March 6, 2020

"But it’s just possible that the creaky machinery of an aging brain might make a president better at the job...."

"[Neuroscientist Gregory Samanez-Larki] and his colleagues... recently found evidence that older adults are better at keeping their emotions and impulses in check.... Moreover, Samanez-Larkin says, the set of skills known as 'decision making' does not decline in any predictable way during normal aging. The interns might be whizzes at a chalkboard, but faced with complex decisions—whether to buy a new TV, say, rather than how to use it adroitly once they have it—the fogies match and sometimes outperform them. The question then becomes: Is being president more like having to do a lot of math problems, or more like having to contain one’s emotions and make difficult decisions? It might be both: Presidents need to have a spry brain, capable of assimilating new information and rapidly adding it to their cognitive repertoire. But the job is, most crucially, about making decisions—extremely difficult decisions that are, unlike arithmetic, matters of judgment and value. The rightness of a decision is often unknowable ex ante. In these treacherous exercises, the elderly do not do badly, and impetuous youngsters sometimes come very close to getting us all killed.... The more presidents slow down, the more decisions get made by other people.... And perhaps we’d all be better served if other people—and not Biden, Sanders, or Trump—were making decisions. I see ample reason to question the soundness of the judgment of all three men.... Samanez-Larkin says he welcomes the prospect of a really old president. Stigma against the elderly is worth fighting, he says, and cognitive decline could be balanced out by the wisdom of age...."

From "The Upside to Having an Old President/As presidents slow down, more decisions get made by other people" by Graeme Woode (in The Atlantic).

201 comments:

1 – 200 of 201   Newer›   Newest»
hstad said...

Paid in kind, by the "Atlantic", starting for Biden already?

YoungHegelian said...

The geezers are probably less likely to sexually harass the interns, too.

Maybe...?

Achilles said...

This election season is going to be lit.

Democrats are going to be shamed publicly for months if they nominate and follow Biden.

If they choose Joe over Bernie they are just really fucking stupid.

Brian said...

The more presidents slow down, the more decisions get made by other people.... And perhaps we’d all be better served if other people—and not Biden, Sanders, or Trump—were making decisions.

Best to let our betters make the decisions for us.

cubanbob said...

The premise is fine provided the geezer isn't senile or demented. That rules out Biden. As for Bernie, he isn't senile, he is just demented in his policies. Trump is neither senile, demented or demented in his policies.

rhhardin said...

For Biden the presidency would be as easy as pie.

TreeJoe said...

We don't want to be electing the actual person leading the country....no, we should be electing a figurehead patrician who actually is cognitively slowing and is really just a front person for a behind the scenes operation of folks who will actually be leading the country but who we don't get to see before the election.

Did I nail the gist of the article?

...

Anyone who thinks Biden is less likely to have emotional outbursts now hasn't seen his unscripted townhalls where he regularly spouts angry nonsense at people who he perceives as attacking him in some way.

....And ironically, that may actually be calmer than he was 10-30 years ago. That is one angry dude who barely surpresses it. Albeit he has more cause than most having lost a wife and 2 children.

Drago said...

273,000 new jobs created in Feb, smashing all expectations and right in the middle of a global slowdow/recession and coronavirus global outbreak.

My God. What a bleak dystopian hellscape DJT's decisions have led us into.....

Thank goodness we have LLR-lunaticlefty Chuck around to explain how all of this economic success is really quite horrific and, basically, all due to obama, except for the stock market drop. That's all Trump. Except for those days when it went up. That was obama. And the jobs. Again, the jobs are all due to obama. And Biden....who is often awake for up to 20 minutes in a row!

stevew said...

Boy, that sure sounds like an analysis designed to prop up Sleepy Joe's candidacy for the job.

rehajm said...

Samanez-Larkin says he welcomes the prospect of a really old president. Stigma against the elderly is worth fighting, he says, and cognitive decline could be balanced out by the wisdom of age

GMAFB...

Drago said...

TreeJoe: "We don't want to be electing the actual person leading the country....no,..."

yep yep yep

They ought to just put "Deep State - Dem, DC" on the ballot instead of Biden's name.

Achilles said...

"The more presidents slow down, the more decisions get made by other people.... And perhaps we’d all be better served if other people—and not Biden, Sanders, or Trump—were making decisions. I see ample reason to question the soundness of the judgment of all three men.... Samanez-Larkin says he welcomes the prospect of a really old president. Stigma against the elderly is worth fighting, he says, and cognitive decline could be balanced out by the wisdom of age....""


This is the prototypical leftist argument.

Get rid of the stupid elections.

Just put us in charge.

Elect some figurehead if you want. But let the smart people make the decisions.

They have magically determined they are the smart people even though they have accomplished absolutely nothing of value.

Limited blogger said...

I'm serious, man. No joke.

Achilles said...

"Experts" predict 175,000 jobs in February.

As usual the actual number 273,000 is higher.

And every month the numbers are revised up.

"There was more good news for the jobs market: The previous two months’ estimates were revised higher by a total of 85,000. December moved up from 147,000 to 184,000, while January went from 225,000 to 273,000. Those revisions brought the three-month average up to a robust 243,000 while the average monthly gain in 2019 was 178,000."


There is a concerted effort to hide how much this new economy is benefiting actual working Americans.

Joe Biden, America's Putin said...

"The Upside to Having an Old President/As presidents slow down, more decisions get made by other people" by gRAYME

We know. We know that Joe is a figurehead. A place holder for the deep state.

WE KNOW.

Now boys and girls - swallow your pill. good.

Jimmy said...

That article makes me think I'm watching re runs of Yes Minister, or Yes Prime Minister. The permanent civil service is the best choice to run government. They have been to the best schools, and are smarter than all of us.

gspencer said...

"that older adults are better at keeping their emotions and impulses in check"

Yeah, I can see that Plugs operates that way,

"Hey, lets do push-ups. Right in front of all these people. Right now, drop down"

"You wanna fight me? Okay, lets go outside. Right now"

alanc709 said...

SO, unemotional but clueless is better than aware and edgy? Who knew?

alanc709 said...

"YoungHegelian said...
The geezers are probably less likely to sexually harass the interns, too.

Maybe...?"

STD's are becoming a problem in nursing homes

Joe Biden, America's Putin said...

The Upside of keeping the elite mob deep state in charge.

We hold these truths to be snuffleupagus.

rehajm said...

There is a concerted effort to hide how much this new economy is benefiting actual working Americans.

They will get some help from the economic impact of COVID-19 precautions.

Joe Biden, America's Putin said...

Adam Schitt - in charge.

Sleep well!

Caligula said...

"perhaps we’d all be better served if other people and not Biden, Sanders, or Trump were making decisions."

Or perhaps not. After all, voters selected POTUS, not their advisors and experts. What seems a more likely scenario is not so much for a president to delegate decison-making to others, but for the courtiers to attemt to influence decisions by manipulating what information is or is not delivered to POTUS (i.e., the truth but not the whole truth- just a carefully, purposefully edited subset of the whole truth).

In any case, is it necessary to acknowledge that delegating authority to experts (or sometimes 'experts') and then shielding these experts from electoral politics has been a Progressive project for at least the last century or so, all the way back to La Follette and Woodrow Wilson? Or that this strategy is nothing if not an attempt to limit democracy by protecting this "permanent government" of 'experts' from the wrath of voters? Or even that the track record of these experts on actually getting it right has been pretty dismal?

Anonymous said...

Literally one of the stupidest arguments I have heard in a long time. This guy would probably make an argument for the beneficial impact of coronavirus.

Bob Boyd said...

So older people make better decisions, but the real advantage of an old President is that younger people will be making the decisions for him? Uh...okay.

chuck said...

Nice try, Graeme. But you could make a good argument along those lines for raising the voting age.

Birches said...

Hahahahahaha (breath) hahahahahaha!

Amadeus 48 said...

Talk about pulling a train!

That guy Graeme Wood should get some sort of award. He has managed to lay a claim in the Atlantic to the argument that senility is good for us. James Russell Lowell, William Dean Howells, Ellery Sedgwick, and Michael Kelly are spinning in their graves.

Maillard Reactionary said...

The Atlantic struggles in vain to make a virtue of a necessity.

daskol said...

OK, older people suffering "normal" age related cognitive decline may have retain advantages over whippersnappers in control over their emotions. That may sound like a ploy to justify Biden. But the other side of it is that people suffering from cognitive decline related to dementia, especially in the earlier stages where they recognize their own decline, often suffer from depression and anxiety. That is, if emotional regulation is so important to the job, then someone whose decline is of a sort associated with emotional disregulation is a terrible candidate. Irresponsible not to mention that in such a piece.

Curious George said...

Next week's article in The Atlantic ""The Upside to Having a Child Sniffing President

etbass said...

I'm for raising the minimum age for President from 35 to 75, based on that article.

Bob Boyd said...

Translation: So what if Biden has to be wheeled out on a hand truck? It's fine.

MBunge said...

This stupid "Atlantic" article misses the meaningful advantage of age. If old people perform better than young people, it's not because they've "slowed down." It's because a problem that's brand new to the kid is old hat to the geezer. I'm starting to get up their in years and I can tell you, I ain't getting smarter. However, I am getting a little bit wiser because I can recognize situations and arguments that have happened in the past and that gives me a leg up on understanding them.

Mike

Drago said...

Achilles: "There is a concerted effort to hide how much this new economy is benefiting actual working Americans."

Those aren't "real" jobs! C'mon Man! You know, because of the...the...you know...the...thing.....

traditionalguy said...

It's nonsense. The President's need is the trained thought pattern to recognize phonies. If you learned that young , then you don't lose it old. But if you have never had it , then being old is too late to learn new things. We see that every day in the Information Age.

Trump the Manhattan Developer has that needed skills set in spades. Joe the lifetime politician has never even tried it. Why should he?

robother said...

Week after next in The Atlantic: Joe Biden, Obama's One Man Brain Trust. Turns out Joe ran the whole show, while Obama was out getting his pants pressed.

Char Char Binks, Esq. said...

A president should be middle-aged -- decisive but not impetuous, experienced but not doddering. This is why the median age at taking office is about 55. The sweet spot is not exact, nor is it the same for everyone. Biden never had it.

Harold said...

Wonder what the likelihood of this getting published would have been if Beto and Mayor Pete were the front runners?

Char Char Binks, Esq. said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Francisco D said...

Joe's behavior when challenged strongly suggests that he is incapable of controlling his emotions. Watch the many video examples

One of the reasons may be characteriological because he is a life-long bullshitter. However, the main reason is that his brain is not functioning normally for a person his age. It is not his fault, but do you want a POTUS who will be completely at the mercy of the DNC apparatus?

Bushman of the Kohlrabi said...

Trying to paper over Biden’s dementia already? That didn’t take long

tim maguire said...

He welcomes the prospect of an old president? The current president is 73.

They are trying awfully hard to get some lipstick on this pig.

Dan in Philly said...

This is sort of like the Althouse rule on the difference between women and men. The only time there can be a recognized difference is when it reflects well on women.
Any contrast between whomever happens to be the GOP candidate vs. Democrat is only presented as favorable for the dem.
McCain or Dole or Reagan were too old, Biden is just right to allow for wiser heads to govern.
GW was too inexperienced, Obama was fresh with new ideas.
Nixon was political and corrupt, Clinton was savvy.

exhelodrvr1 said...

How convenient!

Vance said...

Ha, if you want to ponder something: the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints(popularly known as the Mormons) is currently being run by a 94 (95?) year old man.

The guy is just as vigorous as Trump is, taking world trips and keeping a punishing schedule.

A previous leader, Gordon B. Hinckley, was 97 when he died... and he had been working up until two days before his death. Went to work Friday morning, went home early because he wasn't feeling well, and basically went to bed rest and two days later died. My personal thought is that he didn't have time to die because he was too busy. And when he finally went home to rest, his body was like, "Welp, I'm really going to rest!" and died.

Some of these old guys running large organizations are ok because they simply don't have time to be sick or get senile. Lots of daily concentrated work keeps them sharp, and they are always on the go so they get exercise and in general, are pretty healthy.

Someone like Biden, who isn't running anything, just declined because no stimulation. He's out there trying to run a campaign now, but what was he doing 2 years ago? And being Vice President is not stimulating, I would imagine.

Drago said...

Can anyone confirm that Joe Biden claimed to have watched the Confederacy surrender on live TV in 1879 with a very young President Harding narrating while being interviewed by Brian Williams?

Tom T. said...

Twitter just announced a new rule that criticism of someone based on age or mental faculties is not permitted. The media is going to try really hard to keep any discussion of Biden's competence under wraps.

Bob Boyd said...

Malt-o Meal isn't that much different from gray matter in several important ways, you know.

lgv said...

It worked for Reagan, but he had some excellent people working for him. We have know idea who will be pulling the strings of Joe Biden. We just know it won't be Joe Biden. At best we have a guy who graduated near the bottom of his U of Delaware class and Syracuse law. Whatever benefit he gained per the article goes away at a certain point, as anyone who has had to deal with octogenarians would know.

The Democrat dominated media will spend a lot of time telling us not to worry about his age (he's not Reagan, Dole, or McCain). They will also never mention his other issues like: not bright, plagiarizing cheater, creepy touching, wrong on policy (Iraq), liar, and Ukraine corruption. These issue will be forever silenced in the media, completely off limits.

Trump lies. Biden misspeaks, exaggerates, overstates, mis-remembers.

Michael K said...

And perhaps we’d all be better served if other people—and not Biden, Sanders, or Trump—were making decisions.

Steve Job's widow is getting her money's worth from owning The Atlantic. Maybe that is why they send me free copies even though I have never subscribed.

tim maguire said...

Samanez-Larkin says he welcomes the prospect of a really old president. Stigma against the elderly is worth fighting, he says, and cognitive decline could be balanced out by the wisdom of age...."

What qualifies a neuroscientist to make a statement like that? Samanez-Larkin could use a little more of the wisdom to know when to keep his mouth shut.

Drago said...

Bob Boyd: "Translation: So what if Biden has to be wheeled out on a hand truck? It's fine."

Hillary Clinton was being tossed about like a sack of potatoes half the time and we were admonished for noticing and told that she is fit as a fiddle by the lefties and LLR's all the while the media inundates us with stories of RBG's incredible physical workouts!

LOL

Soviet leaders are rolling over in their graves thinking "if only we controlled the media as well as the democrats control theirs...."

Rabel said...

"Why Do Such Elderly People Run America?

Sanders is too old. So is Biden. Trump too.

by Derek Thompson"

Same mag. Same page.

Iman said...

Talk about putting lipstick on a pig.

Big Mike said...

OK, older people suffering "normal" age related cognitive decline may have retain advantages over whippersnappers in control over their emotions. That may sound like a ploy to justify Biden.

Well, that’s because it really is a ploy to justify Biden. But when Slow Joe called that woman a “dog-faced pony soldier” after she asked a pretty straightforward question he didn’t strike me as being particularly in control of his emotions. YMMV

tcrosse said...

They'll be poo-poohing Joe's dementia until it's time to use it as an excuse to slip in the ringer.

tim in vermont said...

"Translation: So what if Biden has to be wheeled out on a hand truck? It's fine.”

He is a stalking horse for the person they really want to be POTUS, whoever they order Joe to name is his vice president. That person need never enter a primary. 25th amendment here we come!

Iman said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
tim in vermont said...

I know "whomever.” Whomsoever it is they order Biden to name as VP, you can bet they are deeper in the pocket even than Al Gore Sr was in the pocket of Armand Hammer.

Mike (MJB Wolf) said...

This why it is so hard to write good satire, when every asshole in the DNC-Media complex is trying to take your gig. I don't know how the Babylon Bee does it. I did hear the Bulwark was working on an article on how it is the truly conservative and principled thing to threaten SC Justices. But it might be true. And I mean, what other things might be good too, things which only seem bad because of the horrendous possible consequences?

Ken B said...

Editor: “Buttigieg is out. We need an article on how older is better.”

This might well be true in general, but it won’t be true with a decision maker who is losing cognitive function. And frankly “Look, fat” and push up challenges do not suggest his emotions or impulses are really under control.

tim in vermont said...

I think that the "dog faced pony soldier” line was actually funny, and that everybody is pretending it wasn’t for political reasons.

Bob Boyd said...

I just hope the hand truck crew isn't too white or too male.

Mike (MJB Wolf) said...

gspencer nailed it well: "that older adults are better at keeping their emotions and impulses in check"

Yeah, I can see that Plugs operates that way,

"Hey, lets do push-ups. Right in front of all these people. Right now, drop down"

"You wanna fight me? Okay, lets go outside. Right now"

Quaestor said...

But when Slow Joe called that woman a “dog-faced pony soldier” after she asked a pretty straightforward question ...

A lying dog-faced pony soldier.

Big Mike said...

And Sanders is the true exemplar of an old man in control of his emotions.

Mike (MJB Wolf) said...

"Why Swimming Naked in front of female secret service agents is the sign of a healthy adult VP."

"How Joe's two open-air brain surgeries were just what the country needed in a leader."

"Sniffing the hair of little girls can increase your word power."

"Tuesday and Thursday are both pretty useless, and completely interchangeable, according to experts."

"Old rich white guys are the new Black."

"How Slow Joe brought Delaware from Slave State to modern progressive paradise, using credit card money alone."

Big Mike said...

@Quaestor, correct.

daskol said...

It was an utterly inappropriate reaction to being challenged by a peon. It was funny because the world is absurd and laughter is living, but it speaks poorly of Biden's cognitive function and temper.

Bob Boyd said...

Stigma against the elderly is worth fighting...like a 30 round, heavy-weight boxing match and cognitive decline could be balanced out by keeping a willing intern under the Resolute Desk.

Bob Boyd said...

Biden 2020
Beggars Can't Be Choosers

exhelodrvr1 said...

"Sister-Wife in the White House"

Michael K said...

He is a stalking horse for the person they really want to be POTUS, whoever they order Joe to name is his vice president. That person need never enter a primary. 25th amendment here we come!

Bingo !

I doubt they will wait for 25th. Just a quick case of COVID 19.

Curious George said...

This shows how stupid our resident dullard's comparing Biden dementia to Trump is.

Drago said...

Tomorrow's The Bulwark Headlines Today!

The Conservative Case For Why A Fully Weaponized Leftist Deep State Running The Entire Federal Government For The Next 50 Years Is Needed To Restore Confidence In "Conservative" Values

Joe Biden, America's Putin said...

JOE BIDEN IS A NASTY PIECE OF WORK

" [Biden] is a vicious self-serving political hack, for one thing, one whose ambition leads him from time to time into shocking indecency. You may have heard that Biden lost his wife and daughter in a horrifying drunk-driving wreck, the fault of a monster of a man who irresponsibly “drank his lunch,” as Biden puts it.

Never happened.

Biden’s wife and daughter did, in fact, die in a car wreck. That is true. It is not true that the driver of the other car was drunk, that he had been drinking, or that there was any reason to believe he was drunk or had been drinking — or even that he was at fault.

The late Mrs. Biden “drove into the path of [the] tractor-trailer,” the police report says. But Biden, like every other third-rate ward-heeler of his ilk, thinks and speaks only in terms of good guys and bad guys, white hats and black hats — and if something bad happens to good people, then it must be because somebody in a black hat did something nefarious.

The driver of that truck went to his grave haunted by Biden’s lies, to the point where his children were forced to beg the vice president to stop defaming their late father. The casual cruelty with which Biden is willing to subordinate the lives of ordinary people to his political ambitions — for the sake of a petty tear-jerker line in one of his occasionally plagiarized stump speeches — is remarkable. "

(via InstaPundit)

Mike (MJB Wolf) said...

Et tu Drago?

Drago said...

Mike (MJB Wolf): "Et tu Drago?"

Just thinkin' 'bout, tomorrow.....

Bob Boyd said...

Don't worry. Those White House people, they wouldn't be stupid enough to leave Biden alone. Somebody will be there to watch him every second. If the cheese slips off his cracker, people will know and they'll do something, I'm pretty sure.

Drago said...

Bob Boyd: "If the cheese slips off his cracker, people will know and they'll do something, I'm pretty sure."

I heard Joe Biden claim he killed 3 men with just a cracker and a slice of cheese in the War of 1812.

BUMBLE BEE said...

I'm Joe Biden and I forgot this message!

rcocean said...

We don't need to care that Joe is losing it, and may go senile. After all, we can surround him with "experts" who can make all the important decisions. And they'll always be Vice President [insert name] - Joe will just provide a steady hand at the tiller.

This will be the Democrat talking point.

MeatPopscicle1234 said...

LOLOLOL..

Is there no contortion too extreme that the left will not attempt, in order to justify or rationalize a position (SWIDT?) or strategy that they were previously against? Their motto should be "Rules for thee but not for me!"

They really do epitomize the insanity of doublethink, (the ability to hold two completely contradictory thoughts simultaneously while believing both of them to be true)...

Politics for them is like mad-cap game of Calvin-ball, where they get to make-up or change the rules of the game to whatever is most advantageous to them at any given moment...

It's both sad and hilarious, in a maddening sort of way...

rcocean said...

The VP will either be: a woman of color, a black man, or a white woman.

How does VP Booker or VP Harris strike you?

Bob Boyd said...

I heard Joe Biden claim he killed 3 men with just a cracker and a slice of cheese in the War of 1812.

It's true! Because Brian Williams was embedded with Biden at the time. In fact, Brian was the one who cut the cheese.

Char Char Binks, Esq. said...

“You ain't never the same when the air hits your brain.”

Sebastian said...

"cognitive decline could be balanced out by the wisdom of age'

Ah, yes, wisdom, that's our Joe.

Anyway, progs have to be careful about defending old age and cognitive decline in such general terms, since it might just be used by the right. Of course, at that point, progs will turn around and invent some yes-but exceptions.

Still, Dems playing the ageism card is a tell.

Roughcoat said...

Oh, bullshit.

rcocean said...

Joe's a one-termer at best, with the VP teed up for 2028 to carry on the job. Biden might even resign in 2007, to let the VP be President before 2028.

h said...

Other countries do this: they have one person who serves as titular head of the nation (the Queen in Britain, the Prime Minister in France) and another person who does the actual work of governing (the Prime MInister in Britain, the President in France). (Perhaps others will provide more clarifying details.) One could say that there is a model of US governance going back to (say) Carter in which elected Presidents serve as the titular heads, and a professional policymaking class (the term "deep state" has become too politicized to describe it) that undertakes the actual governance. Trump broke up this model because he did not have ties to the professional policymaking class, so he brought in outsiders, or kept class members without really trusting or relying on them.

Tommy Duncan said...

I'm gonna need taller boots if I want to finish reading this.

narciso said...

they'll be cloning noses like in sleeper, truly biden was never on the ball, but constantly on the grift,

Joe Biden, America's Putin said...

There is no government whore deep state.

DarkHelmet said...

Next from Atlantic: "Want to revitalize a free market economy? Choose a life-long Marxist to lead it."

rcocean said...

Yes, wisdom goes with old age. But not with Super Old age. At 60, you got all the experience you need. After that, its a race between your cognitive decline and your wisdom level - which is pretty much unchanging. At some point, assuming you live long enough, the cognitive decline wins.

Its like a NFL QB. At some point you stop being a "Crafty old veteran" and just become "too old".

narciso said...

i'm reminded of bbc correspondents dark roman a clef, which you get when you cross 'yes prime minister' with 'house of cards' head of state, yes the premise is how you think, but the crux of the story is how the pm's staff manage the government without him,

IgnatzEsq said...

If I follow the argument, it's that older presidents would often make better decisions than younger people AND older presidents will often let younger people make their decisions for them.

Something does not compute.

narciso said...

and it's romney's son, it's his vizier, his company guru, j cofer black,

Jamie said...

What the...? Ok, so lemme get this straight: if the Democrats manage to elect either Biden or Bernie (I suppose), they can rest assured that the president of their choice will not be president in fact. No need to endure the uncertainty around whether they'd made the right choice; they could repose in the knowledge that Top Men were on the job, even if nameless and faceless. Yay! Uneasy feelings assuaged!

That's quite a take.

I was watching the episode of Drunk History that talks about Woodrow Wilson's wife's takeover of the presidency after his stroke. She was (of course, given the program's obviously Leftward tilt - though "tilt" is too generous) presented as a feminist hero. Rather than as the traitorous bint she demonstrably was if the story is true - conspiring to do an end-run around the Constitutional succession.

But you see, she just felt so strongly that her husband would want her to pretend to be he. Her feelings couldn't possibly lead her astray, could they? I swear, sometimes I want to take away my own right to vote. Is it rhhardin who's always on about that? I hate it when someone of my sex gives him ammunition.

Of course, the article was written by a man, so at least in this instance it's not only Democrat women substituting feelings for thought.

rcocean said...

Most countries with titular heads of state, have parliamentary systems. Those have its own set of problems. Does anyone want PM Chuck Schumer in charge?

Sebastian said...

You can see the point of the Dem establishment rallying around Joe to prevent a Sanders disaster down ballot, but apart from the yellow-dog voters for whom any warm Dem body will do, there must be more than a few seasoned Dems who are scared s***less at the prospect of Joe losing it any further in interviews, at the convention, in debates, in meetings with voters he might just casually insult. The fact that they were willing to gamble tells you how weak the other candidates were, and how severe the expected damage from Sanders.

Jill won't always be there to assure him "you're okay," and propping up by the VP and a Dem team only kicks in after Joe has been elected. Gonna be a nervous 8 months.

Bob Boyd said...

Sexism is the only reason America has never had a titular head of state.

Bob Boyd said...

You can see the point of the Dem establishment rallying around Joe to prevent a Sanders disaster down ballot

Better demented than red!

Jamie said...

h, yes, other countries do have a titular-vs.-effective-leader system. But we don't.

Even absolute monarchs and dictators have advisors - it would be the height of stupidity if an elected chief executive didn't. Having a cabinet and others to provide decision-making input is what American presidents rightly do. It's not a case of (to take another example we've all been hearing a lot of lately) "But all the proper functions of government are actually socialist. We already live in a socialist country, see?"

rcocean said...

Fortunately for the country, Wilson's Wife couldn't do much damage after October 1919. The war was over, and the federal government was fairly small back then. The VP refused to push the issue despite Congressional leaders advising him to take over. Per Wikipedia:

Marshall was prevented from meeting with Wilson to ascertain his true condition until his final day in office. It remains unclear who was making the executive branch's decisions during Wilson's incapacity, but it was likely the first lady with the help of the presidential advisers

Drago said...

rcocean: "How does VP Booker or VP Harris strike you?"

How do either of those help Biden win MN, WI, PA or MI?

rcocean said...

On the plus side, Mrs. Biden is Doctor and could heal the nation, if Whoppi Goldberg is to be trusted.

Lewis Wetzel said...

I suppose even the most ardent Biden supporter would have to admit that he had brain issues if Biden were to choose Blago as his running mate.
Don't count it out.

Jamie said...

My husband and I have decided that the D's are just resigned to throwing this one. They're not spending any of their real talent (wherever it is) on an election they believe they're going to lose resoundingly.

I'd love to know what urgent conversations have gone on behind the scenes, begging better candidates not to run this time for fear that something will happen during the campaign that will ruin their chances later, in a year when they think they have a chance.

tim in vermont said...

"Something does not compute.”

What are you? Old?

Big Mike said...

@BleachBit, I have been aware of that episode. Slow Joe has never been reluctant to add tawdry embellishments to stories in order to slander people. His first wife made two big mistakes in her life: marrying that POS and driving into the path of a semi.

tim in vermont said...

"Why Swimming Naked in front of female secret service agents is the sign of a healthy adult VP.”


With a subheading of “Why the agents’ complaints are stupid."

Jamie said...

And rcocean, I conveniently forgot that Wilson would have probably had to be actually dead, at the time, for the VP to take over. Oops. Sorry, Mrs. Wilson, I shouldn't have called you a bint.

But she still shouldn't have deceived Congress, nor should the president's advisors. The 25th should have been written and ratified sooner.

tim in vermont said...

It really helped the Mueller investigation to allow the doddering old fool to act as a figurehead as Hillary’s lawyers ran the operation. Remember when Lanny Davis was Michael Cohen’s lawyer? Good times, good times...

rcocean said...

If you look at the VP who took office since 1964, they were rarely chosen to help a candidate in a swing state.

Humphrey - Minnesota - a lock for LBJ
Agnew - MD - too small to make a difference
Dole - Kansas - Republcian lock
Mondale - Minnasota - Democrat lock
Bush - Texas - Republican state
Quail - Indiana - Republican state
Gore - Tennessee - Probably helped Clinton, but Clinton was from the South
Cheney - wyoming - too small to make a difference
Biden - Delaware - too small to make a difference
Pence - Indiana - Republican state.

rcocean said...

Hello Jamie, yes the deceit was unacceptable. What if there had been a war? what would she have done then?

Rick said...

Holy shit. Next up he'll claim mediocre people need their Supreme Court Justice too.

Bruce Hayden said...

“Literally one of the stupidest arguments I have heard in a long time. This guy would probably make an argument for the beneficial impact of coronavirus.”

Like that it tends to kill those costing the healthcare the most (the elderly) and no one likes the Chinese (who appear, so far, to be more vulnerable to it) anyway. After all, they are already taking away too many seats at our top colleges away from the White people who built those institutions.

Clyde said...

Those "other people" who would be making the decisions are unelected and unaccountable to the voters. The Deep State, if you will.

Bruce Hayden said...

“ Does anyone want PM Chuck Schumer in charge?”

Worse, President Nancy Palsi. Best analogue to UK system is our Senate to their House of Lords, and our House to their House of Commons. And the leader of their Commons is their head of government, with their closest cronies their cabinet. That would likely mean Wadler as AG and Schifty as DNI.

tcrosse said...

Maybe at the Convention the Democrats will draft Romney to save the Party.

GRW3 said...

One thing that really strikes me is how being President has not aged Trump the way the Presidency so often seems to do. Maybe it's because he worked in a hard business, construction, and it was good training for living with pressure.

A lot of the elite and the media (who think they're elite but are really their lapdogs) have never had a real job. I worked all the way through college for spending money at a series of minimum wage jobs and for my first seven years with my college degree in chemistry I worked in chemical plants. That twelve plus years immersed in and with the hourly working class taught me a lot about people. I think Trump has had those lessons in spades.

Clyde said...

Another problem that elderly people have is that they spend a LOT more time in doctors' offices; I noticed this particularly with my father after he hit his late 70s, since it seemed like he had an appointment of one kind or another every week. Younger people don't have that problem; they spend their time at their jobs, rather than seeing the doctor every week or so. Do we want to elect someone who has to take that much time off the job to maintain his health?

Rick said...

h said...
Other countries do this: they have one person who serves as titular head of the nation (the Queen in Britain, the Prime Minister in France) and another person who does the actual work of governing (the Prime MInister in Britain, the President in France).


In these other countries they actually vote for the person doing the actual work, right? So that would seem a key difference.

Chuck said...

What a bunch of nonsense. I am surprised there is no disclaimer by the Biden Campaign.

Michael K said...

I'd love to know what urgent conversations have gone on behind the scenes, begging better candidates not to run this time for fear that something will happen during the campaign that will ruin their chances later, in a year when they think they have a chance.

I'm sure that President Mario Cuomo spent years thinking about why he didn't run in 1992.

Obama pretty much cleaned out the Democrats' minor leagues. It goes with the theory that Socialism hasn't been tried hard enough yet,

Rick said...

rcocean said...
The VP will either be: a woman of color, a black man, or a white woman.

How does VP Booker or VP Harris strike you?


Warren makes the most sense. Biden won on black support already, his weakness is appealing to the far left. So it's Warren or Sanders and Warren has the most victim points.

Curious George said...

"Chuck said...
What a bunch of nonsense. I am surprised there is no disclaimer by the Biden Campaign."

What disclaimer would you want them to make, 'meats?

Francisco D said...

Warren makes the most sense. Biden won on black support already, his weakness is appealing to the far left. So it's Warren or Sanders and Warren has the most victim points.

If Biden gets the nomination, Democrats and Never Trumpers will not be voting for him. They will be voting for his VP and they all know it.

Warren has such an off putting personality that I doubt she will be the VP/POTUS choice. It will very likely be a woman, but not her.

My wild guess is Amy Klobuchar. She has the moderate veneer and can play Minnesota Nice to Trump's NYC style. That will drive a lot of White suburban women to the polls. Those are the voters they stand to lose in this election.

AllenS said...

What is this? No more talk about a brokered convention? Biden has a long time to go to make more and more idiotic remarks. Cancel Crazy Bernie, the powers that be will not let him have the nomination. Will there come a time, when the vast majority of people will say: "get someone else, Biden's brain is mush."

Wilbur said...

I'll fight against stigmata of the elderly.

JPS said...

Aunty Trump. 1:34:

"It really helped the Mueller investigation to allow the doddering old fool to act as a figurehead as Hillary’s lawyers ran the operation."

I've been thinking of poor Mueller a lot in contemplating a Biden presidency. And I don't think the 25th Amendment would enter into it. They'd pull a Weekend at Bernies if they had to, as long as the right "subordinates" could continue to run the show.

I'm Full of Soup said...

Man the liberal hack media can sure pivot when it needs to. It was not that long ago that an unlicensed psychiatrist diagnosed Trump from afar as a psychopath, in the NYT and in a book.

And now they tell us the country would be better off with a senile retard as president.

tcrosse said...

Will there come a time, when the vast majority of people will say: "get someone else, Biden's brain is mush."

That's the point. There's nobody else. Well, almost nobody....

Lewis said...

I'm always embarrased - what do you have to hide - well, my kindeness! Why did a kid go for a pee in the corner - not because we tell him to - or is that learned behaviour - we should teach our kids not to be ' private' about what is most private? I' m thinkinking about what you said last year - me being the slowest of human beings ....

Drago said...

LLR-lefty Chuck: "What a bunch of nonsense. I am surprised there is no disclaimer by the Biden Campaign."

The campaign has to get permission from Biden for that and Slow Joe doesn't wake up from his afternoon naps until about 4, just prior to Early Bird Special opening up at Golden Corral.

Lewis said...

IE, I don't catch up, I'm a 'slo-joe'!

Drago said...

Hey, anybody remember LLR-lefty Chuck's lunatic claim that Trump experiences so many choking hazards that Trump doesn't eat in public!

LOL

That was one for the ages, no?

Truly, one of LLR-lefty Chuck's most moronic of insane assertions, which is saying something as there have been so very very many, haven't there?

madAsHell said...

African-Americans, homosexuals, and now dementia....soon to be a civil rights movement near you!!

Francisco D said...

Sit back and take a breath to think about the Joe Biden you have seen the last few months. At best, it is pitifully sad.

Smart Democrats know that he can barely function on the stump and it is going to get worse over the next 8 months.

He is holding a place for someone else. It might be his VP choice, but don't rule out a last minute Torricelli maneuver.

Lewis said...

IE, I wanted to test whether you would take one of my 'tests' as more than spam. Can I introduce myself? I respect you a great deal - I know nothing of you except your missives, here - I haven't 'looked you up', a vulgar exercise nor will I do so - you are a lucky accident - though not a stone or a stumbling. I realise you're over 70, if you forgive me pointing at your age. I'm 52. Just of that age that 'rememembers'. What? How to read a book.

Known Unknown said...

"The geezers are probably less likely to sexually harass the interns, too."

Unless the interns are eight-year-old girls.

Lewis said...

And, sometimes, I will coment as the poet I am - never vulgar, sometimes stupid, deffinately of toppic - is that ok? Deffinatly a bad spellar!

madAsHell said...

He is holding a place for someone else.

Funny. I've seen other people suggest that very same thing. Like there really is a heart-attack gun!!

KellyM said...

I read somewhere that something horrible probably happened to Joe Biden when he was a kid - something so bad that it tainted his entire personality and self-image. The stutter could be a part of that - the brain's ability to partition off bad events/memories but not enough in this case to keep a tight lid on it. Whatever it was it was something that left him feeling powerless and without support. Witness his very public, humiliating, hair-sniffing episodes. They're purposeful. He is now in a position to take advantage of people and do it in plain sight. He knows that women, particularly young girls, are trained to behave themselves in public and not act out. He uses that to his advantage.

madAsHell said...

It seems that Lewis is looking for acceptance.....good luck with this crowd!!

Most people are here just to toss their turd in the punch bowl, and see if it floats.

The red squiggly line under words is your friend.

Automatic_Wing said...

I read somewhere that something horrible probably happened to Joe Biden when he was a kid - something so bad that it tainted his entire personality and self-image.

He was born that way, baby.

Ralph L said...

The last 3 years have shown us the Importance of Earnest Personnel decisions.

Fernandinande said...

What do you call a guy with no arms and no legs in the Whitehouse?

Capable of making extremely difficult decisions.

daskol said...

One thing that really strikes me is how being President has not aged Trump the way the Presidency so often seems to do.

This is an interesting observation. I can recall pics of Clinton, Bush and Obama from before the job and a few years into it, and they had all aged very visibly. Maybe it's because he was old to begin with, but Trump does not give the impression of someone who's been worn down by the job, and the rest of those whippersnappers did.

The Vault Dweller said...

The gist of this article reminds me of similar pieces that appeared during the lead up and aftermath of the 2000 presidential election. Where there were pieces talking about he value of a President that took a more hands-off managerial approach to the executive branch, with the underlying implication being that George W. Bush was a dolt and incompetent at making most decisions.

FullMoon said...

"I'm Joe Biden and I forgot this message"

(seen elsewhere)

Lewis said...

And, if, I have a poem I will wait till all passion is spent, wait till you all asleep and then, coward I am,I will wake you in your're immoral sleep . What do you think keeps me awake - apart from your ' immoral sleep' ( not you - me) - mankind and his immoral 'sleep'.

Sebastian said...

daskol: "Trump does not give the impression of someone who's been worn down by the job"

Right. He seems to be enjoying it, reveling in it, getting better at it. Which honest Dems -- oxymoron, I know -- might recognize and take into account as they strategize. But no: their cluelessness and contempt are our strength.

gilbar said...

was just watching Millennial Millie

and the pro abortion person (who Called herself 'pro abortion') was Bragging that she had personally had Three abortions; one, just a month ago (which seemed unlikely*, but who can tell?)

Millie asked her who she was going to support, and the pro abortion person said:
gonna to vote Blue,
it's what you're supposed to do
whomever who

Which, i'm GUESSING is the new theme song

seemed unlikely* looking at her, it seemed unlikely that many guys would want to touch her; but! she Claimed to have a husband, and there are a Lot of weird guys out there

Tom said...

See a lot of 80 year old CEOs, do you?

h said...

Clyde and Rick make the essential point that a "professional policymaking class" is not elected and therefore anti-democratic. That refocuses attention on Trump not just as "anti-establishment" but as an elected political leader who rejects the professional policymaking class. None of this proves that "CIA/FBI/DOJ deepstate" is deliberately taking down DJTrump, but it provides a context in which this accusation makes sense.

Matt Sablan said...

Would this be published if Mayor Pete was the presumptive nominee?

Maillard Reactionary said...

This article popped out pretty quick after Tuesday. Makes me think they had it ready in the can and just dropped it when events made it seem "timely".

Right now they're probably going through the piece they have on how a socialist would make a great President, and using find-and-replace to change "Warren" to "Sanders".

Maillard Reactionary said...

By the way, I don't drop my turds in the punchbowl. I toss them from a safe distance, so as to avoid the splash.

Michael K said...

Maybe it's because he was old to begin with, but Trump does not give the impression of someone who's been worn down by the job, and the rest of those whippersnappers did.

Maybe because he's been doing high pressure stuff in his business career while the others were timeserving in politics. The last guy who had done big stuff before the presidency was Eisenhower and he did not change in spite of two illnesses, Crohn's disease and a heart attack due to his chain smoking.

Lewis said...

Postcard.


.I.

That postcard, whipped with the wind off the Hudson,
Monosyllabic and exasperated,
Words sped to a staccato breath like a wave bye, bye.
And I lying still, only by chance, tilted to catch
These paper words tumbling through the air.
How much attenuated, the spoken thought,
Its time crushed, instantaneous arrival
Expected and found on an American train
Saying, “Distance does not matter.”
And I believing the lie.


.II.

Ill eyes abed smoke the sour jaundice
Of an English room. And that picture
Of New York an agony of ground glass
Stabbing each window the fragmented
Possibility of an absent wave.
The sky the same drab, abstract balm
Its saving, enhanced, artificial grace
I can stare at here. Only you, turning
North or south the Hudson way,
Were missed in person, a shadow cast,
Edging an American infinite.

Lewis said...

1989
I' m old and drunk - as always!

The Godfather said...

I just turned 77. So far so good. But I think people my age generally make their best contributions as advisors, not as leaders or decision-makers. In our system the voters don't elect Presidents to advise younger, unelected, people who make the actual decisions. If you think Biden or Trump is not capable of providing leadership, don't vote for him.

Drago said...

It is my understanding that Joe Biden now claims to have been the first welder hired to work on the Empire State building and while aloft he fought a duel against Aaron Burr.

The Vault Dweller said...

I also remember in 08 when Barack Obama got the nomination, and he chose Biden as his VP candidate. Then the talking heads started mentioning things like Biden's experience, and gravitas, especially in relation to foreign policy. They pointing this out as a good solid choice, that will shore up worries about Obama's lack of experience in these matters. They also said this about Dick Cheney in 00 with Bush. Though in comparison Cheney does seem like he has much more insight and gravitas than Biden.

jimbino said...

I find the Boomers and younger generations relatively ignorant of history, geography and world affairs, and they don't speak proper English, much less a single foreign language. They are unfortunately quite representative of the results of what passes for public education starting in the 70s. We know they can't find Cuba, Korea or Iran on a map and fail entirely in understanding of simple economics.

Megthered said...

Just trying to drag Biden over the finish line, dead or alive.

daskol said...

The selection of Biden and the gravitas sales pitch was an early strong signal that Obama was merely a front for shadowy powers, a puppet. He’s not that stupid.

daskol said...

Of course for the imagineers, Biden’s resume and longevity can effectively be spun into gravitas. But if you weren’t already suspicious that Obama might be a front-man for other interests, that was a blip in the matrix.

daskol said...

President Screen, on whom we could project our hopes and dreams. Now we’ve President Gravitas for our consideration, on whom we need to project hope for really good and vigorous youthful advisors. Directionally speaking, this is probably not the change they were hoping for, and I still can’t believe many will believe in it.

daskol said...

Biden may represent the apex failure of the imagineers, who die hard and simply won’t change their MO. Before media got all social, and setting the narrative was as easy as getting certain people to say stuff and then it would go all echo-chamber, you could have sold Joe. Those who think there is a strategy to replace Biden in the midst of its execution, well, doubtless some are hatching plans. But the upper echelon of leadership is still stuck on a propaganda model that needs a major upgrade, so at the top they’re probably thinking Biden makes it to November. Bloomberg could have gone Bannon on the establishment and wound up very powerful and driving party strategy but he seems to be lacking in imagination. He listened to the pros, a mistake Trump rarely made.

daskol said...

Our need to project some symmetry and order on things is preventing most of our commentariat from anticipating just how poorly the Biden gambit will play as currently scripted.

daskol said...

Tulsi should hang in there. Andrew Yang should too. Bloomberg’s buyout is no sure thing anymore. Lots of rich people are probably figuring out who to give money to right now, and that doesn’t seem like something to be settled soon.

Lewis said...

The City.

A Sundays gentle cycle through seas of empty streets
Shadowing the shadow of Paul. We are expecting death,
September’s enervation as yet unyellowed,
A stilled silence at the grieving bed.

Or the hidden poor that scuttle out of view, the boxed porter,
Trader, shopmen with wives babed, again gestating.
The desperation of pubs bellowed by tongues of swollen want,
The dissipation of drunks, sickened

By that tumbled sense of all in one oned on Saturday,
Now stirred to listless cry of child, distorted hand of care.
On the makeshift carpet of grass men and women quiesced
By capital poison of fat and food.

An empty hall of towered streets, sepulchre of feet’s
Ghostly echo, the solitary essence of crowd, work, money,
The staccato knock of question and frigid stone.
Lost the prepared confusion of route,

The lanes that rebelled to be straightened, Wrens
Imperfect gloom twisted to a bridge and Thames.

tim in vermont said...

"I think lack of talent was her [Warren’s] problem. She had a tremendous lack of talent... she is a very mean person and people don't like her... they like a person like me that's not mean” - Donald Trump

He is the greatest.

tim in vermont said...

In case you were thinking about getting a dog.
https://twitter.com/WoofWoof_TV/status/1223703489886543872

tim in vermont said...

That’s what you call a palate cleanser in your finer restaurants.

JAORE said...

"... older adults are better at keeping their emotions and impulses in check...."

Oh. My bad. I thought they were referring to Biden.

Kai Akker said...

However, I am getting a little bit wiser because I can recognize situations and arguments that have happened in the past and that gives me a leg up on understanding them. Mike

Me, too! I just say, scrambled.

Lewis said...

I write poetry like silkworms produce silk - ie, not at all.

Jeff said...

The more presidents slow down, the more decisions get made by other people.... And perhaps we’d all be better served if other people—and not Biden, Sanders, or Trump—were making decisions.
And of course the slowest President is a dead one, so let's just reelect George Washington.

rcocean said...

"I think lack of talent was her [Warren’s] problem. She had a tremendous lack of talent... she is a very mean person and people don't like her... they like a person like me that's not mean” - Donald Trump

Donald Trump, that ol' sweet talker.

daskol said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
daskol said...

I don't know. Sepulchre of feets was evocative. Made me think of ski boots.

Lewis said...

I leave the opposite of what you live in - damp, epposodic lec, a bad landlored - why? What is to be human? Obviously, not you.

Yancey Ward said...

LMAO!

When Biden forgets who his wife is, there will be a spate of thoughtful articles about how forgetting your wife probably makes you a better president. And when Biden hauls his dick out and takes a piss on campaign stage because he thinks it is the toilet, then there will be articles praising Biden for pissing whereever he damn well pleases.

Francisco D said...

Lewis = Ritmo?

it is confusing when one is dealing with psychotics.

Lewis Wetzel said...

When I was a kid, in the 1960s, we were taught at school that there was a certain toad that would squirt blood out of its eyes at predators as a defense mechanism. This makes no sense at all. Stabby quills, a bad smell, playing dead -- these are clearly defense mechanisms. Shooting blood out of your eyes? No way.
So I began to doubt the science taught at public schools.
And now it is the 2020s, and I find that I can think of no rational reason why Joe Biden can squirt blood out his eyeballs.

daskol said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
daskol said...

Wait, there is a blood squirting toad. Is this some kind of trick?

Quaestor said...

When I was a kid, in the 1960s, we were taught at school that there was a certain toad that would squirt blood out of its eyes at predators as a defense mechanism.

50% true. There is an animal that uses blood squirted from its orbits as a defense mechanism. In fact, there are at least eight species able to do this blood-squirting trick. They are all members of the genus Phrynosoma, that is to say they are all horned toads. Horned toads are not toads at all. They aren't even amphibians. They're squamate (i.e. scaled) reptiles, lizards specifically. The blood serves as a deterrent to would-be predators, as it contains foul-tasting alkaloids and irritating polypeptides.

Watch.

MeatPopscicle1234 said...

Trump is the first person in my entire voting age that I feel is truly worthy of the office of President..: unfortunately I was not quite old enough to vote for Reagan, but IMO Trump is like Reagan, Teddy Roosevelt and PT Barnum rolled up into one...

gadfly said...

Evidence of the workings of an ancient demented brain:

Keeping infected COVID-19 patients on aboard a cruise ship off the California coast in order avoid upping the count of active coronavirus cases in the United States.

Personal political thinking that puts Donald Trumps narcissism ahead of medical treatment for 21 endangered citizens! So mental disease can be more dangerous than physical ailments.

driverdonald said...

Baby boomers will decide this election. To boomers these guys don’t seem so old.
They seem kinda like the person they see in the mirror.

driverdonald said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Quaestor said...

Keeping infected COVID-19 patients on aboard a cruise ship off the California coast in order avoid upping the count of active coronavirus cases in the United States.

Gadfly and his amyloid plaques. They never cease to amuse us.

JAORE said...

Ah the creaking machinery of a ultra high mileage car keeping a fleet of mechanics employed.

Let's run competing HR departments instead of candidates for the POTUS.

What could go wrong?

elkh1 said...

Decisions made by other people: unelected unaccountable bureaucrats: deep state: unAmerican crap.

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