July 26, 2023

If you think Biden said "We ended cancer as we know it," I think you're not very good at understanding slurred speech.

I believe he said "We could end cancer as we know it" [or "We can end cancer as we know it"]. There's slurring, but if you take it in context, he'd just said he would cure cancer because we can. There's sloppiness over who'd be doing this cancer curing, but everyone knows he can't personally cure cancer. He was just planning to oversee and encourage the work of others who were supposed to cure cancer (and who'd be trying to cure cancer whether Biden was providing incentives or not), but his reason for curing cancer is stated (simplistically) as something that we do because "we can." I think the slurred sentence is something of a repetition of that idea. He said we would cure cancer because "We could end cancer...."

The best argument for sticking to the other transcription — "We ended cancer" — is that he tacked on the words "as we know it." Those are weasel words. Any improvement in the treatment of cancer changes the experience of cancer and thus "ends" what we have "known" as cancer.

In any case, the President should enunciate, and Biden is awful at enunciation. This is very far from convincing me that the President is suffering from dementia. By the way, did you notice that we've ended dementia as we know it?

108 comments:

Dave Begley said...

TCRT will cure cancer and no thanks to fucking Joe Biden.

Dave Begley said...

Another high crime and misdemeanor by Joe Biden. Impeach!

gspencer said...

". . . and Biden is awful at enunciation."

Could be shortened,

". . . and Biden is awful."

Esteban said...

It is tough to determine whether Biden is suffering from dementia because he was never particularly eloquent or what any normal person would consider smart.

Curious George said...

"In any case, the President should enunciate, and Biden is awful at enunciation. This is very far from convincing me that the President is suffering from dementia."

Are you suffering from dementia?

mikee said...

Well, you can say Joe doesn't have dementia. But his brain says otherwise, and when he stops being able to read the teleprompter what will you say?

RideSpaceMountain said...

If you believe he said "We could end cancer as we know it" clap your hands.
If you believe he said "We could end cancer as we know it" clap your hands.
If you believe he's a shitshow and they know it
But they work tirelessly not to show it
If you believe he said "We could end cancer as we know it" clap your hands.

Iman said...

Sometimes an ancient, malevolent, mendacious, baby-sniffing braggadocio is just an ancient, malevolent, mendacious, baby-sniffing braggadocio.

He’s prone to saying just about anything.

Humperdink said...

Karine Jean-Affirmative Action is going to need a bigger binder. Looking forward to the day when she(???) brings three large binders to the press briefing on a two-wheel dolly and lays them across an expanded podium. The gaffe binder alone has to be 8" thick by now.

Patrick Henry was right! said...

Professor, you gotta be kidding me. Are you writing for the Bee now? Are you feeling ok????

mikee said...

Ted Kennedy was ridiculed on the Limbaugh program again and again for his verbal devolutions as he slurred his way through the end of campaign speech sentences. GW Bush was ridiculed for his 3 syllable pronunciation of nuclear and other Texan-isms. Howard Dean had to drop out after one misplaced YEeeeARGHHDRMRGERBR! in public.

Criticizing the verbal gaffes of presidents and presidential candidates is filler for the harder criticism of their policies, which requires digging up facts and presenting complex ideas in writing. Criticism of the person can also be a substitute for not criticizing popular policies they espouse.

Biden, you say, does not have dementia. That claim by myself and others is based on the long-term downward spiral of his always limited mental abilities, beyond the mere age-related one could expect of an elderly person. And often the claim is based on our experiences watching others go through that horrible loss of self.

He will, eventually, lose the ability to hide his decline.

J L Oliver said...

You are right about people looking for issues in Biden’s speeches and finding problems with enunciation. The clues to dementia are forgetting names, losing your train of thought and problems with numbers. In that speech, twice Biden stated the 100 people died of COVID in the US. Was this losing track or an issue with numbers? Or bad intentioned editing?

JZ said...

Well, okay. But I don’t think enunciation is Biden’s main problem. His main problem is his age. Then we can add his lack of integrity and intelligence.

Robert Marshall said...

1. Biden has a well-deserved reputation for claiming things as facts about his life, which are simply untrue. So, it's not a stretch to interpret what he's saying as being yet another whopper served up by the Walter Mitty of our time.

2. "Because we can" is said in the context of telling a story about why he previously said that he would end cancer. When asked back then why he said that he would do that, he replied "because we can." That was then, and now: "We ended cancer as we know it."

3. I don't hear the slightest sound, slurred or otherwise, between "we" and "ended cancer as we know it."

4. Are you saying that you heard "we could ended cancer as we know it"? Not even Biden could come up with such a grammatical abortion as that!

5. Or are you saying that you heard "we could end cancer as we know it"? If so, how do you account for saying "ended" (past tense)? There's no question he said "ended," two syllables. At least not in my mind, after listening quite a few times.

6. Either (a) Biden is still the same obnoxious blow-hard he's always been ("I have a much higher IQ than you do, I suspect"), or (b) his dementia has progressed to the point he actually believes his own bullshit. Either way: oh my god!

gilbar said...

listened to it TEN times in a row.. NEVER heard it the way Althouse claims

Possibilities:
* Althouse is Right, and Biden was So drunk/hopped up on drugs, that he slurred unintelligibly
* Biden, like every other day, was COMPLETELY incapable of reading a teleprompter

I'd say, Occam's razor says Biden just can't read a teleprompter;
but maybe Althouse is right, and he was drunk

Mike (MJB Wolf) said...

Way back under Obama he said the same thing. Curing cancer and managing the Ukraine were his top priorities. Of course only Ukraine coughed up the cash so he never got around to curing cancer. But he spouts off like this about once a year as if he did it. Or is doing it. His mumbling does make it hard to understand which Biden braggadocio he is wielding this time.

Kai Akker said...

No "could" in there to my ears. He lives in a wonderful world of beauty, peace, and pleasure.

Michael P said...

It's hard to say what he really means -- in the same speech, he claimed he does not "know what the difference between breaking your arm and having a mental breakdown is". Is that affected folksiness, foot-in-mouth inability to express himself clearly, or honest ignorance?

R C Belaire said...

Take the red pill, Althouse, the red pill.

Randomizer said...

This is very far from convincing me that the President is suffering from dementia.

From the Alzheimer's Association. "Dementia is a general term for loss of memory, language, problem-solving and other thinking abilities that are severe enough to interfere with daily life."

How is daily life defined for the president of the United States? Aspects of daily life that a president might typically encounter, like stairs, press conferences or public appearances can be re-structured, altered or avoided.

There are people who are vital at 80 years old. My mother was witty and sharp at that age, but Biden is not one of those people. He seems physically frail and losing some mental acuity. Avoiding the truth isn't productive.

Mike of Snoqualmie said...

Joe "I love cluster bombs and China owns me" Biden is senile and infirm. He belongs in a nursing home, not the White House. If Jill really cared for him, she'd see him safely ensconced in a rocking chair with a plaid blanket, not trying to mumble his way through a speech.

Need I also mention his corruption. He's taken bribes from all around the world. He is an honest politician: once bribed, he stays bribed. For he is the picture of a modern honest politician.

rhhardin said...

The right business model is going for click bait too these days. It's a competitive click industry.

PJ said...

The President didn’t pronounce a “d” at the end of “ended,” so it’s a stretch to infer past tense, as Price does. But I also don’t hear the “cou” part of “could,” so Althouse’s interpretation also involves (a more charitable) insertion of unpronounced letters. The best rendering is “We’d end cancer . . .” but that still supports Althouse’s point that no imputation of dementia is supported by this particular video excerpt.

Lloyd W. Robertson said...

Somebody is going to end cancer as we know it. Billy was going to end welfare as we know it. Gore invented the internet--not alone, but with a few colleagues who were too humble to speak up. We're going to climb into our spaceships and live with the blue Avatar people. No, actually, we're not.

Dan from Madison said...

If you don't think he has at least a mild form of dementia after all of the goofs, gaffs, distant stares and weird tangents of the past few years, then you have obviously never been around people with dementia.

Narayanan said...

This is very far from convincing me that the President is suffering from dementia.
=============

looks like Professora wants to stay final 'Not guilty by virtue of dementia' >> new standard for 'verdict of history'

judgment held for further review ; amici invited

~ Gordon Pasha said...

Try skipping your colonoscopy if you think that’s correct

Dagwood said...

Oh puh-leeze.

Kai Akker said...

Even FJB is unlikely to say, We could ended cancer as we know it.

Hugh said...

The reason it was transcribed as “we ended cancer’ is because that’s what he said. I listened to this yesterday and it was clear as a bell. I listened again while reading this post, and it’s still clear as a bell. There is no sound whatsoever between “we” and “ended,” and it’s “ended” not “end” (as in “we could end”). Who am I gonna believe, you or my own lying ears? i assume your transcription is what his script says and what he meant to/should have said, but it’s not what he said. Agree he slurs and gets things wrong, but he said what he said. Welcome to the Soviet Union in the 80’s when it was led by a bunch of old and decrepit leaders (Brezhnev in his later years, Chernenko, Andropov). Never would have thought the good ol’ USA would be where we are, Back in the US, Back in the US, Back in the USSR

Leland said...

I put this type of punditry in the same class as "pounce". It is the normal petty politics and the reasons I don't listen to the news or politicians and judge them by the actual actions. If cancer was actually cured, and it was clear that a particular politician cleared the barriers to make it happen (that last part is important, because the government has been funding cancer research for a long time); then I'd give credit.

Levi Starks said...

Let me condense what you just said.
“Everyone knows Biden is a weasel”

Gahrie said...

Professor, you gotta be kidding me. Are you writing for the Bee now? Are you feeling ok????

This is just more of her "cruel neutrality" when she bends over backwards to give a Lefty the benefit of a doubt and the best possible interpretation of their actions or words.

Ann Althouse said...

"I don't hear the slightest sound, slurred or otherwise, between "we" and "ended cancer as we know it.""

I just listened to it 5 times and what I hear is "we'n end cancer as we know it."

There's an extra sound between the "we" and the "end." There's no "-ed" after the "end." The extra syllable is *before* "end," and I think it's some kind of auxiliary verb like "can" or "could."

Think about how you might say something casual like "We can go home." You might pronounce it "We'n go home" — with precious little sound representing the word "can." Or "I can do that." You might just elongate the "I" with barely an additional sound to be the "can." "I'n do that."

People who don't hear the auxiliary verb are *imagining* an "-ed" ending on "end." It's amazing to me that people are doing that, but it's human nature to hear what you want to hear. I'm exercising cruel neutrality. Sharpen up!

Humperdink said...

Dr. Lloyd Bensten (Texas): "Mr. President, I treated dementia. I knew dementia. Dementia was a friend of mine. Mr. President, you don't have dementia."

Left claps.

Gusty Winds said...

Biden has a GOD complex. So does Satan.

Why don't we openly investigate the excess deaths cause by the mandated mRNA shots?

Do you trust ANYTHING regarding medicine coming out of Washington DC?

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

I heard " we ended cancer as we know it."

Mike (MJB Wolf) said...

I'm exercising cruel neutrality.

Really? You’re fine with a president who is unintelligible? Every interpretation of the remarks is gibberish. None of it makes sense even if he enunciated as clearly as Michael Buffer. So it doesn’t convince you his dementia is worse. What does it mean to you that his words are gibberish even with a generous “interpretation?”

JES said...

We'n ended cancer as we know it. No slurring on that one

Dave Begley said...

Mark Zuckerberg installed Joe Biden as POTUS when he spent $400m to "fortify" our elections.

Facebook runs the country.

I'm facing the same thing here in Omaha. Facebook wants solar and wind power for their giant datacenter in Sarpy County. So all of us plebians have to pay for it and subsidize Facebook.

How fucked up - and illegal - is that?

Gusty Winds said...

Althouse said...This is very far from convincing me that the President is suffering from dementia

At a minimum the guy is possessed and could probably use a good old fashioned exorcism.

Rusty said...

Ordinarily I would agree with our esteemed Ms Ann. However,(saw that comin' dint ya) Our national grandpa has a reputation for, how do I put this delicately, fabulism. And because of his declining mental acuity his words can mean one thing as well as another thing. He is not in control of his mind.

Sebastian said...

Shorter Althouse: Joe's dementia is not verified.

The FBI needs to investigate further.

Rusty said...

Gusty Winds said...
"Althouse said...This is very far from convincing me that the President is suffering from dementia

At a minimum the guy is possessed and could probably use a good old fashioned exorcism."
We must examine his Humors and have him bled. Extensively.

M Jordan said...

Biden is sitting in an office he didn’t earn, didn’t win fairly, and doesn’t deserve. He is Breshnev, he is Andropov, he is the Politburo. The fact that our intel community hoisted him into the presidency is the biggest argument I know of that the US is on the cusp of collapse. We are the Soviet Union circa 1979.

gilbar said...

Look!
Professor Althouse is RIGHT! the Teleprompter had "we could end cancer as we know it".
WHO do y'all think Is running this country? The teleprompter? or Joe?

Misinforminimalism said...

Gotta disagree, although I'm humble enough to acknowledge that I have no idea what Biden is actually trying to say. But there's definitely a syllable (perhaps "articulated sound" is more accurate) between "end" and "cancer," whereas there is none between "we" and "end." My ear hears that as "we ended." If he just dropped the "could" from "we could end cancer," it would sound like "we end cancer," but that's not what came out of his mouth.

Something we should be able to agree on: the fact that we're debating such things is strong evidence of disqualification for office.

Iman said...

Be trippin’ up those stairs
Be slurrin’ all dat speech
Be sniffin’ all the pre-pubescents

Hey hey yo

lonejustice said...

Althouse wrote: "but it's human nature to hear what you want to hear."

Exactly. People hear what they want to hear. People see what they want to see. People believe what they want to believe. It happens wherever you are on the political spectrum.

Bill R said...

End Dementia as we know it?

Nah, we've just normalized it.

Milo Minderbinder said...

One only needs their eyes, not their ears, to conclude Biden has dementia.

Kirk Parker said...

I'm struggling to see how him saying "We could cure cancer because we know how" is any less demented.

Narayanan said...

Kai Akker said...
No "could" in there to my ears. He lives in a wonderful world of beauty, peace, and pleasure.
=========
can 'ChatGPT AI' /fact check/ audio files?
there would be electronic traces surely!

Aggie said...

Joe Biden has always been a slightly dim-witted but cunningly-savvy politician. I think he suffers from very poor impulse control, and I think it's a family trait.

Giving Biden any benefit of the doubt is granting him a treat that he will quickly seize upon. He's grabby about gifts, that way. It doesn't seem to have occurred to anybody that raising the subject of dementia is a huge gift for Biden. It provides Biden with a bottomless, endless excuse across the range of his terrible personal behavior, an easy way to get out of trouble, and easy way to obfuscate. It used to be that chortling head-shaking, 'that crazy Uncle Joe' spiel, but now it's slowly being replaced with this new, even better excuse. 'He's old', with a knowing wink. You think they'll pull 25th Amendment on him? Good luck with that one. Banana Republicans don't have the skillz or the willz.

narciso said...

he listened to fdr on radio in 1929, giving an oval office address,

Maynard said...

As a clinical psychologist (retired) with significant training and experience in neuropsychology, I have come to the conclusion that Biden is probably suffering from cognitive decline that is generally normal for his age. That is why people his age should retire from demanding jobs.

Note that Biden was always a fabulist and complete bullshitter. As he ages, the manifestations of his cognitive limitations become more salient.

dbp said...

We shouldn't have to become good at understanding slurred speech. We should have a president who has a functioning mind.

Iman said...

If he were a carpenter
And you an old lady
Could he build you an escape hatch?
Could he sniff your baby?

Ampersand said...

Let's put to one side the issue of whether or not Biden's brain had a thought in it that wasn't accurately conveyed by the sounds coming out of his mouth. Those who are not worried about a President who thinks one thing and inadvertently blurts out something quite different can find common cause.

What I find outrageous is the way Biden's cancer rhetoric, WHEN HE IS ON SCRIPT, is absurdly dishonest. Cancer is a word we apply to many different forms of cellular processes that share a type of unrestrained cellular replication. It is an umbrella word for more than 200 distinct diseases.
As one cancer organization explains:"Each broad cancer type has many sub-types, and they all look and behave differently because they are different on a genetic and molecular level. This is because cancer arises from our own cells, so each cancer can be as different and diverse as people are." Biden's promises to end cancer are dishonest in the extreme, and by making it a partisan platform issue, he is once again using flagrant dishonesty to benefit himself and his allies. Cancer is not going to be defeated any time soon. Some battles may be won, and I hope we find ways to get more wins, but only an evil person claims that he will end cancer, and only uninformed people believe him. This style of communication is the template for the Biden presidency.

We deserve better.

wendybar said...

Wow. Just wow.

Kate said...

At this point, what difference does it make?

pori said...

"In any case, it is essential for the President to effectively articulate his thoughts, and in this regard, Biden's enunciation skills have been lacking. However, it is important to note that his occasional difficulties with enunciation do not provide sufficient evidence to substantiate claims of him suffering from dementia."

Bob Boyd said...

I heard, "I'm fucking cancer and I ended the United States as we know it."

Oligonicella said...

"it's human nature to hear what you want to hear. I'm exercising cruel neutrality. Sharpen up!"

Yes human nature is and you're exercising it not cruel neutrality, as demonstrated by your statement of assumed superiority immediately after.

I can't link to a transient graphic but the result of running that sentence of his through a sound analyzer yields a pulse structure of ". .. .. . . ..".

Michael K said...

Althouse is trying too hard. Biden was an imbecile before he was senile.

Butkus51 said...

Slurred words are a feature, not a bug.

Dude1394 said...

Dude only works 4 hours a day. Has to be handled everywhere he goes because he wanders off. He has to get both the QUESTIONS and the ANSWERS to those questions during press briefings. He has to take the baby steps into the plane. He cannot have any event without gaffes and not knowing where he is, who he is talking to.

He has dementia. Go look at him less than two years ago and now. Come on.

wendybar said...

Buttt....
there is no difference between broken arm and a mental breakdown?? Okay then.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12337421/Biden-claims-ended-cancer-know-says-theres-no-difference-broken-arm-mental-breakdown.html

tim in vermont said...

Listen to a younger Joe Biden, for instance the one where he boasts about a self diagnosed high IQ, and tell me that this guy is not frequently in some kind of twilight state now. Even as VP he wasn’t known for slurring his words. The slurring defense is worse than accusing him of being a fabulist, he has always been one of those.

Oh yeah, and coveife, or whatever it was. Sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander.

wendybar said...

I see the WH talking points have come out, and people are repeating them...

https://twitchy.com/sarahd/2023/07/26/wh-edited-transcript-of-biden-n2385729

Big Mike said...

This is very far from convincing me that the President is suffering from dementia.

You and the rest of the hard core Democrats.

tim in vermont said...

What you are doing is giving him the benefit of the doubt. You are projecting meaning where it doesn’t exist. Other people take into account all of the other questionable things he has said, and the pointless lies he has told, and come to a different conclusion, which is equally well supported by the “text.”

farmgirl said...

His lips are moving, so whatever he said- he’s lying.
If you do watch his lips, there looks to be an e.d. between end/as.

But, I’m sure no one wants to “hear” that.

Dave Begley said...

Ann:

Don't defend a guy who has been bribed by foreigners. He's also a plagiarist, but plagiarism isn't an impeachable offense. Bribery is.

Curious George said...

"I'm exercising cruel neutrality. Sharpen up!"

Sure you are. Now explain the dozens and dozens of Biden gaffes, brain freezes, and confusion on the simplest things.

iowan2 said...

I think the video of Biden claiming credit for getting the Ukraine Prosecutor fired, was posted on this site, and many more places.

Besides the content, what is very striking is his steep decline in his ability to deliver, even short thoughts, is clear understandable language.

People that have watched their parents and other close friends and family suffer this decline, know it is steep with no pauses. His constant reference to the far past will increase also. Those memories are clear. Not like the fuzzy ones of just yesterday.

rehajm said...

Think about how you might say something casual like "We can go home." You might pronounce it "We'n go home" — with precious little sound representing the word "can."


1- don't tell me how I would pronounce things

2- I listened a bunch of times and...Holy shit! I'm joining those who are starting to worry about you...

Big Mike said...

By the way, did you notice that we've ended dementia as we know it?

@Althouse, Alzheimer’s is merely one form of dementia, and probably not the form Joe Biden has. Go look it up.

JAORE said...

Sure, take a generous interpretation. View that interpretation in isolation. Ignore dozens upon dozens of worse examples.

Hey that = nothing to see here.

Sally327 said...

It seems a strawman argument, that supposedly people are concluding Joe Biden suffers from dementia because he slurs his words. I, for one, hadn't though that. I'm not sure slurring your words is a symptom of dementia.

I attribute the slurring and mumbling to fatigue OR alcohol consumption OR some kind of degenerative muscle impairment due to old age OR just not giving a crap. Maybe all of those. It's not the slurring that makes me think he has dementia. It's the content of what he says or is trying to say, that's what makes me think he has cognitive impairment of some kind.

Brian McKim and/or Traci Skene said...

*Moscow is a smoldering pile of rubble*

Biden aides, and WashPo reporters insist his finger pushed the button slightly to the right of The Nuclear Button and White House security camera footage will verify this as soon as the rubble of New York City is cleared and radiation levels in D.C. are at acceptable levels, possibly by 2025.

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

Husk Puppets have their good days... and their bad.

Jake said...

Yeah, this, to me, is not dementia-related. However, to deny old Joe is suffering early stages of dementia - based on my personal experience with close relatives that developed it - is absurd.

PM said...

It's all working as planned: before the election, Kamala bags out altruistically, Newsom's summoned to replace her, Joe, in month 2, resigns the office for his obvious health reasons. Installation complete w/o a vote.

Ray Fowler said...

1) Go to the Youtube post at this link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nAIHRXZwUwM

2) Click the gear-shaped settings button in the lower right-hand corner of the YouTube screen.

3) Select playback speed.

4) Change playback speed to 0.25.

5) Listen to the phrase slowed down starting at the 19 second point in the video.

alanc709 said...

How Cruelly Neutral of you to spin this while contradicting the evidence right in front of us. So tired of your bias.

Temujin said...

As we know it?

What the hell does that mean to someone who has cancer? Well sure, you may have prostate cancer, but that's not cancer as most of us know it. Those of us in the know, you know...the ones who told you about pangolins, we think your's is a one-off cancer, not one that hits the top ten, so...bugger off. From where we stand, with my eyes blindfolded, my hands over my ears, and my mouth repeating a loud "Lalalalalalalala" I do not see or sense any cancer, as we know it.

As my dad used to tell me in Poughkeepsie or Scranton, or wherever I keep telling you I was from...uh...er...what were you asking...

Dave Begley said...

Biden gave Putin the green light to invade Ukraine with his comment about an invasion.

Billions of US dollars and equipment sent to Ukraine. Military-industrial complex happy. Crooks in Ukraine skim off millions. Joe gets his cut in bitcoin and diamonds.

Imprecise speaking pays off. Big Time!

Big Mike said...

I'm exercising cruel neutrality. Sharpen up!

Echoing what I wrote on another thread, ever since Trump your “cruel neutrality” as run in one direction only. Just as Anthony Fauci and Richelle Walensky redefined “vaccine” for political reasons, so you seem to have redefined “neutral.”

Martin L. Shoemaker said...

There’s a slight stutter in the last sentence. “We en-ended cancer as we know it.”

The stutter is poor enunciation. The past tense “ended” is clear as a bell.

MB said...

He talks about cancer as if it were a single disease with a cure.

walter said...

Can't be "ended". He was just recently pushing for Cancer Moonshot 2.0.
Yeah..slurred speech, getting lost on stage/led around like a child, falling up stairs, angry outbursts as standard.
If it's not dementia, it's "on the spectrum".

William said...

Joe Biden ran for President in 1988. He was at the height of his powers, such as they are, at that time and the voters rejected him. I don't know if he can formally be said to have dementia now, but he's certainly addled and halting in his gait and speech. What do people see about him now that they didn't see in 1988?....The Democrats have many younger more electable people in their party. Why are they so determined to elect this man?.....I can see both the appeal and the repulsion that Trump inspires. However, I can't see anything positive about Biden. But there he is--our President and with an excellent chance of winning again and a pretty good chance of shuffling off this mortal coil and leaving us with Kamala as President. WTF.

Andrew said...

Biden has a history of telling outlandish lies about himself his whole life. A half century of lies prior to dementia. Why would this be different, it's who he is at his core.

Yancey Ward said...

Ray Fowler's comment is a good one- Biden definitely said "We ended cancer as we know it". I listened to that part of the speech at several different speeds- no doubt about, and it makes sense- Biden state the goal he set first, and then took credit for achieving it. Restating the goal for a second time in the sentence didn't make any sense.

tim in vermont said...

"but it's human nature to hear what you want to hear."

That's right, and you don't seem to want to accept that POTUS is a bumbling dotard who has the power to strike the match to start WW3, after he has already dumped gasoline all over Europe.

Yancey Ward said...

Now, I suspect that Biden was reading a teleprompter or notes in his hand, so the prepared comments are probably as Althouse described them, and Joe Shit For Brains just can't read them right any longer.

Big Mike said...

Me at 11:11, that should have been Rochelle Walensky.

Breezy said...

Just what we need - a President that is frequently misunderstood because of his physically frail state. We’re down to being humans and hearing what we want to hear. Don’t worry about it, though, I’m sure our enemies will hear what we want them to hear.

Rabel said...

He meant to say "we'd end cancer as we know it" which was likely, in some form, on the teleprompter he turned his eyes to just before the words came out, but he said/read "we'd ended cancer as we know it."

A simple misreading by a guy who does this often.

Not evidence of "dementia" by itself, but it's what he said.

His rationale for ending cancer, "because no one thinks we can," is what deserves critique.

It's his "tough guy" act showing up again.

Mark said...

Sure thing, Stretch Armstrong.

More likely Biden DID say "we ended cancer" because that's how his arrogant mind works. He's the smartest guy in every room, so of course he ended cancer, even if he knows that it is all made-up BS. Because that's all Joe Biden knows - BS.

Big Mike said...

What I find outrageous is the way Biden's cancer rhetoric, WHEN HE IS ON SCRIPT, is absurdly dishonest. Cancer is a word we apply to many different forms of cellular processes that share a type of unrestrained cellular replication. It is an umbrella word for more than 200 distinct diseases.

I commend Ampersand for the comment at 9:18. Will there ever come a time when lefties stop believing that the only sure way to solve any problem is to throw money at it? And if throwing lots of money at it doesn’t fix the problem, well, we just didn’t throw enough money at it. This country has had a war on drugs, on poverty, on cancer, you name it. Drugs have won. Poverty won. And in our War on Cancer, we’ve had a few, small, victories here and there, but on the whole it has kicked our scientists’ butts.

Rocco said...

Michael K said...
“Althouse is trying too hard. Biden was an imbecile before he was senile.“

Biden deserves a “cruel imbecility” tag.

Josephbleau said...

It must be hell in the white house. No one knows what will please the boss or set him off, so you only get the most amateurish proposals from the management group. I saw this in one company I left. It became a hilarious failure.

Marcus Bressler said...

I really don't care what he said or meant to say. Your jumping to defend him deserves mocking.
Are you a doctor? You can't even demonstrate what "cruel neutrality" is by your argument.

MarcusB. THEOLDMAN

Josephbleau said...

*Moscow is a smoldering pile of rubble*

OK, nothing needs be said. Come, let us speak of Banach Spaces.

Tina Trent said...

He seems so child-like. How could anyone who sat by his son's hospital bed, watching his son die of cancer, turn "ending cancer" into partisan spin, unless he is so mentally disordered that he doesn't know he is doing it?

Scientists are making astonishing progress against certain cancers and improving some previously horrible treatments. We should celebrate that together.