September 1, 2020

Joe Biden and Kamala Harris have "A Socially Distanced Conversation" with each other today.

I'm just noticing the transcript and will read it and react. I have no idea what the event was, hadn't heard about it, and don't know why we need to hear them talk to each other as opposed to taking questions — separately — from serious interviewers. Ah, here's the video...



I watched that up for a minute and 20 seconds, clicked it off, and said, "Oh! He's interviewing her!" I'm switching to the transcript, because I don't have patience for the video version.
Joe Biden: (03:04) I’ve heard you talk about the way you were raised and your sister and how you guys were together.
Kamala Harris: (03:15) My mother would come home, and she’d make dinner, and she’d spend some time with us, and then we’d go to bed, and she’d sit at that kitchen table figuring out how to make it all work....
Kitchen table figuring out how to make it all work.... Her mother was a medical researcher at prestigious institutions, and her father was an economics professor at Stanford. They didn't have any financial struggles, did they? But Harris proceeds to talk about "that thing that wakes us up in the middle of the night and wakes up so many people in the middle of the night... the things that cause people to lose sleep, because they’re worried about how they’re going to get through the end of the month, and feed their kids, and pay their rent." The implication is that she understands financial struggle because of her own family situation. That just puzzles me. She says "I was in high school when my mother was able to afford to buy our first home" and "We rented up until that point." They lived in Oakland. You can rent a nice apartment there. Is Harris saying their rented place was bad? She shouldn't be posing as lower class. But it's such a minor qualification for presiding over the economy anyway — that your family had economic hardship.
Joe Biden: (12:06) With all that’s going on, you have a pandemic, you have economic circumstances bad as it was during the depression, you got a situation where a systemic racism has been stripped bare and everyone has seen it....
He's saying what he has to say, but I bet he couldn't explain what he means and what the evidence is. It's just an article of faith.
Joe Biden: (14:56) I really believe that the vast majority of American people are truly decent.
Truly decent... but systemically racist. Explain please.

Kamala Harris: (15:03) Yes.
Joe Biden: (15:03) I think they’re angry right now. I think they’re fed up. I think they’re looking for some authenticity and some honesty.
Kamala Harris: (15:12) We’re better than this.
Joe Biden: (15:14) We are. I’m really excited you’re willing to do this with me.
Kamala Harris: (15:17) I am very excited about it. We’re going to get this done, Joe.
Joe Biden: (15:20) No, I think we are. I think the country is… It’s going to be hard, but I think they’re going to be with us.
Kamala Harris: (15:25) I do too.

139 comments:

Temujin said...

"A Cognitively Distanced Conversation"

JAORE said...

And then her father came home after ten hours in the coal mines....

TrespassersW said...

Pap.

They're like Obama. They talk a lot but they don't say anything.

gbarto said...

Maybe they're trying to humanize her before he bows out.

rehajm said...

Hurray! I'm for the other team!

Temujin said...

I'm kinda waiting for the next chapter in the "Life of Julia".
In this next episode we'll see how Julia does with the government taking care of her every need as she is kept at home, except for the nights when she is allowed to go outside after donning a government approved black T and slacks, black 'Bane' mask, and a hockey helmet. She's allowed to attend a rally where they shout "Burn the Mutha****** down, and gets to firebomb police stations. She's so proud of her work. All in a day of the Life of Julia- Wuhan/BLM Chapter.

Clyde said...

I heard that this video was recorded on August 21st. Biden has no campaign events today other than some kind of virtual fundraiser. Back to the basement!

n.n said...

Allegations of systemic diversity (i.e. color judgments, affirmative discrimination) are true. It's a progressive condition.

Birkel said...

Democratics are so racist they'll believe these two POS - sorry, I mean POC when referring to the parents - couldn't make it work 50 years ago on two white collar salaries? I would buy that.

The Democratics are liars.
All they want is power.

Sebastian said...

"She shouldn't be posing as lower class."

Awww, no she shouldn't, it's so very very wrong.

"I bet he couldn't explain what he means and what the evidence is. It's just an article of faith."

You bet right. But save yourself time and trouble: report to us anything Joe can explain.

And yes, it is an article of faith. So, what are you going to do, you and all the nice women of America? Convert or resist?

rehajm said...

I heard that this video was recorded on August 21st. Biden has no campaign events today other than some kind of virtual fundraiser. Back to the basement!

I'll reiterate one point about the importance of retail politics: Martha Coakley.

Nonapod said...

a systemic racism has been stripped bare and everyone has seen it

"a systemic racism"? That's a strange locution, but I supposed it could be chalked up to aphasia related to dementia.

I don't believe that America is systemically racist to any great degree, and certainly not in comparison to any other country. But that's the narrative the Dems are running with so here we are.

MadisonMan said...

Let's all watch as Biden pitches softball questions at Harris. Who is this supposed to convince, I wonder? What's it supposed to show?
BTW, I prefer the term physically distant to socially distant for some reason.

Amexpat said...

Only watched 10 seconds - the video is lame. T

The Biden campaign appears to be rudderless. I'm sure they are aware that urban rioting is hurting them with swing voters in swing states. They don't seem to have a good strategy for dealing with this. The obvious solution is for a Sister Souljah moment. Go big on criticizing white Antifa members for exploiting and appropriating the BLM movement. They should use Harris to get out in front with this - Biden would flub it.

Skeptical Voter said...

Shoveling meaningless pabulum by the wheelbarrow load. They're having a long work day in the meaningless platitude mine.

Francisco D said...

For his next performance, Uncle Joe will walk in a straight line and vigorously chew bubble gum.

All at the same time!

Rory said...

"I heard that this video was recorded on August 21st."

They did an interview with ABC that day. Could be the same hotel (assuming they're in a hotel ballroom).

Quayle said...

"Truly decent... but systemically racist. Explain please."


Truly decent: those who vote for us.

Systemically racist: any activity done by those who vote for the other party.


And this is what passes for the most intelligent views of our advanced current society.

Todd said...

Vote for US! We are JUST LIKE YOU!

We feel your pain and know your struggles!

We are also fun loving and approachable! And that an't no malarkey!

narciso said...

https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2020/08/30/players-may-display-names-of-victims-of-systemic-racism-on-their-helmet-padding/

MountainMan said...

@Temujin 2:05 PM - Aha! Someone else remembers the Life of Julia. Brilliant update!

I have that thing downloaded and saved in a folder on my Mac somewhere.

The Bergall said...

Who wrote that script? Some college woke intern?

Needs more cliches and buzz words................

Lucid-Ideas said...

Kamala Harris's family was poor in the same way Brian Williams was shot at in Iraq. Something seen from afar and spuriously appropriated and worn like a cape in order to demand respect.

Ken B said...

“Most Americans are decent.”
“Which ones?”
“The ones who vote for me.”

Next stage is ending the secret ballot, so we can identify who is naughty and nice.

rhhardin said...

It's the story of their lives. They started out as good people, and ended up as good people. Along the way they were good people. It's a narrative arc.

Ken B said...

This way the Democrats can control the edit. Not just the conversation, but the video edit. That’s crucial.

J. Farmer said...

Trump/Pence or Biden/Harris. How far we’ve sunk. Those are the choices you get in America. Paper or plastic. Chocolate or vanilla. Chicken or beef. Regular or super sized. Here or to-go. Poor deluded fools.

Unknown said...

> They're like Obama. They talk a lot but they don't say anything.

Privileged Queen Moochelle Obama suffered too

Someone in Target once asked her to put something on a shelf for them

Earnest Prole said...

If you're looking to scrutinize Harris' story you should first familiarize yourself with the most basic elements of her biography. Her father was still a student when Harris was born, she was seven when her parents divorced, and she moved to Canada with her mother when she was twelve.

Michael K said...

It is a bit like Obama, talk but no substance. What were Obama's grades again ? I hear Penn professors want to investigate Trump.

LA_Bob said...

Biden did this format with Obama in late July.

David-2 said...

Kind of them to introduce us, in this folksy way, to the next President.

And having the interlocutor be someone from the last Democrat administration shows the continuity ...

rehajm said...

The DNC approved polls are still hiding out in the basement with Joe.

Ah Ha - Missing Polls

Fox News
CNN
ABC/WaPo
NBC/WSJ
NPR/Marist
NYT/Siena
USA Today/Suffolk
Monmouth
Qunnipiac

Some familiar 'DNC Approved' pollster names, right? 🧐

gspencer said...

JOE: You need to speak with Jill. So knows all the ins and outs about my gaming the system. Some call it corruption. I call it feathering your own nest. It's true what they say. I've never had a real job. I've in DC for more 45 years and have never been called on the carpet. Being a member of Congress basically means no accountability. Anyway, I've done pretty well for myself. No, I never had to sit at the kitchen table to figure out the finances. The way I did it, the finances took care of me. [wink]

KAMALA: I'll give Jill a call.

Larry J said...

I hear leftists talking about institutional racism and it has me thinking. Which institutions are they talking about? Leftists control education from pre-K through post doc. They control every aspect of the entertainment industry and almost all of the news media. They control the boards of many of the top corporations in the country including virtually all of the Big Tech companies. They also control administrative government, many state governments, and the House of Representatives. If there's institutional racism out there, isn't it largely the Leftist Democrats' fault?

YoungHegelian said...

you got a situation where a systemic racism has been stripped bare and everyone has seen it....I really believe that the vast majority of American people are truly decent.

As Prof. Althouse hints at above, the modern Left wants to try and square the circle by wanting to exploit both post-modern ideas of politics as downstream of "systems of power" in which individuals are nothing but points of intersection within the power relations, and yet still retain the classical liberal notion that individuals have moral agency & thus moral responsibility to change.

Personally, I've never quite seen how this can be possible.

rcocean said...

Is Joe going to be like this as President? I mean, when is he going to have a press conference, or make a public speech to real-life voters? What exactly is he DOING all day - taking power naps?

And is Biden going to act this way, when he's President. We can't have a president hiding in the White House basement! Harris/Biden = most bizarre POTUS ticket ever.

Andrew said...

Based on your description, I'm not going to bother watching it. This sounds completely pathetic. Two very unlikable people having a conversation.

Besides his dementia symptoms, Biden also has some very peculiar verbal tics. One of them is transcribed here. He says "No" to people agreeing with him. I noticed him doing that in the primaries. Someone would say something positive, and he would respond very strongly "No!" before proceeding. Or someone would affirm Biden's point, and he would still respond "No."

Kamala: We’re going to get this done, Joe.
Joe: No, I think we are.

I'm not sure what it means, but it's peculiar and off-putting.

gadfly said...

Meanwhile, Trump panics Laura Ingraham:

The President continued his demented misinformation campaign in an interview with Fox News' Laura Ingraham: He compared cops shooting Black men to golfers choking on putts, appeared to endorse the deadly herd immunity strategy for combating the virus, spread a conspiracy theory about unknown "people that are in the dark shadows” controlling Joe Biden, and he claimed without evidence that a plane “almost completely loaded with thugs” flew to the RNC on a mission to disrupt the GOP's hellish virus party. NBC suggested the plane conspiracy may have its origins in a June 1 Facebook post "that falsely claimed, 'At least a dozen males got off the plane in Boise from Seattle, dressed head to toe in black.'" A local sheriff batted down this rumor at the time.

Or as Althouse's favorite conservative writer, Charlie Sykes, points out:

As Bill Kristol notes this morning, “When Laura Ingraham is amazed by something Donald Trump has said, and tries to save him from himself, Donald Trump has jumped the shark.”

Or, perhaps, he has just entered the terminal phase of Late Stage Trumpism.

Rabel said...

They both look good. That is because neither of them is wearing the face they were born with.

Nevertheless, good work by the cosmetic surgeons and the make-up teams.

Original Mike said...

"Kitchen table figuring out how to make it all work.... Her mother was a medical researcher at prestigious institutions, and her father was an economics professor at Stanford. They didn't have any financial struggles, did they?"

Such a phony. My dad was a plumber and my mom a housewife. Three kids. I have vivid memories of my dad coming home every day, sitting at the kitchen table, opening the bills for that day, and "figuring out how to make it all work".

My dad's thing was we were all "going to the poor house". Even as a young child I struggled to figure out this "poor house" thing. Who supplied the funding for the poor house? If we were in the poor house, how were we going to make the money to pay our bills? Didn't make sense to me, but I was sure we were going there. I'm sure this is why I turned out so frugal.

I actually find myself being resentful at Harris' display. Such a phony.

Martin said...

"Authenticity and honsty"???

ROFLMAO!!!!

They need to fire their political consultants. Everything they have done since before their convention, including the convention, itself, has been just ghastly.

Jersey Fled said...

Sheesh. This is so lame.

Chris N said...

I remember spending time with my late grandfather who didn't have Alzheimers, but clear cognitive decline.

He would light up when I/we walked in his assisted living room, and he started asking the same five or so questions:

'Where's Mary?' (his late wife)

'Who's the pretty lady on your arm?'

'Hey, there he is, my grandson. You coulda played football. Didn't you play football?'

'You know they got a pool table here right? We could go down and catch a game. Run the table.'


'Have you seen Mary? How's she doing?'

After ten minutes or so (i/we were visiting a few times a week, the only ones around at the time), I could feel my own mind clicking with his, and sliding into the groove of the same old record, same old record, same old record, same old record...

Sometimes we walked out and I would question what I knew, and what day it was.

As for these clowns, no I don't think I want you in charge of me with those ideas.

Marshall Rose said...

Pap.

They're like Obama. They talk a lot but they don't say anything.


It worked for Obama, it can work for Joe....

It was very depressing to me listen to the country fawn over Obama and his speechifying. He talked endlessly but avoided saying anything of substance.

Clint had him correctly pegged as an empty chair.

madAsHell said...

Isn't systemic racism just a nice name for 10 to 20 points of IQ?

Original Mike said...

Biden: "I think they’re looking for some authenticity and some honesty."

If they are, you're in trouble.

rehajm said...

Kim Strassel fact checking the Biden campaign. A job MSM Americans just won't do...

A Biden speech on violence in which he never once names BLM or Antifa. He instead calls out "right-wing militias, white supremacists, vigilantes—who infiltrate protests carrying weapons of war.”

Biden is going to try to slip out if this by claiming he “only”wants to shut down public leases. But that is still a notable percentage of fracking. And private industry is next up for the block.

john said...

You can just tell they are really taking care of their teeth this pandemic. I am so glad they have no trouble getting good oral care with all the distancing, lockdowns, living in basements.

Nice tans, too. Well. Joe's at least.

Chris N said...

Julia, after her library hours are reduced, can't afford to visit her ex-husband in New Mexico. She starts legal action to gain full custody of James/Jamie.

One night, after her volunteer work, she attends a lecture by a popular feminist author, and starts becoming much more engaged in an empathetic, community politics of change and women's liberation.

A few months later, her hair is dyed blue and she's now in a heated custody battle over James/Julie's surgery and it's in the local news.

She's also seen with a bullhorn in Portland, celebrating the death of a factional and existential political opponent.

Something's gonna change. I can feel it.

Drago said...

It's much safer for the dems for their Presidential candidate to "interview" their VP candidate...though its quite clear the "media" will be happy to be as nice to the slave holding family member Kamala as Dementia Joe is.

Joe Smith said...

And Obama had it tough being raised by his racist white grandmother. You know, the one who was vice president of a bank.

Old Joe should know about the great depression...he was there.

gadfly said...

Meanwhile, Trump panics Laura Ingraham:

The President continued his demented misinformation campaign in an interview with Fox News' Laura Ingraham: He compared cops shooting Black men to golfers choking on putts, appeared to endorse the deadly herd immunity strategy for combating the virus, spread a conspiracy theory about unknown "people that are in the dark shadows” controlling Joe Biden, and he claimed without evidence that a plane “almost completely loaded with thugs” flew to the RNC on a mission to disrupt the GOP's hellish virus party. NBC suggested the plane conspiracy may have its origins in a June 1 Facebook post "that falsely claimed, 'At least a dozen males got off the plane in Boise from Seattle, dressed head to toe in black.'" A local sheriff batted down this rumor at the time.

Or as Althouse's favorite conservative writer, Charlie Sykes, points out:

As Bill Kristol notes this morning, “When Laura Ingraham is amazed by something Donald Trump has said, and tries to save him from himself, Donald Trump has jumped the shark.”

Or, perhaps, he has just entered the terminal phase of Late Stage Trumpism.

rehajm said...

Hi Biden!!!!

pluurrphh...

Unknown said...

Did Joe apologize for whatever "racist" bullshit she zinged him on at the debates? "That little girl was me!". God, she makes Hillary Clinton look sincere and likable. America's first whore President.

Unknown said...

Based on her previous experience with older men above her, does she flash Old Joe anything that Willie Brown saw?

Just sayin'....

I'm Full of Soup said...

Althouse, you've been kind of tough on your fellow Delawarean lately. I tip my hat to your damn fine job!

ga6 said...

Next up for this week is the new Democrat/MSM talking point/subject: Race War!

Is it really being pushed by the right? Jack T, Don L, Max B and others will discuss over the next few days.

Jess said...

In a perfect world, both would be charged with sedition for promoting violent terrorism.

Goetz von Berlichingen said...

Clyde, that makes sense. Nothing in their conversation pegs them to a particular time. Perhaps Biden should be holding up the daily newspaper, like a kidnapping victim, to prove he's alive.

mikee said...

Joe Biden's dementia is being used to promote a losing candidate, whose policy was so execrable that she cancelled her own campaign before Iowa, in order to put her far leftist ideology into a position of power in the White House. Valerie Jarrett, are you hiding in Joe's Basement?

DEEBEE said...

Firstly thanks Ann, for plodding through the transcript. I died at about 5 minutes.
The most notable thing about all the Biden sightings is that they are all around 20 minutes. That must be the toxicity dosage limit of the meds they give him to get these sessions. I fully expect no debates now.

Jason said...

"I was born a poor black child."

Static Ping said...

Kamala's parents divorced when she was seven-years-old. A single divorced woman trying to get a mortgage in the 1970s could be a dicey affair. There's no date on the anecdote so it is not implausible. It also could be a matter that her mom was not confident if she could stay in an area long-term - who knows where her job would take her - in which case renting makes logical sense. And some people very much do not like to be in debt. It's possible she was saving money for a down payment that she was comfortable with.

Of course, whenever a politician says anything, you should always take it with a grain of salt. Everyone was born as a poor black child.

Dave Begley said...

If systematic racism is such a horrible problem, then why didn't the first Black president fix it during his long eight years?

And Biden was going to cure cancer.

Gk1 said...

Isn't it funny how Slow Joe never interacts with the public? Always scripted events with hand picked "journalists" or fellow politicos. Never anyone who might throw a curve ball at him or have him have to think on his feet. All stage managed nonsense. Who do they think they are fooling?

Birkel said...

The mayor of DC has recommended taking down Washington and Lincoln and all the other Founders across the Capital.

Who predicted that?
Can somebody point me in that direction?
At the guy who saw that coming?

Leftist Collectivists want to destroy everything.
The only goal is power.

Kamala lying about her family is lying for power.

Freeman Hunt still won't understand.

Mary Beth said...

Kamala Harris: (02:13)
So your son who took such pride in everything about you and the relationship that the two of you had, he’s the Attorney General of Delaware, I’m the Attorney General of California, during the foreclosure crisis, California often had seven of the top 10 cities in the nation hardest hit.

Joe Biden: (02:30)
I remember.


Sure you do, Joe.

Joe Biden, America's Putin said...

If you're looking for honesty - rachel Maddow and Pelosi-Hillary got it for yas.

Obey.

MayBee said...

I'm kind of in love with the audacity of her plagarizing Joe's "parents sitting at the kitchen table at night figuring it all out" story.

Lance said...

"A Socially Distanced Conversation"

Don't they mean a physically distanced conversation? Or do they mean that Biden and Harris are truly socially distant from each other?

Josephbleau said...

I thought Kammila went to grade school and high school in Canada. If they could not afford to buy a house it’s because Canadians are racist against Indians with half black kids? Her father could have afforded to by a reasonable house on his prof salary, did he pay support?

Bay Area Guy said...

Did either of them denounce the violence, looting, arson and murder by Antifa?

AllenS said...

Original confusing back and forth --

Kamala Harris: (15:17) "I am very excited about it. We’re going to get this done, Joe."

Joe Biden: (15:20) "No, I think we are. I think the country is… It’s going to be hard, but I think they’re going to be with us."

A shorter version --

Kamala Harris: (15:17) "I am very excited about it. We’re going to get this done, Joe."

Joe Biden: (15:20) "No."

Michael K said...

A single divorced woman trying to get a mortgage in the 1970s could be a dicey affair. There's no date on the anecdote so it is not implausible.

I think Canada had different rules on down payments. Ken B could probably help on that.

Mike Sylwester said...

If Harris's mother was having so much trouble making ends meet, then why didn't she just get a job on the Board of Directors of a Ukrainian natural-gas company?

gilbar said...

how many takes did that take?
where's the blooper reel? i'll bet it's hilarious!

they couldn't be answering questions, on account of because people would notice the SCORES and SCORES of takes

Rory said...

I'm going to guess that this was on the shelf, they got bad feedback from yesterday's monologue, so they released this to deflect attention.

If Biden cancels debating, and Trump goes with the empty chair, does Biden have any answer to that?

MayBee said...

Here's Joe Biden talking about *his* kitchen table in 2008
https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x2ybskh

And here's a quote from a debate with Palin:
BIDEN: I understand what it’s like to be a single parent. When my wife and daughter died and my two sons were gravely injured, I understand what it’s like as a parent to wonder if your kid’s going to make it. I understand what it’s like to sit around the kitchen table with a father who says, “I’ve got to leave, champ, because there’s no jobs here. And when we get enough money, honey, we’ll bring you down.” The notion that somehow, because I’m a man, I don’t know what it’s like to raise 2 kids alone--I understand. I understand, as well as the governor or anybody else, what it’s like for those people sitting around that kitchen table. They’re looking for help. They’re not looking for more of the same.

Patrick said...

Kamala pretending she grew up poor? Is there ANYTHING AUTHENTIC about this woman?

Bunkypotatohead said...

Shouldn't a presidential candidate be required to pass the Turing test?

Bay Area Guy said...

Placeholder Joe has nothing of value to say. He is a figurehead for the Left.

Known Unknown said...

Keep posting Gadfly, third time is a charm!

Known Unknown said...

"Althouse, you've been kind of tough on your fellow Delawarean lately."

Biden is Pennsylvanian by birth.

Chris N said...

If you can't conceptualize, strategize and verbalize a vision for the entire country, of what a liberal society might look like, or what a 'fair' society might look like, without being able to identify radicals burning things down as outside this vision, and factions of identity tribes united only against an 'enemy' which you regard as 'oppressive', I probably won't be voting for you.

We need more than this right now. Especially right now.

And your capitulation to the further Left (Green New Deal, redistribution by identity group alone, and deep resentment for everything which exists) as this further Left plays you and ultimately plans on usurping you...is noted.

You will probably not be getting my vote.

MayBee said...

A lot of single women choose to rent- remember, condos were not a huge thing back then- because a rental has a landlord who is responsible for taking care of things that go wrong. Homeownership has a lot of responsibilities other than just financial.

Left Bank of the Charles said...

Tenured professors at Stanford do make good money, but since the father got hired at Stanford in 1972 after their 1971 divorce, the mother likely didn’t see any of that. Heath science researchers in the private sector make good money these days, and maybe even in academia these days, but in those days non-tenured researchers in academia were exploited. You got to work at a prestigious institution, and they didn’t pay you very much. Lots of middle class and lower middle class Americans have to worry about how to get through to the end of the month.

Wince said...

Althouse said...
The implication is that she understands financial struggle because of her own family situation.

More, they included her walking through the kitchen service entrance, then entering through the grandiose doors with Joe Biden, who was shown arriving by motorcade.

All they left out symbolically was the "Movin' on Up" theme from the Jeffersons.

Rosalyn C. said...

The Biden campaign slogan should be, "You know, Joe?" As in, he doesn't have to explain, you "already know the drill." And as Trump has pointed out, Joe doesn't even know he's alive. Classic Trumpism.

The US was founded on slavery (not really) so racism is systemic by definition. And if you deny being racist that means you are a racist. You can even be a decent person and a white supremacist and not know it. You must apologize and do something to end racism. Go out and ask a black person what it's like to be black. They will feel better and that will cure economic inequity and injustice. Yeah, I doubt Biden is an informed advocate of systemic racism theory or could explain it, and yet his party's intelligentsia is all in. The Democrats are so stupid they could have condemned antifa and the riots and looting from the very beginning and I honestly don't know why they didn't. They rationalized bad behavior instead. They lost, squandered, the moral high ground.

The Democratic Party of today represents the total demise of the aspirations of the activists of the 60's. The Republican Party would be just as defunct if not for Donald Trump. IMO

RMc said...

Hurray! I'm for the other team!

+1 for the Grammar Rock reference.

alan markus said...

@ BADduBois Based on her previous experience with older men above her, does she flash Old Joe anything that Willie Brown saw?

I wonder if old Joe flashes anything his female Secret Service agents saw?

Biden Swims Naked, Upsetting Female Secret Service Agents, Book Claims

In Defense of Naked Joe Biden

The skinny on Biden dipping

Qwinn said...

gadfly:

The President continued his demented misinformation campaign in an interview with Fox News' Laura Ingraham: He ... appeared to endorse the deadly herd immunity strategy for combating the virus,"

No one in Sweden could be reached for comment.

Hell, I remember around April when EVERYONE was talking about herd immunity as the most important factor, and no one, no one anywhere, called it "deadly". Turning that around now is 100% pure gaslighting.

Chris N said...

And the populist economic base on the right, emerging with the Tea Party, and now pouring energy into Trump is getting reasonable results, but also playing with the fire of lowered expectations, personalized politics, mild grifting, and lowered character is also noted.

I think I can say this without being a 'never Trumper' or the deranged 'Chuck' and monied interests, but rather a Trump agnostic.

Meh. It is what it is.

Amadeus 48 said...

I keep thinking about how well Kamala did in the Dem nomination battle (she dropped out two months before the Iowa caucuses because her campaign imploded), and I think about how stupid and dishonest Biden was on his best day, and then I think about the the cover given to these two losers by the media, and I realize that the supporters of the Democratic Party have gone mad, and that the media hire idiots you wouldn't trust with a PTA newsletter.

Harris and Biden are completely empty.

Trump presents his own problems, but his campaign is based on what he and many others think would be good for America, and he has a positive track record in office to back it up. Mike Pence is an adult. Harris and Biden are a couple of children who aren't quite as charming as they think they are.

There really is only one sensible choice in this election.

rehajm said...

+1 for the Grammar Rock reference.

I'm glad somebody out there gets me...

Yancey Ward said...

"And then her father came home after ten hours in the coal mines..."

Walking uphill both ways in an Oakland blizzard.

Yancey Ward said...

Martha Coakley is the right model here to study. If Biden can't run an ordinary retail politics campaign, then he simply doesn't have a chance to win. I still expect the Democrats to find a way to replace him, but the time to do so is running out.

Kevin said...

Biden : And remember: the Lord loves a working man. Especially one from Scranton.

Harris : Lord loves a working man.

Harris : And Joe: don't never ever trust whitey.

Biden : Don't trust whitey. Lord loves a working man; don't trust whitey.

Harris : And I hope you find whatever it is you're looking for...

Biden : I will... I know it's out there. It's an idea. I think it's an idea.

Harris : It's out there alright. And if you catch it, see a doctor and get rid of it. (laughs at own joke)

Biden : See a doctor and get rid of it.

Harris : That's all for today.

Biden : Lord loves a working man; don't trust whitey; see a doctor and get rid of it.

pacwest said...

1. Without any doubt there is massive systemic racism in the US today. The whitey better watch out because we are coming for you kind. Thank you Obama. Thank you Dems.
2. "It's an article of faith." Why, yes, yes it is. That's about all it is though. Keep the faith!
3. Joe and Kammy sitting in a tree. K-I-S-S-I-N-G. Ewwww.

Meanwhile, Trump cuts the Gordon knot on ME peace. Gets a V shaped recovery except where the Dems are trying to block him. Builds more wall. Confronts China and Iran. Etc.

h said...

Glenn Loury: https://www.spiked-online.com/2020/08/31/in-racialising-everything-we-are-playing-with-fire/

"These days, I am given to saying the term ‘structural racism’ is both a bluff and a bludgeon. It is a bluff in the sense that it offers an explanation that is not really an explanation at all, and in effect dares the listener to come back with a response. For example, if someone says there are too many blacks in prison in the United States and that that is because of structural racism, they are daring you to say there are too many black criminals and that is why there are so many blacks in prison. They want you to say it is not the system’s fault, but the individual’s.

It is a bludgeon because it is a rhetorical move. It does not even pretend to be a scientific, policy-based argument. It asserts causes that never have to be demonstrated. We are all supposed to know that things are the fault of something called ‘structural racism’, which is abetted by an ideology of ‘white supremacy’. It is meant to explain everything. Confronted with any racial disparity, the answer is always that it is caused by structural racism,"

above from Loury, next from commenter H:

What's more, the "structural" (institutional, systemic) racism charge is a cop-out in that it de-personalizes any racism. "I'm not racist, and you're not racist, and no one we know is racist, but the system is racist." People need to be challenged on this. for example, in discussing racial disparities in criminal sentencing: name the prosecutors who charged whites more leniently than blacks for the same behavior; name the judges who set higher sentences for whites than blacks for the same offence; name the legislators who voted for the bill that makes crack cocaine a more serious offence than powdered cocaine; etc. Institutions are the result of human actions and behaviors -- name the humans who have put these institutions into effect. People who cling to the "institutional racism" cop-out do so because they don't want to blame their friends and fellow party members.

Meade said...

"Don't they mean a physically distanced conversation? Or do they mean that Biden and Harris are truly socially distant from each other?"

Both, but mostly the latter. Biden's systemic racism and xenophobia causes him to socially distance himself from Harris. His hysterical fear of COVID-19 causes him to physically distance himself from her. And his fear of not being able to refrain from stroking and smelling her hair—confirming in her mind that he truly is a sexual predator—causes him to visually and imaginatively distance himself from her.

Meade said...

What the country needs is political distancing from both of them.

Skeptical Voter said...

I enrolled in Boalt Hall Law School in September 1965--when Little Kamala was 11 months old.
Housing was not that expensive in Berkeley at the time. My wife and I rented a one bedroom apartment 4 blocks off campus for $105 per month. Rent stayed at that level for three years. I went to law school; my wife worked to support me. For the first few months she was paid $500 a month; then she got a job as an Alameda County Social worker and raked in the big bucks of $650 per month. I have to figure that Kamala's parents were both employed--and housing further off campus was even cheaper. I can't recall my wife and I sitting down at night and worrying about whether we were going to run out of money before we ran out of month.

stevew said...

This seems to fit nicely.

Cardboard box, you were lucky!

Ken B said...

Two BIG lies today
#1 WaPo: “Trump supports violence!!”
#2 Birkel: “Freeman Hunt supports violence!!”

exiledonmainstreet, green-eyed devil said...

Go big on criticizing white Antifa members for exploiting and appropriating the BLM movement. They should use Harris to get out in front with this - Biden would flub it.

9/1/20, 2:24 PM

The problem is that would alienate the woke white college kids who voted for Bernie. Tell them that their obnoxious virtue-signaling is cultural appropriation? No, no! They want so badly to help the little brown people who can't help themselves unless woke white kids lead the away!
to
The D's are in a helluva fix. Once you've dragged your base to the left, it's hard to move back to the middle.

Joanne Jacobs said...

Kamala Harris claims that her father's Palo Alto neighbors wouldn't let their children play with her because she's black (when she visited after her parents' divorce). As a former Palo Altan, I am 99% sure this is untrue. Either the neighbor's kids couldn't play with her once because they were about to go over to their grandparents' house or she made it up entirely.

People are looking for authenticity. They're good at spotting phonies. Donald Trump may be a blowhard, but he's an authentic blowhard.

Michael K said...

If Biden can't run an ordinary retail politics campaign, then he simply doesn't have a chance to win.

Does anyone really think Biden has anything to do with running this campaign?

TJM said...

only a simpleton law professor could buy into the Slow China Joe scam

narciso said...


in other news,

https://thefederalist.com/2020/09/01/democrat-mayors-committee-proposes-removing-or-shaming-washington-dc-memorials/

Francisco D said...

gadfly is really trying. However, he is absurdly pitiful.

It is sad how absolutely pitiful leftists have become. A vibrant society needs people who disagree in an honest manner in order to find the best path forward. Leftists are only about power because the People do not like their ideas when they get through the corporate media filter and figure things out.

Kirk Parker said...

rcocean,

"What exactly is he DOING all day - taking power naps?"

Biden?? No way; those are weakness naps.

Ingachuck'stoothlessARM said...

CGI-Joe & Chimera Harris

...expect an increasing amount of their 'presence'
from the people in post-production

Roughcoat said...

All smiles, those two! Lookin' for fun and feelin' goovey!

Megaera said...

Birkel: The smalldeadanimals blog out of Canada has had a meme running for some time now, "Visit the Washington Monument while you still can..." Prescient. Distressingly so.

Also, if you go to smalldeadanimals,com and click down about 10 entries you can see a shot of the Scranton gym where Biden did his "speech." Was it Ann who was asking if there was an audience for it? Looks like 7 people in the entire gym, ring-fenced away from each other by special markings on the floor -- truly strange. The grid behind Biden appears too be an actual cage of some kind.

tim maguire said...

I wonder if this is the first time they've spoken since the debates.

Birches said...

The people who made that video want Kamala in charge. That much is obvious.

David Duffy said...

Ann, you can't read the transcript on this one. You have to see their faces, read their body language, hear the way they talk. There's something not right between them. Joe is not speaking right, something is wrong in his speech and the blankness of his eyes. She is uncomfortable. When she gets into a groove on one of her talking points, she can act pretty well. The rest is disturbing. There's something not right with the two of them even after careful editing. Good grief, can you imagine how bad it was before editing.

We are in serious trouble if these people get elected.

wildswan said...

In this Kamala video, Biden doesn't seem to be slurring his words as much as he did in Pittsburgh. In the video with Obama, Biden is slurring his words but again not as badly as Pittsburgh. I wonder if these videos are in the following temporal order: Kamala, Obama, Pittsburgh. If so, there's been a very sharp decline which is ongoing. He won't make the election. But maybe it's just different uppers.

Michael K said...

It is sad how absolutely pitiful leftists have become. A vibrant society needs people who disagree in an honest manner in order to find the best path forward. Leftists are only about power because the People do not like their ideas when they get through the corporate media filter and figure things out.

This is a virtual campaign from start to finish. Harris was the choice of the big money but you see how little they know about people when she got nowhere. Bezos and Job's widow and Gates talk only to the people in their bubble. They never interact with real people. The French aristocracy had more knowledge of the peasants than these people do of voters of either party.

chuck said...

Forget invisible Joe and Kamala, Trump's opponents in this election are the rioters.

gilbar said...

I asked this before, but i'll ask again (since i never got any answers)
Those of you (igna? ARM? Chuck?) that say you are going to vote for Biden

WHY are you going to vote for Biden?

Drago said...

Francisco D: "gadfly is really trying. However, he is absurdly pitiful."

Indeed.

The Poor Man's LLR-lefty C****

Rabel said...

Kamala isn't stupid, but to be the child of two highly accomplished academics of color she's got a lot of ditzy blonde in her.

Rabel said...

We hear frequently about Mom's accomplishments, but Daddy was a playa:

3. Fellowships and Awards

Shell Scholar (Jamaica), 1957
Issa Scholar (Jamaica), 1961
Faculty Fellow, Economics, Cambridge University, England, 1966
Ford Foundation Visiting Fellow, Delhi School of Economics, India, 1968
Associate Fellow, Clare Hall, Cambridge University, England, 1969, 1971
Distinguished Visiting Professor, Yale University, 1977-78
Associate Fellow, Trinity College, Cambridge University, England, 1982
National Research Council-Ford Foundation Fellow, 1984-85
Fulbright Scholar, Brazil, 1990, 1991
Fulbright Scholar, Mexico, 1992
Visiting Scholar, Inter-American Development Bank, Washington, DC, 1993-94

Mark said...

The descendant of slave owners really should not play the po' girl.

Gahrie said...

WHY are you going to vote for Biden?

ORANGEMAN BAD!!!!!!!

walter said...

Did they talk about roaches?

Michael K said...

Rabel said...
Kamala isn't stupid, but to be the child of two highly accomplished academics of color she's got a lot of ditzy blonde in her.


How about Spartacus? There is something they give these Democrats to drink that kills all the IQ genes.

Doug said...

This has to be, like, "Springtime for Hitler", right? I mean, somebody at the DNC has figured out to make a bundle on the election by shorting the market, right?

doctrev said...

Wince said...

More, they included her walking through the kitchen service entrance, then entering through the grandiose doors with Joe Biden, who was shown arriving by motorcade.

9/1/20, 4:37 PM

This kind of nonsense works with the SWPL and AWFL crowds, but is absolute poison to any working-class voter with more than three brain cells. It's an accelerated version of the phoniness they hate most in politicians, which also feeds white racial resentment as they watch this well-heeled Canadian beg for votes and affirmative action points. She's never known black suffering for a day in her spoiled-ass life... and unlike Obama has almost no history of fighting for black people until it became extremely profitable to do so.

Trump's gonna stomp them.

Andrew said...

I am having a good time reading these comments from Trump supporters. You all feel so helpless. Biden/Harris is winning and Trump/Pence losing. How could that be? LOL

DeepRunner said...

Ann Althouse had a headline...
"Joe Biden and Kamala Harris have 'A Socially Distanced Conversation' with each other today."

Ah, Muttering Joe and Kamala "it was never easy for me; I was born a poor Indian-Jamaican now-black child to really rich parents," thus putting The Jerk in her Jerk Chicken. They're having a tea and reaching out to single-mom households, repeating the same old tropes. COVID. Bad economy (created by the Shutdown Governors). SYSTEMIC RACISM! Yep, the articles of faith for the lib faithful. My bet...Kamala is hosting SNL sometime in the next few weeks. Problem is Woody Harrelson will NOT be Biden.

Unknown said...

Sadly, systemic racism does exist in America. We call it the Democratic Party and the public school system.

Charlie said...

At least she didn't say her ancestors worked in the coal mines for 12 hours and they came up and played football!

Todd said...

Gk1 said...

Isn't it funny how Slow Joe never interacts with the public? Always scripted events with hand picked "journalists" or fellow politicos. Never anyone who might throw a curve ball at him or have him have to think on his feet. All stage managed nonsense. Who do they think they are fooling?

9/1/20, 3:44 PM


At least 80% of the Democrat base and 100% of journalists...

Todd said...

Patrick said...

Kamala pretending she grew up poor? Is there ANYTHING AUTHENTIC about this woman?

9/1/20, 4:25 PM


I hear tell her oral skills are top notch, does that count?

Todd said...

Skeptical Voter said...

I enrolled in Boalt Hall Law School in September 1965--when Little Kamala was 11 months old. Housing was not that expensive in Berkeley at the time. My wife and I rented a one bedroom apartment 4 blocks off campus for $105 per month. Rent stayed at that level for three years. I went to law school; my wife worked to support me. For the first few months she was paid $500 a month; then she got a job as an Alameda County Social worker and raked in the big bucks of $650 per month. I have to figure that Kamala's parents were both employed--and housing further off campus was even cheaper. I can't recall my wife and I sitting down at night and worrying about whether we were going to run out of money before we ran out of month.

9/1/20, 5:23 PM


There you go with that white privilege again! And systemic racism, with your math and finance, and budgeting, and shit!

And if you happen to be a person of color while doing all of the above, you are also an "uncle tom" according to antifa and other Democrat politicians...

David Duffy said...

"You all feel so helpless"

If there is one thing we are not, it is helpless. That's for the folks that get promised everything by politicians. Even under J and K, most of us will take care of ourselves and pay for them to take of you.