another way of calling Trump supporters deplorable. I know the people on the left are on a "holy" mission to perfect humanity through politics, but I'm not going into the camps without a fight.

pacwest said...

"Give them all they need. Now."

Is he saying Newsome should release some water to the California farmers? Now?

pacwest said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Birkel said...

Why would you need to vote - in person or otherwise - for the presidential primary (leaving the other votes aside) when Joe Biden is the candidate who is pretending to run for the office? He will move off the path and let somebody else run past.

hawkeyedjb said...

All this political posturing and nonsense has no value whatsoever. It's cheap and easy to say "I would do this; I would not do that." Bullshit. You would do pretty much what Trump is doing, unless you're listening to a set of advisors who come from fantasy-land. Every damn day I hear "Trump's and idiot" and "The governor's an idiot." Bullshit. They're doing their best, they're muddling through, just like all of us. Nobody on earth has been through anything like this, unless they are 110 years old. Sure, a lot of the response is made up as we go along; that's the way it would be regardless who is in charge. We all know it. All the partisan nonsense has literally no value whatsoever - even the people spouting it know that.

The worst garbage I have heard was reserved for the Pillow Guy. Here's an ordinary American, trying his best to do something useful for the country, and the opprobrium heaped on him is sickening. I heard the other day that "now Trump says we can pray our way out of this" because the Pillow Guy offered up a prayer. It's sickening. The Pillow Guy has just done more for the country than all the yapping politicos put together have done in their entire lives! Biden, Pelosi, Schumer... they've been in Washington for what, 1,000 years? None of them has ever accomplished anything in their lives. They've never done anything productive, never created anything of value. Biden is a producer of bullshit. The disgusting thing is that these people trade in bullshit, and think it has value. Maybe in Washington it does. Maybe the nation will decide that a spouter of bullshit will save us. Oh well, we'll get what we vote for.

BUMBLE BEE said...

Democrats battle for low information voters. Truly blessed to be old. "They'll believe anything you tell them" apply?
This country will cease to exist in short order, and I don't wanna be here to watch.

Big Mike said...

@Althouse, if you spend ten minutes reading Jen Rubin that’s ten minutes of your life you’ll never get back, not to mention 4 or 5 IQ points you’ll lose forever.

MattJ said...

1) Biden says he would not send today's heroes (we assume he means doctors and nurses) into this battle (hospitals?) without the safety equipment they need.

2) When this started we did not have nearly enough safety equipment for our doctors and nurses, and no instant way to get more.

3) I can only assume that means Biden would ban doctors and nurses from treating anyone once the equipment was all used, and he would leave Americans to die alone at home or in the streets.

Or is there some other step 3?

Big Mike said...

Do they not understand that video is forever?

Commentators ARM and steve uhr, on one of yesterday’s threads sure didn’t. Why would somebody like Biden, who has half the brains of a lobotomized lab rat?

Lee Moore said...

As Kevin points out, you always go to war with what you've got, not with what you'd like to have.

To be sure, if you're initiating the war, you get to choose to wait until you've added a bit more kit. But if you're attacked, well you can either fight with what you've got, or you can surrender.

And it's not like we attacked this coronavirus thing. It attacked us.

So Joe's advisers are crafting ads that make him out to be, among his many other failings, deeply unserious in a time of national crisis.

But I suppose he's going with what he's got :)

Ron Winkleheimer said...

"Give them all they need. Now."

Does he think Trump has what they need hidden under his bed and his keeping it from the people who need it out of sheer maliciousness?

When asked by younger people at work, "Why aren't we doing this clearly beneficial thing" I always respond to them that the answer to that is almost always, "not enough time and/or money." Resources are not infinite. There are always trade offs.

Big Mike said...

If Joe Biden really wanted to provide the medical equipment that is lacking right now, then he should have told Donald Trump back on Inauguration Day 2017 that his old boss, Barack Obama, had neglected to restock the US reserve supply of ventilators when he was supposed to. It’s not like the Presidency comes equipped with a magic wand that Trump is neglecting to wave.

deepelemblues said...

Rubin displays her own bombast, irrationality and vindictiveness every day. As she has for four years.

Dude1394 said...

Anti trump democrat Jennifer Rubin. That’s funny. I love ( not ) when I hear politicians say crap like this. I would NEVER send our troops into battle without the right equipment. So what are you going to do, lay down your weapons and watch them march by. We seem to think all conflicts are pre-planned and are going to wait until we are ready. It’s childish and stupid.

You think Washington was equipped? Our minutemen? North/South civil war soldiers? Text and? War in the pacific, ww1, ww2.

We have become idiots thinking everything comes neatly in a box. It’s why we have stupid politicians shutting down thousands of counties with no virus at all.

Biden is just vomiting bromides, typical politician crap.

Francisco D said...

Shouting Thomas said: This shit was supposed to motivate employees, but even the people who produced it knew that it was just corporate background noise, best ignored unless online surveillance mandated you watch it.

That was my impression. I also wondered how many people would pay any attention this ad if they were not required by their jobs to do so.

Static Ping said...

Jennifer Rubin is basically the Washington Post's version of an Internet troll, and an obvious one at that. Actually, it is so easy to predict what she will say that she might as well be a bot. Here's basically all you need to know:

1. Everything Trump does is wrong.
2. If by some miracle Trump does something correct, it does not count because he did not do it soon enough, or he did it too early, or he did not do it perfectly by her estimation which completely negates anything good it did, or he didn't do it in a non-partisan way which negates any good it did, or he did it for the wrong reasons which negates any good it did, or he communicated it in a way that she does not like which also completely negates any good it did. So if Trump is right, he is still completely wrong. Basically, when in doubt see Rule #1.
3. Anyone who opposes Trump is great.

You can follow the logic from there.

I occasionally see her Twitter comments. She comes across as someone who is completely detached from reality and living in her own little world. If Biden shows up for a 5 minute press conference where he proposes pandemic actions that were already executed two weeks ago, fails to answer the most basic of questions without fumbling about, and generally seems confused, all while being completely ineffectual, Rubin will praise him for exuding the leadership we need in this time of crisis, unlike that horrible, no good Trump. It's really beyond parody. There are communist propaganda arms that have more self-respect to do what Rubin does on a regular basis.

Ron Winkleheimer said...

Now we should be working very very hard to create the needed resources. That's why it important for "journalists" to mock CEOs that retool their factories to create frivolous things like n95 face masks.

Jon Burack said...

Love it when Ann Althouse unravels the language games of fools like Jennifer Rubin. Her response to Biden's ad reminds me of the old joke about the doctor showing his patient a Rorschach designs to a patient. We see what we wants to see. It goes like this:

Doc shows first Rorschach to patient."What do you see?"
It's a nun and a priest having intercourse.
And this one?
A nun masturbating with a crucifix.
more of the same...
Finally the doc says, "You have the most sexually fixated mind I've ever encountered."
Hey doc; you're the one showing me the dirty pictures.

rcocean said...

I went to see Biden's twitter feed. what a disaster. Tweets in Spanish. Tweets about the fake pay gap between men and women. Attacks on trump for not responding fast enough, or putting economics over people's lives. People need to understand that Biden will be like having Schumer as President or Pelosi. They believe the same things. Biden is NOT a moderate. He's not "Good ol' Joe".

Michael The Magnificent said...

Breweries could supply this needed alcohol.

Your regulatory point still stands, but...

Distilleries could, but not breweries. At the outside, the yeast will die out before you get to 15% Alcohol By Volume (ABV), and you need at least 60% ABV to be effective against COVID-19. You would need a still to get the ABV where you need it, and breweries don't have stills.

Now, we could re-route all of that grain alcohol (ethanol) that is currently being produced and added to our gasoline, and use it instead for sanitizing against COVID-19.

Joy said...

With all the news and information to analyze - you pick Rubin. Can you pick something useful to look at?

rcocean said...

Jennifer Rubin was a liberal Hollywood lawyer who mysteriously morphed into a "Conservative" and got a "reasonable conservative" slot at the leftwing WaPo. once trump got elected, she dropped the mask. that she still lies about being a conservative is to be expected.

BUMBLE BEE said...

Just found out Jim Morrison's dad was Rear Admiral Morrison. While watching a video of an interview with him, people's comments (mind readers all), failed to understand that an admiral has a great many people to consider in his deliberations. Just like Trump. The so-called journalists key this shit in from home offices, with expertise in what?
Gov. Whitmer's father ran Blue Cross in Michigan, and she suppressed life saving prescriptions by doctors. I repeat... expertise in what? Another yuppie wastoid.

hombre said...

JPS wrote (7:00): “Oh, and, good for Biden for bravely coming out in favor of proper PPE. That's the kind of bold, decisive leadership we need in these trying times.”

Yes, and as is true of all Democrats, where something is missing they possess the power to conjure it up out of thin air.

Charlie said...

Stick a fork in Sleepy Joe.

Dave Begley said...

BB:

And the Admiral told his son that he was wasting his life as a rock singer. Jim was a real talent, but the drugs got him. As Cormac McCarthy wrote in "No Country for Old Men": If Satan was sitting around and thinking about how he could bring mankind to its knees, he'd come up with narcotics.

Big Mike said...

Tweets about the fake pay gap between men and women.

It’s not fake to Joe. His campaign organization really does pay women less than men for the same work. You could look it up.

mikee said...

I predict less than 100,000 virus deaths, and Trump wins every state except maybe New York and California, with a Dow of 27,000 the week before election day and 5 million of the recently fired 10 million rehired.

Etienne said...

People are acting like the health care industry is 100% government run.

Well, most probably want 100% government run health care, because the insurance companies have decimated the industry.

Doctors and nurses are buried in regulations and corporate policy, that they threaten their career by not kissing their asses.

The reason we were not ready for a pandemic was we gambled we could spend the money on nuclear submarines, and plinking Arabs. Why spend 2 trillion on a possible pandemic, when you can spend 2 trillion on moving NATO closer to Russia?

Todd said...

Howard said...

Well Todd as much as I cannot stand President Trump and vehemently disagree with your assessment of his pole vaulting performance, I actually hope that you're wet dream of a republican Congress and a trump victory is true. That would mean that this pandemic turned out to be a nothing Burger.

4/2/20, 8:55 AM


Well at the time this all went down, the only choices were Trump or Clinton. All that we have since learned about Obama and Clinton and the rest, do you think [right now] things would be better or worse if Trump had not won? Would Clinton have cleared Obama's bar [as well as Trump has] or would she have stumbled over it and hit the dirt like a sack of potatoes?

Drago said...

Howard: "This post is the perfect example of better than nothing is a high standard. Politics is beyond irrelevant right now."

Adam Schiffty filed a bill to authorize Sham-peachment III hearings.

And he did it just yesterday.

Meanwhile, obama and Slow Joe and Nancy and the entirety of the dem party continue to push the debunked lie that Trump called the virus a hoax.

Then Howard the dem says we should put politics aside...but only in response to republican pushback on the lies and clear Sham-peachment III setup.

hawkeyedjb said...

"expertise in what?"

Journalists are like politicians. They are experts at framing bullshit as knowledge. Politicians have the added skill of blaming somebody else for everything. Their lives are spent in avoiding ever taking responsibility for anything they do. In their world, it's a thing of great value.

Skeptical Voter said...

Handsy plagiarizing hair sniffing child pawing fictional autobiography Slow Joe Biden likes to talk about the soul of the nation; the problem is that he's closer to the heel--relatively speaking that is.

And as for, "I wouldn't send the troops off to war without proper equipment", Joe has forgotten the essential truth of the Don Rumsfeld message--you go to war with the Army you have. In 1939 the US Army was smaller than the Belgian Army.

Out here in California faced with earlier virus threats circa 2006(and with a budget surplus) Governor Schwarzenegger built up a significant quantity of emergency equipment and hospital supplies. A few years later Governor Moonbeam Jerry Brown--faced with the need for fiscal austerity--got rid of all of it. So we don't have that supply today, and this morning's Los Angeles Times reports that the state is running out of emergency equipment.

But don't worry--California Congressman Adam Schiff is already planning an investigation of how Trump allowed the nation to be so unprepared. It's Trump's fault--as Biden is also happy to point out.

Ray - SoCal said...

On the Medical Equipment, I agree, with a focus on the Mask Issue. It was stupid for the US Government and so called Experts to lecture the US on masks not working. So short sited, even if done with good intentions. I doubt a Biden Administration would have done any better, and the Obama Administration not replenishing masks is pretty bad.

Czech Republic used DIY Masks, and have flattened the curve.
They went from a 65% daily increase, to 6%

LA Mayor is now Pro Mask:
LA mayor urges Angelenos to wear homemade masks while coronavirus outbreak continues Daily News

Washington Post:
Masks for all could help stop coronavirus


Nassim Nicholas Taleb On Masks - Great Chart!


Website that has more information:
Masks 4 All/

Interesting that WHO and the US Surgeon General said stop buying masks... The reason in the US was a shortage of Masks. Bad decision, they should have gone with pushing home made masks. Think of how much this would have helped the US economy, sigh.

"Stop Buying Masks"..? Oh Wait! CDC Considers Asking Public To Wear Face Masks - Zero Hedge

Ray - SoCal said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Ray - SoCal said...

Article with a Hypothesis on why NYC was hit so bad:

https://www.frontpagemag.com/fpm/2020/04/identity-politics-lied-new-yorkers-died-daniel-greenfield/

jaydub said...

Bumble Bee: "Just found out Jim Morrison's dad was Rear Admiral Morrison."

He was my operational commander when he was Commander Naval Forces Marianas and I was CO of an ocean going tug that was transiting between Guam and Pearl Harbor in the mid seventies. I was assigned to visit several of the Marshall Islands, deliver some community relations gear to the natives of several atolls, check on the copra crop and take a head count. After I met with the admiral in Guam and got my orders, his aide told me over a beer that he disowned his son over a Doors song that contained the lines "I want to kill you father, I want to fuck you mother." Don't think I ever heard that song - wasn't a Doors fan - but I assume the aide was being straight with me.

DR Judge said...

The perfect campaign strategy for Biden, the front porch campaign of old. Candidates did not barnstorm the country, but stayed home and gave vanilla talks to the party faithful gathered for the occasions on their front lawn. Then the faithful - the bosses, ward healers, fixers, the party leaders - returned to their home districts and tailored the message for the locals. Democrats had one message in the north and a completely different one in the south; one pitch to the Italian voters and another to the Polish neighborhoods, and so on. Replace the politicos with the media in 2020. Biden can give bland talks and the media can spice it up for different voting groups. As long as he doesn't go out and make a 'Rum, Romanism, and Rebellion' mistake close to the election, he's golden. I bet he doesn't debate either.

Bilwick said...

"In place of Trump’s bombast, irrationality and vindictiveness. . . " State-cultists complaining about irrationality: Priceless.

Etienne said...

"The End" was used as the intro to Apocalypse Now.

It was a beautiful guitar piece, and a beautiful musical arrangement. The lyrics are crap, and a witness to Morrison's descent into madness. His band allowed him the benefits of a poet, but at this point he was just a filthy fat fuck who should have been dragged behind a blue bus with a stiff rope.

No one alive today, thinks he should have lived longer than he did.

Fernandinande said...

It’s not fake to Joe. His campaign organization really does pay women less than men for the same work.

"The same work" is the fake part.

The Beacon's Collin Anderson reported: "Women garnered as little as 44 percent of what Biden's male employees made in 1983 and 1984."

Etienne said...

Bah! To be effective against a virus, a specialized mask must be used.

One of the things about that, is it is difficult to breath through, and forces you to struggle to breath. Most people can last 30 minutes. It also requires special treatment when putting it on. Users must put double-sided tape on their cheeks to make sure you can't breathe around the mask.

Since most people are not wearing masks that prevent a virus, the mask only serves to protect your mouth and nose from your hands.

If you can keep from picking your nose in public, or biting your finger nails in the checkout line, you don't need a mask.

bonkti said...

People dont want to see a Weekend at Bernies and Waynes World hybrid starring Joe. A subversive comedy has to be intentionally funny.

A video of Joe swimming across the Yangtze would be more authentic.

Darkisland said...

Artie show w said of glenn miller something like "it would have been better if he had lived and his music had died."

Maybe that is what we should be saying about jim morrison.

Fwiw: I like both shaw's and miller's music.

John Henry

Darkisland said...

I got a kick out of slojo offering to call pdjt and give him some counsel.

I got an even bigger kick out of pdjt saying he would be happy to take the call.

I suspect slojo thought pdjt would snub him and give him supporting else to talk about.

He doesn't know pdjt at all.

I'm betting slojo never calls.

I'm betting that in 10 days pdjt makes an offhand comment about slojo not calling.

"hey Joe, I thought you had some timely advice. Still waiting for your call. Give me a jingle at BR-549 anytime."

John Henry

John Henry

Ray - SoCal said...

>Bah! To be effective against a virus, a specialized mask must be used.

Masks do 3 things:

1. Prevent other people from being spread too. This seems to be the biggest help. Czech Republic seems to have flattened their outbreak after requiring masks, even lousy home made one.s

2. Stop you from touching your face. Yes, you can train yourself to do this, but it's hard. It reduces the Flu I read by 85% if you do this.

3. Stop from breathing in the virus. Probably the least important, and this is where a specialized N95, fitted mask is needed.

Graphic of No Masks Vs Masks Country by Country

Hat Tip for Graphic https://masks4all.co/

JPS said...

jaydub, 11:20:

Interesting, that you met him. The aide might have been straight with you, but your comment reminded me of something I found on the internet maybe 15 years ago, a letter he wrote to the Florida Parole Commission on his son's behalf. I found it touching then and, having since become a dad, more so now. This was about 9 months before Jim Morrison's death.

[Apologies to our host and fellow commenters if I mess this up:]

Jim is fundamentally a respectable citizen

"Concerned by his appearance, particularly long hair, the friend called me. I, in turn, wrote Jim a letter severely criticizing his behavior and strongly advising him to give up any idea of singing or any connection with a musical group because of what I considered to be a complete lack of talent in this direction. His reluctance to communicate with me again is to me quite understandable....

"I have on several occasions made an effort to contact him. One time I was successful in talking with him by telephone. Our conversation was quite pleasant, and I congratulated him on his first gold album, but nothing of consequence was discussed. We have had no direct contact since that time....

"I have followed his career with a mixture of amazement and, in the case of his performance in Miami, great concern and sorrow. While I obviously am not a judge of modern music, I view his success with pride."

Bruce Hayden said...

“Adam Schiffty filed a bill to authorize Sham-peachment III hearings.”

“And he did it just yesterday.”

That is an extremely high risk move. The House cut a lot of corners to finish up their impeachment case before the end of last year. Now they seem willing to at least entertain another one, to presumably critique Trump’s actions, while he is still leading the fight against the pandemic, and as the election season heats up. Would this harm Trump? I seriously doubt it. Instead, if they actually do start an impeachment investigation, I would expect that the Red and Trump district Dem Reps can kiss their seats goodbye come November. Americans believe in fair play, and Representatives trying to impeach Trump, while he has spent so much time and effort fighting the pandemic is just not going to sit well with an awful lot of Americans.

Birkel said...

Correct, Bruce Hayden, but the Democratics hate Trump with a blinding, debilitating hate. They cannot use reason under those circumstances. If Adam Schmitt revealed he was ARM or Inga nobody would be surprised.

That doesn't make them less dangerous, sadly.

h said...

DJT. "Hi Joe, thanks for calling."
JB. "Hi Mr President. I wanted to give you my advice about how to proceed with this covid virus stuff."
DJT. "Good. What is that advice?"
JB. "First, we need a decisive public-health response. Second, we need to restore trust. Third, we need to issue guidance to ensure that health officials and first responders are prioritized."

Pause.

DJT (sigh). Thanks for the advice Joe. Stay safe.

Martin said...

I would take Rubin (and a lot of others who had positions of influence or authority since the SARS outbreak in 2002-0) more seriously if they showed me how they have consistently and frequently fought for better funding and preparation for a major influenza or coronavirus outbreak since that time.

Oh, they didn't did they? Like, NONE of them.

They should all just STFU.