July 13, 2024

"Flares of unprompted anger. Glimpses of the politician’s inner monologue... spoken aloud... in all its narcissism and vulnerability."

Sounds like the way they talk about Trump, but it's David Frum, talking about Biden, in "Biden’s Heartbreaking Press Conference/His pathos should not become America’s tragedy" (The Atlantic).

The headline doesn't sound like the way they talk about Trump. No one's heart breaks for Trump. No one speaks of "pathos" and "tragedy" when describing his unusual, emotive speech.

25 comments:

john mosby said...

Trump makes mistakes when he talks because he thinks faster than he can talk. His flashes of anger are the same anger the people have against their so-called superiors.

Biden makes mistakes when he talks because he can’t think fast enough to keep up with the flow of speech. His flashes of anger reveal his frustration with hmself, or with the audience that he can tell are losing respect for him.

JSM

Eric the Fruit Bat said...

Maybe it's true that no one speaks of "pathos" and "tragedy" when describing Trumps unusual, emotive speech but there must be at least three dozen guys working on an opera, for when the time is right, hoping to get rich and famous.

Only Nixon could go to China, after all.

Quaestor said...

By America's tragedy The Atlantic means a second Trump Administration.

Yes, what a tragedy, America without a foreign war, America with reduced inflation and increased prosperity. How tragic for the ruling class.

gspencer said...

Biden's always been a POS. When he realized that he could exploit two things - the deaths of his first wife and his daughter & being a US Senator - to his personal advantage, he went full bore.

Enigma said...

Biden = Middle-phase Parkinson's disease (shuffling, stiffness, falling, dead facial muscles, angry outbursts, fading in and out, short work day), plus lifelong speech difficulties and errors. He's been in the system for so long and profited in the shadows for so long that he may sincerely think everything he has done was fine (as obscured by the Swiss cheese of dementia).

Trump = Same old loudmouth and sarcastic showman as always. Politically, he's the angry guy at the end of the bar yelling at the TV during the news. A real life Archie Bunker, not Hollywood's shallow concept of Archie Bunker. Trump has not understood that sarcasm is very dangerous in politics.

imTay said...

"lifelong speech difficulties "

That's what you call a "tell" when reading a comment.

Quaestor said...

How many press conferences has Biden held since he announced his candidacy five years ago? I can think of two. The first one I recall was literally nauseating to watch -- one after another, MSM talkers fed the Resident questions composed by Biden's staff and placed in the mouths of bootlickers like David Frum that allowed him to preen, boast, and fabulize. The Big Boy event remained a bootlicking session, barely diminished from the first one, just with somewhat less slobber.

Today the press talks about itself as shocked, saddened, and dismayed over the "sudden and unexpected decline" in Joseph R. Biden's mental faculties. They say, "The President's steel trap mind is showing signs of wear. It's no longer quite so steely or trappy, but still better than any despicable mind supporting convicted felon Mr. Literally M. Hitler." Will they ever admit their lies and betrayals?

Enigma said...

@imTAy: That's what you call a "tell" when reading a comment.

Whatever.

I'm not a fan of Biden. I'm not a fan of Trump. I'm no fan of anyone who has spent 20+ years in DC -- getting rich as they stir dissent over both trivial and unsolvable problems.

Biden routinely put his foot in his mouth many decades ago. This resembles dementia but is not dementia. See dyslexia.

https://dyslexiaida.org/oral-language-impairments-and-dyslexia/

imTay said...

I assumed you were talking about he mythical "lifelong stutter" that nobody can find any evidence of; that's on me. Sorry for assuming.

Joe Biden was actually remarkably fluent when you consider that 90% of what he said was lies, and not just lies, but lies that were based on projection of what he was doing to the other side. He was always projecting a mirror world, it must have been incredibly difficult. I couldn't do it. So his frequent gaffes (letting the truth slip out) were unsurprising.

imTay said...

Unless you are saying that Biden actually believes the things he says, and then I guess, that he is simply being manipulated. He is dumb enough. But I doubt it.

TickTock said...

"Pathos" and Tragedy". Just Democrats saying goodby to their broken dreams.

Shouting Thomas said...

I don’t assume that I have a moral or emotional alliance with conservatives, although I’m conservative.

This need on the left to think of their politics as a sort of religious, family enterprise strikes me as plain evil.

I’ll vote for Trump with misgivings. I don’t have some sort of personal attachment to him.

It’s pretty obvious that Biden is corrupt and a tool of the Intel agencies. Still, I don’t spend any of my time fabricating a huge grievance against him. I don’t spend my time writing essays about what a monster he is.

JAORE said...

"... I'm no fan of anyone who has spent 20+ years in DC -- getting rich..."

Do you think that applies to Trump?

boatbuilder said...

Trump is the blunt instrument/unicorn. It takes an absolutely unique person to break through the Uniparty/MSM/Deep State cabal. It is hard to imagine any other political figure who wouldn't be destroyed and/or owned. Six ways from Sunday, as Chucky so pointedly threatened.

Reagan had the chops and the personality, but even he was undermined by the GOPe insiders.

I agree that Trump will probably not accomplish much, because he will again be undermined and betrayed by the insiders. But stopping the madness, or even slowing it down, is not nothing. (Better than nothing is not a low bar, in politics).

Aggie said...

Yes, well I remember Joe Biden from the 70s onward. Then, he was a sneering, balding, nasty piece of work, a professional politician who lied about his past and voted in legislation that was corporate-friendly at consumer expense. Who fancied himself one of the 'kool kids'. Botox and hair plugs removed his ability to sneer, and fixed his pattern baldness, while doing nothing about his character, except providing a better front. He was stuck next to Obama to pull Eastern Establishment Democrat votes to compliment Chicago Machine votes. It was pure election politics, not merit.

Please spare me the hagiographies for Joe Biden, and the displays of grief for discovering what has been covered up and ignored for the past 5 years. Grieve in private - what I see is collective surprise at an obvious self-own.

Iman said...

…and few speak of, read or listen to Frum. Which is as it should be.

mezzrow said...

John Frum, he come
Dave Frum, te deum.

Two failed strategies.

narciso said...

Frum who proudly promoted the iraq war thr man has no shame, he thought he was rostow without the talent

Rusty said...

Mr. Frum. Where were you in 2019? You could have saved the country a lot of heartache.

Enigma said,
"Trump = Same old loudmouth and sarcastic showman as always. Politically, he's the angry guy at the end of the bar yelling at the TV during the news. A real life Archie Bunker, not Hollywood's shallow concept of Archie Bunker. Trump has not understood that sarcasm is very dangerous in politics."

And yet. Here we are.

Wince said...

No one speaks of "pathos" and "tragedy" when describing [Trumps's] unusual, emotive speech.

"Fee-Fi-Fo-Frum, I smell the blood of a non-establishment Republican. Be he alive or be he dead, I'll grind his bones to make my bread!”

Two-eyed Jack said...

I had assumed that the "inner monologue" said aloud was a result of receiving information through an earpiece, but maybe it is pathos. It certainly is pathetic.

JaimeRoberto said...

Our hearts are supposed to break for Biden because he's such a swell guy and so darn empathetic. At least that's the image the media have sold us.

RCOCEAN II said...

See my thumb?
Gee, you're Frum.

Good God, what a batting line up this AM:

M Dowdy
Ross Doughnut
David Dumb.

imTay said...

You know what else is dangerous? Burning your bridges with Russia over a border dispute thousands of miles away. Calling the man you may well be forced to negotiate with a "dictator" when his election margins comported with polling data done by Western firms in Russia, and now calling him a "butcher" in Detroit yesterday. We have WWIII festering in Eastern Europe, and Joe Biden is throwing more gasoline on the dumpster fire that he created there.

Joe Biden is the most reckless President that we have ever had.

imTay said...

His strategy for holding on to the nomination is also recklessly putting the standing of his own political party at risk. Joe is one of those people who will never back down until it all collapses around him in a midden of his craven, empty lies.

He also lied about Trump, saying that he called Putin's invasion "wonderful" when Trump was obviously speaking ironically, which the context of the phrase "oh, that's wonderful" shows.

"I went in yesterday and there was a television screen, and I said, ‘This is genius.’ Putin declares a big portion of the Ukraine — of Ukraine. Putin declares it as independent," Trump said, adding, "Oh, that’s wonderful," sarcastically.

"So, Putin is now saying, ‘It’s independent,’ a large section of Ukraine. I said, ‘How smart is that?’ And he’s gonna go in and be a peacekeeper. That’s strongest peace force. … We could use that on our southern border," Trump said. "That’s the strongest peace force I’ve ever seen. There were more army tanks than I’ve ever seen. They’re gonna keep peace all right. No, but think of it. Here’s a guy who’s very savvy … I know him very well. Very, very well."


This in the same speech where Biden assured the small crowd that he "knew how to tell the truth!" Well, I know how to change a tire, but I am not doing it right now.