1988. 2008. Now 2020.
The third time is not the charm.
1
Joe Biden’s record is not as bad as Kamala Harris’ record is. Because of Kamala, an innocent black man is still spending the rest of his life in prison. An 18-year-old girl had accused him of raping a few years prior to that. However, more than just one judge that heard his case, including the original trial judge and an appeals court judge, raised strong doubts about the validity of his conviction. However, because of a simple technicality, Kamala Harris, the attorney general at that time, let his conviction and his sentence stand.
Also, there’s several other instances where Kamala let wrongful sentences stand just because of a technicality. On the other hand, I think Joe Biden genuinely cares about people. He’s not too old. He’s only 3 years younger than Trump is. So far, he’s the one that has my vote.
2
I have to laugh, Maureen. I frequently read columnists saying that he needs to quit talking about past stuff and show his vision of the future, where he wants to lead us, all that.
Maybe he needs two heads, one to talk to you, as an older woman, one to talk to the new generation of voters.
40
The media built up Biden when he announced he was running. Many people wrote comments supporting him.
How quickly we have stomped on Biden..didn't we think only weeks ago he would beat trump?
I am not saying I am supporting him, but as they say in baseball, "it aiant over til its
over."
37
The liberal press has found a new hero. She is bright, skilled in debate, very attractive, nd has good if not excellent progressive tendencies. But I believe there is a less admirable side of Kamala Harris that the liberal press so far is unwilling to explore.
Her career started with her affaire with a politically powerful man who was 30 years older than her. Willie Brown, the former Mayor of San Francisco, a true wheeler dealer. He pulled many strings for her to rise up the ladder in California politics.
To broaden her support in the white community she took on the role of a top prosecutor who was viewed with much disfavor in the black community.
Now she is married to a white well connected millionaire who has helped to finance her Presidential ambitions.
There is a cold calculating side to this person that has not been sufficiently explored by the main stream media.
157
Ms. Dowd’s treatment of Biden as smug and weak is familiar; she dismissed both President Obama and Hillary Clinton that way, too. How did that work out, by the way?
In any case, she is avoiding something obvious. She treats Biden as hapless and DOA, but why then, did Ms. Harris coopt the moderators’ job and put him on the spot? For that matter, why did other candidates pile on him from the first moments of the debate? It’s because he is the one to beat! Lost causes don’t draw that much scrutiny and challenging.
64
"Biden is selling himself as someone who can work with a Republican Party that everyone but Biden realizes doesn’t exist anymore."
This is why Maureen Dowd is the best. Thank you for bringing so much clarity to the trouble with Biden. Plus your introductory paragraph is perfection. Your summation says so much more than the 'he is too old' criticism.
40
Biden is a man whose time is past and gone. Everything he said about his record is true and good. That is irrelevant.
It is famously said that Democrats bring knives to a gunfight. Biden is bringing a warm handshake to flesh-eating bacteria.
The flip side is that his destruction at the hands of progressives is a gift to Trump. Kamela Harris is good, smart, maybe even ruthless enough. But she is a black woman running in a country whose electorate is majority white without college degrees. What's wrong with Harris? She could lose!
Democrats: Please nominate a straight white male, under 70, from the heartland. Nothing is more important, as that person cannot lose to Trump. I really like Buttigieg, Warren and Harris. But if you want to see the back of Trump, please coalesce around one of the following (in alphabetical order):
Bennet
Bullock
Hickenlooper
O'Rourke (probably not ready for prime time)
Ryan
4 out of 5 ain't bad, so possibly:
Castro
Inslee
Klobuchar
Anybody else and you risk the existence of the United States of America as we knew it.
Dan Kravitz
31
Let’s face it , the take away point of the debate was,
“ My time is up. I’m sorry”“ . Biden told the truth.
65
He would have made a great mayor in any city. But the Prez, I think not.
12
It is disappointing to see the Times continuing the bias toward symbolizing a competent women as an abstract body part. Her cogent arguments about Biden's record on desegregation have nothing to do with her shoes - stiletto heels or not.
48
Maureen Dowd has a sharp tongue and a biting wit and in this piece she used both to good effect.
It is tragic, actually, that Joe Biden, for whatever reason, decided to place himself in this Gladiator Arena - assuming perhaps, based on so many who called for him to join the fray, that his would be an easy walk to a nomination., Sadly, that is not going to happen. Had he listened to the drums already beating a drone of hesitations, based on his own past behavior (with Anita Hill, with handsiness, with the evidence of 2 prior failed presidential tries) he’d be in a better position now. Had he refrained from clutching the coattails of Obama so pitiously, had he looked forward instead of backward, he might have noticed that the issues he ran on and voted on long ago are not the issues of today.
Joe, as someone from your exa, as a woman who watched Anita Hill be devoured as you stood back and did nothing, as a woman who wonders how your own wife could stand your too-close behavior with other women, as a voter, as someone worried about this nation’s future, I advise you: Summon your humility. Recognize your time has passed. Leave the race with dignity and a fine speech. Pass the Torch!
67
I will vote for the Democrat that tumbles out of this hot mess. I will likely have to hold my nose but I will vote D.
I am sorry to say it, but Uncle Joe is having a hard time getting out of second gear. I will gladly vote for him and I think many Americans would vote for him as the memory of some idyllic vision of America past when there was comity and civility.
Unfortunately, that vision is a chimera. Politics is and always has been a brutal, ugly ordeal. Julius Caesar can attest to this reality.
The alternatives to Joe, though look...weak,
some outright stupid (Beto & Williamson),
all self-serving (Kamala in the pole position, but followed closely by all the rest)
barmy, (Bernie needs to stop slobbering or invest in a sneeze shield)
hammy, (Corey and Elizabeth emoters in chief)
fuzzy, (everything will be free but we can get all of Daddy Warbuck's money to pay for it and if that is not enough we can go after Scrooge McDuck)
Perhaps over the next months a reasonable candidate will emerge, but so far none of them look like the heavyweight to take out the fathead we are currently enduring.
32
It seems small but there were two strikes against Kamala.
First, her voice is California appropriate; tad nasal and smooth, that is appropriate in a courtroom, not elsewhere. Second, the mixed messages made Harris look weak. "I love Biden, but he ol', he good, but shouldn't have,..." and "This big nice bad man hurt me."
All she had to say is: "Joe, you did this, it was wrong, apologize about being old, and then disappear." Might have worked.
I loved Warren's passion until she was going to pay off my student loans, and give me free baby sitting (I worked hard to pay for both). So she will reward the irresponsible and lazy. It is indeed liberal to say, "I am a person, who will make choices about marriages, about careers, about education to pursue, indulge my interests (learn ballet), and have children based on my personal interests. All this is tad foolhardy, burdensome. I want it now, it all, for free. So, I'll support the democrat who will make it free like my mommy and daddy would have and ask: "so what else have you done for me lately?"
Good luck all you foolish candidates trying to appease a bunch of irresponsible, self-indulgent weaklings with free money. In return, they will do you the solid: won't register, don't vote, or vote for third party candidate. Just desserts.
31
I’m stunned by how many people have misread Harris opening shot at Biden, and taken it to mean she’d wipe the floor with Trump in a debate.
Everyone knows that Trump voters score significantly higher on scales of racial animus. A large number of white people in this country believe that *they* are the ones who are discriminated against.
If you think Harris is going to scold Trump about his racism and sexism in a debate and win, you are dreaming. Harris would challenge him, and Trump would respond with something sexist and racist. And the media would freak out, and proclaim Harris triumphant. And then Trump would win re-election.
Though I hate the term identity politics... we aren’t going to win on identity politics. Obama knew America couldn’t handle more than the mildest reminders of his race. Buttigieg is running as a straight-arrow candidate who happens to be gay. Harris might be able to win as a candidate who happens to be black and female. She can NOT win as a reproachful black, female candidate.
71
Help me!!! So what if Kamala was the child on that bus. What is her point? Does she support that integration? Was she harmed in some way bu busing? I am not a Biden supporter but how in God's name does Kamala's attack make her a "dream candidate"? Maybe we should be asking if half the candidates supported the war in the Middle East does that disqualify them the way that working with senators 50 years ago apparently disqualifies Biden. We seem to forgive that without question. Circumstances change over 50 years...people do to. What matters is who they are now...not then.
66
If you go to the free throw line saying to yourself that you must avoid missing the shot, you will miss. Better to fire away in the belief that it will be all net.
2
As a card carrying leftist who didn't vote for Barack Obama for many reasons, one of which was the fact that he chose Joe Biden as his running mate knowing full well the history of Biden's record in the Senate. No self respecting African American should vote for Joe Biden for president. Specifically, no living democratic politician has done more damage to the black community than Biden. The list goes on and on and Biden, true to form continues adding to the list of gaffes and self inflicted wounds. Another problem is his Hillary like attachment to entitlement. Democrats are a long way from needing to panic. The best thing about the large field of wannabes is that many of the democratic hopefuls are quite capable. Democrats must cut Biden from the line ASAP. He won't be a good candidate and he'll be a terrible president. Harris sounds good now but she lacks substance and has some right of center baggage of her own. With this group of candidates Democrats need to stop being afraid of their own shadow, put their best foot forward and get on with defeating Donald Trump.
16
One would think that the challenges right now in the border deal - fight for all you want or take what you can get to help those families in dire situations- would put in perspective the challenges Biden faced in having to deal with racists. Especially when we are talking about the partner to - and fervent defender of - the country’s first black president.
8
The media elected Donald Trump as much as Russia did, and with Maureen Dowd's help. Is 2020 going to be a repeat, take apart every Democratic candidate while not laying a glove on the Donald? God help us.
82
Harris’s comment to Biden was a cheap shot and one intended to play on the emotions of people of color and many whites who refuse to realize that the 1970s were a different time in America. A time before America became “woke”.
65
I have a question for you Maureen. Let’s say everything you’ve said and believe about Joe is true. I have no reason right now to disagree with your analogy of Joe and his campaign. Just for laughs, let’s pretend that Joe Sixpacks actually wins the nomination for the Democratic Party. Will YOU and others not only VOTE for him, but campaign for him? If you can’t answer that question right now on BOTH points, you may not have a newspaper or Country to write for.
41
None of the Demcrats on that stage will flirt with Putin, court Kim Jong Un, or sweet-talk MBS. While rage-tweeting all night and whining all day. I could (and will) vote for any one of them over Trump.
51
“Biden is selling himself as someone who can work with a Republican Party that everyone but Biden realizes doesn’t exist anymore.”
It’s about time someone in the media raised this issue. Thank you Ms Dowd.
21
It just ain't so, Joe. Your third time's no charm. Withdraw soon with your dignity intact, throw your full-fledged support behind your party's endorsed ticket and become the distinguished elder statesman/adviser you deserve to become. America will love and respect you for that!
28
The Hillary-basher is at it again. Ms. Dowd never bashed Trump during the campaign. She waited until after he was elected to pile on with everyone else.
That was just a politically opportunistic stunt from Harris to take down Biden and make it all about her. It had nothing to do with the issues at hand. And now she’s selling T shirts with her image in commemoration. It wasn’t even a good speech. It can be summed as: Biden, you’re not a racist but you hurt my feelings. Is Harris making busing a part of her campaign? It worked for the little girl that was her. What about all the other little girls today who could benefit from busing? Is Harris going to fight for them? If not, this was just a political stunt.
50
“We’ve got to recognize that kid wearing a hoodie may very well be the next poet laureate and not a gangbanger.”
Lol. Absolutely amazing how tone deaf Biden is. Can you imagine how often that quote would be played if a Republican (let alone Trump) said it?
I can't figure out if Biden is stupid or if he's gotten so old that his mind is going. In either case, he will never be president.
18
Well written Ms. Dowd, you get it I think.
What I mean by that is Biden is pulling a Hillary...ie elect me because it is my time....a safe senior moderate progressive white man who the electorate is clamoring for after entitled identity, social engineering obsessed east coast liberal, never met a war, trade agreement, Wall Street banker candidate like Hillary or a bigot, female hater, ego maniac demagogue like Trump.
The field is open for the democrats, I don't think Harris is the one, too stuck in identity politics albeit 50 yrs ago, busing, maybe Warren?
Time will tell.
We need another poor man's Obama who brought us all together brilliantly. He was no Lincoln but he did a poor man's Lincoln job.
7
I still dont know where he stood on busing.
7
This too shall pass...
By this weekend, it has become abundantly clear that Harris and her handlers had well rehearsed this "personal" moment of attack on Biden. Is it any coincidence that Harris's campaign already has lots of "That little girl was me" t-shirts in stock to sell?
Unfortunately, whatever momentum she thinks she has will inevitably focus all the candidates upon Harris herself. Her "progressive" record on helping jail young blacks and Hispanics in California will be dissected. Her "feminism" will be fair game when others start to question her motive for carrying on an affair with a politically connected married man who no doubt aided in vaulting her career.
But that's politics: low blows beget low blows. If Harris achieves front-runner standing, we can expect vigorous take-downs of her record in the weeks and months to come.
Enjoy it while it last Senator Harris!
41
Mo is rather adept, however creative, at adding to the scent of blood in the water.
I am surprised she didn't criticize anyone's attire as she usually does.
When the media gets down on one candidate, into their group think, like they did with Al Gore, count on Mo to ladle the chum.
A topic Mo might want to consider is just how powerful are the media, handling these debacles they call debates, along with their daily getting-on-the-same-horse-race-page, in selecting the candidates they wish to advance. Their common picking of Kamala's "winning" was a disheartening sign of this.
20
It's 2019 and Trump is President, and Harris is going after Biden about busing from 40 years ago!?
Yeah, thats going to win back OH, PA and MI.
Good God, this is exactly how Trump gets re-elected.
47
I thought Joe Biden seemed to be "off his feed" at the debate. I think Maureen is correct in pointing out that he seemed to have a coronation vibe about him. That was our mistake with Hillary and it will be a mistake with Biden. I support Kamala Harris because she is NOT a white haired Dem that has ineffectively opposed Repubs for years. It's like Lucy and the football, we need to quit being suckers.
8
Kamala Harris believed Jussie Smollett. This fact alone should tell Americans all they need to know about her.
32
This is only the beginning. Biden's reputation will be destroyed by the time this is over. He should never have entered the race. It's a different time. I wonder if Obama should have told him not to run.
13
Biden was caught very flat footed even though he should have anticipated that Harris would sandbag him to try and siphon off some his African American voter support. Having said that, he should have probably responded that Harris, unlike him, was raised upper middle class as the the daughter of a Stanford economic professor father and medical school professor mother.
With respect to Harris exploiting her tweet by selling tee shirts which included her 'home run' zinger, I would recommend that Joe Biden turn the tables and put out a tweet and perhaps market a tee shirt that includes a quote from Kamala Harris"s father a few months ago which I believe stated that 'his daughter's pandering and playing to identity politics was a travesty'.
After all, as the late John McCain said, "politics ain't beanbag".
6
Biden looked like a deer in the headlights in the debate. I believe Trump would love to make chopped liver of him, and I believe he would. The sooner he is eliminated the better! Give us Harris or Booker or Buttigieg - someone who has the intellect to make mincemeat of Trump!
6
Biden is finished, he just doesn't know it. The sooner he gets out the better.
9
Don`t count Biden out already Ms. Dowd , everyone is entitled to change their mind as you did. Once a friend of trump now want him to take a fall, but you are not a politician and Biden is and Biden is weak and you are a tigress.
Saying that Biden`s clueless look at the debate was concerning . How Mr. Biden, if a nominee would fight lying trump in a debate ?
Ms. Harris is impressive , a lot younger and articulate.
Biden will have black supporters so would She .
If a nominee I would like her to team up with either Mayor Pete or Mr. Castro .
If Ms. Liz gets the nomination I would like the same two to team up with her and drag trump out of the office.
The rumor is trump will not leave willingly .
1
His only hope is to keep the idea that he can be the one to beat Trump. He stood next to Obama and smiled but did not have the mental ability of Obama. Trump has proven as well as Bush Jr. The damage a low IQ ,low intellect President can do. Obama showed what a smart guy can do. Trumps successes are really those created by Obama. We need a smart President. The Dems have quite a few of these, Joe, nice guy, is not one.
6
"Biden is selling himself as someone who can work with a Republican Party that everyone but Biden realizes doesn’t exist anymore." And there you have it, just why Uncle Joe needs to go back home and let someone from another generation take the reins.
4
Article in Washington Post--June 25---
“Once the poorest senator, ‘Middle Class Joe’ Biden has reaped millions in income since leaving the vice presidency"
(photo of magnificent Biden’s house)—
Quotes:
“The Georgian-style home — a brick version of the White House…nearly 12,000-SF …five bedrooms, 10 bathrooms, marble fireplaces, a gym and a sauna.
From real estate agent's video: “Surrounded by Washington elite there is an undeniable grandeur in the design of this home.... A perfect setting for the most lavish of events.
....already been the residence to a very important person,” he said. “But I suspect it will be home to many more.”
"It is currently home to Joe Biden.
“Middle Class Joe.” …since leaving office has made millions from book deals and speaking fees for as much as $200,000 per speech, public documents show.
As Biden traveled the country before his presidential campaign, sponsors provided VIP hotel suites, town cars and drivers, chartered flights and travel expense reimbursements that sometimes reached $10,000 per event, according to contracts obtained by The Washington Post through public records requests.
The Post found at least 65 speeches of book events. In at least 10 instances he didn’t take a fee, while in some he got travel expenses.
Biden’s campaign said he has given less than 50 paid speeches, but it declined to be more specific about how many he delivered or how much he earned in total."
3
Jessie Jackson had invited Biden to speak at Rainbow Push event Friday, but he said Biden had been “on the wrong side of history” re federally mandated busing to integrate schools.
Biden claimed he worked hard for civil rights. Said “they’re not up to the states to decide. They’re our federal government’s duty to decide….to protect every single American….that’s always been my position, and why I ran for federal office in the first place.”
Yet, when Kamala Harris brought up Biden’s support for state’s rights on school busing, Biden said he opposed federal efforts force busing, ordered by the Dept of Education. It was fine when it was a 'local decision'.
“Biden decades ago led a bloc of senators who opposed using federal funds to desegregate schools by bussing students.”
All Biden's statements are confusing again and again. The Dept of Ed is the federal govt isn’t it?
No wonder Biden’s fund raiser quit his campaign, and said more may follow him out.
5
The Dems have moved left and Biden doesn’t fit anymore.
9
Smart round, Maureen, but I've reached a conclusion despite it: that this column doesn't matter because it isn't about Elizabeth Warren --
8
Hmm, Maureen. I was part of that first class of Berkeley students to be bused. I remember it a bit differently from Senator Harris. What I mostly remember is the teachers saying to the Afro-American students "go ahead, kick the heck out of those white hill kids, its payback time". I don't think it made me a racist, but it did make me a life-long skeptic of smug liberal elites who are happy to let other folks pay the price for their feeling of "woke". The irony of course is that Berkeley's busing experiment was a disaster. The schools became uniformly bad and they are now more segregated than ever because good luck finding a one-bedroom apartment in Berkeley for under $1500 a month. So, Senator Harris, what are you REALLY going to do about economic segregation? or is it all about race?
25
I loved Kamala's take down of Biden. It's unbelievable to me that the DNC is trying to put an old gaff ridden has been white guy as the nominee. The Republicans aren't and won't work across the aisle. They haven't in a long long long time. Biden lives in a world belief that does not exist. He will not be the nominee if this Democrat has anything to say about it.
6
For those of you criticizing Kamala Harris for "identity politics", I have two words: white nationalism. This is what drives Trump's voters. As whites, they see themselves as the "real Americans" and the rest of us should be content to accept the scraps of second-class citizenship.
But back to Kamala v Joe. The staggering blow she landed on him at last week's debate will make no difference. Why? Because our electorate has shown we will forgive any transgressions, any crimes, for that matter - considering who we elected in 2016 - as long as that person is a man.
We have a literal felon in the White House and yet folks are still bringing out those tired tropes that the women candidates are practicing identity politics, smearing Liz Warren regarding her ethnic heritage (even though their smears have all been debunked).
Every white male on the debate stage will be "forgiven" for any of these "lapses" before the election. But God forbid that a woman criticizes any of them on their records.
So it will come down to this -- Joe Biden vs Trump. If Joe is smart, he'll pick a male VP literally half his age. If he does so, he'll win the election.
Never mind his praise of segregationists -- all the Bernie Bros who couldn't find it in their "conscience" to vote for Hillary will cast their concerns aside and line up to vote for Biden.
And regardless of how much better our women presidential candidates are, the 2020 contest will be between a serial groper and a serial rapist.
9
Joe Biden came across as a good and decent man much like the bright and good natured former President Obama.. Harris has no chance and is helping Trump by trying to undermine some of the black vote. Fortunately most blacks understand a President Biden is clearly preferable to four more years of Trump.
8
For those of you criticizing Kamala Harris for "identity politics", I have two words: white nationalism. This is what drives Trump's voters. As whites, they see themselves as the "real Americans" and the rest of us should be content to accept the scraps of second-class citizenship.
But back to Kamala v Joe. The staggering blow she landed on him at last week's debate will make no difference. Why? Because our electorate has shown we will forgive any transgressions, any crimes, for that matter - considering who we elected in 2016 - as long as that person is a man.
We have a literal felon in the White House and yet folks are still bringing out those tired tropes that the women candidates are practicing identity politics, smearing Liz Warren regarding her ethnic heritage (even though their smears have all been debunked).
Every white male on the debate stage will be "forgiven" for any of these "lapses" before the election. But God forbid that a woman criticizes any of them on their records.
So it will come down to this -- Joe Biden vs Trump. If Joe is smart, he'll pick a male VP literally half his age. If he does so, he'll win the election. Never mind his praise of segregationists -- all the Bernie Bros who couldn't find it in their "conscience" to vote for Hillary will cast their concerns aside and line up to vote for Biden.
And regardless of how much better our women presidential candidates are, the 2020 contest will be between a serial groper and a serial rapist.
2
I guess I saw a different debate. I am no fan of Biden but I thought he did fine. Except for his last statement about what would be your first act as president,," beating Trump "????? , he was pretty concise about his record and was respectful of the time limits. Harris on the other hand is a phony and contrary to the major media's take & push for her, most people were turned off by her race card antics. Take a look at her record as prosecutor, and see how many issues she has switched positions on just to run for president. She's no friend to poor people ( black or white) & migrants. She raised her hand for Medicare For All and changed her mind about that. Sheer opportunism ........
18
Dems are not gonna win by running on things like reparations, and decriminalizing unauthorized border crossings.
I think that something along the lines of 'pot in every chicken' lends a more happy and forward-looking tone.
5
CNBC: "Joe Biden loses support of top campaign fundraiser in Bay Area after comments on segregationists and Hyde amendment" June 28.
Biden " lost a key financial supporter after his comments on working with segregationists and flip flopping on the Hyde Amendment.
Tom McInerney informed Biden’s team last week he can no longer back his campaign.
“I would imagine I’m not alone,” he tells CNBC."
June 28 Politico:
“Biden fundraiser ditches him and warns others may too.”
2
The old MD is back! Thank you.
Harris is smart and strong.
But Trump can do the silent dog whistles about Harris just as he did about Hillary....and his base will love it.
Same with Warren or Buttigieg.
Actually, Biden of one of the candidates that is hardest for Trump to deal with. What's Trump going to say? "Biden is an old white guy?"
I personally like Bennett and Klobuchar. And in a perfect world, Warren would be the best world leader ever.
But right now we need to win. And that means the Dems need a candidate who can attract all those mid-west/rust belt voters who do not read the NY Times or drink latte'.
Really, relative to the current occupant, a proverbial ham sandwich would be an improvement in the White House.
Focus on winning and not about making some theoretical point while gloriously losing.
Boehner lived by Voltaire's axiom that you never let the perfect be the enemy of the good. And it was one of the few things he was right about. Dems should do likewise.
Biden is "the glass half full". He's hardly perfect but the purple states will give him a pass and the coastal voters will hold their nose while recalling his association with Obama.
And he will win.
ALL of the potential Dem candidates would be better than Trump...….even Swalwell or that goofy Love Lady.
But Biden has the best chance of actually winning.
Win first. Or nothing else matters.
9
Mo, it wasn’t the hard liners on Biden’s Judiciary Committee that allowed Clarence Thomas to slither onto the Supreme Court. It was Biden. There were witnesses ready, willing and able to corroborate Anita Hill’s story, and Biden flatly refused to call them, fearing being branded racist.
He let the whole country down by his abdication.
11
People, wake up. We have to have a non racist candidate for whom racists will feel comfortable voting. If not, we get four more years of a real racist. That's not a price that I'm willing to pay.
5
Raising the issue of busing one of the most divisive issues ever, and now over 40 years old as an issue is why the Dems will probably lose again. Like Kamala Harris said she was a kid at the time.
Here is something to contemplate. The Democrats have become completely un-anchored and the reason can be traced to the DNA of the party which now is focused on enforcing quotas on their delegate base.
They may take pride in having 100 apx. women representatives vs 10 for the Republicans, but might that be the impetus for the white male hating theme that defines the party these days.
I am all for the best candidates be it male, female or whatever the newest gender classification may be . But when you start chopping up based on identity, if there are less women genuinely interested in politics and you force a quota system it means you will find a less than qualified contingent and drive out a lot of qualified men - who for whatever reason are interested.
here in good old western ma - we have a lot of man hating members, and they are shaping the dialog of the party
and it spills into the issue of immigration - where the party refuses to look objectively at the failure of this army of people crossing the border make any effort to limit their population growth which is the real reason these waves of people crossing the border illegally
so given a choice winner take all republicans arguments are less disastrous then the dems
9
Talk about revisionist history! School busing went over like a lead balloon!
12
And now Harris is toast when Biden endorses anyone else and urges his supporters to follow his lead. Bye Kamala.
8
Biden was accurate when he said, "My time is up."
2
For those of you criticizing Kamala Harris for "identity politics", I have two words: white nationalism. This is what drives Trump's voters. As whites, they see themselves as the "real Americans" and the rest of us should be content to accept the scraps of second-class citizenship.
But back to Kamala v Joe. The staggering blow she landed on him at last week's debate will make no difference. Why? Because our electorate has shown we will forgive any transgressions, any crimes, for that matter - considering who we elected in 2016 - as long as that person is a man.
We have a literal felon in the White House and yet folks are still bringing out those tired tropes that the women candidates are practicing identity politics, smearing Liz Warren regarding her ethnic heritage (even though their smears have all been debunked).
Every white male on the debate stage will be "forgiven" for any of these "lapses" before the election. But God forbid that a woman criticizes any of them on their records.
So it will come down to this -- Joe Biden vs Trump. If Joe is smart, he'll pick a male VP literally half his age. If he does so, he'll win the election.
Never mind his praise of segregationists -- all the Bernie Bros who couldn't find it in their "conscience" to vote for Hillary will cast their concerns aside and line up to vote for Biden.
And regardless of how much better our women presidential candidates are, the 2020 contest will be between a serial groper and a serial rapist.
1
Okay, Joe was not sharp enough. But he has broad appeal, something the Dems, going very left, don't have.
Is mean is what we need, then Kamala Harris qualifies.
Joe is not mean, not racist in ideology. (Busing was more complicated than Harris would have us believe now.) And Biden is likable.
But we Dems are good at killing each other off. Killing off Joe Biden was Harris's intent. Now what?
7
Isn't the Stiletto meme sexism in a different package?
10
Here's a Post-Debate Poll that Counts with Me.
Took me til yesterday to catch up with my next door neighbor Ms. Hazel.
She was still fuming about the second debate, said she stayed up through the whole thing, then had trouble sleeping. Why?
Because she was so mad at Kamala Harris for the way she went after Joe Biden.
The nerve, to try to make Biden out to be a racist over the busing thing. After all the work he's done, including eight loyal years beside Barack. (Yes, the Obama aura definitely lingers.)
Besides, lots of black parents didn't even much like busing either: took kids too far away from home, and many parents felt pride in their own schools, even if they were segregated & separate-but-equal was just another white people lie.
The verdict, repeated several times, Harris just wanted to push him out of the way so she could be on top; but she's got time.
Ms. Hazel grew up black here in North Carolina, when this neighborhood had dirt streets, and she and her mother couldn't vote. "I'm a victim of all this," she says defiantly. (Though I'd add that she's also a survivor, at 82. She owns her home, is a regular church-going widow, doesn't yet do the internet, and she votes now, every time, and is nobody's fool.)
She also said she still admires Harris, as a rising woman in politics. But Thursday's ploy didn't win any points for her with Ms. Hazel. She was seriously miffed Thursday night.
15
I suspect that Ms. Dowd had a wide grin as she described Biden as "bending over backward to appease uncompromising Republicans on the panel..." And I suspect that I am not alone in appreciating such not-so-sly likening of big bad men to small "bad" women with, as the saying used to have it, "round heels."
Stand back up, Joe, and take a good look in the mirror and at the full story of your past. You do indeed have a lot to offer the party and the country in the 2020 election. Don't fritter it away by assuming that the only way to be of use is to bumble your way into becoming the party's candidate. Put your considerable experience and energy into helping a more compelling and knowledgeable colleague. Stop Biden your time hoping to be a Savior.
2
Biden is done. He just doesn’t know it yet. Too much ego. Too much baggage. Too much looking backward. Please, Joe, take a bow in front of a grateful nation and exit stage left.
10
Maureen Dowd has found her new "Hillary Clinton". Please, Maureen, Kamala, the Bernie Bros & everyone else, let's all pile on Joe Biden. If he wins the Democratic nomination, we can make sure he loses the election. Honestly, it feels like the run up to 2016 all over again. There is no denying that Ms Harris is one smart & confident prosecutor who likely has skillfully imprisoned her share of black and brown men. I keep reading descriptions of Biden failing badly at the debate & wonder if I was watching a different debate. He surely knew as the leader in the polls with decades of political experience & history he would be the subject of attacks by his rivals. He remained composed, respectful--even polite while some of his opponents attempted to defiantly talk over him. He never returned the snark & never seemed rattled as he defended his decades old Senate vote. Kamala told him to his face that SHE did not believe he was a racist while she addressed the "jury" & explained why Joe Biden was indeed a racist. Ms. Harris might have scored some drama points for her prosecutor performance but, like all strong women in public postions, she carries the extra burden of being labeled as that word which rhymes with "rich" whenever raising her voice. Just ask fellow "nasty" women Hillary. Beyond the horribly unfair misogyny, it's distressing to see Democrats destroying members of their own party when the real menace is sitting illegitimately in the White House or mostly at Mar-A-Lago.
18
Alluding to gun violence in the title? Featuring Harris's shoes in the photo? Have we learned nothing in the past few years ?
4
I don't often agree with you Maureen, but you hit the nail on the head this column!
Another female media personality denigrating a female presidential candidate by comparing her strengths to a stiletto. WaPo talking about her power suit. No one's talking about Bernie's birkenstocks. Grow up.
4
I am confused, did Harris want to be bused or not? Did she want to go to a better funded white school or not? I would like to know what she would do if she went back in time to that very day and was Biden. Please let me know!
8
Let's get real. White male union members in Wisconsin, Ohio and Michigan are not going to turn out for Harris or Mayor Pete. Next.
12
The claws come out, unsheathed. I was wondering who the next Queen Hillary would be, now we know. " Aloofness and Arrogance " has a nice alliteration, but sounds familiar, like a retread from a " greatest hits " collection. Emphasis on hit. Perhaps " Joe " should try some midnight whispering. It worked before, for awhile. Donnie enjoyed it, immensely.
Cheers.
2
Another candidate would have been able to answer Harris's criticism with a jab about her judgement in her adulterous relationship with Willie Brown.
When, oh when, is Jamie Dimon going to jump in. It's still not too late to save us from this swamp of bozos.
2
I love Maureen Dowd but she now has joined the ranks of the Dems eating there own. Kamala Harris is not Rosa Parks and if we are still vetting Joe Biden after two presidential runs and two runs as the VP to the first black US president, don't ever ask me again how we got Trump. This whole democratic primary has gone off the rails and if I was in the Trump camp I would be ecstatic. The press wanted there pound of flesh from Biden and they won't be happy till they get it. Hope you're all proud and are looking forward to four more years of Trump...cuz that's what this will give us.
14
Long before this debate, I nicknamed Biden as Corny Dog, Joe. A hotdog on a stick wrapped in a bunch of cornmeal.
Good ending "too much past and not enough presence". Or not enough prescience?
There was once a wrestler "Killer Kowalski". With her track record as a prosecutor and our nation's far from perfect system of justice, Killer Kamala showed her fangs. Sorry, I know you like her, but Off the list!
Two down. Too, many to keep track of to go!
6
Having to do this is like placating the kid that missed last years birthday party with a popular group he can’t be part of.
We are enabling a lie !!!!
That Biden will win
Trump is in and Biden out.
Trump should be smacked down by a woman president.
We want our president to be s woman.
All the political correctness in the world won't cover the fact that Kamala Harris' comment was calculated and staged (no pun intended) with a follow up by her campaign to sow chaos among the Democrats and to pump tee-shirt sales by her campaign Call it what it is - a disgusting move that helps guarantee the re-election of a monster in the White House. She did America a MASSIVE disservice. Confront Biden honestly, not as a stunt. Again - disgusting.
16
Are these the best America can muster? Biden will not last through the primaries, so who will step up? Anyone but the sociopath is an appealing notion, but there will be mighty rebuilding to do when he takes his gold escalator back up to oblivion .
2
Everyone knows that to win the nomination of the Democratic Party they have to beat the Biden factor. That’s clearly happening but none of the alternatives can beat Trump. America’s basic fear of changing demographics by 2050 is scaring so called “white liberals” who secretly support Trump. Even a Democratic Party candidate, I suspect, will change his or her language to get “those white votes.” In a nut shell, progressive like me are worried that our worst nightmare will come true.....Trump getting a second term. In 2020 election, it is most likely, the race will be a deciding factor...... unfortunately.
3
Had you thought of going after the PRESIDENT for being a racist and completely oblivious about the mistakes of his past? -- Talk about two sets of rules!!
8
There is not a Dem, or previous POTUS, who can match Trump's stamina, intelligence, deftness and patriotic fervor. MAGA 2020!
When the candidates were asked the question, "What is the first thing you would do from the oval office?", Biden said. "I would beat Donald Trump." Huh?
4
Entitlement and anger at not being universally applauded as the president-designate sank Hillary, and has sunk Biden. The Democrats need to cull their herd soon and get on with the real business of winning in 2020.
3
Ah, a Queen Hillary fig, of course. I’m old enough to remember when you were dutifully writing about Beau’s deathbed plea to Joe to run against her. Harry Truman had it right: if you want a friend in Washington, get a dog.
4
Given what a big help you were to Trump in 2016 I wouldn't have you come in to savage my candidate either.
5
Uncle Joe couldn't command his own stage. He cannot win the Dem primary. I hope Mr Biden's advisers help him find a way to step aside--the sooner the better. His absence could permit the remainers to chew on one another and spit up someone electable.
2
The Democrats have all gone crazy. Anyone who doesn’t live in the urban core is scratching their heads. America reluctantly favors choice but want reasonable restrictions. Democrats once disingenuously said they wanted it to be rare. Now they are giving standing ovations when infanticide bills pass. You can dress up in blackface so long as you allow for offing the baby once you’ve made it comfortable. Ask the governor of VA. They’ve gone full-on socialist too. Capitalism is natural. It has existed since the first hunter-gatherer traded bison for antelope. Leftist economic systems replace the dispassionate market with fallible human decision-making. On top of that, it can only endure by force since free enterprise would spontaneously appear to answer its shortcomings. Most Americans would prefer to stick with the system that built this country and are in no hurry to instigate a Venezuelan future for their children and grandchildren.
3
“Biden has too much past and not enough presence.” Maureen does have a knack.
There is no political fire in Biden's belly and there is no fire for him in my belly either. Only those who's ego demands the Presidency ultimately win it.
1
Ms. Harris has, as might be expected of a former prosecutor, quite an illiberal record as San Francisco District Attorney and Attorney General of California (in which role she managed the State’s prisons, and actively opposed Plaintiff class counsel in ongoing litigation relating to inmate overcrowded and access to mental health care). Any half awake candidate would have had this ammunition at his or her fingertips, and quickly turned the tables: “you want talk about what I did in the 1980s, Ms. Harris? Let’s talk about what you did just four years ago...”. Unfortunately for Mr. Biden, “Sleepy Joe”, as President Orangutan has taken to calling him, is not an entirely unapt moniker. Whatever you think of Trump, he’s got an instincts of a thresher shark. Were Mr. Biden to somehow secure his party’s nomination, he would be fortunate to get out of the general election with his trousers. Time to cash in your chips Grandpa.
3
There are two stories here. Biden has to up his game to avoid the Clinton unforced error of a "coronation." If he can compete in this arena, he has myriad powerful assets to offer.
The second story is Harris, carrying a stench reminiscent of Kirsten Gillibrand's "Kneecap your opponent by means fair or foul."
Harris lowered the level of these debates with an needlessly sharp, factually laughable and genuinely dangerous grab for the spotlight.
Especially at this stage, talking over an opponent answering a question you asked is simply aggressive grandstanding. Prosecutorial not presidential.
Kamala Harris raising a forty-year old question with her quivering lip "That girl was me" attack was identity appropriation on a monumental scale. Kamala Harris is a child of privilege, attending a prestigious, rich high school in Montreal...far from the battle front of the civil right era. Her "poor little black girl waiting for the bus" image is laughable.
The facts that Harris now has made fair game for her opponents are buried in her abysmal record as a District Attorney and Attorney General. As DA she allowed cases to proceed when she knew evidence was tainted by police crime scene technicians. As AG, she chose to fight federal court mandates to improve conditions for inmates in California prisons deemed by the Supreme Court to constitute "cruel and unusual punishment."
Harris has unnecessarily coarsened the debate and invited legitimate counterattack.
12
Thanks for your take, Ms. Dowd, but I have never been more grateful to live in a reliably blue state. Trump simply must be defeated, but if Harris is the nominee, I will refuse to vote for her.
Her long-planned, carefully crafted attack on Biden was dishonest and self-serving. She is raising money off of it, selling $30 "That little girl was me" t-shirts. Her "I don't believe you are a racist BUT" construct is disgusting. No one believes Obama's VP harbors ill feelings toward black people, but hey, why not suggest he has behaved as a racist and see what sticks? As for her being "hurt" by his comments, how is she going to summon the fortitude to stand up to murderous dictators if she has such tender feelings?
It's easy to understand that some Dems want a win-at-all-costs fighter to punch Trump in the face. But I don't want another Trump in the WH, just with a (D) after his or her name.
Can we please have a decent human being who doesn't traffic in low blows and misrepresenting what opponents do and say?
14
The wan smile on Biden's face as Kamala Harris disemboweled him on the debate stage is the tell: his heart is simply not in it. That is the real reason he did not run in 2016, but his ambition for this job resurfaced, again, and he saw 2020 as his last chance. The sooner he is delivered to the political retirement home, the better for the party.
3
Love it, Maureen. You are such a good writer and so right about Joe.
Kamala Harris came prepared to attack Joe Biden...and
to upstage everyone else...:
My take: we do not need an attack dog to take down Donald
Trump; and we do not need anyone to upstage and attack
as Harris did...; we already have a narcissist in the White House
and we do not want to replace him with another possible
one.
16
After Kamala used her Trump tactics on Biden, she lost support among black voters.
Was her ambush tactic worth it?
7
Two words: Anita Hill
1
Oh, please. The election is 1 1/2 years away.
Settle down people!
1
"And it was not only that, but you also worked with them to oppose busing."
You tell 'em Moe.
Then be sure to write back telling how you painted all those subway cars yellow and desegregated NYC's racially segregated public school system. And don't forget to note how many woke parents placed their children back into the public school system.
Now back to hammering on Biden and the folks in flyover country.
3
Joe, it's time to go.
1
Senator Harris' theatrics during the debates are not enough for me to vote for her, although kudos to her for being the wronged, angry woman. One should examine her record as evidence as to what kind of president would potentially be:
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/17/opinion/kamala-harris-criminal-justice.html
5
I'm on the liberal side of the continuum, and Kamala Harris didn't impress me one iota.
Debates are like darts -- everyone's aiming to stick the bulls eye, which in last week's debate was front row center on Joe Biden. Well, what's good for the goose is good for the gander.
The Rude Angry "Little Black Girl" who played the race card and whined about her hurt feelings in last Wednesday's debate will next get her comeuppance.
Once her political baggage is revealed she'll be relegated to begging Marianne Williamson for some love.
9
Kamala
Angriest nasty Senator ever. She will never become president of anything any way or anyhow . Her reputation in California is dismal to say the least. Actually San Franciscans are glad to see this phony gone!
8
Harris' jab at Biden, though unfair, registered with the lefty social justice warrior. But it would work to Trump's advantage if she were to get the nomination. Her constant playing the race card and appeals to victimization would not likely help her in the areas where a Dem needs to score well.
3
What’s with the photo of Kamala Harris’ “grinding” stilletto heel? Seems a little goofy (and frankly sexist) to me.
Also, the main reason I will never cast a vote for Joe Biden in 2020 is because he cast a disastrous vote for the misbegotten (never-ending) Iraq War. By the way, this is the very same reason I did not vote for Hillary Clinton in the 2016 presidential race.
Warren/Sanders 2020!
3
Your scorning Biden's remark about the Chicago kid is ridiculous. It was a hopeful remark. Let's hope the kid
hears it and becomes an educated person.
BAGG
6
Why would anyone get worked up over a debate. The winners circle is being decided within the sixpack of Nancy, Chuck, the DNC and their three assistants, eeney, miney and moe.
Democrats have a conundrum: Biden is history, Socialists, except in Queens, don’t win elections.
2
Maureen Dowd: "And that little girl was me."
After you helped Trump win the election by vilifying Hillary Clinton at every turn, don't you DARE think you're in the same category - or even on the same continent - as Kamala Harris.
Not even close.
5
I am afraid that Joe Is Hill parrt 2. Good people, poor presidential candidates. We have to move on. I dream about the 6' 4 380-pound make-believe military school general, tycoon, Christian, debating a 5' 7 slim gay Afghan vet.
1
Biden’s staff does a good job of dressing him up in brightly colored youthful looking shirts. The problem is, as we’ve just seen, he’s an empty shirt. Sorry Joe. Time to go.
2
Queen Hillary? You actually said that? Do us a favor and don't stomp on the Democratic nominee when the election comes up. Too many people denigrated Hillary, and look at what we have now. Use your head, please.
9
Shot him in the back while he was trying to hang a picture and nodded off. :-)
People want freshness, new people, new ideas. There’s a slight arrogance in “Oh, let’s just do Obama politics, Take 2”. If Hillary failed to energise people, then the guy most know as ‘Obama’s VP’ will not either. Move on.
3
Behind the back belittling doesn't win elections.
Don't tell Donny that!
3
"In January, a reporter contacted the nascent Biden campaign to request an interview. She wanted to ask the former vice president about lingering criticisms that were bound to come up on the trail: how, as a senator, he failed Anita Hill; his lead role in the 1994 crime bill; his vote for the Iraq war; his mixed record on abortion rights; his handsy ways; the hot mess that is Hunter.
And that little girl was me."
Ms. Dowd, of course, is no little girl. And she was announcing her intention to rake Biden over the coals. And when he declined, she acts surprised and offended.
This is as insincere and dishonest as a reporter can be. When somebody of Ms. Dowd's status proposes a hostile interview, claiming to be a little girl, and when Biden tells her where she should go, I'm with Biden 100%. There are no little girls anywhere here. And if Ms. Dowd wants an interview it should not be premised on her hostile intentions.
I was promptly rejected for an on-the-record sit-down.
8
Harris takedown of Biden amused many people, but excited some Democrats more. But Maureen Dowd’s glee here over the torching of Biden’s debate torch has little to offer Harris other than that Harris pleased her for making Biden defend himself rather than sloganeer his record through the debate.
But nothing here suggests that Dowd supports Biden or Harris, only she doesn’t support Biden.
Joe Biden is the past. Period. His lethargic, mediocre debate performance demonstrated this. Julian Castor, Kamala Harris, Elizabeth Warren are the best choices for democrats.
4
As for Senator Kamala Harris and former Vice President Biden..., Please.
When Sen. Harris heard Mr. Biden talk about working with segregationists, it wasn’t “hurtful” to her in the slightest. She immediately saw the opportunity to play a victim, and she probably laughed out loud.
Her comment about Mr. Biden’s opposition to busing was likewise disingenuous. She knew perfectly well that busing was a disaster for liberals. She knew that her being bused in Berkeley was a part of a voluntary program, precisely the kind that Mr. Biden actually supported way back when, but she used his opposition to Federally imposed busing like a dishonest prosecutor uses tainted evidence.
We should all understand that a 60 second format is perfect for a dishonest attack, because explaining why an attack is wrong, or even backwards, typically takes more than 60 seconds.
Sen. Kamala Harris’s criminal law enforcement reputation in California is that she will fight to keep in jail on a technicality someone she knows is innocent. She has opposed DNA testing to determine innocence. She is not a nice person, and her dishonest attack on Mr. Biden was simply true to form.
You can read about this in the New York Times:
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/17/opinion/kamala-harris-criminal-justice.html
P.S. Would somebody please ask Senator Harris if she is now in favor of Federally imposed school busing to improve racial integration?
15
You can't judge a candidate solely on their ability to debate.
You also need to judge them on the issues.
Kamala's prosecutorial experience is handy in a televised debate. But her issues leave me wondering, where's the beef?
As a Californian, having watched her over the years, and as the father of a daughter. I cannot sanction her as a candidate.
This article spells it out better then I could:
http://www.sfweekly.com/news/kamalas-karma/
Her entry into politics is tainted a bit.
10
I wonder why people sign up to be Biden's campaign handlers?
What a job. He lives in an illusion---but is compulsive in running over and over for pres after losing nomination 2X.
He's polling high due to link with Obama.
But remember his 'gaffe' re Obama in 2007? The guy can't help it.
Biden: "I mean, you've got the first sort of mainstream African-American who is articulate and bright and clean and a nice-looking guy. I mean, that's a story-book, man," Biden said.
Biden later called Obama, and told reporters that Obama understood what he meant.
"This is a guy who's come along in a way that's captured the imagination of the country in a way that no one else has. That was the point of everything I was saying," Biden said.
"The point of everything I was saying"...."I mean, I mean"...now he has to keep telling America what he MEANS! Still, in 2019!
And many are still saying--don't worry, Joe--you're my guy.
The circular firing squad certainly plays out in these comments. Did Kamala stick a shiv in Joe? KABOOM! Is that any way for a lady to act? KABOOM! Did Joe stumble and bumble? KABOOM!
Can't nobody play this game?
1
Joe Biden is s good man but he has lost a step and this is the beginning of the campaign
It is going to take a woman to beat Trump - a woman who learned from 2016 that if he stalks her on the debate stage instead of disbelief she can turn around & tell him he’s not her type
That leaves - for me - Harris or Warren at the top of the ticket . Warren is brilliant & a teacher but she will have the full weight of Wall St money against her. Let’s not be naive in that money matters to get elected
I also have a concern about Warren tendency to get shrill & preachy in this television age
We are living in s bad reality show w a guy who won because ppl thought he was the guy on The Apprentice when that was just s role he was playing
Kamala is smart and sexy and comes off as a happy warrior. She can dismember Trump & he won’t know what hit him.
It’s not all about policy even if we wish it was. It’s about who is gonna stand next to Trump & best him. Harris showed her fearlessness & yes ruthlessness Thursday night .
Stop criticizing her for offending Uncle Joe & wake up / it’s gonna take a killer yo rid us of the menace that Trump is,
Opposites win elections . We went from Clinton to GWB to Obama to Trump . A mixed race smart woman is about as far as you can get from Trump.
Biden didn’t see her coming.
She’s lethal cloaked in femininity.
She can win and for me that’s all that matters.
5
So both Maureen Dowd and Kamala Harris include the refrain "And that little girl was me” as they put Joe Biden in his place. There is no doubt a special sting when Biden is taken down by a girl child, rather than by a veteran journalist or an experienced prosecutor as they actually are.
Mesdames Dowd and Harris bring to mind the girls of St Trinian's School, of British comic fame.
4
Joe has made his cameo and now should go play golf.
1
It's 2019, and we're going to re-litigate busing?
Seriously?
I also do not believe that Joe Biden is a racist.
Neither do I believe that Kamala Harris is an entitled black woman who wants sympathy for hurt feelings from forty years ago. The idea of K.H. as victim -- stop it.
Mostly, I don't believe that this is much of a platform on which to defeat Donald Trump.
Wake up, my fellow Democrats.
7
Barrack Obama never played the race card once and won two elections. Kamila Harris has never stopped playing the race card. Her whole strategy is based on the race card.
I have voted Democratic my whole life and I’m tired of the chaos. Identity politics will only bring more. I won’t vote for Trump, but I won’t vote for victims either.
Come on Maureen, We all know women can be as tough as the men. Get over the inferiority complex and focus on Trump
9
Dowd didn't come forward about Biden's reluctance to meet the press or share her other criticisms of him until she could step into Kamala Harris' stilettos. It takes a gunslinger to try to outdo another. Dowd did out Binden's handlers digging her stilettos in deeper. In writing about her failed effort to interview Biden, she parroted Harris by commenting 'And that little girl was me.' Dowd's no little girl, however much she wants a bit of Harris' gumption. Harris did not refer to Biden's age while going after his record on busing, but Dowd reminded us of it in her take down of him. How relentless will she be in tearing Joe down?
4
Joe, go open a bar somewhere and drop Obama's name every other minute to your customers, if you have any.
3
Yes, we need a disinfectant to cleanse our politics from Biden's hot messes -- busing, segregation, crime bill, abortion, Anita Hill, touching women, etc.
BUT the financial/corporate issues -- just as dangerous for 2020, must also get more media discussion. Where was this in the debate questions?
Biden was once known as Mr. MBNA. Is this what will beat Trump? He sided with big credit card banks against average citizens in debt who needed protection from exploitation.
A stark contrast with Warren who set up the CFPB to protect the public. The books she wrote tell it:
This Fight Is Our Fight: The Battle to Save America's Middle Class
The Two-Income Trap: Why Middle-Class Parents Are (Still) Going Broke
A Fighting Chance (1,640 Amazon reviews)
Only some media has dealt with it.
The Hill: “Sen. Warren said Biden had sided with credit card companies over "hardworking families."
The Intercept April 25 article by Lee Fang:
“ Biden launches Presidential bid with fundraiser filled with corporate lobbyists and GOP donors."
From FAIR--Fairness & Accuracy in Reporting:
"Biden pledged he won't take direct donations from lobbyists. But to open his campaign, he attended a $2,800 per person fundraiser given by David L. Cohen, executive VP and chief of lobbying for Comcast."
The debate questions and the NYT must cite that Biden reassured rich donors they wouldn't have anything to worry about if he's elected. Where's the assurance for We the People of the United States?
3
Be wary of anyone who starts a sentence with “Look. . . ”. Sound like Biden?
3
The Democratic party doesn't need some soothing old, white uncle all weighed down with unmentionable baggage. It needs a young, avenging brown angel, who has already put that uncle in his place, will prosecute the Orange Enfant Terrible, and then oversee the dismantling of the patriarchy form the top down. Timid regression won't cut it.
2
Who can save America? Strong black women.
They know when a man is wrong and have no problem calling him out to his face and in public.
They carried the Democratic Party on their backs during the mid-term elections.
They are not afraid of schooling our current president.
Give a black woman the power of the presidency and she will make sure our democracy is safe.
3
Is it too early to talk about a Warren/Harris ticket?
1
Is the Democratic party the pity party? This little girl was me was a feel sorry for me moment -- does it take what appears to be an overbearing narcissist, which Kamala looks like, to take on an bullying narcissist drama queen? She is a Senator, yet we should feel sorry for her? Is that what the US has come down to? This is not looking good.
9
I think it is funny that Harris is going after Biden on race when she made her mark as a prosecutor locking up black kids for drug possession. She will get hers.
9
What I find shocking is that Harris lied and not one member of the press has called her out on it. she was never bused anywhere. Berkeley schools were totally integrated in 1959!!!!!!!! Four full years BEFORE Harris was even born!! The press is so in the tank for a select set of candidates it is disgusting. NBC shut off Yang's mic and wouldnt let him talk and they put a fake blemish on Gabbard's chin during a close-up that magically disappeared
5
The problem with this account is that Kamala Harris is a hypocrite who glibly makes racist jokes about marijuana use and is even willing to dishonestly trash her Jamaican roots if her polls suggest it will advance her self-interests. She wants to be identified as black. However, she does not want to discuss her over eager prosecutorial record of going for maximum jail-time against black defendants for minor drug offenses. Yes she is now for marijuana legalization and she has the nerve to now confess that it is in her DNA. Do we really want another person who is this confused about their personal identity in the White House?
9
Maureen, I respect how you’re the only columnist brave enough to say Clarence Thomas was lying. Also you’re the only one brave enough to say that Cheney and W lied about Iraq having weapons so they could generate the war they wanted there. Keep telling the truth!
There's really nothing to add, Maureen. You said it all. We can't go on with "next person in line". We can't go on with the party pros backing another establishment candidate.
Biden's "working across the aisle" Republican Party doesn't exist anymore. He should have learned that with his eight years of Republican obstruction suffered during the Obama administration. Biden's Democratic Party doesn't exist anymore either. It has minorities and women filled with revolutionary fervor and fire.
His $200,000 speech praising a Republican is as ridiculous as Hillary's $640,000 speeches to Wall Street. How much more money do you people need? When is enough, enough?
Now, Joe, now. There's a time for everything, and when that time is over, it's over. Get off the stage, Joe, and take your bag of dirty laundry with you. Your time is over.
You're embarrassing yourself.
3
I wonder what Barack Obama was thinking when every candidate on Thursday night's debate stage raised his or her hand when asked whether "your government [health care] plan would provide coverage for undocumented immigrants".
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qgce06Yw2ro
3
Another excellent column, Ms. Dowd!
For everyone awarding points to Kamala Harris,
Does that mean we are going to go back to forced busing?
I guess it was a positive for Kamala Harris but this is the first I’ve heard that it was some widespread success opposed only by racists.
4
Our democracy is in free-fall with an illegitimate president who chuckles with Putin, the journalist-killer, about not 'meddling' (oh, how I hate that word) in our elections and wishes he could kill or at least imprison a few journalists himself. In fact, he wants to be a dictator and I'd say he's well on his way to achieving that goal.
So....who will be the dictator slayer? Does it have to be Joe Biden who can appeal to the blue collar workers in PA, MI, Ohio and WI. But many Democrats will say it has to be him because there is no one else who can do the job. Anyone else, they say, is too lefty, too silly for independents and those people will, once again, vote for the dictator wannabe.
Well.....there's Amy Klobuchar, recently of Saladgate. Could she be the dictator-slayer? Not a lefty, an incrementalist. But, very important, she's a woman. And will independents vote for Trump over a sensible woman who does not wear stilettos and who won't be tweeting foreign policy at 5 AM in her bathrobe?
There's Mayor Pete who sounds good on many levels but will those independents vote for him (a gay man with a husband) and not a lot of experience?
Will they vote for a strong, black woman with a not so great record herself? Or will her strength turn those voters off?
Will Warren's misstep with her DNA and being the enemy of crony capitalism cause those independents to turn away?
I'm sick of thinking about those independents and who they want.
2
Harris played the race card and did it in a really sleazy and disingenuous way. Saying she knew Biden wasn’t a racist but then misstating facts that made him out to be one is egotistical grandstanding. She will never be elected if she goes against trump and she just cost the Dems the election for anyone that does. What a stupid thing to say and what stupid place to say it. Thanks Kamela for another 4 years of insults tweets and downgrading the US.
7
Trump will be eviscerated trying to match wits with Harris, she left Barr mumbling incoherently and Joe was like a deer in the headlights, and given Trump’s lack of higher executive thought, she’ll leave him with soiled pants and tired cat calls of “nasty”.
As I have said many times - Joe is lost. And I resent that the current Dems seem to want to shove this toothy geezer down my liberal throat. Biden is not a progressive, and (like Obama) he is a Republican "lite" as far as I'm concerned.
The Democrats need a strong candidate who can take on Trump full force. Can you imagine how Trump would shred clueless Joe in a debate? Times up.
4
You are and have been one of the most negative columnists of our day. You helped Trump more than you helped Hillary with your continual snide comments on Hillary when she ran her campaign. Calling Biden "arrogant" is a new level of hypocrisy from the master of arrogance you bring to the Times. We need to bolster all the Democrats running and not tear them down. We need to defeat Trump. Check your arrogance at the door.
6
How vividly I remember Dowd yearning for a Biden run in 2016, waxing lyrical about his son's dying wish that he do so. Now Biden is her new Hillary and the battery acid is flowing from her pen. This column space will be best avoided for the next year or so.
4
California US Senator beats up old man. Crowd cheers.
Who does she brag to, about that?
5
Senator Kamala Harris carved Uncle Joe up like a Thanksgiving turkey. Senator Harris would make Donald Trump and the Mitch McConnell Republican Party look like what they are: old, foolish, privileged, corrupt, white men who have their own interests in mind and could care less about our country.
4
Maybe Biden is saying a white male Democrat can actually bend hard line GOPers to his will...Maybe Biden is correct..We KNOW how McConnell treated Obama but perhaps Biden is implying that white men can compromise and make deals among each other...Perhaps Biden means that white male leadership is the ONLY chance we have... It's been the norm for 240 years...Just saying
The beginning of Maureen’s destruction of the Democratic poll leader. There will no doubt be dirt to be dug on Kamala, Warren, Bernie, or whoever. Maureen will scream out.
Joe is not my choice. If he wins I’m voting for him.
How about the rest of you?
5
What gets me is that Biden said about a segregationist/racist "he didn't call me boy, he called me son." Of course, he didn't call Biden boy, Biden isn't black, that slur is reserved for black men. Doesn't Biden know this? He must. How couldn't he? Only a fool wouldn't know that.
And then Biden wouldn't apologize and said that Cory Booker should apologize for suggesting he do so? Good lord, the arrogance.
Kamala Harris said she doesn't think Biden is a racist. But what Harris didn't say was that Biden has benefitted from a system of white supremacist patriarchy his entire life. He is not the leader we need today.
1
one wonders why Obama chose Joe as VP?
IF you want the TRUTH about what Kamala Harris said- Kammie lied...Berkeley schools were integrated in 1963 - a year before Kammie was born. Gateway Pundit has the story and 1963 and 1964 yearbook pictures..
4
Remember, Loretta Lynn was too "me" until she worked with the geezer Conway Twitty to make music.
“Harris was grinding her stiletto on a vulnerable part of Biden’s record.”
Hah!!!! Love it!
1
Admirable to ambush Biden and call him a racist? Not really unexpected since she called Kavanaugh a rapist. She was holding onto another accusers secret statement. Remember Ms. Swetnick? Talk about not needing evidence to go to war.
She's black, a woman and apparently little else.
3
So much for unity, huh? Where's Obama wagging his finger? Oh, wait, it's not Bernie, this time, pointing out a truth.
Biden summed it up in his own statement: "My time is up. I’m sorry." Adios Joe, your game is over.
Democrats MUST go for the women's vote, white black, Hispanic, Muslim, lesbians...all of them. Women make up more than half the population. White males are all but lost to Democrats right now. Get off the 10% (gay people) and 12% (African Americans) and go for the 51%. Women are the uniter; Women are the stabilizers; women protect children, so adding children to the mix is huge and a must (ie: the Trump policy of caging and neglecting children). As all females know, women are catty toward each other, very hard on other women. But you know who women love? Gay men. Another middle-aged woman pulled up next to me recently at a red light and pumped her fist in the air after seeing my Buttigieg 2020 bumper sticker. We know. Buttigieg is the only candidate right now I believe can defeat Trump, and a female VP would be ideal. Americans, I don't believe, will vote for a woman to be president right now. Most I think need to see a woman VP first (I'm not defending it. I think it's terrible. Just dealing with reality). Buttigieg/Harris-or-Warren would take Trump down like the heap of trash he is ,and they'd also be great for the country.
The other night I watched the movie "Can you ever Forgive me" about the literary letter forger Lee Israel.
I can NOT forgive Joe Biden for allowing Clarence Thomas to ascend to SCOTUS among other thinge.
Time for him to retire to being an elder statesman if anything.
6
We need someone to take it straight to Trump and the vile, despicable GOP. And that person is KAMALA.
6
Bringing a shotgun to a circular firing squad is pure genius.
6
If six-pax Joe (?) ever had a moment it was 2016 as the candidate instead of Queen Hillary as Maureen describes her. Why didn’t Joe run then? Seriously, I know the family excuse but we all know there was a political deal with the devil on the choice. What is the real answer to that question Joe? ... anyway, stick the fork in Biden... He’s done.
5
I for one could do without another presidential campaign cycle that involves Ms. Dowd’s commentary.
12
The only place a 76 year old aging boomer should be running for is the toilet
5
In the preliminary heat, Tulsi Gabbard bayoneted Tim Ryan over his support for forever war.
7
There’s not one good Democratic candidate in the field of 20. Can you believe that? Why? Because the good candidates who sat this one out, know they are going to lose. The dems have jumped off the left cliff and they are going to land hard. The party will be woken up by the fall but of course it’ll be to little to late. (Maybe 2024 guys.)They have all abandoned they center. They still have forgotten the working white man. What? Take away my health care for a gov plan? What reparations? For something that happen over 150 years ago! What abortions for transgender‘s? That’s just to weird. What decriminalizing illegals crossing the boarder? You mean open boarders. What free college? When you can serve your country to receive free college? You mean take away a big incentive for the young people to serve? Theses ideas are not setting well with me. So what’s a working white man to do? Vote republican. Thanks for blowing yet another election dems you clowns are getting good at it. And btw the country is not ready for a female president no matter how high her stiletto.
5
Harris' shot at Biden for having had the temerity to have worked with bad senators towards good policies was cheap. Her accusal of personal betrayal given that she was a young, bused-in student in the 70's, was maudlin and self absorbed. The reality is that busing was well intentioned but widely loathed, including by black Americans, and an abject failure.
The hard nosed prosecutor establishment careerist turned Super Woke social justice warrior candidate Harris is going to run laps around old Uncle Joe. All of the populist authenticity of Hillary, all the zealotry of an Oberlin college grad student.
She will get the nomination, the left will swoon, and she will be crushed in the general election. And the NYT will explain that America hates strong women and people of color. Oh! And what about that pesky electoral college? And the Russians, and...!
2
Kid wearing a hoodie! Omg that expression is so cringeworthy. In this lily white town in suburban Ma, there are plenty of young White boys and girls in hoodies, cuz it’s comfortable and practical to wear those. Which century is Biden from!
2
Now team don't forget to post my little girl picture after I put it to Biden. Also, make sure my t-shirts are ready to sale right after the debate. Oh by the way, let Alyssa Milano know her acting hint on how to make fake tears doesn't work
4
Dear Kamala
Thank you for negating I am a racist in a suggestive manner similar in the way our current king operates.
President Obama elected me as his VP. I would assume most would agree his judgment is equal or better than yours.
Not a racist.
Joe
1
Regardless of Kamala Harris' well-rehearsed plunging of one of her stiletto heels into the former Vice President's throat, we do not need an 80 year old man in the White House three years from now, just like we don't need an 80 year-old woman hyper-cautiously holding up the Impeachment hearings that should be under way in the House of Representatives, right now, while tv cameras are treating us to images of our "President," licking the boots of his Russian handler.
Ms. Dowd has absolutely no proof that Clarence Thomas was lying or that Anita Hill was falsely accused. She's simply expressing a personal bias.
1
Biden is too old.
3
One of your best, Maureen. Just like Kamala you nailed it!
I'd like the NYT to please come out about their disdain for Biden. These articles are getting off the beaten path. Bragging about Segregationists? Loaded language and completely false. Couldn't handle Harris? Seriously? You want an important topic or past action of a man in politics for over 30 years to roll off a summation in 60 seconds? It can't done. Not on TV and Not in a 1000 word Op Ed. This is where news IS the problem.
3
I am in despair at the improper grammar of both a US senator and a Times columnist. The correct version would be “that little girl was I”. The better and less stilted-sounding version would be “I was that little girl.”
Other than that, I completely agree with Kamala and Maureen. You go, girls!
Hang it up, Joe. Your time has come and gone.
1
I guess the liberal press wants to write 4 more years of lazy trump articles than have the democrats win. When she said "I was that little girls" I said "now the cable news and media have their next 3 days of news" and was not disappointed. You want to do the same to Biden as you did to Hilary on the email. Kamala Harris is a toned down Angela Davis and can't possibly win
3
I would vote for More-of-the-same-forever-and-forever-Biden over What's his name, the hair..., but this oldening VP seems the same as the old Biden who voted for the invasion of Iraq and the destruction of that country's society.
Anita who? Oh, yes, the one sexually abused by Clarence Thomas, who contributions to jurisprudence are invisible even to beer-loving Cavanaugh, the laughing would-be rapist of a high school girl...
Biden is too old to put on aviator sunglasses, comb his slicked thin hair back, back, back, and bound onto stages for reasons unclear.... He hasn't the energy to campaign intelligently; on the first day of his presidency, he would need a long nap.
1
Biden had treatment of two brain aneurysms in 1988.
Could that be a problem?
1
How about analysis in policy positions and how that relates to beating Trump.
Only in America do we pick Presidents on emotional nonsense like “great to have a beer” or “did you see that gotcha moment”.
We should be better than that. This type of romper room politics is why we have Trump. His gotcha lines and crude jokes got him the White House.
Break down their policy issues. The moderators for these debates have to get this focused. F
The policy does matter this time!
The debate should have been four hours on PBS. Americans have to Stop always wanting to be entertained.
2
Live by the sword, die by the sword.
The unfair racial political attack by Harris was only exceeded by Biden's sick suggestion that Romney and the Republicans would keep the black community 'in chains'. Serves him right.
1
Unlike most Amerikans, Joe Biden has enough money to enjoy a comfortable retirement with his handsome WASP-y family. So why is he subjecting all of us to this charade? We appreciate his service in the Senate and eight years as 2nd in command, a true legacy. I would have more respect for you if you did that, so please Joe, just go away.
2
Joe needs to go.
1
Calling Mrs. Clinton Queen Hillary and Biden Uncle Joe reflects a level of animus little different from Trump's "crooked Hillary" and "sleepy Joe,"
4
It’s 2019, this is a column by a woman, and the photo chosen to go with it is a sexist trope, a misogynistic cartoon shorthand for ‘mankiller.’ If the piece were about a male candidate I doubt you would have a photo of a man grinding his Florsheim into the ground.
Shame on you, NYTimes.
1
Good article. Weird graphic and title.
1) You're not a reporter. You're an opinion columnist, according to the label below your byline. It's an important distinction. 2) Why would anyone associated with the Obama administration or Hillary Clinton give you the time of day, let alone an interview? Historically your writing about those two people has been tainted by a strangely personal animus. 3) If you already thought Biden's decisions were "bad," then why bother interviewing him? Given your evident bias would you be able to clearly and accurately represent his defense of his years in the Senate?
10
Drum roll, please for this sentence:
"Biden is selling himself as someone who can work with a Republican Party that everyone but Biden realizes doesn’t exist anymore."
There is nothing to "work with" in the Republican party and, if there were something for a few nano seconds, the leadership, dedicated to rancid partisanship above all, would squash it like a mosquito on a dinner plate. SMASH. Gone.
This failure to understand the present was undeniably apparent during the Obama-Biden administration when Obama spoke of hoping "the fever" would break after re-election. Ha! It is not a fever of partisanship, it is a way of life, its not an angle they are playing, it is a nihilistic, dead center on strategy, the only plan.
Obama floated into DC and rose to the presidency so fast that the elevator operators in the Senate office buildings didn't even get to know his name before he left. If Biden served as his long experienced interpreter of political cock fighting, both of them failed to realize what they were up against. Yes, for eight long years they tried to negotiate, compromise and get along. It was a colossal failure.
We are in a new era inside another new era, defined, in the latter case, by social media, a giant propaganda apparatus supporting Republicans and a tidal wave of outside influence money. This ain't the '80s or the '90s. Can Biden wake up and survive in this new cage match arena? Doesn't look promising
8
Odd analogy to Blazing Saddles, Ms Dowd. Especially considering that the Sheriff (the late Cleavon Little) who holds a gun to his head is Black, and uses the "N" word in self-reference.
I do wish Joe would shuffle off the stage at this point...
The Clintons must roar with laughter upon finding their names in every other column you do, Mo. Your keep their franchise alive and fresh. Your sick obsession with tearing them down helped produce the monster in the White House. Is there any Catholic guilt, shame for what you've done to our country and the planet?
9
Joe Biden has made mistakes in his career. Some more egregious (Anita Hill), some amusing (putting his foot in his mouth). But people, Joe Biden is a saint compared to Donald Trump.
Joe Biden isn't perfect, but he is virtuous, he is patriotic, he is an American who believes in America's values and ideals. It is abundantly clear he loves America and our diversity.
In contrast, Donald Trump is a malignant disease which is destroying America from inside out. He loves only himself. He has changed the presidency into the role of a crime boss. He is a mean spirited thug.
People found Hillary Clinton flawed and look at how that worked out. Don't make the same mistake. If Biden is our nominee VOTE FOR HIM!!!
7
Let's take a look at Eric Swalwell.
2
I agree with everything you said about Biden, Maureen.
But a word on Harris -- that set piece she did on him was low. Cueing it up with "I know you're not a racist" was reminiscent of people who used to say "I'm not a racist but . . .". She could have distinguished herself from Biden in better ways. Further, it was her "playing the race card," which dooms her to losing the Obama voters who switched to Trump. They sure won't be switching back to the Democratic nominee if it's her. Sorry, Ms. Harris, you took yourself out of the running as far as I'm concerned.
6
If Democrts don't get smarter about their stupid debates, they are going to lose to Tyrant Trump again.
The questions made Dem's look stupid and out of touch with most American voters. Most American voters do not think that immigrants and children's concentration camps are the most important issues in the Presidential election. They are just symptoms of a really terrible Presidency under Trump.
Democrats care about better jobs and healthcare nd speaking to midwesterners and middle of the country states as well as "coastal elites" with more education and income. Barack Obama sold himself as the man from Chicago, not Hawaii.
Nancy Pelosi needs to impeach and move on. She looks like a shrill incompetent these days - piddling over trivialities. Immigrtion is a big topic for Democrats. Democrats came off as pro-immigrants not pro-Americans in both their debates.
The problems lie with cutsie arrogant "news" casters like Arrogant Chuck Todd. He was literally insulting Democrats as he made fun of them during the debhate - telling debaters to limit themselves to one word answers on topiocs like global warming! Replace Stupid Arrogant Tom Perez with a savvy Democrat! Time to put someone like Howard DEan in charge - Howard got the first African American elected to the Presidency - why isn't he running the election?
Al Franken could run the election better than Tom Perez!
2
Kamala can put Joe down with her snarky faux righteous indignation all she wants. Elizabeth Warren can do it with just facts, attitude free.
7
The New Democrat socialist agenda insures Trump’s win in 2020. Joe six pack, Kamala, Castro and the rest of the motley crew have had their 15 minutes of fame. Game over! B
2
Well, Modo, you’re the one who accused Obama of being mean to Biden & not letting him run last time! You have no room to criticise now bc he got to run this time as you wanted. It doesn’t look like it’s going to work out though.🤷🏻♀️
You mean that Joe Biden has faults? Wow, I'm shocked. BTW -- could you please re-publish those columns where Dowd criticized Obama?
2
Maureen Dowd's obsession with the Clintons just won't end. She writes, "Not deigning to talk to the press to explain bad decisions to voters seemed more like Queen Hillary than Uncle Joe."
Maureen, it was your relentless snark against Hillary Clinton that helped Donald Trump into the White House. But you're still at it? Seriously.
You helped put Trump in the White House. The next time you have an urge to attack Hillary Clinton again, fight it.
6
The old damning with fait praise gambit seems to get Maureen's stamp of approval today! Now, Maureen, I know you aren't a gullible audience for cold rehearsed insincere underhanded ambush. But your praise for Harris' court room style attack on ye olde Biden I found hurtful.
2
The circling firing squad has begun, score another one for Donald Trump. The Donald might not have to do anything to win a second term with journalists like Maureen Dowd doing the heavy lifting for him. Biden bashing Kamala Harris will never get my vote. Maureen, your obvious bias is showing when you characterized Joe Biden as Joe Sixpack.
2
Uncle Joe, this ain’t a parade and your political career is fleeting..
======
“For over a thousand years Roman conquerors returning from the wars enjoyed the honor of triumph, a tumultuous parade. In the procession came trumpeteers, musicians and strange animals from conquered territories, together with carts laden with treasure and captured armaments. The conquerors rode in a triumphal chariot, the dazed prisoners walking in chains before him. Sometimes his children robed in white stood with him in the chariot or rode the trace horses. A slave stood behind the conqueror holding a golden crown and whispering in his ear a warning: that all glory is fleeting.” George S. Patton Jr.
1
Kama -LaLa and her advisors have done the calculous. If nominated she can win Cali,Oregon and Washington State, lots of votes and electoral college points . Maybe she will win New York. After that good luck. And if somehow she is teamed with Little Petey from South Bend Trump will waltz in for term 2. Miss LaLa and her tremulous voice can race bait all she wants but it's a dead end.Sooner than later the name Robert Byrd will appear, former Klan member and Democrat senate majority and minority leader over 15 or 20 years. All the dems worked with the Wizard like Joe did with Talmidge and Eastland. They're stupid for going down this rat hole. Just saying.
This is disturbing information about Biden. Apologists and suck-ups to the fossils on the right are longer required, thank you anyway Mr. Biden.
1
Joe is a head and shoulders better choice than Trump but so is a turnip.
2
Just like professional athletes, there comes a time when a politician’s time has passed but he/she doesn’t see that. Although Joe Biden has many admirable qualities that would have made him a great choice in 2000 or 2004, his time has passed. He swings late on the fast balls and his defense is failing. Better to go now, Joe, with your legacy intact rather than become a guy who hangs on long past his prime.
Wrong analogy, Maureen. Kamala Harris forearmed Joe Biden as he was sprinting across the middle of the field like a Jack Tatum hit on Darryl Stingley. The commentators will be talking about that devastating blow for decades.
And then Kamala shotgunned herself when she started selling "That Little Girl was Me" t shirts the very next day, revealing how rehearsed her one-note prosecutor act is. Her medicare-for-all continued bungling didn't help either. She and Biden seem a fitting pair.
3
The great problem with the Harris-Biden showdown is that having a conversation about race is not what Democrats need to do if they really mean to suck the air out of Trumpworld.
They may as well start doing now what they'll need to do in the general election campaign: talking about the wrongs, the needs, and the aspirations that many Americans have in common regardless of race.
They should also emulate the 11th Commandment of the antediluvian Republican Party (the one that existed before the Trumpist flood): "Thou shalt speak no evil of fellow Republicans." If you want to take down the front-runner, just outshine him with better ideas and a more inspiring address.
The sight of a crowd of Democrats united in their determination to rescue America and only vying to lead the way would electrify the country.
3
This planned prosecutorial attack on Joe Biden by Kamala
Harris...only shows that she ...knows how to to be a pit bull
on stage....to get attention;
And we do not need another bully or narcissist in the Oval
Office; we are trying to get rid of the one we are stuck with.
Decency is also needed and this was not shown by Harris.
Upstaging members of your own political party ...is a very ugly tactic to get attention.
6
As a 72 year old voter I recognize it is time for a new generation. The generation I am a part of has had decades to screw things up. It has done this completely.
2
Clueless Joe Biden has been clueless for decades.
The idea that the avuncular Joe Biden was going to be some magical electoral savior against our 12-alarm national dumpster fire Presidency was always half-baked.
Biden's a likable fellow who does terribly in national elections when sharper minds always send Joe home early.
Biden was too interested in maintaining chummy relations with Senate Republicans to give Anita Hill a fair shake while trying to rush Clarence Thomas's Supreme Court nomination through for the GOP.
As the late Senator Howard Metzenbaum, Democrat from Ohio, later admitted, “Joe bent over too far backwards to accommodate the Republicans, who were going to get Thomas on the Court come hell or high water.”
Even one of the top lawyers on Biden’s Senate staff at the time, Cynthia Hogan, now faults Biden's staff's handling of the hearings. She said to the Washington Post, “What happened is we got really politically outplayed by the Republicans.” Hogan said that Biden had wanted to be seen as a neutral arbiter, while the Republicans instead wanted to win.
Clueless Joe keeps trying to wage a naive gentlemen's compromise with a guerrilla warfare political party that will stop at nothing to steal and rig elections, House seats, Senate seats, Presidencies, and Supreme Courts while shafting average Americans from sunrise to sunset.
The Democrats need a smarter fighter happy to knock the Republican Party completely out of the ring.
Pack it in, Clueless Joe.
4
One clear problem is that the "progressive" democrats are out of touch with both Americans and reality.
Open Borders- This issue along will help the Donald tremendously. The Dems need to talk about the ecology and helping the masses of poor people, not just the few on the border. The Earth is full and finite and has no compassion for people or species that overrun the land. Many cultures and countries have family planning and ecology issues that are the problem - dealing with the symptoms is a looser, naive strategy and position. It's not racist, its ecological. And who wants to doom America's young people to an even more dire employment struggle. Finally, who pays: the compassionate talkers want someone else to pay. "Don't tax me, tax the fellow behind the tree."
Economics - Jobs for Americans - The Donald as seized the day with the trade problems with China (He is likely to screw it up badly). But the Dems from Clinton through Obama didn't do squat but warble about neo liberal economics. Meanwhile, the jobs kept moving offshore.
Climate change- A complex issue that the Dems have been quiet about. But the recent weather shows that climate change is here. A real issue, a real concern, and ... dem silence. Where's the beef?
College costs - Debt forgiveness is treating the symptom, not dealing with the cause. It won't work, it's a bad idea, etc.
We need to encourage young people to go to community college, not some high cost, marketed pit. Colleges should share some risk.
2
Wow. Out maneuvering an out-of-step pack leader is considered significant? Show us policy, not personality. The Dems can't climb out of their self-dug hole with any of these pretenders. The entire cadre of misfits gets a C- for a very unimpressive performance.
1
The Democrats are claiming that Obama chose a racist to be his VP?
3
Nailed it.
Senator Harris confirmed in one deft attack what I have feared about Biden as our electoral "white knight": that he would be overconfident and underprepared in a matchup against Trump.
Biden seemed detached and unfocused, while Harris was clearly prepared, empowered and unhesitant. Just imagine what she could do one-on-one with an erratic blowhard like Trump.
She's got my vote.
61
Whomever Democrats nominate has this former Republican’s vote. However, if the self-acclaimed “Grim Reaper” Mitch McConnell and his GOP majority Senate are not sent packing it will all be for naught. More energy, money and focus on flipping the Senate PLEASE!
48
"Time is full of changes and now you've got to go. . .
Good bye, Joe."
-- Laura Nyro.
13
I get a yucky feeling Harris didn't do herself any favors in her low attack on Biden. It looked and sounded contrived, and it was.
But I think it was the immediate post-debate production of "poor me" t-shirts she had at the ready that is stomach-turning and telling of how Harris has conducted and will conduct her campaign(s).
Biden remained the statesman; most of us not surprised. If you want to know his conduct against trump, just pull up the 2012 VP debate between Biden and Paul Ryan...from beginning to end Biden nailed Ryan for his lies and GOP garbage; at the end, Biden ate Ryan's lunch with a nice gentlemanly smile. Underestimate Joe Biden at your peril.
26
Remember when candidate Hillary - fed up with the press hounding her about stuff she didn't want to answer - was walking in a July 4th parade & her media people literally tied a rope around the press like they were cattle so they could walk behind Hillary in a big roped off clump? That was entitlement, desperation & fear.
The same thing is happening with Biden. He's entitled believing this is his nomination. And he's arrogant & not learning anything from making these mistakes. Like Hillary, he has decades of decisions to account for & like her, nobody is going to let Biden off the hook.
Nothing Kamala Harris said is unfair. Biden's record is there for all to see. Biden needs to stop looking irritated, shocked or wounded when someone asks him to explain himself.
This is not the inauguration of Joe Biden. Hillary made the same mistake - it was her nomination, "her turn," she appeared to be miles ahead in the polls & was so personally furious at Bernie Sanders for challenging her that she never
came up with a believable way to make peace with Bernie & some Bernie supporters voted 3rd party or stayed home because she couldn't make peace with them.
It's important for Biden not to repeat Hillary's mistake. Don't view Democratic challengers as mean, unfair enemies. Pleasantly tolerate them & work to incorporate some of their views - or lose out. Hillary was too entitled & brittle to do that. It cost her dearly.
Biden's a fool if he doesn't learn that lesson.
34
Harris's shotgun and grinding stiletto heel are NOT what we need in a leader.
You don't have to be racist to see busing as a colossal mistake.Her "that little girl" soap was rehearsed and manipulative but not appealing.
She is sneering,self-absorbed and obnoxious.
Her stated policies would destroy Dem's chances.
She did NOT win the debate and she is not a strong candidate for Pres.
She would assure trump's re election.
42
And because she did: Trump wins! Thank you Kamala! Love, Trump supporters.
17
Thanks for this excellent article. I think that Biden's past is prologue. Trump may label him "Bought Biden". His past record has been a long history of disappointment to auto safety progressives. See
https://www.fairwarning.org/2012/09/a-strange-indifference-to-highway-carnage/
4
Another humorous column from Maureen. thank ya.
One thing: It isn't Biden's age that's the problem. After all, look at Bernie. It's more like a great cavalry officer wishing to become the supreme general during WW1. Time to write the memoir.
3
I want Kamala Harris to tell White suburbanites that she wants to bus their children into underperforming urban schools and that she intends to bus minority children into their suburban neighborhood schools. If her exchange with Joe Biden was actually genuine, she needs to expand on her strategy to achieve school integration by busing.
And we need to know why Kamala Harris didn’t do anything about school segregation when she was California AG. There’s still racial segregation across California public schools, probably worse than when she was a child. Why didn’t she force Marin, Santa Clara, San Francisco, and other wealthy counties to agree to busing.
35
'Biden is selling himself as someone who can work with a Republican Party that everyone but Biden realizes doesn’t exist anymore.'
He is selling himself as someone who can work with opposing points of view. Foolishly, perhaps, he points out that through his years in the art of the possible he has done just that.
There appears to be a widespread belief that any Republican is evil. Current conditions are determined by the drift to the right not unrelated to the Democratic drift to the left. The chemistry will change to some degree if the winner in chief is dumped.
Also: 'Aides said they had urged Biden to find a less toxic example.
“It might move him to pick a different senator,” said one adviser, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal deliberations. “But he’s not someone you can go to and just say, ‘You’ve been doing this x number of years and you can’t do this anymore.’ ”
Another adviser, expressing confidence that the fallout from Biden’s remarks could soon subside, nonetheless worried that Biden could inflame matters if he jokes about it the way he has sought to defuse other campaign controversies'.
When you call this trash talk, it creates a picture of the sensitivities of your world, if not your partisanship.
Just possibly Kamala Harris will bring Biden down, but will she be the prosecutor to bring Trump down? Maybe Buttigieg, whose brilliance and appeal appeared to desert him when called for not firing his police chief?
2
“....The Republican Party that everyone but Biden realizes doesn’t exist anymore.” Exactly. The Democrats face a Herculean task of separating swing voters from the cult of Trump party. I don’t think Biden is up to it. He better wake up. Trump and his fraudsters are already throwing birtherism, fake fundraising videos, Russian techniques, and gerrymandering to swing the election. It’s going to get real dirty and don’t expect the party of Trump to be honorable. Look at their record with the last election. Biden, Harris, Castro, Bennett, Warren etc. better be ready to face the sewer sludge that will be used to destroy them .
10
Kamala doesn't have the chops to take on Joe regardless of the media inflating her worth and if she were to prevail Trump would eat her alive. So Dems need to move on this subject and simply get accustomed to Joe.
11
The DEMs made a monster mistake in 2016, they ran the most qualified candidate with lots of past baggage for president and trump chewed her up and won. Now in 2020 we have a very very qualified past vice president with lots of baggage so please, I beg you, don't make the same mistake. Joe, you are a really nice guy who did lots of good things so go sit and enjoy the show. Kamala Harris and the rest, you can never win with Medicare for all including illegals, open borders, free college/debt cancel. Too too many giveaways.
15
Father Time is undefeated and the wear and tear of politics takes a lot of tread off of the tires. The truth is, a bag of rocks should be able to beat Trump and a bag of rocks can’t use a pen and doesn’t rape people. Uncle Joes appeal is his strength in the states that put Trump over the top in the last election, a mere 77K votes total. Any Democratic candidate who pays attention and stick sticks to the parties core values should be able to flip those states. The woman in the debates are a refreshing change from the machismo mannequin men who have been President for the last 234 years. It is time for a woman to be President, a much better choice than a bag of rocks.
3
Don`t count Biden out already Ms. Dowd , everyone is entitled to change their mind as you did. Once a friend of trump now want him to take a fall, but you are not a politician and Biden is and Biden is weak and you are not.
Saying that Biden`s clueless look at the debate was concerning . How Mr. Biden, if a nominee would fight lying trump in a debate ?
Ms. Harris is impressive , a lot younger and articulate.
Biden will have black supporters so would She .
If a nominee I would like her to team up with either Mayor Pete or Mr. Castro .
If Ms. Warren gets the nomination I would like the same two to team up with her and drag trump out of the office.
The rumor is trump will not leave willingly .
2
Joe Biden is Hilary Clinton 2.0. Please the base - ignore the past - blow off the critics. He needs to step aside.
7
Watching Biden up there is like watching a past their prime athlete trying to hang on in the big leagues. Don’t get me wrong Harris took a pretty cheap shot (typical for a prosecutor), but an on his game Biden handles it much better. I don’t see him pulling through.
5
I don’t know why the media loved what Harris did. It was a cheap pre-meditated shot. Harris had a relatively privileged childhood but she is playing a grand race card. She also has a history and her time will come, but she may keep invoking the race and victim card. Democrats are flooding her campaign fund, they need to think twice. Her chances of beating Trump are somewhere between zero and none.
27
Joe Biden enjoyed career as a political weather vane. He used his schmooze to get by like the Amtrak he road back and forth to Delaware: get on. Get off.
Done.
No work. No leadership.
Now add 30 years later.
Not to be mean spirited about it, but Joe’s train has left the station intellectually physically and he’s surrounded by people on both sides who will eat him alive.
6
That is most likely Kamala's foot and shoe but its use as a metaphor for female domination is all wrong in this context.
8
There should be no surprise here. Biden is the same Biden we've had all along - a guy that likes to be liked and does everything he can in that regard. The look on his face when Harris was throwing punches was one of "why are you being mean to a nice guy like me"? Biden has always been a light weight which explains his off cuff remarks and non-sequiturs. His nickname of Uncle Joe says it all.
5
I think Biden will, obviously, drop out. As Ted Kennedy said to Obama "run now while you do not have a long record". I was surprised that Obama picked Biden after he stated (referring to an Obama run) "He's clean and speaks good English." Biden did affirm Gay marriage without consulting Obama and for that I am grateful. Let him go quietly...
8
He’s too old, too slow for the “immediate” generation. Most Americans get their news in snippets. But I also don’t think people care about 40 years ago or even 40 minutes ago.
Run on what won them 2018. Preexisting conditions, income inequality and what an animal and thief Trump is. How divisive he is. How the SCOTUS is important. And another 4 years will hand him RBG seat.
DROP THE SINGLE PAYER NONSENSE. No way union workers will give up the private insurance they fought decades to get. Public/Private is best. Even the countries they alway trot out like Canada/France have a private option.
GET OUT THE VOTE - NOW! Just because there is same-day registration doesn’t mean it’s a good plan. Make sure everyone has been registered well before the dateline, if there is early voting, encourage it. And get people to the polls.
And for goodness sake, if you are not the nominee, either pull up your big kid pants and start campaigning hard for whomever is or shut up! I mean you, Bernie.
Biden can still deliver the Midwest to the nominee and I do think he would because I do think he loves this country.
Booker can still be effective in SC. Warren can still do the bread and butter.
There’s twenty candidates, pick 2 1/2 states and start campaigning for any Senator up for election that will get the Dems Senate control. Send EVERYONE to Kentucky and send Mitch packing.
11
Biden and Harris only candidates to go buggy eyed, as if confused. Yang, largely ignored, had most prophetic insight, as others deuled for liberal bona fides. "Not left. Not right. But forward." Cheers for someone putting people to work, not in prison (Harris).
4
“The past is never dead. It's not even past.”
― William Faulkner, Requiem for a Nun
4
Joe jebbed himself but I don't why people cheered Kamila for being an ambitious persecutor who would say anything to convict the defendant so long as it suits her purpose.
8
The race card played by Democrat? Busing? Remember how Senator Ted Kennedy and busing in Boston? How can we forget busing was required by federal court order and we all knew what the consequences were when state action was taken to try and resolve "de facto segregation." What is de facto segregation? If Senator Harris knows what it is then she's disingenuous. Senator Harris is not too sharp if she doesn't know (recommend that she start learning about this period of U.S. History by reading Lukas' "Common Ground." Ms. Dowd, you should be focused on how this attempt to attack Biden really gives us insight into Senator Harris and the attacks made by some in the Democratic Party playing the race card. Busing, open borders, and reparations! Watch how Trump ups the ante to re-election.
7
Biden in the accelerating time since 11/2016 is not only old beer but of the ancien régime.
3
Such a hypocrite. Her appeal is based on our collectivevwish to have Trump eaten alive by a lioness. It’s certainly NOT BASED ON HER RECENT PROSECUTORIAL RECORD, which makes Biden look like Malcolm X
7
Moderate democrats want to maintain status quo, that is corruption, good luck with that.
5
So Maureen, which of the candidates, who's plans and ideas for our republic carry us into the left wilderness, do you propose we nominate?
4
Democrats’ purity tests made George W. Bush a two-term president, and they will do the same for Donald Trump.
8
Pretty lame of Harris to pull such a stunt on Biden.
Yes she does seem like a good prosecutor, laid a snare and caught her prey, been in the works for weeks, a smart little girl indeed.
She played the same game when she was cross examining Barr. Boy she had him on the ropes ready for the knockout. Not.
Her and Booker, 2 showboats that may be good orators but have yet to show themselves as Executives with true leadership function with stunts like these. Real Sparticusses are they.
She even had the picture of that little girl ready to parade around next day. Not what I am looking for in my next pres.
15
I've been a Biden watcher for years. He is the victim of his own early success. Naturally, he is driven by ego, which in turn drives his serial plagiarism (by himself, he cannot appear as good as he thinks he is). Further, his mouth is the opposite of unflappable. His affability and bonhomie are synthetic, largely done for the cameras and to mask an unmistakeable (except to the average Democrat voter) mean streak.
6
Lo, why has the media stopped covering Carroll's claim after an earlier column by Carroll - dated appropriately 2 years before said incident - fantasized about sen in Bergdorf Goodman. The liberal media's complicity is shameful (and I'm not sure this will be published). A drive-by attempt and moving on.
1
I kind of can’t believe people are mis-reading this moment so badly. After Trump won openly appealing to racially resentful whites, we apparently believe that a black woman is going to successfully embarrass him on the debate stage by calling him a racist?
I remember Gillum in Florida going after de Santis in the gubernatorial debate. “I’m not saying de Santis is a racist. But racists think de Santis is a racist.” BOOM. Except Gillum lost that election.
Stacy Abrams ran an electrifying campaign in Georgia against a clearly racist man, and she called him on it. She lost.
Obama knew better than to call out Mitt Romney, and by extension, all white people, on racism. Outside the liberal bubble, it doesn’t work. Even Obama’s very mild comments about being stopped by police were greeted with widespread hysteria.
Talking about how you’ve been hurt by the system makes you sound like a scold. Worse, it makes you look weak.
Buttigieg is playing this right. He’s a candidate who happens to be gay. Progressives like the idea we are advancing our country like that. But he allows people who aren’t comfortable with it to ignore it.
7
Was there anything offered in the debate that would make a Republican who voted for Trump vote for any of these candidates? They were all preaching to the converted. It looked like the search was on for a debating partner for Trump, instead of an attempt to get people to change their minds and vote Democrat. Has anyone read the Hillbilly Elegy?! If no one makes a successful effort to win over "the other side, " you will have Trump again.
6
Biden is part of the problem. He is not the solution. He should gracefully step down before he is knocked out.
8
There's something wrong with the Democrats. We can prosecute Trump's real crimes with the same passion Republicans prosecuted Hillary's and Obama's fake crimes. Oh, Biden? The fact he can't recognize his his own deficiencies disqualifies him. Not even his wife wanted him to run. Justice Thomas sitting on the Supreme Court is reason alone for Joe to go home.
3
When David Brooks would like to see Biden as the Democrat's nominee you know something is wrong.
The so-called, white working class will continue to vote against its best economic and social interests just as it did to put Reagan into office.
As far as working with the Republicans, to paraphrase Chaucer, he who would sup with the devil should have a long spoon.
5
Characterizing what happened as a "shotgun", a "dressing down", or "grinding her stiletto", is really unfortunate.
It is hard to talk about race; it is hard not to become too abstract or to personally attack people.
Harris definitely confronted Biden. She did a brilliant job of keeping it real and human - she first said "I am not saying you are a racist" (and I believe she meant that) and then she described how Biden's actions (his actions, not his "essence") made her feel, and explained why.
That is exactly the way to do it. She left the door wide open for Biden to respond in an equally human way. Which he failed to do.
But please don't describe it as an attack.
785
Liberal Democrats, Lord bless them. They always eat their own.
9
How do you know that Clarence Thomas was the liar? Really - how do you know that?
2
You wrote a good one Miss Maureen.
3
"And that little girl was me." Were you a little girl of privilege with both parents college educated and with good-paying jobs whining because you were *bussed or was it because you weren't bussed? Maybe you could get more attention if you started out with the dog whistle, "I don't believe you are a racist" which really implies. "You are a racist." Or perhaps you could use "Hurtful" as a race-baiting term just as a pre-planned attack on a man who has been a champion of Civil Rights, Voting Rights, Women's Rights, and Gay rights his entire career.
*Show me a child who lived in the country (rural) who didn't ride a school bus to and from school.
12
Biden should have watched Harris masterfully filet Bill Barr during his confirmation hearing. That scene was the very epitome of poise eviscervating bluster. Surely, Kamala needs nothing more than the Barr and Biden videos to state her case.
6
Joe's been around a long time, during which a lot of attitudes have evolved. I very seriously doubt, for example, that the attitude of the typical heterosexual person toward the gay community was the same 40 years ago as it is today.
So the more relevant question is, what have you thought about that lately?
If you took a Hall of Fame baseball player who had 10,000 at bats, you would find that he struck out hundreds of times over that career. Focusing only on those failures is grossly misleading. That is why we have batting averages.
14
I am a woman who is finding it hard to support any of the women candidates. I think they are all intelligent and bring something to the table, just not enough.
I will only vote for Kamala Harris if she should win the nomination. Only because trump will never be an option. I was not impressed by her performance at the debate. She along with so many others does not have enough experience, especially in foreign policy. Buttigieg, Biden and Warren are on my radar.
Many of our “great” presidents have records that are not completely acceptable today: Washington on slavery, FDR on internment camps, Truman’s decision on the atomic bomb.
Biden may not be the answer, but, for me, Harris is definitely not the answer.
15
Why would Biden and his jockeys care?
Sure, he's too old, too politically checkered and too prone to gaffes but his polls look good.
More extreme cases, Trump and Reagan, are the precedents.
4
Why Biden chose to illustrate his bipartisan chops by bragging about his relationship with segregationists instead of about his relationship with Sen. McCain is inexplicable.
Obama’s biggest mistake was thinking that the modern Republican Party under McConnell’s leadership was remotely interested in bipartisanship and consensus-building. It took him too long to understand that the Republicans had declared war on him.
We don’t need someone who will repeat that mistake.
22
As long as there are Democrats who believe that Hillary in 2016 and Joe in 2020 are the future of the party and that pandering for moderate voters (while dismissing progressives) is the course the party must follow, tomorrow's results will be the same as all the yesteryears.
If the Democratic leadership was doing their job, they would be slowly skewering Trump and his Republican enablers day in and day out until election day. Instead of spending time on the past and petty infighting, contenders would be focused like a laser on the Republican's destructive actions and offering their solutions.
Politically speaking, Trump is the gift that keeps giving but Pelosi refuses to unite the Democratic Party against a legitimate threat to our Republic. The narrative against a corrupt president and a Republican Congress gaming the system on behalf of the wealthy oligarchs practically writes itself every day!
If Democrats lose in 2020, it will because they failed to impeach Trump. Who could lose against the most incompetent and corrupt president in the history of the United States? And, if that is what Pelosi and the other troglodytes are worried about, then what does that say about today's Democratic Party?
12
Biden’s campaign was kicked off in the conventional manner: with huge sums of money from corporate and super rich donors. How would he pay those donors back? This is the same story repeated again and again. You can’t take on big oil and big pharma with that strategy. Follow the money.
10
I always love it when each hopeful nominee strongly suggests that each of the others would be the worst person in creation (other than Trump) to be leading America as its President.
Then, after one becomes the actual nominee, all the others go around the country campaigning for her/him emotionally and “sincerely” saying the nominee is the greatest thing to happen to America since sliced bread and tv remotes!!
Sure! And they think anyone with a functioning brain actually believes them.
The debates are a poorly thought out sideshows for the sake of the media and not the electorate. I prefer candidates stating policy and answering questions in a serious venue rather than one specifically set up for previously rehearsed “got ya” moments.
8
The Dems need a centrist to win over the independents and moderates in order to have a good chance of beating Trump; Biden is the only one that fits the bill, warts and all. To paraphrase an old saying, to pick the winner of a beauty contest you need to figure out who the others want, not who you want.
4
Why would I want to vote for a candidate who can work with the other side (republicans) which has publicly, and in a weird honesty, harshly opposed every measure of my party's wants? Guns? opposed. Taxing the wealthy? opposed. Healthcare? opposed. Obama? opposed. Pick any issue.
Joe, you are so far from my vote every time you say you can work with the other side. The other side is being clear. You don't sit down at a table with the Orcs.
11
The worst part of the Harris - Biden clash, not noted by MD, was Biden's refuge re busing in states rights, rather than defending his old position on a very complex issue, or just saying it was wrong.
3
I like Harris, and I hope that, when Buttigieg wins the nomination that he will pick her or Warren as his VP. Conversely, I do not care for Joe Biden. Not only did he completely lose me after what he did to Anita Hill, but I've felt from the start that he cannot defeat Trump because he would look frail and old and feeble next to Trump. Well, he looked that way next to Democrats the other night, so imagine what Trump will do to him? But, I was disgusted with Harris's and everyone's attacks on Biden over his comments regarding the Senate years ago. Another thing I am completely fed up with is gratuitous distortion of what people say. The right wing turned Hillary Clinton's proposal to retrain coal workers to higher paying, safer clean jobs into her saying she was going to take their jobs from them...and they bought it. I know what Biden meant. Is it really too hard to debate with good faith and integrity and respond to the actual meaning of someone's comment? These are supposed to be leaders. Leaders should behave like adults. (Not to mention that, any Democrat who thinks black victimization will defeat Trump is kidding him/herself. That is a dangerous path to take ,Democrats). The only person on that stage, IMO, who can defeat Trump is Buttigieg, and it's because he remains cool, adult, now showmanship, unaffected. He is authentic. No gimmicks. He will be like Teflon for Trump, and the result will be Trump looking glaringly like the uncivilized boor and bully he is.
8
Joe Biden has discovered that mimicking Donald Trump by never apologizing as with Anita Hill, dissing your critics like Cory Booker, and outright lying about his stance on school busing, which he clearly vociferously opposed, is a losing strategy. Why on earth would he ever adopt such a strategy out-Trumping Trump when he claims to be the the only electable one ("Only I can save you.")?! Biden should have listened to Pete Buttigieg who had the maturity to admit and apologize for his inability to handle the latest racist incident in his police department and vowed to do better. And, he definitely should have listened to Michelle Obama when she said, "When they go low, we go high." Instead, he was exposed for the low road he took then and now; and may not have a torch to pass after his flame-out in Thursday's debate.
6
"Sorry, I think my time is up" pretty much covers it.
12
Biden will need to defend his record, but between him and Harris he has a record.
4
Kamala Harris is the perfect candidate to cut down Trump in a debate and on the campaign trail. However, she is black and a woman. Give all the Southern states to Trump in the 2020 election. I am voting for Kamala in the primary because she is undoubtedly the "sharpest knife in the drawer." Sure, she can be tough as nails and shrewd. But she does exude a warm and engaging personality.
1
Pretty much being established that the democrat party is no longer accepting older white men. The working class white families use to be the base of the democrat party, but Trump took them because he used commonsense over political correctness when necessary and understood fly-over country and that family values are first with most adult Americans.
2
His Campaign slogan: “My time is up. I’m sorry”
Bragging rights for votes and compromises that make people angry is not a path to the future.
Thanks again, Maureen.
4
Time to face reality: if Democrats nominate a woman, 4 years after a brutal lesson in just how deep and wide the River Misogyny runs in the country, Trump won’t need Russian help. I live near Seattle, in a small, comfortable community where Republicans are rare. But in the run-up to November 2016, I was shocked at how many people told me they “couldn't” vote for Hillary- even to save us from a madman. "I just don't like her" and "I don't trust her" were the excuses for sitting it out, voting green, writing in Bernie.
Sober up Democrats: this is not about us, or even the patent injustice of 244 years of a male-only presidency. November 2020 is about whether American democracy recovers from Trumpism, or dies from self-inflicted wounds.
9
As Scott Adams pointed out on Periscope, it was amusing to see Biden promote the 'Fine People' hoax against Trump on that day after Harris smeared him with his own 'praised segregationists' hoax. Biden's inability to recognize the utter hypocrisy of that move is pretty staggering.
2
I guess s President Harris will never dialogue, negotiate or otherwise interact with world leaders of China, Russia etc., who have committed human rights atrocities. She apparently doesn't believes that in order to change the hearts and minds of adversaries, you need to engage them.
5
Isn't this the third time Biden has run for President? And didn't Obama dissuade him from running in 2016?
Obama got himself elected twice and came out of nowhere. Hardly had any experience except for a few years in the senate. But he had it in him to get to the top. And he must have seen that Biden just doesn't have it.
3
Maureen, I love the double entendres and mixed metaphors. Your closing line,
“But the problem at the moment is that Biden has too much past and not enough presence,”
...reminds me of one of my own favorites, which can aptly (and, notably, without invective) describe our so-called “president:”
He has more dollars than sense.
2
I find it somehow ironic that this meltdown is happening in the same year that Pat Caddell passed away. If I recall, Maureen Dowd's reporting was at the leading edge of the unraveling of Biden's campaign in the primary cycle (92?), in which Biden stated after being caught pilfering a British progressive's rhetoric that he didn't know where he began and Caddell left off. Perhaps Biden, now as then, needs to learn to ignore his advice whisperers. If he goes down, at least he will know he went down as his own, unvarnished self.
2
Well, her heels will stay down if she makes it to the Oval Office.
After watching the debates, I could see many qualified people for cabinet positions. Only Biden looks qualified to be CIC. I really don’t like Biden because of Clarence Thomas. I remember that debacle. I wish there was a better alternative than Biden.
I hope someone steps up with more than cop tricks. I think that saying people who cross the border illegally should get health insurance as if they were an American citizen is a big present to Trump. That one will stick.
I hope I am wrong, but the only thing that holds the Democrats together is a hatred of Trump. It’s easy to say that you will support any Democrat against Trump, until that Democrat was your fifth favorite choice.
2
Harris wins the “high school debate.” So what? Like Trump she shows no respect for a person who deserves it. She’s preternaturally angry. That is not what I want. Joe makes a point of working with all people and parties. Some of us really like that, maybe more than some. Keep running Joe, and be yourself.
5
We do not know which candidate would make a good president. The only sure knowledge we have is who would make a bad president -- someone with a virulent personality disorder like Trump. I haven't seen any powerful psychopathology in any of the main Democratic candidates -- so good luck to all of them.
1
Biden helped re elect Michigan Republican Fred Upton to the House in the midterms. He was giving a $200,000 speech to a Republican leaning group and couldn’t resist saying what a swell guy Upton was to work with. And Biden didn’t endorse Upton’s Democratic opponent. And Biden is supposed to help win back states like Michigan?
6
Anyone running for the Democratic nomination who thinks they can work with the present GOP after the way they disrespected President Obama
has been asleep in front of the
TV. Game over. The Old GOP has been quiting and retiring en mass. Biden should consider working with them someplace else.
5
Biden has not convinced me that he understands climate change. If you do any serious reading at all, it's hard not to realize that humanity faces the real possibility of near extinction within the lifespan of a young child today. The oceans may die, crops will increasingly fail, and rising carbon not only lower the nutrients in crops, but potentially our collective cognitive abilities. If you're not scared for your children, you ought to be. I'm not sure what candidate gets it, but Biden most certainly does not.
5
Biden’s voting record is likely consistent with many Democrats his age. To stay in office compromise can be essential. Just as it serves no purpose to tear down the Washington monument it serves no purpose to hold Biden responsible for what have been prudent past decisions.
3
If Biden was such a great Presidential candidate he probably would have been, well, President by now. He should have left his legacy intact: as one of the finest Vice-Presidents we've had, to America's first African American Commander in Chief.
Perhaps Biden was wooed by those early misleading polls. I think in his head he knew he shouldn't run - his heart won out.
3
This is the best endorsement yet to give Biden another shot at the Presidency. Of course, he would lose.
I had given Harris the benefit of the doubt about the negative things I have heard for years about her performance in CA, and thought she and Biden would make a great ticket. Her prosecutorial skills have been evident recently and it would be great to see them used against DJT and Pence. But what she did to Biden, trapping him in her personal story, was planned to take a chunk out of him and bring her to the fore regardless of the cost to Job#1 which is removing DJT. Biden was half the team of the first black president of the US and deserves some respect for that, whether he receives that from his former partner or not is a different story. In any case candidate selection is not just abut winning, it is also about governance, and I can't support her because of what I have seen.
4
Maureen sees all the liabilities in Biden. But the other candidates also have many liabilities OR are totally unqualified for high office. The Dems need other candidates, and their so-called debates are not debates; they are tv reality shows without much genuine reality. We may yet need other aspirants with more to offer and/or a third party candidate.
Perhaps when a clown like Trump can reach the WH there is no jerk who cannot aspire to it as well.
Kamala will not win that huge bloc of 50 + who voted for Obama last time, but hated Hilary and voted Trump. They are the bloc that should be targeted. Kamala - let Joe clean this up, and then in four years swoop in.
4
Not even worth fretting over who’s going to be the Democratic candidate. Keep talking about open borders, free medical care for illegal immigrants, busing, transgender rights and it won’t matter - Trump will win in a landslide.
C’mon Michelle jump in the race - it’s not as difficult as it looks - really. No - okay - Al Gore? Anyone please who will talk some sense.
2
Joe Biden's greatest value add at this point in the short life of our precious democracy is to get out on the campaign trail for democrats in general and to support the peoples' choice on the presidential / vice presidential democratic ticket.
5
1) Contrary to mispercetions, Harris did not "attack" Biden. She questioned a position he had 40 years ago, and asked if he still held it. She, and millions of other Americans, did not like his answer. She *challenged* him. It was not personal. It was a debate, not Biden's coronation. I haven't heard anyone calling Castro's challenge of Beto's position on immigration law an "attack." Why no "outrage" there?
2) Be careful: Not surprisingly, the day after the "president" gave a wink and a nod to his Russian bromance over election meddling, and pined to touch the hand of his N. Korean bud, scores of attacks against Harris, many of them blatantly racist, have been unleashed on social media and the internet. Are these Americans? Or the "president's" international supporters?
5
Biden was too old and out of touch before the debate. That that he served with two despicable segregationist is proof enough of that.Now he seems sad and pathetic.
Let's hope he has the good sense to go away before he further humiliates and embarrasses himself. . . being over 75 should be disqualifying for everyone except Bernie. I still feel the Bern.
1
Biden would never be my first choice for the Democrat's candidate. Elizabeth Warren, Kamala Harris, & Amy Klobuchar are far better choices. In fact, most of the women running would be better than Biden!
Time to pass the torch indeed, and let it pass to the women.
4
Biden waived his defense of being criticized out of time and out of context, by denouncing now the "mandate" of desegregation. Say that he is not a racist. But don't invite him to play in our yard.
1
It's amusing that neither Biden, Harris or even Dowd, call out that the segregationists Biden worked with in a "bipartisan" way were all Democrats.
Biden could easily defend his work with segregationists by reminding Harris she was a member of the same party and that times had changed. But if he did that, the DNC would hang him out to dry.
2
Maureen,
How can we not like Biden? He’s an honest, decent politician who would be a huge improvement over Trump.
Loved your Blazing Saddles observation, very funny.
Much like Obama’s election, I believe the country is ready to move forward. For me, that choice would be Elizabeth Warren with help from Harris, Castro or Buttigieg.
America is ready for change and having a capable woman at the helm would help us all sleep better.
I’m ready for intelligence and integrity in the White House.
3
He is not only old but looks frail and not sharp enough . He is certainly qualified to be President and a good and decent fellow , unlike Trump . But probably not the strongest opponent against the maniac in the Oval Office .
4
Yes, Ms Harris dealt a blow but that doesn't mean she has the drive, the insight or the passion to lead.
And if you tell me she can win back Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania, then have another think coming.
Working class white men may vote for Ms Warren, but observation tells me, not for Ms Harris.
I don't think it has anything to do with race, it has to do with how you come across.
She has not had a clear cut policy on anything.
And I am not interested (with all due respect), in her life story or her mother, or her cooking dinner for her girlfriends... I am not.
Talk clear policy, or just stop.
6
Ms Dowd, and Kamala Harris want to keep re-litigating the past. Anita Hill! Crime bill! Segregationists! Busing!I don't care about any of this, and I doubt many people do. Talk to me about today and how to govern in this polarized society. Talk to me about how to defeat the most toxic president in history.
6
Joe should never have run he is passed his “sell by” date. He should have enjoyed his status as an elder statesman of the Democratic Party and rested on his laurels.
Instead he has chosen to allow his missteps in the past to be dredged up. Poor past and present judgement will be his undoing.
It’s pathetic.
3
Since that “little (clever) girl” asked for comment on those pesky unanswered questions, neither unanswered prayers, nor chameleon music seem to have helped in the six months leading up to the “debate.” The questions linger as do the answers.
The Biden campaign does seem to have the entitlement hallmarks of the Hilary Clinton campaign: it’s my turn. It won’t ever work for anybody to brazenly demand public support without bothering to listen. VP Biden was woefully unprepared, and it showed. For those trying to twist public opinion into accepting their definition of “ centrism”, it won’t work either. It reads like Wall Street ecosystem entitlement.
3
Poor Joe. He wasn't quick enough to simply respond: "Perhaps in your life you've never had to work with people you don't agree with. This isn't hypocrisy, it's politics."
6
California bears the most.
Delaware mostly just stores c-shells.
Column rating (from 0 to 5 ‘r’s):
Grrrrr!
I am a Canadian who has read the NYT for 65 years. Many of us saw all of this happening but could not explain to Americans what we saw happening.
We could not understand your apparent need to destroy the world.
America is the richest most powerful Empire that has ever existed. You have become what you always wanted to become. We cannot understand your need to self destruct and why you want to take us all with you when you go.
Your country no longer works. Why would you rather destroy it than look for a way to make it work.
Biden has tried to make it work but he made too many mistakes. Maybe the mistake he made was trying to make it work.
For my 15 years of comments I have said it cannot be made to work but I am a Canadian. Can someone tell me what can be done to make America work? What will a Democratic Senate, White House and House do to bring about a nation and world working for everybody?
The world in in trouble. Form follows function and the USA doesn't seem designed to bring the world or itself together.
4
I fail to see how it was wrong for Biden to work with two of the most powerful men in the senate. What, he was supposed to say, Sorry, can't work with you--you're a segregationist...in the 70s? At any time? One could argue Biden's job, if he were to bring home the bacon to his constituents (taxes, capital projects, jobs), was to work with and cut deals with everyone in the senate. His mistake--and it reminds me of de Blasio revealing that he'd had "the talk" with his teenage son (how black kids should act in front of cops), was to state the fact publicly. Lack of filter seems to have worked for Trump--not Biden. As for Kamala Harris. She was tough on crime, throwing low-level offenders into prison for long sentences, not releasing the wrongly-convicted, when it was convenient, then calling for reforms when she became California Attorney General. Driving me nuts that because she rolled out an obviously-rehearsed attack on Biden, she's being judged the debate's breakout star.
3
I think that the winner in both debates was Donald J Trump who currently resides in the White House and will probably win in 2020. Is forced busing a winning issue? Mr. Trump probably already has a name for Mrs. Harris - the Busing Queen. If she gets so far as being the nominee of the party, she will probably live to regret her exchange with Mr. Trump who already is a true racist. He will probably ask her if she will use her executive powers to implement a national policy of busing. She will then have to explain herself. He will also ask her why she so angry and nasty as she tries to "prosecute" him. What a great way to win back all those Obama-to-Trump voters in 2016 and what a great way to retain those suburban white women that helped elect a Democratic Congress in 2018. Brilliant just brilliant.
2
"Biden is selling himself as someone who can work with a Republican Party that everyone but Biden realizes doesn't exist anymore."
Which raises the question of how to deal with the contemporary Republican party other than marginalization and consignment to the trash bin off history?
Remember John McCain’s thumb-down vote that saved ACA? Fred Upton-R co-wrote that bill. Biden flew into Michigan for a $200,000 speaking gig on behalf of Upton, to a group of Republicans 3 weeks before Upton’s primary. He gave no support to Dem Dr. Matt Longjohn who was within 4%. The remaining 3 weeks Longjohn was swiftboated by Upton, who claimed his opponent, a public policy physician, was not an actual doctor (untrue). I worked on Longjohn’s campaign. I was there. Uncle Joe is a stone cold player.
3
My 23 year old and her friends are ready for a new generation of leaders---Harris and Buttigieg with Warren hovering very closely for policy.
5
Biden couldn’t keep up with the debate and seemed ashy almost like he was ill. Kamala was fresh to the point and made a lasting impression that she could go toe to toe with Trump. Trump’s people said he was afraid of running against Biden but I think he would love to run against him there are just to many gaffaw moments that they would exploit. Warren or Kamala with Buttigieg as a VP, the debates between whiny boot licking Pence and Pete would be breath taking and either ladies can walk their talk.
1
Dems have to win WH, Senate and House and keep them. Otherwise our democracy is lost.
3
Pot/kettle. Kamala Harris showed she has the ability to rip trump a new one. But if you think she doesn't have a problematic past you haven't done your homework.
2
I certainly hold no brief for Biden but it does seem the attacks on him are, to use an unfortunate term, a kind of dog whistle, or variation on the usual high frequency racial signaling, in that his really shameful and disfiguring demerits are that he is white and, it gets so much worse, old. Not the right season for those fashions, I'm afraid.
4
Mr. Biden is right, His time is up. He should withdraw.
4
I am no Biden fan. I want him to drop out. But I thought Senator Harris took a cheap shot with her bussing point.
And frankly I am not sure her point made total sense: Biden voted against a bussing bill; Harris was bussed. The clear implications are that Harris as a little girl was happy to be bussed (she didn’t say that), and that she considers bussing to be an effective desegregation policy that worked for her and that history has shown to help African Americans students (she didn’t say that either).
If she feels that way, fair enough. But my limited understanding of bussing was that after the Supreme Court validated it as a desegregation tool in the early 70s, in practice bussing was a mixed bag at best, with African Americans very often against the policy.
Given Harris’ cold-hearted actions as a prosecutor (https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/17/opinion/kamala-harris-criminal-justice.html), I wouldn’t be surprised if she raised bussing merely because it provided her a way to suggest, but not explicitly say, that the old man Biden teamed up with racists to hurt little girls.
And now she’s selling little girl tee-shirts. Like much of what Senator Harris is offering at the moment, I’m not buying.
7
I agree with some of the others on stage and say to Vice President Biden - Pass The Torch.
6
At this early stage, my dream ticket to oust Trump/Pence is Elizabeth Warren with either Julian Castro or Cory Booker as VP.
3
Let’s get real do we want to defeat trump or not joe is the only one capable of doing that the others don’t stand a chance
2
Biden's toast - a never was going back to 1988. Has not improved with age.
4
My takeaway from the debate.....No OLD candidates! I’m 70.....too old. I want someone who can process and react quickly without resorting to boilerplates. This world is too scary not to have someone at the top of their game.
5
Great criticism but that was of the extremely low hanging fruit. Please sharpen your pen and do the same to the rest of the candidates. None of them, I repeat NONE, looked or sounded appealing in any way. They did nothing but make Trump look good.
2
I think Kamala conned us. Putting herself up as a poster child of integration and a potential victim of segregation was more than hyperbole. She was far from the front line of school integration in Berkeley. Black students had already attended her school many years before. Grades 6 through 12 had already been integrated in Berkeley. She had a life of privilege. Her father was a economics professor at Stanford. Her mother a medical researcher. He maternal grandfather a diplomat. She lived in Montreal, Canada from age 12 and graduated from Westmount Hight School in Montreal. To say that if it were up to the segregationists she would never be a state senator is beyond exaggeration. We don't need another con in the White House. One is enough.
8
This is his third run for president ; to me it speaks more about finally being able to get the brass ring , and less about serving his party . With his penchant for gaffes and his history , we need a fighter not a gentleman blowhard wanting kumbaya moments . Sorry Mr. Biden , you are not the savior we need ; rest on your laurels of having been a Vice-President for eight years and gracefully bow out , you'll get more respect for doing so .
3
To those who criticize Kamala for having prepared for the debate:
If you were on a stage with nine other people and knew you would get a few chances to speak for one minute, would you prepare? Would you expect your staff to help you prepare? Would you time your prepared remarks to fit the one minute and the thirty second time frames?
Do you think prosecutors prepare their arguments, practice their delivery, hone and polish the points they must make?
(I thought Kamala was great. Chuck Todd was annoying: he kept murmuring over the speakers and leaning into Rachel's space. Yuck.)
3
As a long time nurse I have to say that Biden strikes me as an old man on the edge of fading out, both physically and mentally. We need someone who is in good health with stamina to this job. Joe Biden was fine when Obama recruited him for the vice presidency, but time has caught with him and he should take the mantel of elder statesman and offer advice only. Especially if he thinks he can out run the press. His running days are over. In every way. Thanks Joe, but pls make yourself comfortable at home. You deserve it.
3
While some people are worried that the Dems are moving too far to the left, Im worried Joe won’t get off the stage and will become our candidate.
3
I grew up in the 1950s watching westerns. I still like the ones where the stranger rides into town and disposes of the corrupt big rancher, sheriff & politicians, and gives the town back to the people.
Thurs. night that stranger was Kamal Harris, who rode into the debate with a score to settle, and in a matter of minutes disposed of an aging lackey politician with words, not guns.
But 3 am Friday morning, I woke up with doubts about Harris--too ruthless with her surprise hatchet attack, and poor old Joe looked beaten. Good old Joe, who knows how to get along by going along, and knew how to compromise when the Republicans and the southern politicians allowed compromise to occur.
Then I thought who else could have disposed of Joe more diplomatically? Warren? She looks prepared, energetic, and strong, but she wasn't on stage with Biden. The fresh-faced, smiling Buttigieg, who looks like my smart eager baby brother, who truly believes he can fix anything and anybody?
By Saturday morning, it was clear. No one but Kamala did dispose of Joe, and like a talented surgeon, Kamala did it quickly and incisively.
So even if Joe lingers to watch his poll numbers drop and never revive, Harris did the Democratic Party a favor.
I would love to witness the prosecuting attorney, Kamala Harris, confront mob boss Trump in the public arena and hold him accountable for his long rap sheet of misdeeds.
But if elected, will she make her agenda for the middle class & the planet? Stay tuned
3
That TV debate appearance was hard to look at even for me who dreads a Biden candidacy as much as anybody. The train left the station but Joe missed getting off while the getting was good.
Now, if you enjoy watching a proud poppycock getting gored in a fight he never should have taken, you'll love the next few months. It's an old and battered Ali vs. a young Larry Holmes with Biden being that old and damaged Ali. It's a beating he doesn't need to take in an effort to fulfill a dream born of a grandiosity that was never appropriate for his limited gifts.
His time is up.
3
The now-insane Republican Party deserves more than 90% of the blame for the Libertarian Dystopia we now find ourselves mired in. But what about the Clinton-style Democrats like Biden, who, since 1992 if not before, should be held responsible for the things they did like The Crime Bill, like Anita Hill, like the Iraq vote, but also for the things they failed to do:
Stand up for unions.
Stand up to corporate and the big banks.
Stand up for Medicare and Medicaid.
Stand up to racism and misogyny.
Warren, Harris, Buttigieg, Bernie, Cory, Amy. We have superstars. Let one of them play.
2
At the height of the hair smelling imbroglio, Biden opened a high profile speech by making two jokes about uninvited contact with women. At the height of the Eastland imbroglio, Biden opened a high profile speech by invoking the memory of Fritz Hollings. Now, at the height of the racism imbroglio, uses a high profile speech to make a blatantly racist remark. There seems to be a pattern developing.
3
Keep doing it. Keep trashing Biden. Nothing could make Trump happier.
Kamala Harris lost my vote. i will vote for Trump before her. Instead of all of the enemies of decency she could attack, she found something in a record of a public servant who has 40 years of achievements and mistakes to trash.
I have voted Democrat for 50 years. Unless Biden is the candidate, I am voting Trump. And I'm doing that not because I like him or his policies, but because liberals have betrayed me and our country. They are now worse than Trump, if you can believe that.
6
For the sake of journalistic integrity (tongue firmly planted in cheek) it would be nice if we identified Senators Eastman and Talmadge, and also Stennis, Russell and a lot of others, as Democrats when this subject is discussed. It would also be good if we didn't use the phrase "walked across the aisle" when one Democrat worked with another!
2
Maureen Dowd quotes Joe Biden cutting himself off in in the middle of a sentence — “My time is up. I’m sorry.”
Maybe it was one of those Freudian slips, and Joe Biden knows that he really shouldn't be running. Unfortunately, the same people who were convinced it was hillary's turn are now convinced it's Biden's turn. I just hope that they have more respect for the voters this go round. That lack of respect cost the election.
5
Biden means we’ll but he’s just a good ol boy who helped Obama and as such feels entitled. I’m 15 yrs younger and I don’t believe even with the proper credentials I would want to take on the job of leading and restoring this country to where it needs to be after the onslaught from trump and pence and their family’s. It’s time for Pete and Kamala to change our direction and bring us together again
1
America is still not ready for a woman president no matter how qualified. Harris and Biden need to work together to defeat the GOP/Trump. You can bet Trump is working closely with Putin on th 2020 elections. Any interaction between them is personal because Russia has absolutely nothing America needs or wants.
3
Biden stained himself with the Anita Hill, Clarence Thomas issue.
Kamala Harris has got to get more to the center and talk about jobs, education, health care and taxing the very rich again.
She is a fighter and articulate BUT she is attacking the wrong Wind Mills.
People want Jobs, Health Care and a Serene Retirement to look forward to when old.
2
The MSM was prepping the viewing public for Harris by going back 45 years to Biden's correct belief that busing to achieve racial integration was wrong, something all Democrats agree with today.
Harris, OTOH, flipped the script on the MSM by saying:
1. Biden is not a racist
2. She respects someone who works with those they disagree with.
Biden's only "crime" was that a little girl now grown had her feelings hurt because busing to achieve racial integration was just such a defining moment in her life and Biden disagreed with the program.
Then, just to put the cherry on the cake, Harris claimed Biden is inconsistent if he supports the VRA and CRA but not busing.
Probably no attempt at liberal social engineering was responsible for the rise of the so called Reagan Democrats (STILL lost to the Democratic Party today) than busing.
It involved things that went to the core of who people, black or white, are:
Their community.
Their choices
Their CHILDREN!
I hope at the next debate a moderator asks for a show of hands with the question:
"Who believes busing to achieve racial integration is or was a good idea.
And let's hope this time Harris understands the question so she doesn't have to flip flop on the answer the next day, like she did on Friday morning with the question about eliminating private HC insurance.
4
Almost every writer or pundit has stoned Biden about his debate performance of lack of it. That was not my takeaway. He certainly did not impress me, but I do not think his performance deserves the drubbing it is being given.
The problem with a front funner is the expectations are always higher. The reality is Joe was being Joe. He should not be running
And I will not be surprised if he drops out.
Joe is definitely out of touch, does act as if he has been anointed
and has no new ideas that will take this country moving forward.
We are not the same Country we were when he was in the Senate or in the White House.
More importantly his record on Anita Hill and Clarence Thomas will never go away, let alone the busing issue.
Kamala Harris was right on to take Joe to task. It is now the voter's turn to do the same thing.
Biden needs to pass the torch, as he was reminded. That does not necessarily mean to someone younger or a woman, but it does mean that this Country is ready for and needs drastic change and he is not the Candidate that can do it.
Pure and simple.
4
The Democrats only have had two debates, but they've already lost the election. Proposing to eliminate all private health insurance, decriminalizing illegal immigration, and providing free healthcare for illegal immigrants (when American citizens are struggling for care), is a guaranteed formula for defeat. The good news for Republicans is they're on record and video calling for this.
Go to Michigan where autoworkers have outstanding health coverage paid for by GM, Ford, and Chrysler, and try to sell them on giving up that in exchange for some unknown system that may turn out to be like VA healthcare. "Trust me, the government can do a better job than your private insurance."
Then add up the cost for a Medicare-For-All plan; it's staggering. There simply aren't enough billionaires to handle it, so there's no avoiding soaking the working class.
Even white liberal hideouts like Portland Maine are feeling the burden of uncontrolled immigration (see NYT article). Try to sell the idea of open borders with no enforcement.
The Democrats have lost the election. They just haven't realized it yet.
3
Job #1 remains removing the trump cancer.
Whoever it is is secondary. Another 4 years of trump and forget about the US as a going concern.
3
Best Duo
Sanders/Biden
or
Biden/Sanders
Prove Partisanship within our party, a party for the people, Not the Corporations.
Announce it now! Not a time for tradition.
Too cool!
And... all women in the rest of the administration. Kamala, Department of Education
We all would vote, common sense,
Compared to Trump, if that's the worst thing that Biden ever says, I think we're OK.
Let's maintain some perspective here.
5
Too many voters resent one or more of Biden's stances from the past because times have changed. Some dislike his appeasement of segregationists, some will never forgive him for giving us Clarence Thomas and others know that his votes on bankruptcy and goodies for banks makes him the worst choice in a world of inequality. Nominating Biden is an invitation for significant numbers of voters to stay home and by default, elect the incumbent-who-shall-not-be-named
2
So is Kamala Harris' new campaign slogan going to be: "Bring Back Busing!" A brave debate questioner or fellow candidate should call her out on that.
4
Ol' Bumblin'Joe needs to retire from the limelight. He seems to be feeling his age. Let someone younger, with some strength and conviction, run for the office. I'm afraid Joe would get eaten alive by Wily Fox Trump.
1
..., Mr. Biden is such an easy and outsized target; then again that seems to fit Mrs. Harris - easy to hone in on, easy to outmaneuver and easy to benefit from.
However, at the end of the day, DNC is likely to treat this whole charade as a coronation proceeding for Mr. Biden, just as was the case with Mrs. Clinton.
GOP strategists must be quite happy with “the circus” contemplating that their clown may come out on top ...
1
Harris gave us a food fight and didn't put any food on the table.
3
“ My time is up.I am sorry” . So said Mr.Biden. An accurate summation of his campaign. Like an over the hill boxer Biden’s opponents are younger,quicker and more nimble than he is.It is over Joe. Time to call it a day.
2
Old Joe is too old. He’s too old for the Olympics, too old to be a Navy SEAL, too old to be president. It’s not age discrimination, it’s biology. Look at the hot mess who is currently in the White House - his age deepens his narcissism and racism.
Ms Dowd nails it, Biden claiming to be able to work with a Republican Party that no longer exists is a failed strategy.
Democrats must identify a winning ticket in the next six months and then mount the most aggressive, relentless, and fearless campaign for the presidency in American history.
3
Yes, Maureen, let's re-litigate court-ordered school busing to achieve racial balance in Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania. Brilliant strategy, Kamala!
And, as you must recall, since you covered it, Clarence Thomas was confirmed with less than 60 votes in 1991 because 11 Democrats voted for him and the Democratic Senate chose NOT to invoke a fillibuster; because Thomas was taking the seat of the only previous black justice, Thurgood Marshall, and the D's (as now) were terrified of offending any racial minority.
BTW, Sen. Biden voted AGAINST confirmation.
3
Maybe Biden is too tired at this point in his life, but Harris's kick was too premeditated...too acted out for the audience...contrived.
Warren is the candidate with the most thought out plans for the furure. She and Julian Castro would make a good ticket.
2
Many Californians voted for former Speaker-of-the-House Willie Brown's political-protege as a 'safe' vote to take Roxanne Boxer's Senatorial Seat, we did NOT cast a vote for Boxer's seat to become a launching-pad for a Presidential run against Donald Trump in 2020.
If it is true that Ms. Harris raised 2 million in campaign-funds during the 24 hours after the Thursday-Night-Knee-Capping of Vice-President Joe Biden; that noise you faintly hear is the $4 million-soft-dollars that has just been dedicated to searching and researching Kamala Harris's political-history; as a Southern Californian who has followed her career, it is no surprise that she 'cut-off-her-nose-to-spite-her-face by attacking 'Uncle Joe':its no-secret the 2020 election is about one-thing, ridding the American Political landscape of Donald Trump; regardless of Biden's lack of style or 'coolness', he still has the best chance to knock off Trump at the 2020 polls; while Harris might have won the African American Vote, she has consciously taken the first political shot towards another 4 years of Trump: congratulations Democrats, everyone received the dozens of memos about NOT attacking each other in public and 'circular-firing-squads; only one candidate ignored it.
2
Seems to me that Kamala Harris did us a favor. I don’t care how long she and her team worked on it - Biden’s opposition to busing is incomprehensible. What was the point of Brown vs the Board of Education if a minority child couldn’t go to a good school, most probably an integrated school? And Biden saying that the segregationists never called him “boy”, just “son” - that’s simply flaunting his white privilege. What did he expect to gain from that comment? The heirs of those who’d been called “boy” would only feel the hurt and disrespect endured by their parents and grandparents yet again.
3
Meh. Harris ran a quick set piece play on Biden to score cheap points at the debate. I wonder how long she's been practicing that speech. She still won't win.
2
Maureen your pique is showing.
Keep in mind that had the Democratic Party not selected someone senate Republicans had spent six years bashing Biden would have steamrolled Trump and we wouldn’t be reading about endless gerrymandering, well, and a lot more.
I’m guessing a lot of voters are hoping not to have to choose between a fascist constitutional monarchy and one of these 20 doors on the left.
"And that little girl was me."
Gross appropriation and amazingly tone deaf.
4
Biden was Vice President for 8 years and none of this crazy stuff ever arose. We are now living in a world of hate and suspicion brought on by Trump/GOP. How do we survive this onslaught of internet "news" which so many people can no longer differentiate as true or false? The Democrats have to stop their bickering and unite if we are to take back this country.
2
I think it is great that we have an open and seeming fair primary process. This generates interest in the race and provides a platform for many ideas to move the country forward. Whoever, the winner will have prove his or herself as a worthy opponent for the loser in chief. May the best Man or Women Win!
I really liked what I saw at the debates. If anything, they showed me who I would not support, even though I may have had favorable views of them before the debates. That said, there are probably many voters like me who believe Joe Biden is a safe candidate who will bring in some moderate and conservative voters who fear another Trump presidency. I gave more money to Harris than Biden, but after the second debate, I was troubled. His past is fair game--especially the Anita Hill fiasco--but Harris's comments seemed pre-prepared, even the "food fight" one. If you're polling in the single digits, even at this stage, it seems unwise to try to take down the front runner in the polls and fundraising. I'd love a Warren/Buttiege or Castro or Harris ticket, but I worry most about losing to Trump. As many have said, most of the candidates would be a great "team of rivals", either as VP or cabinet members.
I will vote for whoever gets the Democratic nomination. I will campaign for them, and I will give money.
68
When given the choice Kamala attended a segregated college and joined a segregated sorority. I don't trust this person *not* to act with bias.
4
Yes. Yes. Yes. Joe Biden is this year's Jeb Bush. Say no more. However, to make the record a bit more complete, one doubts if Harris has ever heard of the segregationist Senator from Alabama, Hugo Black, who proved to be one of the greatest LIBERAL Justices in history and was the intellectual and moral torchbearer for the "Warren Court," really the Black Court. BTW, Felix Frankfurter, the New Deal icon, on the Court was the great conservative Justice.
So, just stop the guilt by association game. Biden in the centre and Bernie on the right are a bit too old for the job. Each has done their thing, Joe by giving Obama a bit of legislative gravitas, and Bernie by reintroducing serious non neoliberal proposals for economic and social justice that have invigorated the liberal wing of the Democratic Party. But the torch must and should be passed.
Before Harris's coronation is accepted as a done deal (shades of Clinton), be aware not only of her record on criminal justice, but also of how she began her career rise. It's an old, and not very elevating story. The Trumpniks won't let it pass.
It isn't too early to begin the eliminate the weak candidates, but it is much to early to name the nominee. Let's be patient and stop the desperate need to find a Saviour. With patience, a candidate with both the policies that attract wide support and the personality to stand up to the Broadway Bully will be made clear.
52
@San Ta
Umm...I think the former Attorney General of California has probably heard of Hugo Black.
1
My employee Alex and I were working in the yard of a nice, older gentleman. Our client came out and asked "Do you only hire people that are pretty?" Alex, a young woman, didn’t miss a beat, said "no, I hired him anyway". He didn’t hear or maybe didn’t get the ironic response. Leaving the yard, I told, Alex "that guy IS Joe Biden". Nice guy, but way out of touch with what’s ok anymore.
97
@Steveyo
Your vignette says it all. I am of Joe Biden's generation and many of the poor souls, like him, just don't get women. The fact that we women have brains, are competitive, and can do what most men can do, is a bridge too far. I feel sorry for them, but I won't vote for them.
12
@Steveyo
The guy was just trying be nice, to be friendly, its too bad you are out of touch with that. Read today's Nicholas Kristof article, maybe we can all benefit from it.
7
@Steveyo Your brand of intolerance is the new way?
2
Is it that the Democrats believe that a somewhat dowdy dotard(a match for Trump) can and will defeat the President in 2020, or is it that the nostalgia for the figment of Caroline Kennedy's imagination (Obama) is so strong that they feel obligated to think so. Thinking not elicits the queasy feeling that the Democrats are in trouble. Make no mistake, there are capable people who could, but they might be too close to being anachronisms in so far as policy which could invigorate the country. Di Blasio's speech before AIPAC is a case in point. It was Faulkner who said that "The past is never dead. It is not even past."? It is just that I am not sure that any of those capable people know what is good for the country, and what isn't. I know that Biden doesn't know, and now I know that Di Blasio doesn't know. So it's back to the drawing board for the purpose of devising a candidate for the Democrats who can head the projected landslide against Trump. Whether or not it will happen in 2020, I don't know either, but if it doesn't and that man is serious about succeeding himself after two terms as President, then I know that something is wrong somewhere.
8
I've read elsewhere that Biden was put into the race at the behest of that same segment of Democratic mega-donors who were first behind Obama, and then behind Hillary. These people want the status-quo-ante to remain to the greatest extent possible because it made them rich. They probably would rather have Trump again than a progressive Democrat.
Looks to me, however, that in putting Biden out there, they are backing the wrong horse.
54
@Vesuviano
Take a look at Neera Tanden's think tank "Center for American Progress." CAP is closely allied w/ the DNC and Democratic establishment, particularly wealth lobbyists and donors. CAP is funded by a lobbyists working for Walmart, Comcast, General Motors, Boeing, Lockheed, Pacific Gas and Electric and others. CAP also has alliances with the Saudi government.
CAP and other interests in the Democratic Party battled Bernie Sanders ruthlessly in 2016 and I don't believe CAP, the DNC & these interests are going to let Elizabeth Warren be the Democratic nominee. That might explain a lot of the big donor money going to Biden - if Biden's the nominee, those wealthy people & their lobbyists stay in power.
They're not backing the wrong horse if they think they own that horse. That's Biden's role here.
40
@fast/furious
Mayor Pete, since spelling his name is as difficult as pronouncing it, met with Third Way to strategize about how to knock Bernie out of the race. He takes money from their donors and will doubtlessly “Dance with the one that brought him.”
He is long on charm but short on policy. I expect he has his “finger in the wind” before committing to any position. All his positions will need to be in line with the party donors.
Besides, being mayor of a small town is all he has for experience. Can we afford another person with a steep learning curve at this point? I find that prospect terrifying.
6
@fast/furious
I get what you're saying, but I think they are backing the wrong horse because Biden won't survive the primaries. Maybe Warren won't be the nominee, but I'm already seeing references to Harris/Buttigieg being the "dream" Democratic ticket. Don't know that they are my dream ticket, but I think they'd win.
Cheers! See you on the barricades.
We need a JFK. That said, it will never happen. Tell Elizabeth Warren if she moves to Ohio, she is the next President.
16
But, where is the beef? To attack is easy, just ask Trump. But to present well thought out solutions is another story.
14
There were many very talented Democrats on the debate stage on both nights. But strangely, neither of the two front runners, Biden and Sanders, shone. One came across as a timid old man and the other as a grumpy old man. Neither offered anything new. As Eric Swalwell said, "It's time to pass the torch."
45
Kamala has things in her past and Trump has many things in his past, and some of his current activity is not recommendable. Are we trying to find saints or we trying to find someone better able to run the country than Donald Trump?
Republicans are accepting of the flaws and misdeeds of their candidate as long as he is willing to accomplish their goals.Democrats are going to winnow their candidates down to a person who can get only 10 percent of the vote.
Biden did what he had to do when the nation was divided on segregation and civil rights. He did what he had to do for the nation to progress. Where has the lack of willingness to compromise got us since the 1970s?
Even as a black man, I do not hold the positions Biden had to take and the alliances that he had to form to move the country forward. What is important is where he can lead the country today and the views he holds today.
Kamala can’t run on busing or segregation. Those are dead issues. Why does Kamala acts as if she is a victim when basically what happened to her was what she thought was the most beneficial action?
Biden supported the first black president and served in his administration for eight years, his civil rights legacy may not be perfect but it is secure.
44
After pointing out that Biden averages more than 20-30 (or whatever the actual number is) years in Congress then most of his competition, someone must ask him why the Democratic Party's record has been so dismal for the majority of the population. Then sit back and watch.
12
I felt what Harris did was disgraceful. An obvious political strategy move that made her look petty and completely out of touch with the current mood of the nation.
Does anyone really believe that a Trump voter or undecided voter will care about a racial issue from the 1970's?
Identity politics will hand Trump the election.
33
Bret Stephens has a better take on this. Senator Harris managed to get the 'aggrieved black' vote, certainly. But besides that, she had no ideas that were distinct from any one else and that wouldn't bankrupt the country. One only hopes that the candidates get more mature and stop pandering to the left.
22
Biden is starting out the gate with two things that will cause him to lose primary support: his record of opposing civil rights legislation and his son's $1.5 billion payment from China. He will also be hurt by appearing to be "not quite with it" in comparison to the other 70 years old candidates.
10
Politics ain’t beanbag, as the saying goes.
Anyone who thinks Harris and Bennet were too rough on one of their own should ask themselves “What would Donald do?”
This is what debates are for. How many Republicans rejected Trump over his conduct in the 2016 GOP debates - or the way he stalked Hillary?
If Uncle Joe can’t take a punch - or land one - he shouldn’t be in the ring. Trump and the GOP will have no mercy or decency.
59
Scary Biden. I think he’s over. Kamala, Warren, Booker and Buttigieg that’s the debate we need. Although there were excellent moments for all the debaters (exemplified on the Rachel Maddox Show), I think these candidates were more than singularly faceted. Buttigieg is very smart and articulate, I don’t think he’s ever line-itemed a national budget or had any international experience.
Warren is the one, who would have a host of talent from which to choose a cabinet.
23
@David J, I forgot about Julian Castro. Most likely because of poor press coverage. But his qualifications came through during the debate. Warren, Harris, Buttigieg and Castro are now the candidates I’m looking at. But, like any sane person, anyone over trump.
19
Unfortunately, Joe Biden is the only centrist candidate of the bunch with any name recognition. Most of the others are tripping all over themselves to sound more leftist that the other person.
The last word on this was had by Sanders who called for a "revolution".
This is not going to go over well with more conservative voters that want to get rid of Trump. Nor will the rush to get rid of private health insurance and giving health insurance to the undocumented.
All of this is just a leftist mirage that gives Trump more ammunition.
What I want to know is what they hope to get passed with a Republican Senate in place.
13
None of these people can or would hold the stage against Trump, especially not amidst this rocking economy. No way, no how.
I don't agree with Bill Maher about much of anything, but on this, he's dead on -- the ONLY person who has ANY chance of defeating Trump in 2020: Michelle Obama.
5
It wasn’t Michelle Obama that Bill Maher said was the only “sure thing” that could beat Trump, it was Oprah Winfrey.
As for Kamala Harris and the race issue. My daughter is half Jamaican and half caucasian. She suffered numerous problems throughout her childhood and adolescence due to her multi cultural identify. She was unable to fit in anywhere severely affecting both her social relationships and academic performance. She has never recovered. Kamala is correct: to be anything but pure caucasian is met with derision.
10
Kamala Harris has long been a political figure in my backyard so I know more about her than I do about most of these other candidates. She is tough and she is very smart. We need her.
I think Elizabeth Warren, despite my reservations about her age (she too is getting long in the tooth), also brings considerable talent and passion to the table. We need her.
And Mayor Pete makes sense when he talks foreign policy. We need him.
All in all I was proud of everyone on the debate stage. America got to see that Democrats are talented, thoughtful and hopeful. Collectively they exemplified some of the very best of America.
I can only hope voters can put away their preconceived ideas of gender, sexual orientation and race to truly "see" what this delightful array of candidates have to offer and choose well.
55
The powers that be in the Democratic Party are like unimaginative generals, always fighting the last war. When Hillary lost the immediate response was pretty much, darn it, should have gone with Joe. Better safe than sorry.
Mind you of course they were the ones who froze Joe out of the 2016 race in the first place but let’s let bygones be bygones. Especially when earlier this year Bernie Sanders was riding high before Warren started to eat into his base. Bernie polls as well as Joe against Trump but Bernie is anathema to the PTB, the Clintonites and every Democrat who blames him for her loss.
I’m not sure that Biden even really wanted to run this time he seems to lack that fire in the belly but the PTB needed him.
“Run for President Joe. It’ll be easy. It’ll be fun, Joe. You deserve it. Everyone loves you Joe.”
Except it hasn’t been easy and it hasn’t been fun. Watching Harris rake him over the coals in the debate I felt sorry for him. I imagine that people in his position are so insulated from reality that they actually believe their own publicity.
Welcome to the real world.
15
Biden is toast. He was never the electable candidate the corporate types wanted in the first place. He was always going to be burdened by being on the wrong side of so many issues over the past 40 years, but to me the most concerning was his support for the Iraq war in 2003. He was in a leadership position to challenge the questionable evidence the administration put forth, but went along with it. He did the same with Anita Hill 10 years before.
Despite his empty rhetoric he's never really been a champion of the people. He has been a champion of big business and corporate interests, especially credit card companies who contribute so much to his campaigns.
20
If the Democrats nominate Joe Biden and lose then progressives will say I told you so and if a progressive loses, centrists will say the same.
Obama was a liberal Democrat. He was not a progressive and the progressives ( especially black progressives) vilified him.
I am ready for a progressive but I don’t feel this country is ready for a progressive in the White House. But the country will vote for a liberal Democrat. What’s the difference? For example, a liberal Democrat does want more than the ACA but less than a Medicare- for - all that does away with private health insurance.
If the Democrats nominate a progressive who runs on total elimination of private health insurance then Trump wins hands down.
14
As a Republican, I watched the debates mostly to see who might be a worthwhile challenger to Trump. I did not see much. Biden somehow feels his name recognition buys him a pass and the other candidates honored his vision by rightfully trashing him.
Yet, when I looked at the field and their comments, what I saw was a selection of far left ideas that only will take root with the die hard Democrat. Most would take a seismic shift in today's political climate to appeal to other persuasions.
Look, the economy is doing well. Trump has called out other nations to stop looking at the US as a Daddy Warbucks. Despite a recalcitrant congress, he has tried to honor many of his pre election promises, all done amid a tax cut. How many of the pie in the sky Democrats could pony up their promises with such results?
10
For me, Harris' takedown of Biden equates with Gillibrand's takedown of Franken. It was an easy win. But a short-term win. Can anyone say with conviction that Harris can win in OH, PA, WI, MI? I don't see it. This is combat for the future of the U.S. Keep identity politics out of it. Period.
28
Seems unfair to bring up busing against Biden.
Mandatory busing was very unpopular and the practice ended long ago. Minority voters disliked it almost as much as non-minority voters. Many moved to different areas to avoid it. It is a logistical nightmare busing kids all over the place, long distances, to improve racial balance. Kids who could before the policy walk to school being forced into long bus rides in diesel buses spewing carcinogenic fumes. It was inevitable that such a policy would die in ignominy inspite of any virtues that it may have represented.
24
Harris gave Biden the opportunity to say that he no longer held those views but he wouldn't budge. He was on the wrong side of history. If he would have just taken the off-ramp she provided he could have taken the air out of her balloon, but he couldn't or wouldn't. Biden's time has passed.
19
When Clinton ran against Obama, her record ran with her. Obama was fortunate to not have decades of voting history to lug around and justify. Biden ‘s problem is the same as Hillary ‘s, but even worse. When Biden began his political career, the landscape was entirely different: just look at the tableau of white senators facing Anita Hill in the infamous Thomas hearings, for example. There’s no doubt that Biden worked well with all kinds of deplorable people during his long legislative career, but we must remember two key things: one is that Biden is, in fact, a likable guy. Even Lindsay Graham has said that if you don’t like Joe Biden, there is something wrong with you. The other thing we need to acknowledge about Biden is the lens through which he sees things. He is nostalgic to a fault about how things used to work in the Senate. Not only are his rose-colored glasses about the past foggy, but his current insistence that his past and sometimes disastrous decisions are still right will doom his candidacy. I wish his career had ended when his term as VP had. Obama was right when he called Biden the best VP ever. Biden ‘s run for president will force us to forget that.
30
I was for Joe Biden's candidacy before I was against it. He lost the debate, not only to Kamala Harris but too Bennet. You can see he just doesn't have it anymore and if he feels that this election should not be about the past he himself should not bring it up.
Kamala Harris did well, I liked what she did. It woke me up. I also liked Bennet and Kirstin Gillibrand. I also like Corey Booker from the night before. Tim Ryan won't get there but his warning about the need to be seen as a working class party is important.
Kamala Harris can take down Trump.
I'm with her.
17
@Duffy
I hope there are many more debates.
#HeelsUp2020
Kamala Harris should stoke fear in Trump. He would look like a blistering old man next to her on the debate stage!
1
Some may call it a “circular firing squad.” I, on the other hand, I am completely and totally relieved that we are getting past this nonsense of avoiding a class war and are actually willing to talk about taxes and income disparity. I applaud you for pointing out that Biden allowed the Bush tax cuts to become permanent.
These are the kind of things that Americans don’t know, because the Press does not report them aggressively. I am not looking seriously at any Issue other than a willingness to address income disparity.
15
Senator Harris' tirade was obviously rehearsed. But it was effective against Biden, who dug himself in deeper by railing against school busing required by the federal government. Harris responded that federal intervention to effectuate civil rights laws as the states often did not.
8
@Richard
It was NOT a tirade. It was a measured series of comments. And what’s wrong if it was rehearsed? It certainly came off in calm, measured manner.
She is one strong lady! But she is not a harridan.
4
I'd love to see Kamala in a face to face debate with Trump. That would be truly special. I'm confident that she would force him to reveal that he is the "emperor with no clothes"! I also think that Kamala would be a formidable candidate for President, if she were to decide to run. She's smart and tough combined with a certain resiliency...just what we need in a presidential candidate at this critical time in our history.
16
@Mike B.: "....if she were to decide to run". What do you think she's doing if not running for president?
I’m 65 and having increasing problems remembering things and getting tired earlier. I see the effects of aging upon me, and I am in good health.
And Joe Biden is running for president as he is starting to push towards 80?
A clear case of ambition and ego over common sense.
32
@RHD
I don't agree. I'm 68 and just retired from a senior management position that I could have held for another 10 years. My memory is the same it was 20 years ago. I exercise, lift weights, play golf and swim regularly. Joe Biden can handle the job. He has the experience and integrity to be president. The key word is integrity. I'll take an "old" Joe Biden over a younger Trump any day of the week.
9
@RHD May it be that Biden is in better shape than you, both physically and intellectually?
1
Kamala Harris is fighting to get on top of the pack and I understand that, but it's unfair to criticize Biden for what happen over 45 years ago. He did what he felt was right at the time. The problem with forced busing is that local people did not want their school taxes to go for students that didn't live in that district and the parents didn't pay taxes that went towards those schools.
The real issue was in regards to civil rights was why there were no black families in those communities. That's why the Affordable Housing bill was passed. You cannot force integration by busing. Integration comes from equal opportunities to earn good wages so that you can afford to live in the neighborhood you want to. That is true integration.
28
@VMG
Many Years ago (1962?) the Hempstead NY school district allowed students in the district to attend ANY of the elementary schools within the district, in an attempt to have students in the largely minority schools transfer to the schools with the white majority student population, leveling out the student mix; the reverse happened, with many of the few remaining white students in the minority schools transferring to the white-majority schools, with little to no movement from black majority schools.
I don't care who it is. All that matters is beating Trump. And Democrats will lose if they can be painted as supporting open borders and eliminating private health insurance. A moderate needs to head the ticket. Harris is a natural moderate. I hope she doesn't entrench herself too deeply on losing positions in her effort to win the nomination.
19
I guess I am among the few who is not impressed with Senator Harris. Her so-called prosecutorial skills are practiced. But what did she really accomplish with Kavanaugh, Barr, or Biden? Made no difference. She is dead in the water with her remarks about illegal immigrants; the Republicans will have a field day, replaying them over and over again. Her attack against Biden for his vote against busing (and who really knows what busing means) may get her votes in the primary, but busing doesn't address the underlying structural and systemic problems of inequality. This is the real issue, and it isn't just African Americans but it is also the people of Appalachia and rural communities, Latinos, and others who struggle to live from pay check to pay check and lack adequate education for the 21st century. Democrats will be tagged with their "identity" issues, and they will lose if the focus continues to be on one race.
25
The consensus is to get trump out of office, by any means, voting for any democrat to accomplish this. The fear of another trump administration is so palpable to leave one's mouth dry. Good so far. That fear of four more years under a vile misfit that threatens the very definition of democracy, needs to be channeled by a candidate who can drag us out of the cess pool we now stand in. Who in this large assemblage will emerge to be the one so inspired in passionate reasoning, strong enough to bring change to a GOP congress along with his or her election to the presidency. A democrat in the Oval office with today's GOP Senate will be a repeat of the Obama years.
8
You’re just sore that he didn’t grant you an interview. He probably did that because of your well-known style of belittling your subjects. In my opinion, Kamala Harris did herself no favors by attacking Joe Biden. My own son, who is in his mid-30s, said that after seeing her at the debate, he wouldn’t vote for her in a million years. Joe Biden is a man with a long track record of progressive politics. He is a healer and that is what we need right now. He was a public defender, whereas she was an overly aggressive prosecutor who fought the release of prisoners even after they were proved innocent. I’ll stick with Joe.
20
So your thought is that if a blue wave happens washing Trump out of office the Republicans will realize that recalcitrant intransigence will work and even President Biden cannot work with them. Let's see how your how your prescience works on inauguration day .
2
“In my experience, candidates with advisers who belittle them on background do not win elections.”
This is a very interesting and insightful statement. It speaks to the fact that, in the end, whether it is voters, advisors, or campaign volunteers, people fall in love with candidates. If/ when this does not happen they usually don’t win.
Many Democrats are behind Biden because they think he has the best chance at beating Trump, not because they’re in love with him. Maybe this will work. Moderate Republicans and evangelicals held their noses and voted for Trump and he won.
But Trump’s base was in love with him. I don’t get that from Biden supporters.
11
Coming out of sleepy state of Delaware where so many corporations were domiciled and paid the bills and being ensconced in the Senate and VP role forty years does not sharpen elbows and foment hunger which is what primaries and combatting Trump require.
16
I agree with you. I believe he should never have run, but allowed his ego and sense of entitlement to get in the way. Good man or not, redeemed or not, his time has passed and I was glad to see him intensely challenged by a new generation of leaders.
19
I believe one other reason ( other than entitlement and ambition ) certain people run is because it is a job creator for those who have advised and convinced him to run. No doubt any sitting Senator or person of his record can get a healthy dose of primary campaign donations. Now picture yourself as a long time close aide of Biden or a trustworthy consultant he might hire. So what is there to lose to have his hat in the ring ? The campaign funds pay your salary for the work for as long as he is in it. And, what if he wins ? , your dream of a lifetime is realized, you are connected to his WH Administration having helped orchestrate the victory.
8
In 2016, just before the presidential election. I couldn't imagine any sane and educated person would vote for Trump instead of Hillary. But I was greatly worried that I was wrong. Hillary was being attacked for supposed sins that had little to do with how much better the US would be with her, not Trump, as president. One of her harshest critics seemed to be a progressive national columnist. That little critic was Maureen Dowd. And she seems to be doing it again, but with Joe Biden as her target, this time. Good people with an enormous range of personal political persuasions, I would hope, will recognize that even Joe Biden at his worst is a giant step up from Trump.
54
These debates are a waste of time and an insult to the voting public. Find a couple of real journalists and have them conduct a series of one-half hour interviews with each candidate. Real questions and real follow-up questions on real issues confronting the US. Four interview each week, broadcast each Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.
The debate format proves nothing and can be manipulated to create sound bites. Let's have a format where grown ups talk to grown ups.
54
Anything can be manipulated for sound bites. This sort of forum ( let’s avoid calling it a debate ) is useful. As is also valuable a sit-down interview, a policy page on the website or a stump speech. It all coalesces.
2
After watching Joe Biden’s performance in the debate, I totally agree with Maureen Dowd’s assessment of his place In this roster of Democratic candidates on stage ... and his age: “But the problem at the moment is that Biden has too much past and not enough presence”. The Democratic presidential candidate must have more than a past in the political arena. She or he must exhibit Truth, Integrity, Intelligence, Vision and Energy to face off against the Republican candidate ... to give the voters confidence that American values and our democracy can and will be honored ... can and will be saved.
6
We're way too early in the process to make accurate predictions. The observations we make now will take on many different colors before we're done. It's fun to make them now and see if course corrections happen. It'll be even more fun to look back every three months and see how the colors have changed. It will be like leaf peeping the fall. There is one fall 2020 color that is most important: Red. Has any of the candidates offered a plan for how to beat the Russians in the next election (that actually gets something done before the election)? We need a really good one.
11
The thing that Democratic voters fear most is the fraying that comes from the primary process, and they should be. Democratic participation lagged in 2016, when Sanders supporters didn't show up. They may have been principled in this, but they helped elect Trump. The Republicans have the advantage of not caring about consistency, or truth, or principle, or much of anything, except winning. A bruising primary season can be a useful way of sorting the choices and seasoning a candidate for the general, but it won't matter if the voters don't show up. If the Dems want to win this time, they should resolve to vote for the nominee, no matter what.
20
I have no disrespect for Kamala Harris. She did what one is supposed to do in a debate; challenge her opponent(s); in this particular case, Biden. However, its been argued that the debate wasn't necessarily the right forum, and that he was more than willing to clarify his position.
But, two other things now stand out; we still don't know if Harris is as good on defense, as she appeared to be on offense (IMHO, that is the real acid test).
The other, is the marketing of tee-shirts with the picture of Harris as a child; to serve as a "poster child," for the plight of her school-bussing experiences; not unlike Trump's "MAGA" hats.
Obviously, for better or worse, those worked for Trump; there is no guarantee of the risk, that Harris' tee-shirts won't backfire on her.
Don't you dare say, "Never!"
6
@Ponsobny Britt, her real history is not of forced busing at all. Her had student parents were at Berkeley and in a voluntary busing program and she would be well educated all through, including schools in Canada after age 12. Biden never hurt her, yet she specifically says she was "that little girl" who suffered. But she isn't as she appears. Check out how she treated people as a DA. Not a friend to the downtrodden, to say the least. Chilling information. Bold move to attack Biden's past by pretending a faux progressive persona for herself.
2
Biden absolutely should NOT be the nominee. We've got much more energetic and qualified candidates who truly understand our country is broken, who truly have empathy for that. Can we PLEASE move past the equivocators? There is a reason that saying and doing the right thing does not come naturally to Joe Biden.
6
Maureen attacked Clinton in the last election, helping Trump win.
Now she is denigrating Biden, the only candidate who has a chance at defeating Trump. He’s not perfect, but he’s more electable than the other candidates who are too far left and unwilling to compromise.
20
@JCTBI
LOL. Revisionist history at its best--Maureen Dowd assisted/enabled the Trump win. Maybe she was just doing her job. Remember, the Clintons don't own the NYT.
Maybe we can airbrush Maureen's image from the May Day Parade photos.
What's the point of living a long life and doing what you think is best at the time, not knowing how things will change in the future, if all you're considered is as a person with too much baggage? There are many older people living active and productive lives, which they are entitled to do until until death comes for them. At one time knowledge and experience were respected, and I thought, required to be president.
21
I believe his time is past. A photo published of him with his face buried in the hair of a lady cringing in front of him is all the Republicans would need to give voters pause. The more he debates, the more Democrats will realize they need a younger, more prepared, forward-looking candidate.
8
@Henry's boy: It is ironic that a picture of Joe sniffing someone's hair (and I agree it is creepy and I don't like Joe's inappropriate behavior that has been called out) will fell him while a credible allegation of rape by a well-known writer against President Trump will go nowhere. Trump has had about twenty credible accusations of real assaults against women. Why don't they cause him problems? It's insane that that is where we are.
We have, as our leader, a man who extols the virtues of dictators, who, it seems, wishes to join their murderous club, who turns away from our allies and yes, one who has raped women, who has even described how he just grabs them by their private parts.
It is beyond sickening, beyond nauseating. We Dems better get our act together. The primary circular firing squad will do his work for him and this very corrupt, very un-American man will continue to squat in the White House.
2
I love the sentence about Biden now selling himself as someone who can work with a Republic Party that doesn't exist anymore. I could hear him say I made a deal with Mitch McConnell to limit Republicans to six seats on Scotus and not go to seven. There were many things said on that on the two stages I didn't agree with but beating Trump is all that counts. He's already picking the courts for the next 25 years with an attitude that we'll recommend anyone and if they're not completely indefensible they'll get in for life is working. Vote.
3
Kamala Harris said something to Biden that needed to be said. Her tone was calm and, if anything, sad, not angry. I keep hearing, including in this piece, inaccurate adjectives used to describe her comments. She did not call him names. She was direct. She talked about how his discussion of working with two champions of segregation in the distant past made her feel. Very adult and necessary.
29
@James---She rehearsed and rehearsed until she got it right. The whole thing was manufactured.
11
@James, try a look at her own past--both way back and more importantly as an adult in power as a DA. Biden looks like FDR by comparison.
2
@James Yeah, except her record on race is abysmal. Read up on the things she did as AG and a DA. This staged stunt was the height of hypocrisy.
2
I had a positive impression about Harris until the debate. Biden is right that busing cannot be discussed properly at a debate. They were turbulent moments that caused a great deal of anguish and pain in communities--a lot of good and decent people were on the wrong side of this--desegregation was okay so long as it didn't involve busing their children. Wilmington was one case, Boston was another.
So what did Harris achieve? She managed to hawk a few t-shirts just as Trump hawked a few MAGA hats. She has the merchandizing aspects of this nailed.
26
Sendero,
Your characterization of Ms. Harris is way off the mark. She was calm and speaking of her personal experience with school busing as a temporary solution to school segregation. The Federal government had to step in to force a state government to desegregate their schools. If we settled for a state rights approach many schools in the US would still be segregated. Biden was trying to make a compromise with racist GOP Congressmen. In doing so, he was abandoning minority students, including a young Kamala Harris. Blue wave 2020!
1
This whole drama vilifying Biden for his views on bussing over 40 years ago is totally misguided and seems to only be exaggerated by an over zealous media giving candidates like Harris the opportunity to unfairly publicly pummel him. Bussing was not a popular issue for anyone at that time , Democrats included. The vast majority of both Conservatives and Liberals were not pleased with this kind of government instituted direct shake up on the lives of many Americans. Many communities were affected and protests to this policy was rampant. Let’s not forget the volatile protests and even violence that broke out in Boston because of this , a very Blue state and city .
I thought Biden did fine in the debate. He is also being roundly criticized for voluntarily stopping to talk as he saw that his time was up.
Maybe I’m naive but I saw it as Biden trying to be polite and the only one up there who had some courtesy . I wanted to choke Gillebrand . Ironically she made some excellent points, but I will never forgive her for going after Al Franken. We NEED that seat and Gillebrand used Franken it as an opportunity to elevate herself just like she did at the debate for just shouting things out like a two year old.
All I want is to beat Trump and I’m afraid that candidates like Warren and Sanders and even Harris will be branded as “ socialists “ and too progressive which would just turn off moderates.
I’m still for Biden .
42
I agree that Biden should not be criticized for voluntarily stopping at the end of his time. That shows he respected the rules of the debate and does not act like rules don't apply to him. We already have a president who thinks he is above the law. We don't need another one. There were other candidates who were also respectful (e. g., Warren), but too many of them were obnoxious (e. g., Gillibrand)
8
@Peter Gillibrand is a political and intellectual lightweight. I have no respect for her because of the way she hounded Al Franken out of the Senate.
2
Whether Joe Biden continues to run or not, it is his type of personality that will be needed in the White House after the national nightmare is back on his pyrite throne back in NYC or FL. It may be Elizabeth Warren or Pete Buttigieg both of whom I admire for their cool, pragmatic courage in facing their leadership shortcomings. It won’t be (for me) DA Kamala Harris. Lawyers are trained to cut the ground out from under the feet of any witness so that there is no place left for them to stand, which is exactly what she did on Thursday night with all premeditation. Yes, she wants to get ahead, every politician wants to win. Ms Harris wants to win regardless of the cost to her rival/opponent or to herself. As I understand it she was waiting on the corner for the bus (was she the only child there? Doubtful) because her parents wanted her to be bussed. If she’s still angry about it there are plenty of targets to go after. Joe Biden didn’t cause her grievance all by himself. He did much good and he needs to lean into all the decisions he’s made throughout his life and accept that he, like Ms Harris, is imperfect. And the Twitter crowd roaring for a younger more progressive candidate need to take a breath and understand how much they are being played by the media (and not just Fox News, or the Trump employee trolling the Dems with fake websites, or the Russians undoubtedly at it again). If we are to oust Trump legally from the White House, from OUR House, then we need a clear eye.
31
Biden is carrying too much political baggage to appeal to the Genx, Millennials and the current coming of voting age people.
Joe, the torch must be passed, your time in this process is done. Same for Trump and Sanders. Move over, change lanes, get out of the way your time is up.
14
Running on a platform of raising taxes, open borders and free everything for everybody is a sure way for any Democrat to lose the presidency. Particularly when you have peace at home and abroad, a strong economy and historic low unemployment. It just won't fly in Middle America, the voters who actually decide these elections.
29
@Sophie Marie Yours is a rational view very well expressed. Joe Biden said it best himself: "My time's up. I'm sorry." One by one, the twenty debaters may well come to the same realization about their own ambitions. While the candidates were flailing and MSNBC was failing, the President was dominating the G20 meeting, then stepping over the Korean DMZ in an effort to ease nuclear war tensions. Quite the contrast.
6
Without taxes you don’t get to pay for infrastructure or the services that you want, or the senseless wars you want to fight, unless you follow the Republican plan of paying for everything on credit and leaving the massive debt for our grandchildren to deal with. No open borders are being espoused by Democrats, but cruelty and injustices imposed on people fleeing poverty, enslavement or death in their own country to seek a meaningful life in the United States just to satisfy an exclusive racist agenda is wrong. The economy is great if you are already rich, not so much for the working class and unprivileged people who are creating all of that wealth for the one per cent to hoard, and unemployment is certainly low. Just ask all of those people working two or three minimum wage jobs just to put food on the table or trying to pay the medical bills for a sick child that they can’t afford health insurance for. Plus, it’s real insanity that the old white men in three or four “heartland “ states seem to always get to decide how the vast majority of the country gets to be governed due to an arcane election system that makes a mockery of the democratic process.
1
@Sophie Marie
So your platform would be lowering taxes on the rich, closed borders, and free everything for people who are nice to Donnie? Remember, in 2016 Trump said he would replace the ACA with something better and cheaper. He's had 2.5 years with a mostly Republican Congress to put something together. How's that working out?
2
It is 7 months until the first caucuses and primaries. People will forget this by then and tire of the t-shirts (poor idea). I will be interesting to see how Kamala's experience as a child aligns with the experiences of others. In the mean time she has enjoyed a surge in popularity in the absurd world created by these debates--just sound bites manufactured by campaigns. BTW--where were the T-shirts manufactured?
15
The circular firing squad continues.
I don’t know if Biden can win but I can tell you there is no way we will win talking about busing issues from 40 years ago.
I think Harris is really smart but I don’t think she won the debate.
The people who will decide this election care about the cost of insulin not about busing from 40 years ago.
1690
@East Coast
Biden definitely lost but Harris, the hit woman, didn't win either. She'll need to do a lot more to become the nominee than taking down her opponents. For instance, she'll need to talk policy. If anyone mirrors Trump in this primary it's Kamala Harris.
149
@East Coast
I don't think she expects to win the nomination or the general election. She is building her name recognition and reputation for 2024.
So if she sinks Biden and the Dems for2020, it doesn't mean that much to her.
51
@RM--No. She is running to win. The stars are becoming aligned for a Democrat. The same mood that led us to Obama in 2012.
93
It appears that a very large number of voters do not pick a candidate based on qualifications. They make a selection for emotional reasons. Sad as I am to say it, I think election of Trump was a white backlash against Obama. It isn't fair, and it isn't right. But I'm convinced that's how it is. Democratic primary voters need to pick a candidate who has some hope of gaining acceptance from independents and some Republicans. Otherwise we get four more years of Trump, and all is lost.
20
@Bill In a non-racist world, Republicans would like a prosecutor.
Bill 765. - This is an important comment.
2
I’ll gladly support any Democratic nominee in 2020 over Trump, but I’d much rather see a combination of Warren or Harris together with Castro, Booker, or Buttigieg than one with Biden at the top of the ticket. “Uncle Joe” has too much baggage from a 40-plus year career in politics, and while he might be appealing to older moderates and some Trump-leaning working class voters in the Midwest and Northeast, he will not create the kind of enthusiasm desperately needed to get Millennials and other younger voters out to the polls on Election Day 2020 that some of the aforementioned candidates will...
1966
@J. Grant
Exactly what I’ve been saying lately.
Warren / Buttigieg
Or
Harris / Castro
I also think Senator Booker as another excellent candidate to be polar opposite of trump.
77
@J. Grant
"Trump Wins Second Term!"
"Enthusiasm desperately needed to get Millennials and other younger voters out to the polls on Election Day 2020 lacking!"
In the old days, there was an expression. A Blue Dog Democrat. It referred to someone who would rather vote for a blue dog than a Republican. (at a time when the GOP was still considered the party of Lincoln.)
If defeating Trump is not enough to generate enthusiasm among Millennials and younger voters, even if it means voting for a blue dog, they. more than any other group will inherit the whirlwind.
162
@cwc ~
"If defeating Trump is not enough to generate enthusiasm among Millennials and younger voters, even if it means voting for a blue dog, they. more than any other group will inherit the whirlwind."
Totally agree. Defeating trump should be the energizing force to get people to the polls. Thank you for saying it so well.
133
"Biden is selling himself as someone who can work with a Republican Party that everyone but Biden realizes doesn’t exist anymore."
"But the problem at the moment is that Biden has too much past and not enough presence."
These two thoughts pretty much sum up how I feel about Biden's candidacy and debate performance. I want someone I can cheer for, not cringe at.
I've always thought he was a decent honorable man, affable to a fault. But he's growing increasingly testy with criticism. Does "Uncle Joe" think can simply assume Trump's mantra, "never apologize for anything" and make it work?
His timing is all off. The tragedy of his son's death ruled out a run in 2016, for which I have utmost sympathy. That said, I can't respect a candidate who hopes to hide in the shadows of his past when so many of those decisions now seem out of sync.
There's time and place for everything--Biden's seems to have come and gone.
2299
@ChristineMcM
The criticisms of Biden by Harris and others is to apply today's standards of purity to yesterday's political climate that was more of compromise in order to nudge forward. I do not see the purity approach working very well.
130
@Gordon MacDowell
Surely working with stalwart segregationists while purporting to be strong on civil rights is problematic. This was years after passage of the Civil Rights Act and two decades after the Brown decision. The cherry on the top was Biden arguing for states rights just as segregationists had done for years.
He will have to bring up examples that resonate with and are recognizable by a larger segment of the current electorate. Those times are long past and, sadly, his may be as well. He is out of tune on so much and clueless that this is the case. He seemed lost on the debate stage and that moment when he said that his time was up after unsuccessfully trying to answer Harris may be more true than he knows.
He seems incapable of saying that he was wrong that his thinking has evolved since then. That applies here in the discussion about busing and certainly on the subject of Anita Hill where he has not confronted his part in what happened. It was also telling that he, of the deep empathy, could not simply say that he was sorry that Harris was hurt by what he said and that he understood her objections. Learn and grow, Joe, or be left behind.
176
@ChristineMcM
I like Joe and sincerely wish he was doing better so this could be a slam-dunk easy decision, but I too find myself cringing with his every word.
151
If Biden had the Democratic Party’s best interest at heart, he would drop out gracefully and work his heart out to get our best candidate elected.
But he doesn’t have our best interest at heart right now. He didn’t help in the midterms, he didn’t help Hillary Clinton. He lost the difference between compromise and appeasement a long time ago, and has hurt women, credit card consumers, and segregated school children as a result. His biggest positive contribution was to keep the blue collar vote in line for Obama, and for that I thank him.
But I don’t owe Joe Biden a darn thing, and certainly not my vote, when I have far superior choices.
2430
@Terro O’Brien If this election is about kitchen table issues: jobs & education there's no way the Democrats lose. If the election is about immigration & reparations there's no way we win. Harris is for reparations. In poll after poll, the majority of Americans voters are against this. Reparations are the only issue that would compel independent swing voters to hold their nose & vote for Trump. Reparations guarantees the Democrats will lose the working class vote again. We can't afford this. Voters are also strongly against any legislation that would increase the flow of illegal immigration. But Harris is for policies that essentially not only decriminalize illegal immigration but encourage it. She & her progressives allies are on the wrong side of this issue. Last January NY lawmakers voted to allow illegal immigrants the ability to receive scholarships & financial aid. How are Democrats supposed to tell voters that state aid to help afford college isn't available for them but is available for those who are in this country illegally? Many state Democrats are now offering illegals free healthcare, welfare, food stamps, drivers licenses, schooling, in-state-tuition, & sanctuary. This is unsustainable. Why is the only answer, that they have an unrestricted right to come to the U.S.? The more benefits we give, the more will try to get here. It's an insane & impossible equation. If a far left candidate is the nominee in 2020 then we will lose decisively.
204
@Terro O’Brien "Owe him" is key. I recall Hillary was routinely labled "entitled," but I haven't heard that word directed at Biden. Yet, his supporters are *outraged* that Harris dared to put him on the spot with a question during a debate. No entitlement there, I guess. He apparently didn't need to be prepared for hard questions. It was her violation for thinking it was a debate.
165
@Terro O’Brien
I agree, it's over for Joe.
If there were ever a "mixed bag", Joe would be it.
He was a true asset for Obama and he deserves credit for that. But he was an absolutely awful candidate when he ran before so to expect him to be a good one now at his age is more than a bit ridiculous.
It will become clear to everybody in fairly short order if it already hasn't that he's not going to be the nominee. His polling and support will start to decay very shortly after that performance.
Warren and Harris are both tough, smart cookies and bring a lot more to the table than Joe at this point. The rest of the field is going to be fighting it out for the V.P. slot, Castro should be the frontrunner there and looks very strong, I think that's a good spot for him and the ticket.
Bernie is a spent fuel rod at this point, he's done, and the others just aren't the goods, other than maybe Buttigieg.
205
Dems are angry. They are red hot. They are now the opposite of what Trey Gowdy, Jim Jordan, Chafetz et all of Benghazi fame were - are. There's no question of compromise, let alone appeasement. We choose, support and send leadership to Washington to implement Dem agenda, not to make nice with the Repubs who feel no shame in propping up a man like Trump who is an unabashed vile, vulgar and corrupt man.
And why would anyone want to work with a party that has now proven beyond any doubt that all their previous stands about family values, about the country's safety and security, about fiscal prudence and responsibility, about budgets and national debt were all election year ruses, false fictitious slogans to mislead the public.
No, we do not want to work with this group. We have our own policies and programs to see through. To constantly appeal to Repubs and Trump's following is foolish. Moderate Republicans have already abandoned Trump's GOP. We should concentrate on our own rank and file. We need to fire them up every day so that when the polling comes along, no one thinks of staying home.
We need to score points against Trump and the GOP every day. Trump can be more easily brought down by a thousand cuts than by a single chop on the election day or election week. Have a Rapid Response Team. Cut, no make it mow, Trump down every day of the week - and a lot more on weekends. We need fighters, not appeasers or compromisers.
16
I can't tell you how much it tickles me to see and hear so many no - names and proven losers fighting to be disassembled by Trump. If this market and economy continues on its current course they will all learn the First Clinton Lesson: "It's the economy stupid!"
7
@C Ingram, and at a cost of only two and a half trillion poured out of our treasury for the rich. Sugar for the market. Hundreds of billions to pay off farmers Trump has ruined with absurd tarriffs. And more shenanigans to buck it up to hide the damage. Hope the deficit means nothing to you because he's building it fast.
1
There's good reason for Democrats to be civil to one another, to avoid the "circular firing squad." But Harris tossed a powder-puff compared to what Republicans will throw at Biden or whoever else gets the nomination. They have no scruples and Trump needs a win to stay out of jail. We need a candidate who can adjust to the unexpected in debate and who can hit back. These debates help us find out who that is.
12
I cringed when Harris took Biden down. But you know what? If she hadn't, the Trump people would have.
These primary struggles are a cleansing process. Better to washout now than on election day 2020.
Biden doesn't have the spunk, the energy, the wit to compete with someone like Kamala Harris. Yes, he is the "safe" candidate but that doesn't mean he is the best candidate.
I was leaning strongly for him for that reason, but after watching him act like a 76 year old, struggling to keep up with the younger candidates, it became obvious that his time has passed.
It's going to take a whirlwind to battle Trump. He is not restricted to things like the truth, facts, reality, past statements, protocol, or stated positions. Trump is like an amoeba, constantly changing shape, contorting, devouring, and floating wherever the current takes him. He lies and then lies about his lies. It's going to take an aggressive and razor sharp wit to combat such a foe. Kamala Harris can do that. She can prosecute him for committing crimes against reality.
21
@Bruce Rozenblit. Elizabeth Warren would be better at this coupled with the fact that she has clearly spelled out her program in minute detail.
2
Harris may have gutted Joe for which we can be grateful but to say that it pushed her to the top is absurd.
She will pay the price.
Remember, anyone of the others at their podiums that night could have done it but they didn't. I'd say she was charged with the task and shouldered it without thinking of the costs.
Could well be that Kamela has shot her shot and what remains is gonna be insubstantial alongside Warren, Castro, and Buttigieg who can never win but is a fine example of right thinking.
A $30 T-shirt about her origins is something to think about. It's been so long now that MAGA hats are on heads that I can't remember if they were free or not and don't wanta google the thought.
Harris will not grind her stilleto into the Presidency because she wiil wear it out long before. She showed no respect for the man.
It was a cage fight in that moment in the midst of the melee of ten people grabbing sound bites over one another. Pathetic display. Abe Lincoln rolled over several times. His bones can't take much more of this.
I really don't think Harris felt hurt at all by Joe's recall of how it was. She just saw an opportunity to take him down before the horde of naysayers and cutthroats we are.
"A lot of people don't have much food on their table
But they got a lot of forks and knives
And they gotta cut something"
Could be Harris does not have the substance?
6
@Discernie, check her as a DA and see. The woman has hurt a lot of people in her ambition, and her false presentation will come out sooner due to her strange attack on a man who has been far kinder to minorities than she has.
2
Thank you, this is the first time I've heard anyone mention Biden's bizarre insistence on cutting himself off mid-sentence when his time was up. It's like: the moderators aren't going to shut you down if you just finish your darn sentence. It made him seem like he was tip-toeing around when literally every other candidate was blowing through their time allotment. Yes, generally sticking to the rules shows good sportsmanship, but there's no need to freeze and go mute when you're only like three words away from wrapping up.
5
This is a political campaign, and as such.. what a politician has done, or has not done, in their career IS FAIR GAME.
Joe Biden is an adult with decades of public and embarrassing screwups.. some minor and some of epic proportions. Including his dishonesty and plagiarism during his 1988 campaign... which on it's own should disqualify him from candidacy... as it goes directly to flaws in his character.
He deserves to be called out on his career of bumbling and caving to conservatives.
People harsh on Kamala for calling it like it is... need to grow up. And Joe.. Joe needs to put on his big-boy pants and learn to behave as a mature and thoughtful candidate if he wants any chance at being taken seriously.
6
I am tired of these weak fading grey haired old men like me.
I like these strong young women with vigorous hair and brains,
bringing courage and health to us.
16
@Gareth Harris This old guy agrees with you. Biden has shown his weakness in the debate. I shutter to think what he would do if he were President.
I can't tell you how much it tickles me to see and hear so many no - names and proven losers fighting to be disassembled by Trump. If this market and economy continues on its current course they will all learn the First Clinton Lesson: "It's the economy stupid!"
4
The cold-blooded calculation of the attack is what gets me. A decent person would go to Biden in private if the goal was an apology. An honest person would mention busing in the media dust up with Booker over segregationists at least a week prior to the debate. But the goal was drawing blood on a huge stage with a surprise attack and weaponizing the language of social justice. That’s just bad faith. Worse, in my book, than Booker trying to outcompete O’Rourke as a Spanish speaker, as if race is a performance. Harris knew that no one would understand the history of busing or the particular nuances of her experience and only come away with the impression that Biden had hurt a little girl. Dishonest and disgraceful.
10
@Josh
Harris was on my shortlist however because of the stunt she pulled as you described along with a similar action during the Barr hearings (along with Booker) she is off that list now.
I want substance and I find that in Warren, mayor Pete and a few others.
5
We need a candidate strong enough to press the fight after winning the election, when trump claims it was rigged, and refuses to surrender office. And we need a Democratic party finally strong enough to back up that fight.
We need a candidate strong enough to slay Sauron.
4
I find it odd that Democrats are swooning over a moment that consisted of an admittedly adroitly presented takedown of racism in the 70s. It's almost as though being alive in the 70s and coexisting with racists like Rep. Eastland is a smoking gun. It's not a revelation that racism existed in the 70s. I don't understand how this furthers the case against Donald Trump.
I also feel that although Harris' point was legitimate and well-presented, the excessive praise it has generated is elitist: only well-heeled twitter followers are so blessed with wealth and a stable home-life as to be ecstatic about an abstraction like the outing of someone (Biden) who may have collaborated with people with racist tendencies. It is not a topic most Democrats think is a productive one, and since everyone's hand went up in affirmation following the open borders question decriminalizing illegal immigration, and since Warren, Sanders and Harris (depending on what day it is) want to do away with private insurance, you only have three electable Democrats left : Tim Ryan, Amy Klobuchar and Michael Bennet.
5
Kamala took a cheap shot at Biden's initial, and probably correct, view long ago of forced busing as "a liberal trainwreck" whose results were predictable.
Where busing was employed, if often lead to white flight and the resulting re-segregation of schools.
Politics is still largely the art of the possible, and in the seventies and beyond, it wasn't possible to compel many white citizens, and even a fair number of black families, to see busing as an unalloyed positive.
Harris also took out of context Biden's statement about having to work with segregationists, and others he might not have agreed with, in order to get other laws passed. If she hasn't learned that lesson herself by now, she has no business being in the Senate.
I hate to say it, but Trump was right. She's being given too much credit for a disingenuous sucker punch.
5
@bijom--not just a disingenuous such punch, but a premeditated sucker punch and she even had t-shirts printed and ready for distribution once the debate ended.
Truth be told, I’m no longer holding up my torch for Joe Biden so fiercely. In fact I think the flame was blown out. He could still relight a new fire were he to admit that he made mistakes in the past (We have been told for more than 450 years that “politics makes strange bedfellows.”) & were he to state clearly that he is now running to secure not only his political legacy but also to reclaim more firmly the progressive course Obama & he tried to set us on. And. that not just for the USA, but also for the world this matters critically. I do believe he has the broad political appeal to do this. And, his personal history should further suggest that his running for president is tied to this higher purpose & not a mere frolic of his own.
2
Now that Biden is on the ropes, it appears that Elizabeth Warren is, inexplicably, the Corporate wing's fall-back candidate. My cynicism or paranoia or whatever you want to call it, is whispering to me that some backroom discussions have already taken place between CAP and Third Way and Warren. Have they hammered out which prominent Wall Street Guru gets to load up a Warren Cabinet with Free Traders and Neolibs? Kamala Harris might have had a moment but she has a Pullman Car's worth of baggage to explain fully herself. I see the new darling as Warren, with a moderate to be chosen later for VP.
1
Trump won't debate whichever candidate Democrats select.
He already thinks he's 'King'.
He definitely would not dare get on a stage with Kamala Harris.
She'd mop the floor with him.
He will dodge it and claim that 'the American people don't want debates. They want him again'.
Remember me as the one who first figured this out.
8
The recent Democrat debates made it clear that in this race Joe Biden equals Hillary Clinton with a blubbering problem.
If the GOP’s dirty tricks are successful and the Democratic Party ends up choosing him as their candidate in what looks like another entitlement nomination, they will be reelecting Trump.
That would be a death knell to our democracy.
2
Refresh my memory as to if any of Biden’s history was brought up in 2008 or even 2012. History regarding busing, working with bigoted politicians, or other issues people insist he apologize for. As well as to be chastised about publicly.
1
Biden has lots of issues but I think he actually had good faith about finding a solution for busing.
What I saw from the debate was Harris grandstanding. In my opinion she was simply viscous.
6
Warren-Buttigieg is a dream team. Or Harris. Joe Biden is past his prime. It won't be easy to defeat Trump. Biden isn't owed the job, a fact they ignored about Hillary. Democrats just can't afford to fail this time.
3
I found Kamala's memorized speech about her tough time as a black child moving but trite - there are probably a million black adults who have had similar experiences, and I found her attempt to blame Biden silly and irrelevant. My question is "So Kamila had a tough time as a kid - how does this add to her meager qualifications to be president of the United States.?"
And meager they are; she has been running for president immediately upon being elected to the Senate, and has accomplished absolutely nothing as a senator. So, those candidates who actually have accomplished something positive in their careers need to point out her completely undistinguished resume. She is certainly articulate and intelligent, qualities that are necessary but clearly not sufficient to be president.
3
If the Dems want to lose again they must make Biden their nominee. This guy has been carrying water for corporate interests for decades and everyone knows it
5
Before he announced there were many some quietly and others openly saying don't run. We need someone younger now....and a woman!
3
Jeez, if all that Ms. Dowd wanted to talk to Biden about were his failings of 20 and 30 years ago, I wouldn't have spoken to her either. And her suggestion that Hunter Biden's marital problems is fair game with respect to his father's presidential ambitions is absolute nonsense. Kamala Harris certainly had every right to boost her own candidacy by highlighting her differences with the former veep but it may well be that Biden's own civility and deference to women precluded his responding to her charges with the same sort of vehemence as she had exhibited. If Ms. Harris is in favor of forced busing, reparations to the great-great-grandchildren of former slaves and an end to private medical insurance she has about as much chance of defeating Donald Trump in the Electoral College as I have of convincing the rest of mankind that I'm responsible for the collective works of Wolfgang Mozart. If we're going to dismiss Mr. Biden as a candidate of the past, we're going to have to somehow make peace with the idea that Mr. Trump will remain our president in the future. In which case, by the time 2024 comes around there'll be nothing left of America to salvage. Winning the relatively conservative Midwest is what matters now and reparations (among other things) isn't going to do it.
comment submitted 6/29 at 6:27 PM
9
I think that Biden and Bernie are Butch and Sundance- looking at their pursuers and saying "...I got a bad feeling about this...".
Or, even worse, Butch and Sundance, wounded in the bank, about to try and shoot their out, notrealizing that a battalion of soldiers has marched into town.
Biden has time to come back- and Harris is getting some pushback- and made a blunder of her own last night. However, there was an unmistakable sense for Biden and Bernie that they thought this was between them; that the rest of the candidates would be deferntial and ultimately fall away.
That dog ain't gonna hunt.
5
I will not vote for Joe. Most Democrats are liberal, the correct word is progressive,and thus we have Kamala tugging at the heart strings of our party.
Depends on how you feel about children in cages, the homeless, and especially corporations running our lives. There is no longer a case for liberalism, or a definition that covers how humane a person can be.
The right has destroyed our invisible line of partisanship with hatred power of greed.
4
Obama's fears were well-founded: the Democrats are indeed forming a circular firing squad. Instead, they should be all sounding the alarm about the traitor in the White House. The only one who attacked Trump head on ("a racist and a pathological liar") was Bernie Sanders.
Kamala sounded strong, but by putting her hand up saying she'd get rid of private insurance, she sealed her doom. And Medicare for illegal immigrants? How out of touch are they?
They have one candidate who can win handily: Amy Klobuchar. She is strong, smart, a Midwesterner, and the only one who hasn't already put her hand up for a cause most Americans hate or her foot in her mouth. Klobuchar would also make mincemeat of Trump in a one on one debate.
So of course, she has no chance. And I'm beginning to seriously fear our democracy is toast.
8
There is ONLY one question: can Kamala Harris get Trump voters to vote for her? Yeah, that's what I thought.
This election is not about policy. It's not about who Mo, or I, will vote for; it's not about the ideal candidate, or who's never made a millenial snowflake 'uncomfortable', or who's never made a mistake.
This election is not about policy--what's-er-name said it the other night: Trump didn't win on policy. He won on hate and indifference. Will the average Trump voter vote for Kamala Harris? Then what are we talking about?
6
Getting Trump voters to switch is only half the math. The election comes down to three states - Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. Harris or another Dem nominee need about 80 new votes among those three states to turn the Electoral College around. 1. Sway Trump voters from 2016 to Dem side. 2. Dissuade Trump voters to turnout to vote in Nov 2020. 3. Get more Dem voters , especially blacks in Detroit and Philadelphia to go vote who stayed home when Hilary Clinton ran and Obama was not on ticket. This third demand is the key to change.
1
This is the painful part. Culling the herd. Biden will go in the second or third round.
May the best team win.
1
People need to stop romancing the Kamala Harris was a poor black child who struggled in the civil rights movement narrative. Kamala's father was a Stanford professor and her mother had PhD from Berkeley and was a breast cancer researcher. Sure she was in the second class to integrate her elementary schools but Berkeley High School was already integrated so busing in Berkeley was hardly the same as Birmingham.
In addition, if Biden's history for working with segregationists is such as sin, when are we going to talk about the fact that Kamala Harris built her entire career as a prosecutor during the height of mass incarceration? She has no business claiming that she has a moral high ground on civil rights issues when her number one job was to put black and brown people in jail. I suppose you could make the argument that her low conviction rate was her contribution to leveling the playing field. However, the more likely explanation was that she simply wasn't very good. 600 cases were thrown out in SF because one of her employees tampered with evidence.
None of this changes the fact that Joe is out of touch with reality but Kamala should not be the one throwing stones.
5
This debate was not Kamala's national breakout -- that was her cross examining of Brett Kavanaugh and AG Barr.
As she pinned them down, they squirmed like worms. For a good time, re-listen to it on you tube.
How did she get so smart? .
She’s the child of an Indian cancer researcher and Jamaican Economist, who held eminent positions at Cal Berkeley and Stanford.
And how did she get so tough?
As a no nonsense prosecutor and AG.
When your country is in the hand of crooks, who better to clean house than a Elliott Ness in a dress who can wear the pants.
Bernie Sanders has done us a great service by breaking trail and diagnosing what's ailing America. But Kamala has a better chance of winning and can crush Trump in the debates.
As the New Yorker's cartoon put it -- After the debate Trump began fundraising for Biden.
9
@frankly 32. If heels up-Kamala is so smart and tough, why did she have to sleep with an ugly married man to advance her political career???
My Trumplican brother-in-law told me, in 2016, he would have voted for Biden (as would have I) if Joe had run for and gotten the nomination. I am convinced that Biden, had he done so, would have easily put Trump back on his gold-plated bidet in Trump Tower.
I am just as convinced that, in 2020, a ticket with Biden at the top is a guaranteed second place finish.
3
Kamala Harris did everyone a favor by stepping up to stop the largely media-led stampede to crown this round's Institutional Democratic Party candidate based on on a putative "electability" that was mostly code for "familiar, older white male." Whether Harris, herself, gains in the polls from this is almost irrelevant. Now, all candidates, including Biden, who is by no means knocked out, will have to compete for votes on a more level playing field, based on what they have to say to voters in the here and now.
6
Biden wasn’t in the mood to talk to Chris Matthews in the MSBC spin room like most other candidates did on both nights. But Garret Hake did manage to get a few words out of him. No question he was steaming about Harris.
Kamala Harris has a record too being a prosecutor in California and as Attorney General of the state. Prosecutors with political ambitions often make reckless decisions in order to be in the spotlight.
I hope Harris has a perfect record as Prosecutor. But if not, the oppo research teams of several candidates, including Joe Biden’s will be staying up late at night scouring her records.
If she can come through it unscathed she will be a great candidate to prosecute the case before the American people against Trump next year.
5
As an old person of 75 I find myself resenting stereotypes of old people. BUT Joe Biden is starting to seem like a stereotype of an old person. He's afraid of pausing to think. Old people who are still wise do pause to think. He would be forgiven. Old people whose eyebrows no longer move look fake. He'd do better looking his age and healthy. An old person who sees his past deeds as evidence for future success needs to look around him. Some issues still are very painful: racism, for one. But he can't show he's up to dealing with it by citing his ability to reach across the aisle to -- racists!
5
Biden’s comment at the end, “Sorry, but my time is up,” couldn’t have been more true. It was reminiscent of Bush I looking at his watch when debating Clinton. Both men were ill-prepared, bored, and way past their prime. The country deserves better, especially now.
5
Joe Biden's campaign has suffered a fatal wound. His obvious liabilities will only multiply with time. He clearly won't be the nominee. However Kamala Harris shouldn't feel too smug. A significant number of Biden's working class supporters will target her for defeat believing that her sneak attack was cynical and gratuitous.Winning South Carolina and California will mean nothing if she fails in the crucial rust belt states and the Northeast.
2
Call me a modern day "Blue Dog Democrat!"
I will vote for a blue dog before I cast my ballot for Trump.
I'm sure any of the Democratic candidates are a better choice than that.
Vote Democratic. Who ever the final candidate is. The alternative is four more years of Trump, McConnell and praying RBG remains in good health.
2
Biden has always had bad judgement. His decision to run is just another example.
6
He won't be the nominee. He looked exhausted and unfocused, like it was draining for him to keep up a weak appearance of his former self.
Harris has been a top tier candidate from the day she announced. Her performance was not a surprise.
When we are down to just five or so candidates, Harris will be there, as will Warren and probably Buttigieg. With Biden it depends mostly on how many embarrassments he is willing to suffer.
1
Biden has discovered that mimicking Donald Trump by never apologizing as with Anita Hill, dissing your critics like Cory Booker, and outright lying about his stance on school busing, which he clearly vociferously opposed, is a losing strategy. Why on earth would he ever adopt such a strategy when he claims to be the the one ("Only I can save you.") who thinks he can beat Trump by out-Trumping him?! Biden should have listened to Pete Buttigieg who had the maturity to admit and apologize for his inability to handle the latest racist incident in his police department and vowed to do better. And, he definitely should have listened to Michelle Obama when she said, "When they go low, we go high." Instead, he was exposed for the low road he took then and now; and may not have a torch to pass after his flame-out in Thursday's debate.
2
"And that little girl was me." I hate it when adult women are referred to as girls - as if we are just cute little children that are helpless and not capable independent women who can do just about everything men can. When was the last time someone called an adult man a boy and wasn't trying to insult him?
2
A circular firing squad is no way to win. Harris should have been criticizing Trump, not Biden.
Blessed Saint Ronnie said many times, "Thou shalt not speak ill of a fellow Republican." How right he was. Forty years later the GOP is still following that rule and it has won them victory after victory.
How can the Democrats be so stupid as to give Trump ammunition against themselves?
3
In a primary, one does not run against the incumbent of the other party yet. It is the tryouts. You must face the proximate challenge which is intra-mural before you go to the big show.
1
Right on! Mr Biden's baggage is as problematic as Hiliary's. His trusted advisors saw it coming, but could do nothing to shield the blows. It would be better if he threw his support behind a more promising candidate, but there doesn't seem to be a really viable one anywhere. At least right now.
1
Trump did not win on electability.
Stop using that term as a benchmark.
7
Let's all remember that any one of the Dems is electable as long as enough people vote for her or him.
2
And, he is too old, as is Sanders.
3
Harris’s ploy, which was obviously planned and rehearsed, lost her my vote. Sorry Kamala, but I want a leader, not a backstabber...
5
Stammering Joe has just seen the tip of the proverbial iceberg. His startled look when he blurted out "My time is up. I'm sorry" may become more commonplace as we go along. When you're a Democrat and Donald Trump becomes your biggest defender, turn out the lights. The party is over.
1
I have a lot sympathy for Biden for his personal tragedies, but I’m not a Biden fan as a politician. However in my estimation, Harris went a little too far yesterday by attacking him for being racially insensitive albeit Biden was Obama’s VP. But as an attorney, she carefully couched her statement by issuing a disclaimer right up front by not calling him an outright racist. It’s definitely a very well nuanced, pre-planned strategy but nonetheless she played the identity politics card to gain some traction over her somewhat floundering campaign at the expense of the current front runner Biden. That’s about it - quite common tactic in political races. Other than that, Harris didn’t really provide much originality in her proposals for the country. Being a former prosecutor, she speaks very forcefully but her messaging is somewhat wishy-washy. This campaign might be her trial run for a future campaign as she has time on her side.
I consider Biden as a conformist politician and a gregarious deal maker. He is not a trail blazer. Biden will go down in history as Obama’s Veep and not for his long lackluster senatorial career. He is somewhat socially challenged and thereby has a propensity to make cringeworthy statements and being touchy-feely with the women. These traits are very irksome but I don’t think he is a sexual harasser. This campaign is his “Swan Song” and unfortunately, his performance last night was underwhelming at best.
Ah well - it’s too early in the race
3
Ms Dowd,
I agree with everything you say except the comparison to the sheriff in blazing saddles (brilliantly played by Cleavon Little). That sheriff held the gun up to his head to demonstrate the pure hypocrisy of the racist yet god-fearing residents of his constituency. Mr. Biden did the opposite.
Sincerely,
rob
1
A truly strong candidate would build herself of himself up, not take cheap shots at a competitor.
1
Biden was due for a takedown but Harris’s cynical maneuver has us relitigating the divisive 1970s policy of “busing” — hopefully we’ll regain our senses in a few days. Meanwhile, I’m not buying her T-shirt.
1
Questions for Kamala Harris:
1. Are you saying that you are in favor of busing to achieve racial balance in schools? Will this be part of your agenda if you are elected? In which school systems will you seek to impose this solution?
2. Are you saying that you will not work with and seek the cooperation of Trump Republicans in the Congress? If Democrats do not win the Senate (a remote prospect), then how will you pass ANY of your initiatives--Medicare for All, and the rest of it?
5
Uncle Joe's demeanor puts me in mind of the famous Monty Python Dead Parrot Sketch, in which the sleazy pet salesman tries desperately to convince the customer that the parrot isn't dead, it's only sleeping. Sadly, in this case, Joe is both the salesman and the parrot.
3
"too much past and not enough presence." That nails it.
1
Biden needs to be able to explain these things--and Harris made legitimate points about things that some Democratic voters are concerned. (Dems are hard-pressed to win without white blue collar voters--but they cannot win without black voters and surely Biden knows this.)
I was shocked that Biden didn't have an answer ready for this, in fact. He should, and he must. A handicap of the experienced pol is that there will be things done in the past that don't look so good in the present. You need to be able to address these things. Obama did it. Bill Clinton too. HRC suffered for being unwilling, it made her even more vulnerable to charges of dishonesty.
Biden needs to wake up--it's happening now, Joe, the campaign.
1
If school busing was so destructive to Harris, how did she do so well in her career to be now considered among the front-runners to become the nominee?
I saw in Harris at that debate a fighter who could beat Trump. I sent her a donation right after it ended.
2
Thank you, Maureen, for stating for everyone what I thought was obvious. The GOP doesn't compromise any longer. If and when they do, they get chastised by Fox, ridiculed by Trump and challenged by a primary contender.
When I hear Uncle Joe reminisce fondly about reaching across the aisle, I cringe. Not only hasn't he accepted that the other has party has changed, he seems to have difficulty accepting that his own party has too. Stop engaging in a fool's errand by expecting to reach common ground. Trump's party doesn't do that any longer.
824
@Tom Q the evil Dems stopped compromising years ago, which is why some conservatives have grown a pair and say no more.
When these fierce liberators get through slicing and dicing the only candidate that can beat trump they will have added one more abject failure to their politically suicidal tone deafness -SO beloved by the GOP.
They can then can spend the next four years where they seem to thrive:
In the wilderness.
1
The only thing that angry talk like that from Harris is going to do is devolve the election into exactly what Trump wants and what most Americans are literally sick over.
People want want some sanity back. I never ever heard Barack Obama act or say things the way Kamala Harris did, and he had plenty of things to be angry about. He acted at all times with aplomb. People miss that.
Biden is a GOOD man that says some goofy things sometimes. I, and I think many others, will look the other way especially when compared to the megalolomanaic bully in charge.
Believing that Biden only has his own interests and not the party's at heart is one of the most disconnected things you could possibly think about Joe Biden the man.
While a progressive agenda has all the merits that deserve debate and movement, job one is the need to get the white house back but while also bringing some sense of calm back to the country. I believe people want that.
4