January 14, 2021

Biden shows no leadership... I mean... Biden tries to stay above the fray.

The NYT headline is "As Trump is impeached for a second time, Biden tries to stay above the fray."
... President-elect Joseph R. Biden Jr. has maintained a studied cool, staying largely removed from the proceedings... Mr. Biden’s focus on the governing challenge ahead... it also underscores the contrast between his cautious, centrist approach to politics and the anger of many Democratic officials and voters over Mr. Trump’s assaults on democratic norms.

Actually, this little article is rather critical of Biden, even with that coolness spin. He's "removed," "above the fray," but is that good? Some people would like him to express hotness — anger and leftism — not this "cautious, centrist approach."

I like cool, calm centrism. My problem with Biden is that he's not imposing his restraint on his party, just standing back and standing by* as his party goes on a wild pursuit of something other than "the governing challenge ahead."

I have to give this post my "Democratic Party in Trumpland" tag. That tag should be relegated to the dustbin of the blog's archive. But the Party loves the stomping ground of Trumpland. They don't want to leave. They don't care about the dawning of Bidentime. 

______________________ 

 * Reference: 

 

150 comments:

RMc said...

I like cool, calm centrism.

You're going to very disappointed the next several years.

rhhardin said...

Biden is one letter away from bidet. I don't yet know what to make of that.

Amadeus 48 said...

So, 1984 is topping the Amazon sales chart.

And you are saying it should be Being There?

hombre said...

He’s “removed” all right. It has nothing to do with “studied cool.” He’s a mental defective waiting for a script.

JML said...

Ann, Is biden boring enough for you?

Breezy said...

Calling Trump incompetent despite him having far more accomplishments in 4 years than Biden does after 48 years, isn’t exactly staying above the fray....imho

Mr Wibble said...

I don't want always cool and calm. Generally that means the person doesn't care. Leadership means having fire in your belly sometimes.

mccullough said...

Lay-Low Joe.

It’s a decent strategy. Stay away from the Dem fervor of Get Trump.

Curious George said...

"My problem with Biden is that he's not imposing his restraint on his party..."

LOL it's not restraint. The guy is demented. He's in his basement blowing retard bubbles.

Maybe you haven't noticed that everything Biden does or says is through a statement.

hombre said...

He also has no innate sense of decency guiding his responses. That has always been the case. It has nothing to do with his recent, evident mental deficiencies.

Static Ping said...

Given his speeches, Biden has been anything but above the fray. It's rather amazing that the New York Times can gaslight themselves.

Then again, Biden barely knows where he is most of the time. That's obvious to anyone who is paying attention. But then again, the New York Times are really good at gaslighting themselves.

When you start believing your own lies, it is a lot like dementia.

Oh well.

Lucid-Ideas said...

It's difficult to be involved when you're unsure where you are. 10x so if you're not sure what time of day it is.

Kevin said...

Vice President Joe Biden: (09:05)
The party is me. Right now, I am the Democratic Party.

President Donald J. Trump: (09:08)
And they’re going to dominate you, Joe. You know that.

Vice President Joe Biden: (09:09)
I am the Democratic Party right now.

President Donald J. Trump: (09:11)
Not according to Harris.

RMc said...

So, 1984 is topping the Amazon sales chart.

I saw "Wonder Woman 1984"...meh. (If they had set the movie in the Orwell universe, it might've been more interesting.)

Chick said...

Its a relief to have basketball and hockey and soon baseball in full swing. I will not be paying attention to the coolness of Joe Biden.

Dan from Madison said...

The "good" news is that we won't have Biden to kick around for too long since he will have to resign by early Summer from his creeping dementia.

5M - Eckstine said...

Biden won't be able to stay behind the OZ curtain much longer. Dorothy will be wanting that VP slot bumped up.

tim in vermont said...

Nobody gives a rip about Biden. It’s why I and curious to see how they manage all of the open corruption that he is at the center of.

Amadeus 48 said...

The Demmies will never leave Trumpland. It is one of their party tricks.

They never left Hooverland.

They never left Nixonland.

Clinton dropped all his campaign promises because Reagan/Bush left things much worse than he thought.

Obama came in and could barely see over the wreckage of 8 years of W Bush, so he did cash for clunkers and announced a withdrawal from Iraq and a surge in Afghanistan that would, he said, last for 9 months. He said that would fix things W had screwed up.

Trump's policies worked pretty well, so they'll lie about all that and focus on what a first-class putz he is.

wildswan said...

Biden does nothing while his party goes wild - split the difference and that is centrist. Anyhow, moving on to what matters - looks like I'm only getting $1400 from Biden though he promised $2000. What's up? Who got my $600?

BUMBLE BEE said...

Twenty, Twenty, Twenty Four hours a day - Joe gotta be sedated. On a positive note Hillary finally got her levels stabilized... or has she?

The Crack Emcee said...

Biden shows no leadership because Biden is no leader.

Sebastian said...

"I like cool, calm centrism. "

You keep saying that. It's nonsense. Centrism means nothing.

"My problem with Biden is that he's not imposing his restraint on his party, just standing back and standing by"

Is he standing? Is he doing anything? Why is it a "problem" anyway -- Biden is cool, calm and right in the center, which is now on the left.

Wince said...

Say it: Biden is detached.

BUMBLE BEE said...

Can't control my fingers - can't control my brain. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bm51ihfi1p4

Amadeus 48 said...



I have been unable to stand Biden since the Thomas hearings.

Iman said...

studied cool

FFS... you can see that look on the faces of Alzheimer’s sufferers in any nursing home...

Butkus51 said...

dont worry, these software updates sometimes take a while

PM said...

Cool calm = wait, what?

Skeptical Voter said...

Biden is "above the fray". He's also senescent and comatose. So there is that. And yet behind the rather gauzy veil of a Biden presidency looms the horror of Harris.

rhhardin said...

Althouse wants feelings left alone but doesn't care much about structure. Men are the opposite.

Meade said...

“Biden is one letter away from bidet. I don't yet know what to make of that.”

Well considering that Hardin is one letter away from hardon and yes Meade is one letter away from merde...
let’s not make TOO much of it shall we?

Lucien said...

I am no fan of Biden, but if he wants to focus on his administration and let Pelosi, et al. relitigate their Trump hatred, it makes sense to me.

Mark said...

Biden isn't staying "above the fray" -- he's neck deep in the fray.

Biden explicitly asked Schumer if the Senate could do the impeachment trial, only that they also implement his agenda at the same time, on a double track.

Gusty Winds said...

While John Brown faces the gallows, President Buchanan tries to stay above the fray.

Mike (MJB Wolf) said...

Biden encourages division and strife. Always has. Did it all year. Still doing it encouraging impeachment. You seem willfully blind to his very apparent nature! Do you think he will grow into office Althouse? I don’t understand this optimistic take on old mean Joe.

Iman said...

On a positive note Hillary finally got her levels stabilized... or has she?

As of the last report, the Pantsuited Pantload’s Blood Franzia Content/Concentration (BFC) is stable at a 0.17

Mark said...

Again, Biden is NOT doing nothing.

He has expressly endorsed an impeachment trial.

An unconstitutional trial that is legally and unconstitutionally moot, both as to removal and attempted barring from future office, after January 20 at noon.

Molly said...

(eaglebeak)

Biden isn't a passive, cool, calm anything. He only seems it because he is in the grip of senile dementia.

When he was all there (which wasn't much, but was more there than is there now), he was a vicious, greedy liar. Perhaps, Althouse, you should read or reread Richard Ben Cramer's masterpiece What It Takes, about the 1988 presidential primaries and election. Aside from his ill-judged decision to tell anyone who disagreed with him that he, Joe Biden, was smarter than Joe Blow-Who-Disagreed (on the face of it a laughable assertion), we endured his plagiarism and his lies, especially about his academic career, but also about his family background.

He started out a nasty jerk and he is winding up a pathetic husk.

He was never cool, calm, and centrist, much as you may like those qualities.

Matt Sablan said...

I was unaware it was staying above the fray to call two of the opposition Nazis.

rhhardin said...

Well considering that Hardin is one letter away from hardon and yes Meade is one letter away from merde...let’s not make TOO much of it shall we?

It's one component of a joke ("clever"), is why it's important. Add one or two more, and you've got a good quip.

$ cat -n jokes > /dev/clipboard
1 Clever: "You recognize clever when you see it. It's just combining things that people didn't think you were going to combine, but yet you somehow made it work."
2 Naughty: "Naughty is usually just sex or bathroom jokes."
3 Bizarre: "Bizarre just means two things out of place."
4 Cruel: "Cruelty is a staple in humor. Cruel just means something bad happened to somebody or you said something unkind to somebody. You know cruel when you see it."
5 Cute: "Cute is usually just kids and animals."
6 Recognizable: "Humor usually requires that you recognize something about the subject of the joke being like your experience or like yourself. It's either like somebody you know, like you, but has to be familiar. Something you recognize."

Gusty Winds said...

While Rome burns, Nero tries to fiddle above the fray.

Shit writes itself.

Stephen said...

A minority interpretation: the President-Elect is remaining distant because he understands that current actions endanger the Office of the Presidency. Impeachment should not be so quick and easy. He can't say that now because of the potential attack from the left.

The media/political/Silicon Valley mob that has been baying for Mr. Trump's head (then his staff, and then his supporters) since the Capitol Hill riot is far more dangerous to the Constitution than the mob we saw on January 6th.

Original Mike said...

"Biden shows no leadership."

When he declined to call for a stop to the leftist riots this summer, he stated "I'm not the President." I suspect that's still his dodge.

6 more days, Joe.

zipity said...


The NYT headline is "As Trump is impeached for a second time, Biden tries to stay above the fray."

It helps Biden stay above the fray that he has no idea what day it is and where he is.

chuck said...

Missing boring old Trump yet?

Bob Smith said...

It’s been about the Benjamin’s since day one of the attacks on Trump. Corporate America wants the immigrants to keep labor costs down. The Republicrats and the Demicans want to keep the graft going.

I Have Misplaced My Pants said...

Mr. Trump’s assaults on democratic norms

I’m old enough that I remember doing worksheets in elementary school which made me classify statements as fact or opinion. I’m young enough that I have a lot of years left to watch the morons in this country without this skill think they are my betters.

tim in vermont said...

"Mr. Trump’s assaults on democratic norms”

Remember when Mueller’s jack booted thugs raided Trump’s lawyer’s office and seized his files?

Joe Biden, America's Putin said...

False president Bidet... is here to flush the left's corruption... and re-fill.

Nonapod said...

This is just the beginning. By our new rulers thinking, Trump must be punished and humiliated. An example must be made. He and his family need to be destroyed finiancially, and even jailed if possible. Next, his voters must be brought to heel. Those awful, poor, uneducated whites in rural areas must never be allowed to find a new champion.

Massive new shipments of Chinese fentanyl need to be brought in to kill off as many of them as possible. The rest need "reducation". Then huge numbers of new migrants from Central America need to be brought in to replace the poor whites. They're a far more gullible and pliable underclass.

Joe Biden, America's Putin said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Tina Trent said...

Centrism is the last refuge of those who reject responsibility, discernment, and reality itself.

We can't all be as sheltered as Willy Wonka.

DanTheMan said...

>>An unconstitutional trial that is legally and unconstitutionally moot, both as to removal and attempted barring from future office, after January 20 at noon.

If they can remove Trump AFTER he's out of office, can they also impeach someone BEFORE they are in office?

Let the D's begin preemptively impeaching all potential Republican candidates, barring them from holding office. Like Cruz, the terrorist who should be on the No Fly list....

Deb said...

"Congress gotta do what Congress gotta do." - Joe Biden

Joe Biden, America's Putin said...

Bidet - can wash clean the left's ... parts.

NCMoss said...

Dementia is mentally not being able to connect all the dots and Biden, having little competency or principles, drifts with whatever is trending in his party. I don't mind Althouse taking sides with whatever she considers is boring; it's her blog anyway.

gspencer said...

At this point I'm not at all certain that Joe knows to keep the peas away from the mashed potatoes on his dinner plate. Fortunately Jill, sorry, Doctor Jill, is always around to keep some order on Joe's plate and will keep any misbehaving pea in its proper place.

Balfegor said...

Within the Democratic Party today, Biden is centrist. Cool and calm he is not, though, and has never been.

That said, it's also rather amusing that he's already being treated like a lame duck by his own party.

Greg Hlatky said...

"The Cadaver Synod (also called the Cadaver Trial; Latin: Synodus Horrenda) is the name commonly given to the ecclesiastical trial of Pope Formosus, who had been dead for about 7 months, in the Basilica of St. John Lateran in Rome during January 897. The trial was conducted by Pope Stephen VI, the successor to Formosus' successor, Pope Boniface VI. Stephen had Formosus' corpse exhumed and brought to the papal court for judgment. He accused Formosus of perjury and of having acceded to the papacy illegally. At the end of the trial, Formosus was pronounced guilty and his papacy retroactively declared null."

The Cracker Emcee Refulgent said...

"The Demmies will never leave Trumpland. It is one of their party tricks."

Exactly. For the next 4 years, "Biden" means the will of the Establishment, not the actions or speech of a particular individual. So they'll studiously avoid talking about the man. Trump is all they have.

Howard said...

You people don't understand how angry rank and file Democrats are over the Douche Coup. Congress is just doing what people want and Joe isn't getting in front of that runaway train.

Michael K said...


He started out a nasty jerk and he is winding up a pathetic husk.

He was never cool, calm, and centrist, much as you may like those qualities.


Yup. The Clarence Thomas movie would be a good place to start. Biden lied to Thomas so he would not be prepared. Then Thomas had character witnesses lined up and Biden did not allow them to testify.

The media/political/Silicon Valley mob that has been baying for Mr. Trump's head (then his staff, and then his supporters) since the Capitol Hill riot is far more dangerous to the Constitution than the mob we saw on January 6th.

Do we now have two Stephens? Doesn't sound much like his previous comments.

rhhardin said...

Has anybody noticed how much more asture the comments on this blog are than those of Rush Limbaugh guest hosts? Excepting Mark Steyn.

Most of the Rush guest hosts are playing to what they assume are right wing morons, ripe for whipping up.

Not the right audience for that. That franchise would fail pretty fast.

Temujin said...

Biden is too busy putting together the first Blackrock/Google Administration. It won't be the last.

Michael K said...

Blogger Howard said...
You people don't understand how angry rank and file Democrats are over the Douche Coup.


Oh, we understand that Democrats have spent four years sitting and watching CNN. When I was a medical student the mental hospital staff told me that the psychotic patients watched TV intently as they considered it was providing instructions and their brains were were soaking it all in.

The analogy is pretty obvious.

Greg Hlatky said...

Oh, we understand how angry rank and file Democrats are. There are burned out cities and ruined businesses across America that are a testament to their anger.

rhhardin said...

The parasitic right wing media make a living reporting on the idiocy of the soap opera left.

Nobody's actually interested in hard news, meaning you'd go broke supplying it.

Rush himself made it as something of a prankster in reporting on the left; not whipping anybody up but just getting them laughing.

Michael K said...

Most of the Rush guest hosts are playing to what they assume are right wing morons, ripe for whipping up.

Not the right audience for that. That franchise would fail pretty fast.


Yes, I expect that, once Rush is gone, the show will be too. Too bad but some are too strident and others lack his humor.

Bob Boyd said...

Charlie McCarthy maintained a studied cool as lay in his trunk between shows.

DavidUW said...

He needs his 1 week nap before he tries to make it through his inauguration without sniffing Kamel.

Rosalyn C. said...

Biden's style is going to be like Obama's style: lead from the rear and fan racial tensions whenever possible for the sake of the Democrat brand. Like Obama, Biden will never dare to challenge the left or actually lead in the sense of doing something which hasn't already been done. He will use the office to enrich himself and his family, behind the scenes. That's why I checked his foundation the other day to see where it is starting, at about $3 million, and I will marvel at where it ends up and how astonishingly wealthy Biden becomes. SOP

Trump made a mistake about fighting the election results and the massive fraud because he's human and he actually believed in the rule of law and his country. There is right and wrong and he was wronged. I don't blame him for being human because he managed to do a lot of tremendous things with the same ideals and human characteristics. Do you see what I mean? Other professional politicians like Mitch McConnell, and the whole elite ruling class, are more jaded and self centered because their first agenda is always to get themselves reelected and situated in positions of power. So they don't get much done but they do manage to say the right things every two or six or four years. Congress has dismal approval ratings but no one seems to know how to fix that. Term limits would be nice but the entrenched elites aren't about to give all that up.

I happen to believe that Trump was robbed, but that experience is somehow for his highest good. I don't know how but he's a fast learner which we've already seen. On the day he was being impeached he said nothing about it but made a beautiful statement of his principles and a sincere call for a peaceful transition. And we the people will get the government we deserve. We will suffer because we allowed, and some demanded the fraud. Trump had to be out and that was the best way to do it.

Make dough with Joe.

Owen said...

Rosalyn C @ 11:48: Very well put. Evaluating Trump as a human being --who might believe in more than his own well-being, who might care about this odd ideal we call America, about its survival and prosperity-- is rare these days. We get volleys of pre-packaged vitriol from the Trump-haters and reflexive FY's from his defenders. Nobody can afford to take the time and exercise the empathy needed to understand him as one more suffering creature under Heaven, who must feel terribly betrayed right now. Angry, confused, fearful for the country and its people, for his family and allies, for himself. Yet as you say, he mastered his emotions and quickly came back with the statement to which you refer. The man has a lot of grit. If America survives, I think historians will help us see that. We would all benefit from that wider understanding. What would Shakespeare do with such a figure?!!?

We now return to our regular programming.

MartieD said...

Rosalyn C,
Perfectly thought and written. Thank you. I feel the same way.

Skippy Tisdale said...

My problem with Biden is that he's not imposing his restraint on his party, just standing back and standing by* as his party goes on a wild pursuit of something other than "the governing challenge ahead."

"Biden, Standing Back and Standing By"

That's one fine bumper sticker there.

hombre said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
stlcdr said...

RMc said...
So, 1984 is topping the Amazon sales chart.

I saw "Wonder Woman 1984"...meh. (If they had set the movie in the Orwell universe, it might've been more interesting.)

1/14/21, 10:23 AM

Hah! So right!

{I anticipate the good news as Biden is sworn in, that our chocolate rations will be raised to 20 grams!).

Yancey Ward said...

The media will fellate Biden until he dies later this year.

Yancey Ward said...

And they will probably continue to suck his dead dick for months afterwards.

Louie the Looper said...

Joe Cool. That was one of Snoopy’s alter egos. Haha. Biden is no Joe Cool, but it makes for a new fun moniker.

Rosalyn C. said...

@Owen Thanks for how well you expressed that.

Louie the Looper said...

Joe Cool. That was one of Snoopy’s alter egos. Haha. Biden is no Joe Cool, but it makes for a new fun moniker.

“To become Joe Cool, the beagle simply puts on a pair of sunglasses, leans against a wall, and says his name is Joe Cool.”

n.n said...

Returning to the moderate embrace at the Twilight fringe.

Michael K said...

Congress has dismal approval ratings but no one seems to know how to fix that. ?

15% approval at last report. Mark Twain said it best. "There is no distinctly American criminal class - except Congress."

Owen said...

Yancey Ward @ 12:30: "...months afterwards."

BRAIN BLEACH ALERT

Yecccch

n.n said...

Biden is cool, calm and right in the center, which is now on the left.

Joined by the CCP in consultation with Western leftists, adopting their semantic games, conceptual contortions, and fascist modes. Forward!

Leland said...

+1 to Matt Sablan at 10:48am.

Biden got in the mud the moment he made that comment. He hasn't apologized for it, and others have called for the removal of those two members. Neither of the accused did anything worse than many Democrats in 2017, 2006, and much less than the Democrats of 2001.

Pile on to Rosalyn C @11:48am.

Serious people should read her second paragraph. I also like "Make dough with Joe". Oil is already up 25% since the election, and if Biden follows through on his promises, I expect it to only climb. It got to $100 under Obama with Obama leading the way claiming it was a good thing.

Rosalyn C. said...

Something Biden could do is to urge his supporters and Democrats to not seek vengeance. It might help if Biden at this time said something in support of freedom of speech and the benefit to our country for media and big tech to not exploit their power to punish and seek retribution by silencing others. That would unify with what Trump said. But as I already said, I'm not going to hold my breath for Biden's leadership.

n.n said...

Congress has dismal approval ratings but no one seems to know how to fix that. ?

They may try to stand up for the American dream: Pro-Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness, for "the People" and "our [unPlanned] Posterity". Instead, Democrats find a moderate embrace with the CCP at the Twilight fringe, wars without borders, transnational terrorism, [catastrophic] [anthropogenic] immigration reform (e.g. "refugee crises"), concentration/reeducation camps for deplorables, diversity (not limited to racism) and exclusion, life deemed unworthy of life or worthy of profit #CecileTheCannibal, social justice and progress, etc.

Skippy Tisdale said...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EqL77G2x61E

Rick said...

More accurate headline:

Biden Greenlights Left Wing Retribution Plan

Separately:

My problem with Biden is that he's not imposing his restraint on his party,

There's no evidence Biden has any restraint. In fact the most common sound byte from his campaigns is imperiously lashing out at anyone who dare question His Highness.

And of course we already know he wants everyone to act as if Mitt Romney Republicans want to "return [black Americans] to slavery". No doubt this seems restrained in some places. At least he didn't call for a Truth and Reconciliation Commission, but then again he didn't criticize such calls either.

On the bright side his nominee for the Civil Rights Commission is a out and out racist. So the far left has every reason to expect his full support.



"Clarke claimed that blacks have “superior physical and mental abilities.” In support of this contention she cited the following:

One: Dr Richard King reveals that the core of the human brain is the ‘locus coeruleus,’ which is a structure that is Black, because it contains large amounts of neuro-melanin, which is essential for its operation.

Two: Black infants sit, crawl and walk sooner than whites.

Three: Carol Barnes notes that human mental processes are controlled by melanin — that same chemical which gives Blacks their superior physical and mental abilities.

Four: Some scientists have revealed that most whites are unable to produce melanin because their pineal glands are often calcified or non-functioning. Pineal calcification rates with Africans are five to 15 percent, Asians 15 to 25 percent and Europeans 60 to 80 percent. This is the chemical basis for the cultural differences between blacks and whites.

Five: Melanin endows Blacks with greater mental, physical and spiritual abilities — something which cannot be measured based on Eurocentric standards."

Yep, Biden is truly a model of restraint.

Rosalyn C. said...

@Leland -- I never understood what happened to oil and why it is going up under Biden. But you explained it -- supply and demand, right?

Skippy Tisdale said...

Howard said...
You people don't understand how angry rank and file Democrats are over the Douche Coup. Congress is just doing what people want and Joe isn't getting in front of that runaway train.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=78LiJnPqsDw

NC William said...

You are not gong to see Pres. Biden involved in any critical, extemporaneous speaking, dynamic situations, if they can possibly help it.

Skippy Tisdale said...

Five: Melanin endows Blacks with greater mental, physical and spiritual abilities — something which cannot be measured based on Eurocentric standards."

So why is it that they fail to capitalize on that? Miserably? It can't be due to racism as the science as stated above clearly shows they have the innate ability to outsmart plain old big, fat, dumb, ugly, stupid whitey.

RMc said...

Will Trump go to Biden's funeral? Will he even be invited?

I Callahan said...

Charlie McCarthy maintained a studied cool as lay in his trunk between shows.

I guffawed out loud at that one...

Mikey NTH said...

Biden may be boring. He may end up being calm and centrist. If so, he will be the only one in the DC Democrats who is and I doubt there is enough respect for him that he can rein them in. I think it is going to be a non-boring next two years.

tcrosse said...

Will Trump go to Biden's funeral? Will he even be invited?

Would Biden/Harris go to Trump's funeral?

tcrosse said...

Biden seems to be put in the same political role as Queen Elizabeth II.

Kevin said...

As for the fact that Trump doesn’t plan on attending his inauguration, Biden said it’s “one of the few things he and I have ever agreed on. It’s a good thing him not showing up.”

#Unity

Chris of Rights said...

The theme for Biden's inauguration is "United America", and unity has been the theme of his discussions for the last few weeks.

Meanwhile, he's "above the fray" when it concerns his party's useless and divisive impeachment of Trump. Either he's a coward, or he's weak and being bullied by the rest of the party, or he's a liar and not remotely interested in unity. Or perhaps all three.

But definitely at least one. Which is not confidence inspiring for his Presidency.

Mr Wibble said...

Biden seems to be put in the same political role as Queen Elizabeth II.

Back when Obama was first elected I seem to recall the media floating a trial balloon about how the US was too big and too complicated for the President to govern as the sole executive, and how instead we needed a Prime Minister as well. My guess is that if they manage to keep Biden in office for long that will be what the Speaker of the House becomes, at least unofficially.

Rabel said...

Our future President will be speaking tonight at 6:15 ET. He will outline his plans for the coronavirus vaccine rollout and economic recovery.

Afterwards he will open the floor questions from the media.

Just kidding about that last part.

But there will be much squinting.

tom said...

It's called division of labor.

Rabel said...

He may also reveal his views on packing the SC.

Readering said...

Report is he will announce plan for $1.9B stimulus package. Leadership!

daskol said...

Joey fuckin Biden. Can you dig it?

MeMySelf said...

I can't believe someone actually put the words Biden and leadership in the same sentence and expected to be taking seriously.

Leland said...

@Leland -- I never understood what happened to oil and why it is going up under Biden. But you explained it -- supply and demand, right?

Yep. Trump opened up fracking, and within a year, the US became energy independent. We no longer needed had dependence on OPEC oil, and there was a boom in natural gas that caused many import LNG projects to become export terminals. This was great for consumers, but it hurt OPEC and Russia, which then decided to create a trade war. This lowered prices even more in an effort to bankrupt the smaller fracking companies. This was bad for the industry, but great for consumers, particularly the poor. Price eventually came up to about $35-$40/bbl, which was a good breakeven point for most majors.

Biden wants to ban all fracking in the US. He will accomplish what OPEC and Russia could not do with a trade war. Now OPEC will be able to set the price again, which is over $60/bbl, because that's a nice profit for them. Maybe a little higher for time value of money. Biden will also stop ANWR, which just started opening, and this will be the final nail in Alaska oil, because Prudhoe Bay is only so big. This will leave a few states as oil producers. Biden may claim he'll ban all fossil fuels, but even if he succeeded in getting a bill passed; the date of the ban will be long after Biden is dead of natural causes.

And this isn't just about running cars and planes. This will increase the price of plastics. Did you notice how the UK and California dropped the "ban on single use plastics" when covid hit? Most of the vast improvements in health have been the use of plastics to provide sterilized environments. So not just the poor will get hit with price increase; the sick will also be greatly impacted.

Iman said...

Joey fuckin Biden. Can you dig it?

Yes, he can. And he’s been waiting such a long time.

WK said...

Livin' on Bidentime
Livin' on Bidentime
Gonna set my watch back to it
'Cause you know I been through it
Livin' on Bidentime

Rick said...

Readering said...
Report is he will announce plan for $1.9B stimulus package. Leadership!


Is it leadership to do what Dems always do?

Event: Reaction:

Recession => Massively increase government spending, bill your enemies
Economic boom => Massively increase government spending, bill your enemies
Stagnation => Massively increase government spending, bill your enemies
War => Massively increase government spending, bill your enemies
Peace => Massively increase government spending, bill your enemies
Biden elected=> Massively increase government spending, bill your enemies
Biden dies => Massively increase government spending, bill your enemies
Covid discovered => Massively increase government spending, bill your enemies
Covid Vaccine => Massively increase government spending, bill your enemies

Sometimes I think the justifications really don't matter and the left just wants to give money to their voters to buy that loyalty.

That's 1.2 Trillion, not Billion. But don't worry I'm assured we can never run out of other people's money. It is refreshing to see leftists admit they cheer massive wastes of money by announcing their enthusiasm before they even know how it will be spent. There couldn't be a clearer admission it doesn't matter.

Iman said...

You people don't understand how angry rank and file Democrats are over the Douche Coup.

Something in the way they mince
Attracts flies like no other donkeys

FullMoon said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Jersey Fled said...

I'm putting together a list of things Biden will likely f*ck up during the first two years of his administration.

Here are a couple just for starters.

1. The U.S. will no longer be energy independent

2. There will be a massive increase in illegal immigration which will increase Black unemployment and reduce median income.

Watch this spot for more. I'm just getting started.

chuck said...

You people don't understand how angry rank and file Democrats are over the Douche Coup.

Oh, I do. They are dangerous people lacking judgment. The next few years could make us long for the happy days of Trump. The likes of the ongoing censorship scourge hasn't been seen since WWI and Wilson and there isn't even a war. Yet. Pray that sanity prevails.

Matt Sablan said...

The only way for sanity to prevail is for Biden to call for an end to the impeachment; I didn't realize the Senate was going to take up the trial, even after Trump is gone. That's insanity, and a huge waste of time and money.

But, hey, if Biden wants to hobble his administration to hurt Trump some more... let vengeance lead the way, I guess.

Jim at said...

Above the fray by having his drool cup changed every hour?

stevew said...

He's the damn President Elect and will be sworn in next week. He doesn't get to stay above the fray. C'mon Man!!! Grow a pair.

stevew said...

Here's a thought: ever political Mitch agrees to take up impeachment in the Senate, and presides over a lengthy investigation and trial which consumes the full attention of the Senate. Round about Biden's 101st day in office the Senate concludes that they have no Constitutional authority to prosecute a non office holding, former President. Case dismissed. Sadly, Joe Biden's first 100 days turn out to produce nothing because the legislature is too busy prosecuting. Shortly

Matt Sablan said...

Maybe we should just let Biden eat his waffle.

Tim said...

When Biden had all his faculties her was a mean bully asshole. Now he is a mean bully senile asshole. Also fully in the pocket of foreign interests. Trump actually loves the USA.Democrats love money and power over YOU.

JaimeRoberto said...

The writer is mistaking studied cool for senility.

Big Mike said...

I like cool, calm centrism.

@Althouse, if Biden was the centrist you hope for, then why are so many of his cabinet nominees rabid extremists?

Narr said...

No senator--repeat no senator--has ever made the leap to successful president. LBJ coulda been a great president, but outside the little club that he could humiliate and dominate to his will, he had few leadership skills at all, and ended up as the worst prez of the 20th C.

Biden is of the type--pompous, touchy, entitled, self-pitying--and like LBJ will quit when his fuckups become obvious to everyone.

My wife and her buds think Trump is an embarrassment, and why argue? But Hack and Ho are just as cringe-inducing to me as he ever was.

Narr
Will Biden get one birthday in the White House?

Spiros said...

I don't think Biden is above the fray. I think he is responsible for the persecution campaign directed against Trump supporters. Dehumanizing propaganda from Democratic politicians that portray Trump supporters as separatists, terrorists, mentally ill, enemies of the state, etc. And what about the solicited support and actions of Big Tech and rank and file bureaucrats? Schoolteachers and neighbors who report on neighbors, etc. Gross. Even if Trump is a disgusting pig, this sh*t needs to stop. Biden isn't just complicit in this injustice.

Michael K said...

Blogger Readering said...
Report is he will announce plan for $1.9B stimulus package. Leadership!


Hilarious. Does anyone else think readering would have thought Johnson's Vietnam strategy was leadership ?

Inga said...

President Biden giving a speech detailing his plan now. Get it done, no excuses.

rcocean said...

Biden won't be a "cool centrist" nor will he be "above the fray".

He's ventriloquist dummy. His staff and left-wing cabinet, in conjunction with the DNC Media, Schumer and Pelosi will run things.

His job is just to sign on the dotted line. Kamala will do all the pubic appearances. Biden won't have "sell anything". Nor will he be asked tough questions about anything. Nor will he be investigated for anything.

Althouse should love it.

rcocean said...

He will sign executive orders - and the Press will applaud.
He will sign legislation - and the Press will applaud
He will go abroad and meet with foreign leaders, say nothing, & everyone will applaud.
He will make speeches only when necessary. And all will clap in approval.
He will take LOTS of time off. Lid will always be on the ready.
He won't be needed.

cubanbob said...

Let the House do it's stupid worse. Then they have to put on a show in the Senate on TV with smart defense lawyers grilling the witnesses and the prosecutors. If the Republicans time this out, it could take three months. One hundred days of nothing or nothing but what the Republicans want. Schumer with his hubris will go nuclear and eliminate the filibuster and there will a shitstorm for two years. Then there will be once again a Republican Congress. If at that time they get Senate majority Leader and a Speaker of the House with real MAGA chops then the Dims will have their nightmare.
Pruning or outright killing of their programs-easy with no filibuster and shutting down the government which will be fine for the deplorables until Biden caves. Then of course all of the special councils.

rcocean said...

Reading some of the comments, I don't think people "Get it". Biden and democrats will be able to do anything they want. without any blowback. The MSM and Big Tech are their allies. They have ZERO interest in writing anything bad about Biden or asking him a tough question. Any corruption will swept under the rug.

Any blowback he gets will be in the nature of "why aren't you more left wing?". The DoJ/FBI/CIA are in Biden pocket. They are staffed with his allies. If he and Pelosi/Schumer disagree it will be behind closed doors. Anything that needs cooperation from McConnell will be solved in the negotiating room and the Rest of congress will sign off on a 10,000 page. His judges will pass without an investigation and be confirmed.

Look at Calf if you want to know how its going to be.

donald said...

He’s a felon. A stain on this country. Not my president. Resist. War. #prayforananuerysmforthismonster

rcocean said...

i was shocked to hear Rush - Mr. Establishment Conservative - tell a caller that the "Old Politics" is dead. But he's right. The D's are playing for keeps. They aren't going to allow another Trump. Nor are they going to allow the R's to use the election process to retake power and "Sweep Congress" in 2022.

Not going to happen.

Mutaman said...

"as his party goes on a wild pursuit of something other than "the governing challenge ahead."

https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2021/01/12/17/37914948-9138821-An_unidentified_police_offic

rcocean said...

Spending Trillions with no new taxes = wiping out 401K's through inflation. Democrats happy.

hpudding said...

Biden could always be like Trump and TELL the senate what to do, but I guess his respect for separation of powers sticks in your craw.

Officials have indeed been impeached retroactively. You're getting that part wrong.

Michael K said...

Another new troll, I see. How is the money. Above minimum wage?

Michael K said...

Blogger Spiros said...
I don't think Biden is above the fray.


He doesn't know where the fray is and probably does not know what "fray" is. Those big words have always given Biden trouble.

hpudding said...

Trump made a mistake about fighting the election results and the massive fraud because he's human and he actually believed in the rule of law and his country.

But the judges who threw out his suits and the lawyers that didn't dare make the same claims that he did on Twitter don't?

Interesting bind you've put our court system into. Tyrants always have to dismantle the courts; Trump followers have the luxury of just pretending the 60+ suits he filed and failed to prove didn't happen, or aren't the official say of the law on this.

n.n said...

Given the irregularities, perhaps fraud, in several Democrat jurisdictions, notably Atlanta of "every child left behind" fame, if an election cannot be audited was demos-cracy aborted in darkness, behind a wall, at the Twilight fringe?

Readering said...

If you are wasting space calling people trolls, chances are you are a ....

DeepRunner said...

The Old Gray Mare New York Times had a gripping headline:
"As Trump is impeached for a second time, Biden tries to stay above the fray."

Should have said "Biden tries to stay awake." He is just. not. there. Sad, really. It is painfully obvious that people much younger than he are the ones tweeting Muttering Joe's "thoughts." Making him look cautious and centrist, invoking pledges like the campaign is still going on. Wonder how involved old "Dr." Jill is. In any case, Old Basement Joe, "the boy from Scranton" by way of the Megabanks of Delaware, is bidin' time waiting for the sheer memorable Bidentime.

rcommal said...

Oh, for f’s sake. There really is no point, now is there.

wendybar said...

Biden doesn't even know where he is.

Rusty said...

" Biden tries to stay above the fray."
He has to be told where he is every day. he's not only above the fray he's above cognition.

Sam L. said...

I believe NOTHIING from the NYT. Also, the WaPoo.

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Lurker21 said...

And the Bidens down here
Don't do nothing at all
They just stand back and let it all be

And in the quick of the night
They reach for their moment
And try to make a cogent stand
But they wind up cognitively impaired
Not even dead

Tonight in Bidenland



Biden seems calm and collected, boring even, but his boring manner is going to be used to say some outrageous things.

Only they won't be seen as outrageous by the media because they are what the media is already saying.

Whoever's puppet Biden really is, the media will convince themselves that he is theirs. Probably they went to school with and socialize with the people who are writing Joe's lines.