Hillary needs to take Trump to court for libel for continuing to call her "Crooked Hillary". Trump is in charge of the Justice Department. He should either request that they bring an indictment against her or he should shut up.
49
Somebody dial up Cormac McCarthy- there IS A Country For Old Men.
Old and foolish ones.
Historically this kind of cultural disconnection is reminding of Marie Antoinette type stuff - where you are playing around with the boat and pearls in your massive hair-doo -or the signature greasy side-wings if you are Trump- or worried about your tights, and meanwhile the little people are hammering up a guillotine with "It's A Hard Rain Gonna Fall" at full volume.
15
I will like Jill Stein to run as a Democrat with Bernie Sanders as a VP.
In 2016, I would have loved a Sanders for Pres and Stein for VP but in
2020 both Sanders and Biden will be too old.
Biden is a gentleman, but America needs a hero and a gentleman, and someone in his or her prime, with charisma.
3
Let us pass a law prohibiting any person over age 16 from Twittering.
Actually, what happened to the men and women who are in their late 30's and 40's? Kids born in the Reagan Administration? What social messages did they so overwhelmingly receive from us Boomers that they retreated into bubbles of Barbies and GI Joes, Kardashians and WWF stars? How did we as parents, fail to instill in them the values of duty and service and citizenship and consideration of others? Perhaps because Biden and that other one personify we Boomers- as we age, becoming completely self-absorbed?
2
As a sixty-five year-old lifelong liberal Democrat, I would urge Joe Biden to give up any thoughts of becoming president. He's too damn old, and I, for one, will never forgive him for turning his back on Anita Hill. It is partly thanks to Biden that we've been stuck with Clarence Thomas on the Supreme Court.
30
the crop of men in their mid 40s to mid 50s is lacking the right qualities in so many ways and these nearly octogenarians mentioned are just too old...... why not get serious about electing a woman to the presidency? yes, i know hillary was a serious candidate but she was a product of an era that she could not escape. we need to move on and not engage in political necrophilia.
15
As a 70 year old woman I want to make it clear that many of us want younger representation and would not consider voting for any more old white men. We need to move aside--recent ongoing actions by teens makes it clear that it is time for a change.
39
Biden actaully was recalling a comment he made at rally for Clinton during the last election. This was not news. The only thing that made it news was the media taking his recent comment out of context, he acknowledged he should not have said it.
He would have been a better candidate than Clinton. The untold story is he recognized that given his emotional stae after his son's death he did not have what it takes to run a protracted campaign. He is far from perfect but he is honest about his failings and would have beat Trump.
14
Thank you, George Santini. He is also a man of integrity, wisdom and experience.
I'm unnerved by so many commenters who are judging his ability to serve by age only. We got Richard Nixon at age 56. 'Nuff said.
11
Joe wins that fight, no contest.
While it's ensuing, I'd be happiest if Democrats supported the candidacies of Kamala Harris, Tulsi Gabbard, Cory Booker and Elizabeth Warren.
6
One thing I think we can be certain of: Biden's loose tweets would not start a nuclear war. The first time I saw Obama was giving the speech at the '04 convention and I told the folks I was with they were looking at the next president of the U.S. Even so, Biden was my first choice in '08. Until I saw Obama in action. Had Biden ran in '16 we would probably not be having this conversation.
I want to see some younger blood energizing the Democratic Party in the coming years but I think Joe would be a pretty good president.
In the fabled smack down I suspect t rump would crumple at the first menacing look. He doesn't even have the courage to walk down the hall and tell McMaster he's fired to his face.
Of all of his traits cowardice is right up near the top.
109
I'm tired of old white men. I will not vote for another old white man--not Joe Biden, not Bernie Sanders, and NEVER TRUMP. While I like Elizabeth Warren a lot, she is also also too old. Ditto Nancy Pelosi. There is a lot of young, diverse talent out there that the Democrats can tap. We need youth and we need diversity. Start tapping Democrats!
21
We don't need another 70+ year old in government. We need people in their 50's or younger. Societal changes are moving much faster now and people of my generation are way behind the times. I hope the younger generations step up and start voting. A 70% turnout in midterms and general elections would be a great thing for America.
12
"We need people in their 50's or younger." Like Richard Nixon?
Age may be a factor in a candidate, but not the determining factor.
13
You do not bring a knife to a gun fight. You do not confront a bully by adhering to the Marquis of Queensbury Rules. Good for you Joe by taking off the gloves! It's, ironically, a duel strike for decency by further enforcing the indecency of this total reprobate now squatting in the People's House, and by further exposing this bombastic bully's inherent cowardice.
Impeach, Convict, Remove. Indict, Convict, Jail. Expunge this stain on the Presidency.
11
Age does matter. As a baby boomer, I will declare that I am sick and tired of baby boomer politicians. The worst generation of politicians since Reconstruction.
12
i'm 71. in 2020 i don't want to vote for anybody anywhere near my age.
16
The prospect of seeing Donald bare-chested in boxing trunks is quite enough before breakfast, thank you very much. Please have pity.
13
I love Joe Biden. Yes, he's human. Yes, like most of us, he has had his blind spots. But he has also had humility and he cares about people. He said he owed Anita Hill an apology, and he's right. Like Mr. Trump, sometimes his mouth gets going and and if someone likes their politicians unscripted, as Trump supporters claim they do, that can be a plus. But he was defending men instead of arguing that Trump is not exceptional in his treatment of women. Also, if he did want to run for president, he missed his window. The young people marching in Washington are our future. Surely we can do better than retreads of those who are in their 70's and almost into their 80's? Joe, I love you. Don't run. But encourage colleagues who might be a fresh breath of air after this fetid swap that is the current White House.
17
Given Trump's ill-considered trash talk, Joe Biden would have been well-advised to simply suggest that the forthcoming mid-term elections and 2020 presidential race will be a good time, euphemistically speaking, to simply take out the trash. Trump is a president characterized by what, on so many levels, can best be termed indecent exposure. He is shaming America, even if he, himself, has no shame.
The reality is that Donald Trump has always left devastation in his wake by demonizing and yes, trash talking anyone who he regards as an opponent. Whether it has been one of his many failed businesses, his defaults on financial obligations he wouldn't meet, his refusal to pay small-business contractors, his broken marriages, his taunting, demonizing and objectifying those with whom he disagrees politically, or any of the myriad extra-marital relationships that have led us to a complete distraction from the nation's business, he leaves much to be desired and little to commend.
Trump has set a very low bar when it comes to the tone of our national dialogue. His trash talk is certainly troubling enough, but the bigger problem is the long term damage from the trash he leaves everywhere he goes, verbally and otherwise. America has become his dumping ground, and the sooner we call in someone like Biden to haul out Trump's trash, the better off the country, and the world, will be.
6
I like Joe Biden, I really do.
That said, baby boomer presidents have neen Bill Clinton, George W., and Trump. I think it's time we move on to a younger crowd for our highest office.
Some will point out that Obama's on the young end of the boomer generation age-wise. Sure, but he grew up a black kid in Hawaii. His age and different lige experiences mean he doesn't fall neatly into the US boomer generation category.
5
I always thought America is the land of plenty. Now, we have gotten to the point seeking out our 2020 presidential contenders in 70 + age category: Biden (77), Sanders (79), Warren (71) and Trump (74). We used to laugh at the old age of Politburo of the Soviet Union. Now the joke seems to be on us!
11
As a Baby Boomer it has been mortifying to see the sad excuses for "leadership" we've given the country in George W. Bush and Donald Trump. Enough. It's past time to pass the torch to younger generations who could not do worse if they tried.
7
I suggest that being baby boomers has nothing to do with lack of character and back-alley behavior. These two are certainly embarrassments to boomers (and millions of others), but they do not represent them.
That said, we could find none better than Joe Biden to be president.
7
Too bad Biden didn’t say “ if I were in high school, I’d be out marching on March 24 like all of you and exercising my right to vote in November, “ instead of resorting to tired old puerile, macho taunts about fists.
26
Do I think Joe Biden is too old to be president? Certainly not.
Look at the High Lama of Shangri-La. At the age of 200 or so, he was still presiding over a realm so happy that only two people wanted to leave and dispensing trenchant commentary on the state of the world ("Such unintelligent leadership!"). Of course, he had the advantage of being played by a man of 46.
But, seriously, with 100 years getting to be an unsurprising lifespan and many people maintaining physical and mental vitality well past their seventies, we need to adjust our thinking about age. I don't know whether 80 is the new 65 or not, but it sure isn't what 80 was a couple of generations ago.
8
In the ironies of life category has to go the Biden-Thomas story with Trump demanding a line item veto. When the Supreme Court struck down a statute giving the president a line item veto about 20 years ago writing the majority opinion was Justice John Paul Stevens, he of the "I will no longer tinker with the machinery of death" (i.e. capital punishment) variety. He was joined by the notorious and unabashed liberal, Justice Ginsburg, and Biden's do-over, Justice Clarence Thomas. Of course, not to be outdone, Trump called for capital punishment for drug dealers (whatever that means, sleazy physicians and pharmaceutical executives included or excluded). The Supreme Court has previously held that capital punishment for rape is unconstitutional.
Trump proves regularly that all he knows about SCOTUS is that he gave Gorsuch a seat. I have no doubt that at some point Gorsuch will get his revenge on Trump. That is just the way life and SCOTUS work.
1
So if the Democrats win in 2020 and serve 2 terms we'll either have Biden at 85, Warren at 79 or Sanders at 87 serving their final year in office?
No Thanks.
11
They would have the advantage of being far less senile and vicious, you know.
9
biden, as usual, diminished himself with his poorly framed blather...he blustered once and then, having a chance to show a little humor at his own posturing, he simply repeated it, demonstrating both his limited temper and his lack of grasp...no room for growth there.
6
All this shows Gail is that we need fresh young talent. Time to move on.
8
Biden saying something true but not wise at the time is not new. it's Joe. I for one am glad he said it. It made me laugh. Perhaps not PC but so what. Think of the continual trash talk that comes out of our dear leader's mouth and BTW, his comments are NEVER funny. So hats off to Joe!
10
Joe Biden is a National Treasure.
Trump will wipe the floor with any Dem who can't go toe to toe with him.
And the only one I can think of who can do that in this day and age is Joe, and I don't mean in a locker room.
Re-watch his VP debate with Paul Ryan for a master class in how to handle a policy wonk. Joe will handle a bully just as well.
Go Joe!
14
Being a septuagenarian I can tell you with assurance the country does not need another septuagenarian in the White House. None of them, but especially Sanders, who is an old fool Trotskyite from Brooklyn, least and last among them. If we are going to have a septuagenarian president then it needs to be Joe Biden, who knows how to do the job and is the only one among the over-70 set who can and could do it.
5
Women do not want men pummeling one another to uphold their honor or protect them ... or whatever it is they think they are doing. Please stand down; your age is showing. It's 2018, not 1958. Women need men to stand beside them, who believe and support them. We want men to call out and not punch out those men known to abuse or harass women. So turn off the school yard bully behavior. It does not become you.
8
Except Joe Biden WAS talking about the 1950s.
6
Hmmmm. Warmonger John Bolton is heading to the White House as national security advisor. Donald Trump signs a bill with a huge increase in military spending. Tensions are rising around the world. We could be headed for war — nuclear war at that. And we are wasting valuable newspaper space on a group of geezers, two of whom are flexing schoolyard bully muscles that they no longer have. What’s wrong with this picture?
7
Nothing is wrong with this picture. It's a snapshot of people who can actually make a decision to war or not to war. I'll place my trust in Biden every time.
5
Personally, I'd like to see the two fools put into a boxing ring on the White House lawn and show us what they've got. Since "draft-dodging" Trump is a coward I'd put a buck on Biden. After flailing around for a few minutes they'd be hauled off by their doctors and the spectacle would have given us true Reality TV entertainment rather than just text jousts on Twitter. Put your fists where your mouths are boys, all talk and no action is boring.
1
Collins: "...Donald Trump as president is just a reality TV star with a different address."
That line, Gail, says it all. Reality TV is Trump's thing. We saw this when "threatening to 'VETO' the spending bill, shortly before he announced he was signing it."
He existentially knows all about the "fake" he tweets about when attacking the media, since he is a a bogus POTUS playing another role while occupying the property on Pennsylvania Avenue paid for and maintained by all of us Taxpayers.
6
Joe Biden has been a denizen of the highest echelons of government for decades, dealing with complex issues and sophisticated people. I think it might be past time for him to drop the "Joey tough-guy" shtick and become the elder statesman and forceful Democratic spokes-person we so desperately need.
5
Julian Castro (former HUD Secretary 2014-2017) could be a viable candidate for 2020. I hope he's considering it.
3
If Trump were challenged to a fight- any fight- he wouldn't show. He'd send his lawyers to negotiate a settlement... with an NDA of course.
12
Or resurrect his bone spurs.
6
No Joe, stay out of the presidential foray while you are on top. Ditto for Bernie and Elizabeth. I am an elder but think it is high time the presidential position was passed on to someone much younger with younger forward thinking thoughts. All government employees, that means your senators et all, should have to retire at 70. 65 would be good, like the rest of the rules in the country. These folks are way past an original idea.
8
In a feed store nearly twenty years ago several old men sat on stools and old chairs and boxes in a sort of semicircle near the checkout counter the owner sat on a tall stool like a presiding judge. The talk was interesting, about local people and crops and cattle and old times.Current politics were sometimes talked,but mostly left alone. The old men usually sat in the same seats, the closest to the counter were saved for the oldest and often the hardest of hearing. New comers often had to stand. The smoke was so thick it seemed you could move it with the wave of a hand.Over time as the old men passed away, everyone would move up to the next chair, or so it seemed. One day one of the oldest men arrived and someone must have taken his seat. In any case he knocked the hat off the oldest, a man in his 90's, who came out of his chair more quickly than I can say it, and the fight was on. The challenger was in his late 80's. It became a wrestling match on the floor was over as quickly as it started.
3
Saturday Night Live once depicted Biden bragging that he strips down to his underwear and pushes his stalled commuter train into D.C. by hand. Now that’s a tough guy image you can’t buy!
Donald could only dream of having that kind of reputation.
10
Beside a law not allowing someone under 35 being POTUS they might want to consider an old age barrier also . Reagan was obviously losing his mental faculties while he was POTUS and Trump has something , maybe multiple things , that cause him to not function normally , mentally , also .
8
Barack Obama, born 1961, was 47 when he ran for president, and won. He gave us eight years of relative calm.
Where are the 40-somethings now? I'd even settle for a 50-something.
Biden is too old. So are Warren, Sanders, and so on.
I am 69.
18
A Claymation Battle Of The Geezers. I can't get it out of my mind. Perfect.
Not likely to happen, but there's always South Park: a high-tech rendering of a faux-paper-cutout Battle Of The Geezers. Almost as satisfying.
9
Biden has too much baggage to go through a presidential campaign in the age of social media. We need a fresh face for the Democratic Party that fully understands the age we live in.
9
I can't erase this image in my mind of two aging septuagenarians struggling to engage each other in fisticuffs from behind their walkers. this whole "I'd like to take you out behind the gym" nonsense is pathetic beyond words.
The most depressing aspect of Gail's column is her mention of three putative presidential candidates for 2020, all over the age of 70. Surely the American political system can do better than that to tap a more youthfully energetic pool of leaders to aspire to the presidency.
In 2008, Barack Obama was an inspiration. If he had been 77 years old at the time, I very much doubt that this would have been true.
11
Indeed, Gail, here we are! And what a fine mess we are in. I really never imagined myself as the type who would reference "Forrest Gump" in any serious way, but here we are: "Stupid is as stupid does." And, wow, America has been doing stupid pretty good lately.
5
US Senator Chris Murphy of CT. looks good to me.
Let us give him a year or two to develop a national presence and to see how it all plays out.
The Democratic Party should begin to develop a strategy, for once in its life, and begin to work on creating a strong and long bench for 2020.
Explore all possibilities and examine all persons in the political world extant.
Only Senators, Representatives, Governors, Mayors, and notable Secretaries need apply.
All should be vetted for .... whatever - especially for misadventures in the realm of sexual misconduct.
Run a few polls to allow the electorate to get in on the candidate making process and to test their thinking at large.
Take the results under advisement and make no promises.
If Trump is still around for 2020 (God forbid) then the GOP will be stuck with him for their candidate - you can count on that.
Trump is the slippery snake in our national grass, but he is their snake and they will be stuck with him.
The GOP is hostage to their legion of money purveyors and in addition to their ignorant and easily led (Fox News) and poorly informed and single issue voters.
Leaving it all up to our crazy system of Primaries has become a losing process - both strategically and tactically.
(Iowa ?? and far off Maine as well. Spare us from any further dependency on this miserable, narrow, unworkable, and predetermining process.)
Let the above defined process be considered and implemented soon, if found to be acceptable - anyone?
6
Gail, I look forward to your on point and usually humorous columns. But the situation that America currently finds itself in is no longer funny or even remotely amusing. Trump and Biden trash talking is not what this country needs. If the Democrats are to survive, they must find serious, articulate and younger candidates with the ability to reach across party lines with their message. Joe Biden, Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren and Nancy Pelosi have "made their bones" with most Democratic voters. But realistically, at 77 and in good health, I have the sense to admit that, even if given the opportunity, I don't have the emotional stamina or physical ability to campaign and run for the highest office in the free world.
9
I'm disappointed in Joe Biden. I always liked him and think he would make a great president - but this kind of talk belongs on the schoolyard. Hollow boasting and physical threats like those he issued to Trump remind me of the bullies in my own life. It's just so childish, Joe!
8
I love Biden, but I must wonder what the Secret Service is making of his recent boasting.
2
The Obama legacy no one talks about: he anointed HC as is successor -- and not Joe Biden -- and now we have Donald Trump.
5
In not so sure that's true. I recall Obama giving a speech that was pro Biden and all the HC fans were upset about it. Then Biden came out and said he couldn't run because he and his family weren't ready after his son's death. I think it was at that point Obama supported HC.
5
I lived in DC for 10 years. The WH insiders all knew this. One said, "Joe is the only one who hasn't gotten the memo yet".
Sorry, but Joe Biden had his shot in 2016. As the sitting vice president, he was in the best position to offer himself as a continuation of the Obama administration. However, Joe decided to sit that primary campaign out (he claims for personal reasons but I'm pretty sure he knew the DNC had the fix in). As a result, Democrats got Hillary Clinton as their nominal standard bearer and we saw how well that worked out in the general election. It's way past time for aging baby boomers to retire gracefully and make room for younger ideas and candidates.
5
Right Gail, it's not one's age, it's how intelligent one is.
Now, to your comment, "It is not actually a good idea under any circumstances to advocate an assault on the president of the United States, even if you don’t refer to him by name," I would agree, if we actually had a president of the United States.
And as we uncover Trump's ineptitude, let us not forget his wonderful followers. We do want intelligent presidents, but it appears that only intelligent people vote for them, and our magnanimous Electoral College makes sure that the idiot gets his sway, by a far too inordinate amount.
Trump followers have already discounted Trump's extramarital affairs (remember, Trump could shoot someone on Fifth Ave... you know the rest). But it makes fundamentalism look a lot more entices. Atheists don't know what they're missing. In evangelism, you get total dispensation for hanging around the golf courses with some hot blonde while your wife is home taking care of the kid.
Joe Biden is my man. A group of us worked for him in the 1988 presidential primary. Okay, okay, so Joe is a little older. Geesh. We want greatness. If age comes with that, then so much the better.
6
We love to make fun of the foibles of our politicians, Biden among them. But the viciousness of this guy in the White House is beyond foibles. It seems to be in his very genes and he breathes it out to us with every breath. The list of those who can attest to this would fill a New York phone book. Just ask McCabe or Comey. That so many allowed this bully to infect our politics with a sneer to the rest of us is almost as vicious as Trump himself.
10
My Grandpa can beat up your Grandpa.
Go get 'em, Grandpa.
DD
Manhattan
12
bring on the grandmas too..
4
The only reason he signed the spending bill was that he was anxious to get down to his golf resort in Mar-a-loco. If the government shut down, even his most ardent republican supporters would demand that he stay in Washington.
7
I yearn for the return of "Celebrity Deathmatch".
5
Just like Reagan, who should have never been elected after 70 years old, neither should Trump or Biden. My husband is 65 and the past few years his memory is going. Of course, he won’t believe this so I am left checking and double checking things he does. Or says which he gets wrong too.
Our next President needs to have a full set of working brain cells as the first requirement.
14
Just because your husband is failing, don't assume all other men are.
6
So it has come to this: Our President and an ex Vice President threatening to beat each other up. Ladies and Gentlemen we have taken a wrong path. It is time to start over again.
8
Biden gave Trump a golden opportunity for a little self-deprecating humor. A clean and easy shot. Maybe something like -- "I haven't exchanged punches on a playground since I was six. She did alright." Something, anything. Of course, Trump doesn't even know what self-deprecating humor is. Or self-deprecating anything.
7
Biden knew he wouldn't be risking much meeting the gasbag behind the gym. Without his Twitter account, DNAs and fake presidency, Trump's just another overweight con artist with a big mouth.
12
Put politics aside, they two should make this fight like man to man. It should be broadcasted live with highstakes casino betting allowed. It can be the highest rating media event and major income shall go to anti sexual harassment funds.
Maybe this can establish how to settle each twitter fight called by Mr. Trump. Man to man, his opposite shall decide which fight arena to go in since he is the president. Whining is unhealthy, too boring and lack of hurt. At least this can be some payback for the constantly being insulted.
1
By all by all means, let's never elect a female president! Women are soooo emotional.
Oh. Wait.
19
When they go low, we go Joe.
12
You get the politicians you deserve. That goes for both parties. All you party-first voters are destroying this country!
5
If Saturday Night Live doesn't do a spoof on this tonight it should be taken off the air! Let's get ready to rumble...
9
These guys are real tough. A report on the news said that between the two tough guys they had 9 deferments that kept them out of Viet Nam!
6
Let’s have a cast call. Clear the stage of all the old folks. We would be grateful for their advice and guidance but it’s time for youth, agility, and charisma to bring this country together.
5
There are times when I think the writers of the Constitution should have also included a maximum age for the presidency, and this is coming from a 66 year old (young by political standards, it seems).
8
By yielding to HRC,Biden helped get Trump into the Oval Office.Trump should be eternally grateful to him. Biden, on the other hand, needs to ensure that if he runs in 2020, it isn't just out of guilt.
Whoa it's time to move on and give younger candidates an opportunity to run. Baby boomers have this impression that they are indispensable, but of course there is always someone out there who can do the job just as well.
4
Ok, I'm begging here. Could the mainstream press please, please, please give some coverage to Democrats who are talking about policy proposals that could help Americans? I have no objections to reading about Republicans, but most of what they are doing doesn't seem designed to help ordinary Americans.
What we get are stories about Trump's sexual escapades, legal problems, Russia issues, golfing, insults to various leaders, white house gossip, etc. Yes, I know people click on those stories.
I would really like to start developing some sense of who we should be encouraging to run in 2020. I can tell you right now, I am not going to vote for ANYONE over the age of 70, no matter who they are.
26
I know Biden was VP, but aren't we all taking this a bit too seriously?
6
Two examples of arrested development. Neither should govern.
6
I love Joe Biden. Bernie Sanders leaves me cold. I think Elizabeth Warren is unelectable. And they are all too old. There are baby boomers still in their 50s, you know. They deserve a shot. So do people in their 40s. Trump is clearly too toxic and addled to be the president, although I don't think that's a matter of age. Nonetheless, there's a wide world of people coming up through the ranks. Let's see who emerges.
11
Cannot help but think of the scene in the movie Up, where the two old men go at each other with swords, only to freeze in place when their arthritis kicks in, not letting them move at all. Silly exchange here, too much macho, not enough sense.
2
From Donald J. Trump I expect nothing. Certainly not wisdom, grace or dignity earned from a life of experience. Trump's multiple personality disorders continue to prevent him from being a truly decent human being.
From Biden I did expect more. Because of his life and experience he knows better than to jump into the deep crazy of Trump at any time. If this is how he plans to take on Mango Madness in a campaign, Biden should go home now and retire to a comfy chair. Aged infantile behavior is especially gruesome to witness.
See Trump.
I think it is becoming clear that America is no country for old men or women. The citizens are getting tired of the old men with billions buying their last grasp at more money and more power. We don't like what they gave us before and seem intent upon pushing on us still.
There's got to be someone under the age of 65 who could rise from the crowd.
The high school kids are marching today in DC. They are leading when the old have failed.
7
Democrats need VETO power. Yes, we do. We don't have time for petty squabbles on our own about how we need someone younger. We need someone who can win.
6
I actually do think age is a factor. Seventy is not the new forty no matter what anyone tells you. The only reason age is flattened as an issue is because Trump himself is several decades past his prime. I'm sure Biden could do the job once in office but he probably isn't the best candidate for this presidential race. Sadly, I think Sanders likely falls into this same category too. These are good candidates for debating the Democratic divide but I wouldn't mind adding a few decades to their birth certificates.
As a strategic matter, I think Democrats would be wise to put a younger candidate at the top of the ticket with a old-hand to support them in VP. Use the vitality of youth to set an absolutely punishing campaign schedule and drive Trump into the ground through sheer ubiquity. I dare Trump to keep up. He can't even work a full day in the office. He usually doesn't make it through a full week either. Trump's age is a physical liability for him unless Democrats opt to run someone even older.
The question of course is who? The field isn't exactly narrow but no one under seventy really stands out yet. We'll have to see how things develop.
12
Take a look at the young hispanic Mayor of San Antonio - Castro is the last name. He has a twin brother already in congress. One of them is named Julian - I forget the other first name. Very impressive young men.
Point taken. Mayor is a tough sell getting to the White House though. The candidate generally advances to a state-wide position first. Typically the governor's office or the federal senate. Only then are they given serious consideration for a presidential run.
The best counter argument I heard came from Eric Garcetti, the Mayor of Los Angeles. He pointed out that Los Angeles has a population roughly the size of Oregon making LA larger than 23 states in the nation. San Antonio is more like Hawaii. There are on ten states smaller. Good argument but still a tough sell.
1
I've always had respect for Biden as a person. It's interesting how historians often mention Teddy Roosevelt's toughness after losing his mother and wife on the same day.
Considering that Biden lost his wife and child on the same day, something I think everyone would agree is far worse than TR's situation, it's interesting that this is rarely if ever noted. And unlike TR, who left his daughter with his sister and went out west, Biden continued to raise his two sons and faced his responsibilities.
However, Biden has been too much of a political chameleon for my taste. You're never quite sure where on the center to left spectrum he is going to stand.
5
Perhaps the annual White House lawn Easter egg/bunny fest will lighten things up? Sean Spicer once donned a bunny costume for this annual White House affair. https://www.cnn.com/2017/03/03/politics/sean-spicer-easter-bunny/index.html Maybe some of the Donald Trump's other old buddies can pull out their Bunny costume for this year's affair?
1
I say let 'em go at it. Joey can pick the place, Donnie can pick the time.
8
Someone who grew up with Trump described him as "the sort of kid who throws the birthday cake at the birthday boy."
18
Old men pretending they are young. It's a plague. It is no sin to go gentle into the good night. Biden should know better. Trump is incapable of knowing better; he is just a walking, talking victim of his own emotions.
103
" It is no sin to go gentle into the good night. " The man who coined the now ubiquitous phrase....Dylan Thomas.... would definitely disagree with you.
"Old age should burn and rage at close of day."
13
To compare Joe Biden with Trump is ludicrous.
One is a decent human being.
20
Sass tweeted it best: The nation's two crazy old uncles "fistfighting in the backyard. Happy Thanksgiving, America." Our country's politics has turned into a cringe-worthy shouting match between senile geezers.
6
Enough already with the insults and male upmanship. Also, we want younger leaders. Enough already with the geriatric set. I should know. I'm one of them.
12
Not to endorse physical violence, but suggesting a throw-down with Trump in high school is not the way to upstage a bully like the president. A bully who is slapped hard enough walks away with the mark of humiliation to display to others he has intimidated. If anyone would have wanted to hurt Trump in high school, that would be the way to do it.
Everyone should perish the thought of harm to anyone, including Mr. Trump. Violence, at any level, is like a poisonous and addictive drug. But, that aside, the whole insult exchange between these two men is childish, ego-driven, and hollow banter not worth publishing. Twitter has allowed degrading public exchanges that hurt America and what it should stand for. Trumps Twitter account should be denied.
5
Why do we keep allowing for senior leaders to represent us, when in the work place, us older folks are taken out to pasture at "50"?
6
Apparently Joe Biden didn't spend enough time with or pay enough attention to the Obama, both husband and wife. Too bad. He had the opportunity and squandered it.
2
This reminds me of a lesson I learned in junior high. Bullies can harass, shove people into lockers and generally get away with such behavior until the day comes when someone strikes back. Then there's a fight, the principal breaks it up, and both kids get kicked out of school. Until then, there was never a consequence for the bully.
Trump blusters and bullies every day but when someone like Biden responds to Trump in kind, it's newsworthy, it's a subject for editorials, cartoons and late night comedians. Biden is chided for clownish behavior. Perhaps it was, but please tell me what is the proper response for a civilized society to make to a bully like Trump? Trump intimidated 18 or so Republicans with his antics on stage in the debates. He loomed and hovered about and around Hillary Clinton during their debate.
So what is the proper civilized response? Be stoic and get shoved into lockers until the November election? Or the 2020 election? This is like being in junior high again.
11
It isn't very funny to contemplate another septuagenarian set of candidates.
4
Festivus is early this year! Feats of Strength! Airing of Grievances! Add Frank Costanza to the 2020 Presidential Race. We need a National Physical Education Teacher to have the boys run it off around the track or at the pull-up bar. Verbal dodgeball gets boring ... Real dodgeball with ticket mates and spouses might be the ratings winner POTUS craves.
2
"This was actually not all that bad by our current presidential Twitter standards." Funniest thing I've read this week.
As an ex-Delaware Democrat, I never voted for Joe Biden. He is not smart and he cannot control what comes out of his mouth. When Obama picked him for VP because of his so called foreign experience that Obama himself lacked, it was a huge red flag to me that Obama was clueless. That Biden went along with disgusting Senator Specter in the Anita Hill incident is real testimony to his character. That Biden lowered himself to Trump's level to engage in such absurd tweeting shows how puerile his mentality is. I never would want to see Biden active in politics again. And by the way both Obama and Biden have been curiously silent about the chaos Trump has put this country in. For that I can never forgive either of them. Please leave huffy blue collar Biden in the high school football stadium of teenage bluster.
6
Groan man acting foolishly. Biden's swagger appears good-natured, ole boy macho speak. Then he says the woman assaulters were usually the 'Fattest, ugliest" guy in the locker room. So how are overweight or unattractive people
supposed to take his disparagement? Too late to grow up boys, you're already groan! Let's look to young leadership throughout our government. Both parties are aging out of relevance.
4
Biden thinks he has to be chivalrous and step in front of women to "protect" them...which makes me think he probably did something in the past to over compensate in a high profile manner.
1
“Groan?” Spot on, intentional or not....
3
Biden should change parties and run as a Republican challenger. He is considerably to the center of many Democrats but would appeal to the traditional Republicans who aren't happy with how their party has been distorted.
4
Neither of these trifling tiresome old white men was ever bravely honorable and patriotic to volunteer to wear the military uniform of any American armed force.
Both Biden and Trump have an incurable terminal case of verbal diarrhea. No chance that either will ever get physical. But imagining them in speedos wrestling seems hilarious.
Thanks to real American patriots like Chelsea Manning and Edward Snowden we get to be entertained by Joey and Donnie.
3
Let’s see:
It’s okay to say you’re eager to bear someone up bcause Biden has that magic “D” by his name and we should go back to sleep and not ask any questions about “penniless public servant Joe” and his trip to China that coincided with his son’s VC company inking a billion dollar deal.
Got it, Gail. I’ll check back in six months to see what my other opinions should be.
2
Suave, Ms. Collins, The March Hare came in with a roar and has left us quietly with some hope to enjoy New Beginnings. The Brawl between Biden and Trump? Jack The Rabbit, my Irish-American father, would have polished them off, helped them off the floor and offered them a glass of good cheer.
He was less fortunate when he had a misunderstanding with his British spouse, who in good taste threw him a Matisse on the wall, which left him looking sheepish and scholarly in bed with a pair of spectacles. 'Slipped in the bath-tub last night' to my bodyguard and husband to-be later, righto, but we were there at the time and not suffering from a memory glitch. We took him at his word.
The Honorable Joe Biden is not too old to learn and could be a remarkable President. True, he has some detractors envious of his fine choppers, but then all of us are not covered by affordable dental care.
In the meantime if we keep going about in circles like overworked hamsters on the political wheel of governance, The Red Queen will be quite right in declaring that we have to run even faster to stay in the same place.
We, 'The Village People', have just voted for a Liberal and a Republican Trustee in our Town, and the consensus is that nothing will change and the above are just politicians. I do not believe this. On the same page, both have enough common sense not to rush The Elders out the door. They listen and do not engage in pub-talk, or light gossip.
I want a President!
1
Joe Biden is too old, and his ideas are all bureaucratic nonsense
1
Alright, Cocoa, and the word 'Bureaucracy' created by Napoleon is sounding fine right now in the midst of Chaos. Before this American voter gets swept away in a case of Spring fever, adding a pence to yours, and hoping we do not end up with Marlo Bunny in The White House.
1
C'mon folks, Let Biden and trump duke it out. If Biden trashes him trump's base might all become instant Democrats; if Biden loses the fight we're no worse off than we are now.
3
This has been misquoted and overblown. Too many important issues facing this country and the world that need to be covered.
1
Other then Colonel Sanders nobody over the age of 50 has created anything of lasting value. When was the last time Mick Jagger, Paul McCartney or Brice Springstein wrote a song that anyone wants to listen to. Instead of term limits on politicians we should have age limits. The future belongs to the young and they should shape it.
1
Brice has many awesome songs , you haven't kept up
1
Notwithstanding the fact that the next Democratic candidate running for President will probably be running against Mike Pence, (Mr. T will be incarcerated), isn't it pretty obvious that the Democratic party needs some new and exciting faces. Hillary lost in part because she was the same old, same old, re-treaded and sent out for another 50,000 miles. (She thought it was her turn.) To think of Bernie, Joe, Elizabeth and yes, even Hillary (the Clintons don't just go away) is very depressing. And by the way, how old is Nancy? C'mon people, There's got to be another Barack Obama out there in Democrat land. Mitch Landreau or similar.
Trump and Fox are setting the table for the Democratic Party. To miss this golden opportunity by rolling out more of the same would just confirm that the Democratic Party big wigs have lost touch with America.
It's really time for new blood, new thinking, inspirational thinking, and yes, even centrist thinking to bring America together again. Let's give it our best shot, not just another re-tread.
11
I am deeply disappointed with Joe Biden. We don’t need another Trump we need a stove, mature leader who is right on the issue. Joe isn’t it. It is time for Bernie. The Democratic Party is working hard to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.
16
Justice, except that Bernie isn't a democrat.
5
I really miss Obama. He continues to amaze me in his ability to stay above the fray, when even his vice president can't.
2
Joe Biden is our only hope. He has no record of alleged sexual harassment -- unique in the Me-Too era. He has no love for Putin or Xi. He hasn't trashed Kim (or threatened to beat him up). He's respected by world leaders (a category that has eluded Trump). And he has vast experience -- but alas, has never hosted the Dating Game let alone any Apprentice series. He just might get our country's sanity back. If Trump doesn't sack and sink us first.
3
Richard,
Biden happened to be at a "anti assault" rally at Univ of Miami,commenting
that he would like to take Trump out and assault him! Yeah,he's our only hope?
Think again!
As much as I would be more than fine to have Biden as our president, I believe the country and the Democrats are ready for a younger candidate. The youth in this country are finally paying attention, thanks to Trump. We need someone who they can relate to for years to come.
7
Biden and other Democrats are out there every day proposing serious policies we could adopt to address challenges and grasp opportunities.
But such serious discussions rarely get any attention at all in the press.
Biden steps down to address Trump at Trump's own level and it's all we hear about for a week.
14
This was not one of Joe Biden's finest moments.
Unfortunately, because the standard is so low, it probably is one of Trump's.
85
I grew up in Brooklyn, which for those Americans not familiar with greater New York, is next door to Queens. I’m a couple of years older than Mr. Trump. If Mr Trump had grown up in my neighborhood and walked to and from grammar school with me and my friends, he would have had a bloody nose once a week for being a PUNK ! Unfortunately for our country he did not grow up in my neighborhood and thus grew up to be a BULLY.
In the 1950’s and 1960’s in the greater NYC area any family who sent there son to “a military academy” for school was not because that son aspired to be a General someday; he was more than likely a discipline problem. The usual progression for unruly students was public school, then catholic school and when all else failed “a military academy”.
70
So true! One caveat! Especially in those days, the progression for the best and brightest was The Public Schools! And they stopped, right there.
2
Only a bloody nose once a week??. He would of been pummeled daily if he grew up in the Bronx!
4
Maneihols...ah...the ever wrong American arm-chair psychology about childhood violence. When will it be eradicated from the culture? Hopefully soon...
Being beat as a child is actually a precursor to being a bully as an adult. If you have ever held a job, with lots of staff around you, you would know that. The boss who by all accounts was an unpopular kid, bullied, couldn't get the girls, teased for being overweight, wore glasses, etc - very often grows up, gets some power and abuses it. Bullies staff, harasses the women, etc. Now its his/her turn to get back at the cool kids! Or anyone else they deem weaker. Or they have kids and take it out on them too.
So your wishful thinking that you being a bully as a kid, somehow did a service for the alleged "punks" (usually just weaker kids) you andyour fellow bullies encountered...uh...well...no! You're living in a fantasy. Which you need to deconstruct...
Trump going to an academy, was about his resume...which his old man was preparing for him. Plus there are stories that he was bullied, or at least shunned by other students.
Trumps mentors were/are his problem. His dad. And then Roy Cohn. Period. End stop.
Perhaps Donald Trump and Joe Biden should settle it once and for all and put on the gloves. To keep it civil, the match could be organized in aid of a charity of their choice, like the match in 2012 between Justin Trudeau, when he was a Member of Parliament, and Senator Patrick Brazeau. It was styled the Fight for the Cure.
2
So many of the Dems bashing Biden here once liked his sometimes off the hook utterances. Ditto with another generation and Harry Truman. I would roll my eyes, and shake my head, then smile knowing that it's Joe, a good man, being his temporary loose cannon Joe. Yes, he's definitely too old for a 2020 run. Still, it wouldn't hurt to see a Democrat in some of the Truman -Biden mold with the nomination, knowing that politics ain't beanbag.
8
Age offers no guarantee of presidential success. Bush gave us Iraq for no reason, killing hundreds of thousands innocent people, and sticking us with a price tag that could have paid for significant health care.
We have had aging presidents, both disasters. Reagan bankrupted the country, and created Iran-Contra, then pretended he couldn't remember the damage.
And currently we have Trump, who can't even read a prepared statement without looking like a hostage. Putting two cogent sentences together appear beyond his capacity as well.
Conclusion: Younger is probably a better bet than older, especially if he isn't a Republican.
22
Only just please remember that "pay for healthcare" is the opposite of what universal healthcare would entail. Medicare for All would require higher taxes, sure, but overall would save Americans $1 trillion and spare 50,000 lives every year.
That's as many casualties as the Vietnam war, each year, every year, 100,000 people every congress, 200,000 every presidential term, 1,000,000 since Bill Clinton failed to pass it.
1
Why don't you read what I wrote, as opposed to imposing/blaring your concerns?
Biden is probably just what we need: someone who realizes that politically correct appropriate answers are what turns off most of the country.
44
If you rushed out to the market to buy some pears to slice for topping a dessert and found all of the pears were overly ripe, but some seemed salvageable, you’d make a choice. You would choose from among those which could be trimmed to look and taste okay, happy that you had found three.
The Biden, Sanders and Warren pears would work. You would reject the Trump pear because it was already mushy and obviously had grown from the start into a grotesque, misshapen form, unrecognizable as a pear.
Of course, there might still be time to visit another market with fresher and more attractive fruit.
21
Peachy!
2
They should have it out in the ring for charity, just to bring a little levity to the political scene.
39
put it on pay-per-view and we could pay off the national debt.
2
Trump supporters seem to be impressed by the "locker-room talk" part of Trump's personality, so if Biden does run, maybe they'll switch and vote for him.
Anything, anything!, to get rid of this administration before this country implodes.
8
Sorry, the country is already imploding.
3
I'm almost exactly Trump's age. I was an Army officer, played rugby and fell for all the male nonsense of my youth. Then I grew up. I abhor violence, personally and militarily. I am, for the most part, a pacifist. I'm writing a book about the dysfunction of men and boys, the propensity to take matters into their own hands and the effect it has on society
Having established those mature bona fides, I confess that I'd like to take Trump out into the back alley too. Just one last return to my vestigial dysfunctional roots. Then I would return to my more evolved, gentle self.
71
That,my friend, is called hypocrisy.
Yep, I know.
1
More a tipping point than hypocrisy, I'd say.
1
Can't the Democrats find someone who isn't a senior citizen?
There is a reason why the Green party draws in a lot of young progressives: because they recognize that the old parties are dead. It's like inviting a bunch of 20-somethings to a "Grateful Dead" concert.
The tragedy is that our entire political system is based on a two-party model. How can the Green Party or any other progressive get elected in the Electoral College?
18
No, the Democrats can't find anyone who isn't a senior citizen because they failed to support candidates who aren't senior citizens and ideologically pure. Apparently, the septuagenarian generation of Democrats believe they will live forever so there is no need to develop a succession plan.
1
We have had a two-party system in this country for most of our history, starting with the Federalists and Anti-Federalists in the 1790s. Promoting a third party is only going to keep the Republicans and Trump in power longer. Besides, Jill Stein, the perennial Green Party candidate for President, is no spring chicken. She turns 68 this May.
4
You'd think we don't need a rocket scientist to tell us this.....but we do.
Throw out all parties! Politicians should serve the people irrespective of party lines. We got rid of those lines on our telephones years ago.
Tell use what you, as a politician, believe and want to do. Some will vote for you for strict liberalism and some for strict conservatism. Count me among those who look resolution that addresses both sides.
Open minds are at a premium these days. But, I'll vote for a good one.
1
I care less about the age of a candidate than what ideas he or she has. I think TIm Kaine has a lot of good ideas. So does Elizabeth Warren. Bernie Sanders had one very good idea, which is to not accept money from special interest groups.
I see a lot of comments here that make youthfulness into a fetish. But being young does not mean having creative, good ideas. Youth carries with it optimism, not yet having been challenged.
Socialism needs a revival and reinvention, and it needs the older, experienced folks to teach to the young the history of what worked in the past and what did not. Humanity is strangling itself with capitalism, but simply shouting "No!" will not solve the problem.
The young and the old must work together!
164
I love Joe Biden, but his time has passed. He made a difficult choice in 2016, but he should live with it.
More important, most people's best years of creativity occur before they are 50 years of age. My baby boom generation has had its turn at least one Presidency too long. Make America Great Again is just another way of saying let's go backward into a revisionist and nostalgic past.
It may be age discrimination, but this administration's leaders seem to be all old men with grey hair, no hair, or ridiculously dyed and swirled comb-over hair.
We need new, younger leadership to go forward, not backward, to create a new future with new ideas and new solutions.
17
Is there any way we could clone JFK on a fast track.....
What's missing from politics and leaders today is someone who can stand up and say, "Ask not what your country can do for you. Ask what can I do for my country."
That, folks, was leadership that addressed all of us.
3
The only colleague in the Senate who wasn’t a member of the millionaires club, Biden hasn’t got an enemy in the world. In a post 2016 environment, any criticisms of Biden as a loose canon are now obsolete. He’ll be an invaluable ally, either as surrogate or candidate.
25
Perfection is elusive.
The state of our Presidential discourse is media driven and has been since Kennedy defeated Nixon in 1960.
We have increasingly selected the most camera ready candidate not the most experienced.
And now we have a President with zero governing experience and no managerial experience and expect Presidential leadership.
It is time the National Parties go into the smoke filled room and select candidates that they can work with and that Congress will trust to negotiate on behalf of all our citizens.
Enough of amateur hour!!
21
VP Biden should be an elder but not the future POTUS, IMHO. Granted that I'd pick him over Trump - really, anyone who is semi decent is better than Trump - but it is time to pass the torch.
That leads me to comment on some of the responses to this column. People should get over the Anita Hill case, This is like Frank Bruni still couldn't get over President Clinton decision on DOMA when the Dems were under siege a few years back when President Obama successfully got same sex marriage passed. Anita Hill, DOMA and the like are trees to the threat of Trump, neocons and plutocrats forests. The Dems lost the battle and the war!
But still, this is not to support Mr Biden, or Sen Sanders for that matter, to be president. Rather, while people live longer and oversea strongmen and strongwomen could rule into their 80s, America needs new energy and new vigor. And former generations like Mr Biden and Rep Pelosi should make rooms for the younger folks with hearts
13
I don't dislike Joe Biden but I will never forgive him for Anita Hill. Not to mention Clarence Thomas. And just an aside, but women have managed to stand up to Trump in historically large, extremely powerful numbers --without anyone throwing punches.
22
Adam Schiff for President! Run Adam, Run!
28
We have a deep bench MIMA. Hopefully a winner will emerge soon.
2
But, but, Mr. President — your bone spurs!
21
And we, the women are the emotional ones...
40
Of course it’s a bad idea to suggest that, even in the far past, you would have beaten up the president of the U.S.
Yet I am a woman who, like Joe Biden, grew up in a lower middle class, blue collar setting, and when I heard Trump brag about kissing women and grabbing their genitals, I told my spouse, “I wish he’d tried that on me, because if he had, I’d have broken both his arms.” My spouse agreed that, career or no career, had that fat, obnoxious jerk (not the word I’d used) put one pinky on me, I’d have knocked him halfway back to Queens,
I’m sure other women have had the same notion. Trump’s outrageous behavior invites such imaginings. It looks, however, as though he’s picked on the wrong woman in trying to bully Stormy Daniels into silence. I look forward to her knocking Donald all the way back to Queens, metaphorically, tomorrow eveningon 60 minutes. It’s exactly what thst bully deserves, about time somebody did it to him, and poetic justice that the somebody will be a woman.
52
Trump and Biden are sad reminders that foolish behavior doesn't end, for some, when you grow old. It leads to the simple conclusion that once a fool, always a fool. So it goes.
John~
American Net'Zen
6
Our country is doomed.
5
No, it is not. If you want proof, turn on your TV or find out where the kids are rallying today.
This is the future, and I am greatly encouraged.
2
I think Biden acted like a fool, lowering himself to Trump's 10-year-old level (and a poorly-raised unruly one at that).
As for 2020, Biden and I are almost exactly the same age and I think he's too old. I think we should be looking at bright, charismatic people from the next generation to take on the disgusting, lying idiot our broken antique, the Electoral College, foisted upon us. Assuming, of course, that he's not in prison, which may not be a good assumption.
317
The counrty has already made the point that any fool can be president. Now, it's simply a matter ever four years of seeing who is the bigest fool. And may the biggest him or her fool win!
2
I totally agree with this assessment of Biden. Getting into a shouting match with Trump serves no purpose other than to muddy the two pigs. Age does matter for Biden, as it does for the other front contenders mentioned. I'm now "just" 70 with good health but learning new skills takes longer and requires more effort than ever before. Trump proves to us every day that he cannot live up to the challenges of being president. Biden's recent open mouth/insert foot episode indicates that he wouldn't be able to do so either.
Don't get me wrong... I like Biden despite the Anita Hill episode. He has changed since then as have many many men including myself. But I too want to see a younger person running for president. Someone who honestly has new ideas and a fresh approach. Someone with a stake in the future.
2
the electoral college, for better or worse is a based on the vote, fix it if you will, but please, no more court-appointed presidents, the legacy of the one we got still burns...no fake news, real fire, real death...
Don't be distracted by the clown show, Gail, John Bolton now has Trump's ear. I see dead people.
48
u r so smart. I wonder how many others caught your reference to "the sixth sense"?
At this point I'd pay-per-view large coin to see these two go toe-to-toe.
Biden in a KO.
6
Really? This is what America has come to. Two old white guys bragging about fighting. All I could think about how much I miss Obama.
40
The US really is a nation of infantile fools.
25
AMerica is a violent nation. Blood guts gore. From Hollywood to TV to hip hop to rap music, white black or Asian Latino, violence sells in America. Which is probably its tarrif free export to the entire world. Turn on the prime time TV today there’s less comedy and light humor, more violence as though in every house people are spies or crime detectives...Blindspot, Bones, blue blood, CSI, Criminal Minds... this is just the beginning of the alphabet..it goes all the way to X Men. Nothing but violence. Beating the hell out of each other, grizzly murders, horror, crime, injustice, verbal physical abuse. This is what sells in America. It is not the place for innocence because everyone is suspect, people can no longer trust their own neighbors especially if they are not the right color ethnicity sexual orientation blah blah.
In such an atmosphere one would expect our enlightened media and journalists reporters to bring civility, but they also know that violence sells so they too cannot resist mud slinging, repeating stories of bad behavior. Doesn’t matter these same people claim to be church goers or religious folks, because in America even religion sanctions violence and bad uncivil behavior!
8
Just what we need in our politics these days ... more dirty wing flapping and cock-a-doodle-dos from a pair of old roosters.
Joe Biden has campaigned for the presidency twice and lost. His efforts have been described as “lackluster.” And now he wants to go macho, spur to spur with our reigning chicken hawk ... in his dreams? Why?
In my opinion, Biden’s comments prove he’s not fit to be president. Doesn’t he understand that Democratic women are tired almost to death of empty, boastful cock-crowing after being subjected to Trump’s awful noise for two years?
I’m a tired old hen, weary of this game. And feeling a bit peckish.
20
This is beyond embarrassing. This is pitiful.
I’m sure Joe Biden is suffering from remorse in the way he handled the Anita Hill hearings. And sometimes speaking from your heart can be an endearing quality.
But threatening to take Donald Trump to the back of the gym and beat the hell out of him is hardly the type of rhetoric you expect from a seasoned leader.
It has lessened Joe Biden and this Democrat’s eyes.
15
Joe Biden should not run for President because he is too old. He was a pretty good number 2 and I never doubted he could manage the ship if President Obama had been incapacitated. But he would have been caretaker till the next election. I’m rolling into Medicare this year and I voted for Hillary Clinton because I believe in making my vote count. I was relieved she chose a “younger” Vice President (who at the time, was one of my sitting Senators, so I knew his record). But I was disturbed that the leadership of the Democratic Party was controlled by old people, even though I am now joining their ranks. It is time for them to let the younger generations take leadership before it has to be wrested from their cold dying hands. As to Joe, he never could have won the Presidency on his own; it is not like he didn’t try often enough. Now, if Jill Biden wanted to run....
13
I am now in the old age bracket and I agree we need younger people to lead the Democratic Party. Any suggestion who that might be? This is the problem.
4
No, Joe! You're too old, too establishment, and too willing to engage with the tweet taunter in chief and diminishing yourself by acting like an elementary school kid. Meanwhile those kids are acting like adults marching across the nation today for gun control. The Democrats need someone younger, more energetic and more charismatic. Don't ask me who because, as much as I follow politics, I'm still looking and hoping for that person to emerge seemingly out of nowhere like "Jimmy Who?" Carter, Bill "the Comeback Kid" Clinton, or Barack "No Drama" Obama. If Tom Perez and the Democratic National Committee will just step aside, that person may appear in a wide-open primary contest.
8
Stay home Joe.
Stay home Hillary.
Stay home Elizabeth. Keep up the good work.
Same to you Bernie. Unfortunately the party let us down at your moment.
Some one will emerge from a narrative that does not mention TRUMP (at least not much). The old guard (somewhat corrupt) needs to stick to the message without rolling around in the dirt. Something like what Jerry Brown seems to be able to do.
15
Some men spend their entire lives growing up to the point where the idea of physical violence has finally become too absurd to seriously consider, And others, quite obviously, never do.
6
Joe and Donnie — Go to your rooms! A playground spat is the last distraction we need right now.
Mr. Biden would do well to remember Michelle Obama’s words: When they go low, we go high. Already Mr. Biden has brought a lot of good, necessary attention to sexual assault and harrassment, and he should not let Trump get the better of him on this issue — no matter how viscerally repellent Trump’s actions and attitude toward women have been.
7
That doesnt work and then that's why we lose.
1
I guess we shouldn’t complain, then, about the toxicity if the answer is, “if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em”.
We should begin to demand more from our leaders than these stupid spats. We deserve better.
Sorry, but two grown men talking about fighting like 12 year olds is ridiculous. Add all of the underhanded dealings of The Clinton machine and the Obama administration and I am furious.
To think that either side thinks any of this behavior is ok is the biggest problem. The "as long as I defend my side thought process of justification" is ruining this country.
As for the budget which is filled with more waste and fat than any in previous history and moves our debt to a destructive ending.....fire every Democrat and Republican who voted for it next election includes Trump.
3
I don't view VP Biden's remarks as threats but an echo of a thought that I've had since silly Donald Trump was campaigning - that he's never experienced what most of us have at some point in our lives - a beating. It's not pleasant; not something to advocate until you think about the positive impacts. Fist fights tend to relieve tension in high school settings, with typically minor injuries. As unpleasant as they are, they are a better alternative to the use of weapons which can enable weaklings or phony bullies with big mouths. They humble the loser. The winner may feel emboldened but, I think, just as often feels a sense of the need to move on without undo attention. Silly Donald Trump somehow seems to have gone through his entire life without having anyone take him to task about his excesses, dishonesty, and utter incompetency. It's happening now, through legal and publicity channels with the Muller investigation and those women who were victims of his predatory and immoral behavior. It all may have never happened had he lost a fight or two in his more formative years.
6
A statement that someone needs to be taken behind the barn to defend the honor of women may be out of touch in an age when women can protect their own honor (and when so many barns are being razed), but it’s refreshing to hear a politician say something that ignores election pollsters and their warnings about demographics. Trump goes “off script” constantly. Biden does it at least with grace.
10
Donald Trump should have never been President, but he is. Rational people have to come together and elect a Congress that can contain djt for the remainder of his term. On the democratic side, there are many intelligent and experienced leaders coming to the attention of the electorate.. Mitch Landrieu, Eric Garcetti, Joseph Kennedy III, Seth Moulton, Amy Klobuchar, Joaquin Castro, Kasim Reed, Cory Booker, Cheri Bustos, just to name a few.
It is heartening that so many good women and men are running for Congress. The 2018 midterm election is the most important midterm election in history. Then the talk should be constantly on 2020. Our goal should be to elect persons who can talk to friends and foe with reason and authority. We should eschew anyone from the Tea Party, The Freedom Caucus, or who has signed any pledge associated with Grover Norquist. Rigid ideology is what gave us djt.
Please vote. Elections matter.
43
Joe Biden would make a good president because he is a man of virtue. Who runs in 2-years, however is not important. What is important is just 7-months off. Good people must go to the polls and give Republicans a thrashing behind the voting curtain.
AS to future elections, I am enheartened by the young men and women students who are galvanizing our nation to demand Congress ban assault weapons and better regulate the sale of guns. These are smart, wellspoken youths who will one day make great congressmen, senators and presidents.
In the meantime vote in November. Any person running against a Republican would be an improvement. He or she does not have to be perfect. They will nevertheless tower above any and all Republicans.
22
Unfortunately since his brain surgery years ago, dementia has complicated his thoughts.
2
Worth realizing that Biden's "beat him up" comment was about a sexual abuser. That was completely missed by Trump, who only responded to the machismo part. In fact, Trump seemed to confirm that he was the kid who forced himself on girls. He bullied anyone who had a problem with that.
10
As a life long a Democrat, I don’t want Biden as our President anymore than I wanted Trump. Both are acting like spoiled children.
Trump is a national disgrace, a disaster and dangerous to our democracy.
Biden now appears grandfatherly and likable but not Presidential. I still have not forgotten or forgiven Biden for the despicable and condensing way that he treated Anita Hill during the Senate’s confirmation hearing on Clarence Thomas, who was unfit to be a Supreme Court Justice.
244
biden should have challenged clinton
it's too late now
the dems need to take the house this fall and as scary as pence is they should impeach trump
a mealy mouth stepford veep would be less easy for the repubs to rally around in 2020
4
Joe Biden said what millions of us feel about the punk from Queens who occupies the Oval Office, It made millions of us laugh-and laughter is in short supply these days. I know we are not supposed to "Hair Duce Speak" when being critical of him, but his fans seem to thrive on his insults and cruelty. Maybe it is time to pitch it right back to pitch it right back-it might make some of his supporters think again about this person they so fervently support because you and I know that Trump, like any third-rate bully, melts into a snowflake at even a hint of disparagement. Joe Biden has handled tragedies in his life that would have leveled many of us with grace and his sense of humor remains intact despite everything. God bless Joe and thank you-you made my week!
13
Surely I am not the only person who finds this discourse alarming? What has the the #metoo movement been about if not to highlight the inherent macho environment that permeates so many of our institutions. Yes, I know that Joe had the insight to preface his comments with "if I was in high school..." but this is hardly the message we want our students or anybody else to hear from a high ranking official from either party.
150
oh, give us a PC break!
A physical contest to decide POTUS might be better than having Putin and Cambridge Analytica decide the vote tally.
Our money is on Biden.
2
Make no mistake people, if you want to see Donald J Chaos & Co. out of the White House, we will need to support and vote for a fighter. Trump is a lying bully. He made short work of all the many Republicans he ran against. We will need an experienced hand to take over and correct the excesses of this administration. Biden knows how to work with Congress and was VP in the White House. After Trump, I would take an old fighter with experience, courage, and backbone any day.
8
This is the same politician who sat sheepishly with the good old boys on the Hill while Anita Hill was questioned regarding Clarence Thomas nomination to the Supreme Court.
2
I am sure I am a minority. I do not like Joe Biden. I will always remember his treatment of Anita Hill during the Clarence Thomas hearings. His refusal to allow other women to come forward and testify in support of Hill's allegations has come to haunt America for decades with Thomas on the Court. He used his son's death in 2016 to garner sympathy while considering whether to run a third time for President. (I find it rather amusing that two time loser Biden can be touted as a viable candidate but Hillary cannot speak in public without being told to go away because her time is up) Biden accomplished nothing as a senator or vice president with the exception of the aforementioned treatment of Hill - well maybe helped sales of aviator sunglasses. And his diarrhea of the mouth - always a Biden specialty - continues to erupt with his petty word spat with Trump. Grow up Joe.
201
Wow, Connie, if only you could be our president. Then again politics is a contact sport and may be too rough for you. Try first running for local office or a school board before you throw rocks. Although Tweety, our current poor excuse as a president or even human being, never ran for any office before 2016. All he ever did was be born to a rich daddy, get out the Vietnam draft, bankrupted four companies, grab ladies where his money allowed him to, become an accomplished liar and successfully dupe a lot of folks. If you have Tweety’s skills, then maybe you could be president. Please feel free to try.
5
Yes, and while you're growing up, Joe...make sure you stay out of those back-alley fights. We need peace in our politics, not more pugilists.
1
I'm a woman and, like you, will never forget the look on Biden's face during the Anita Hill hearings. But, please don't say things like "he used his son's death..." That's just wrong and mean-spirited of you.
What's that thing about glass houses? Sure, you're offended, as was I, but how would you like it if someone you offended, and you can't tell me you're perfect, turned around and accused you of using the death of a loved one as a pawn in some political game?
I didn't like the sneer on his face either, but for God's sake, have we have no decency left in this country?
Maybe you're the one who should grow up.
8
We are surely living in smarmy, disgusting times.
Having a sense of humor at living in this political ' who could've fathomed it ' bizarre nuthouse might be the only sane thing to do, until it finally changes.....and our country can breathe again.
Experiencing the past two years ONLY in Claymation seems delightful.
6
At this point, with turbo-hawks now advising an erratic Trump, I'm just hoping to make it to next week. November seems a lifetime away, let alone 2020. Somehow, some way, we've gotta fix this mess. Pronto.
12
As much as I like Biden and wished he would have run in 16, we need somebody young in 2020. My vote goes to Cory Booker.
7
I think we will be seeing some new, young Democratic faces in 2018, preparing to take on the old man in 2020 - assuming he’s still in office.
And they’ll be there if Pence is in the Oval Office too.
We’re seeing the return of young activist voters, currently focused on fear of muckers<cq> with guns taking their lives at school, bur also at concerts and other mass gatherings.
But they are also behind the new sexual revolution. Either they or roughly 1 out of every 10 of their friends are outwardly gay, bi or otherwise a member of the alphabet soup rainbow of human nature
And their response to their friends, or their friends to them has become “so?”
They’re very upset at their religious and political leaders who are horrified at “abnormal” sex. They don’t care what their friends do consensually behind closed doors.
They’re also getting upset as they realize how 50% of them are facing everything from lower pay to outright workplace abuse, and I don’r think they are happy about it.
Nor do they seem too happy at the abuse they or their friends are taking over appearance or accent.
While school shootings have been the their politicizing factor, as the bloody murders and police riots of 1968 began driving me to take to the protest march, them, at 18, to never miss a vote.
They’re where I was in 1970 after the Kent State shootings: questioning why the rightward shift in US politics has made the old center the “radical left”.
And I’m really happy to see them waking up.
11
My money's on Biden.
3
Hamilton - Burr. Men of action.
We use the term 'elder statesman' for a reason - to have someone available who can remind us of the past and be around when asked [are you listening Hillary] for sage advice. As much as I really like Joe, I'm sorry, but there comes a time to enjoy the grand kids when not being summoned.
Both parties, but in this case the Democrats, need to look a little deeper down the bench and either develop or put in some new blood. Otherwise we get the same old same old with the likely same old same old results - in the opinion of this septuagenarian.
7
It isn’t about their ages. Biden certainly has the credentials and Trump has proven he doesn’t. It is about new blood, new ideas, and just a touch of idealism. And you can be a idealist no matter what your age.
It is also about doing the right thing for all of the country. Certainly Biden would be a better bet than Trump is. That said, Biden should not stoop to Trump’s level. Leave Trump out of the conversation. Trump hates to be ignored but it is the only way to treat him.
There are many younger politicians out there who could go the distance as well as the names mentioned by Gail.
But first things first. Let’s put forward candidates too challenge the Republican Congress first.
They have proven that they hold the voters in contempt. From the ACA to the Tax Reform bill.
Let’s give them the same treatment
Vote them out in November. Then we can discuss Presidential contenders.
With all of the potential young voters stirred up about the Parkland shootings I would say we have a great chance to elect responsible women and men to the Congress.
Let us stay focused on November 2018.
35
Thank you Ms. Collins for allowing us to laugh at the insane situation in which we now find ourselves.
9
Trump can’t stand it that more people wanted a “girl” to be President than wanted Trump to be President. .
51
If there were to be fight, Trump wouldh’t have turned up. He’d have had a letter from his doctor: bone spurs.
196
Or he'd send his lawyer to stand in for him.
15
Confirmation that Joe Biden doesn't have the temperament and circumspection necessary for the presidency. (A real presidency, not the current tenure of a wannabee tin-pot jefe. A covfefe jefe.)
Bow out with some remaining grace and legacy, Joe. For the country, if not for yourself as well. It's over.
Amy Klobuchar, the bell is ringing. Destiny is calling. Your country needs you.
33
Considering that "covefe" is an adjective, let's make that Jefe Covefe.
Good one, Rocky!
2
Where is Linda McMahon when we need her?
4
She's in the Trump Administration, head of the SBA.
8
I keep picturing the Gandalf v. Saruman fight in The Fellowship of the Ring.
13
The eternal problem with Biden, likable though he may be, is that he often puts his foot in mouth. Not a great quality for a president.
Worse, he is too old. The presidency requires a significant amount of day to day energy/thinking. Even a fit 70 year old would find it a strain.
More importantly, I remember Biden (and others) botching the Anita Hill Thomas hearings. We have lived with this disaster to this very day. I can't forgive.
It goes without saying that Biden would be a better choice than Trump, but that's the lowest bar possible, sad to say.
17
I'm 80, Mr. Henry, and have a job where I'm required to think most of the time. After work, I usually spend an hour or so on the treadmill and lifting weights (real weighty weights.) Then I roughhouse with my cats before I take up the book I'm currently reading. (One night a week I volunteer tutoring at the county jail.)
Quit insulting us too old people, sir.
5
Good for you, but don't suggest you are up to being president. That's fantasy.
Well 'David Henry,' a person who lives near a pond I know well, I once appreciated your comments. No more. Your ageism is astounding.
Except in the campaign stages when men and women are required to get on and off planes and to rallies 24/7, being president is not an Olympic event.
I agree with you only to a point--eighty is perhaps an age where mortality and developing an infirmity is too real a reality. A fit eighty year old can handle the job just fine. It's just that at eighty, things happen.
A fit seventy year old? Sorry, not a problem.
3
Trump isn’t physically capable of jogging half a block—and he’s a coward, to boot. Biden would mop the floor with him.
112
"If Joe Biden got into trouble over campaign financing, it wouldn’t be over the legality of giving hush money to a porn star."
Remember when we, the people, decided Joe Biden couldn't be our president because he borrowed some language for a speech?
Innocent times. Innocent times.
61
I don't really think Biden has a chance, and of course almost Anyone is better than trump, but I still have a really hard time getting past his treatment of Anita Hill. I think of it whenever his name is mentioned.
1
Meanwhile, the teens of America are doing the heavy lifting on issues like saving their own lives while in school and confronting our stationary Congress.
The elders are talking about their 1950 Dodge Dartster being better than your 1963 Oldsmobile Hindenburg.
108
Everything need not always be sanitized.
Sometimes a punch in the mouth is in order !
17
Good Gosh, are we really talking about Biden as a contender? The man is like everyone's elderly, big-mouthed Uncle Joe, you gotta love him, such a character, but as president? We're still at the middle-beginning of the worst reality show ever, if we survive to 2020 I think and hope we'll be ready for a president who doesn't talk trash. The Democrats need to get their bench in order, because I don't want to have to select from the least-bad of the usual suspects again.
45
Think again, We need a fighter to go up against Trump. Trump is a bully and liar. We need someone who is going to really take him on, face to face. Biden is a fighter and a good man. He is smart and has experience, in Congress and the White House. A good man who is a fighter will fight for all of us. Not slough off the work on to others, like Trump. Not blow things up, like DACA, and then point to Congress and say, "I broke it, you fix it." To equate Trump and Biden, just because they are near the same age is foolish.
3
There is absolutely no humor left in this White House for a writer to find. It is a complete tragedy now.
76
Joe Biden spoke on behalf of every man of decency. Trump is not just an indecent creep, he is the poster child for moral turpitude. No caring parent wants their children to hear Trump, much less be anywhere near him. So I understand Biden's sentiments. Trump is a disgusting excuse for a human being.
But it is even worse. Trump incites violence. He encouraged violence at his rallies. Trump has demeaned our democracy and replaced civil discourse with taunts, insults and bragadocio.
And that is our future if we allow Republicans to "run" our government. Instead of debates and votes, policy will be decided by who is still standing after the brawl. Is that what you want your children to learn?
The choice is ours. The time is November.
139
I'd like to see Adam Schiff run. He comports himself quite well on TV, and he's probably in a safe district in California. Plus, he drives Trump crazy & the debates could well be as entertaining as Wrestlemania.
57
"And a Biden-Trump matchup would be a good way to illustrate my own personal theory of aging, which is that people can keep getting better at their work as time goes on, but that at some point it gets much harder to switch to a whole new skill set."
As people age they also find psychologically, that the traits they've had all their lives get sharper and more pronounced.
Like starting a comment coherently and losing it halfway through. Or going into a purple-faced rage when the porn star you tried to silence is baring her soul in public.
The sins of the father, and all that. But what about the sins of the sons? Birthright may be destiny, but remember, the company we keep says a lot about the people we become.
One of these oldsters had Roy Cohn. Biden, likely credit card lobbyists, for a time.
Look Biden was great because he had Barack Obama, and while I love Joe Biden, it's time he exit stage left except during campaigns.
Trump has nobody now, except the cruelest and meanest he's surrounding himself with, and I think we can all agree: it's time for him to exit politics altogether.
46
Hindsight 20-20. Biden should've been President first then Obama would be President now. Hillary should never have run--had Bill-was enough. Biden just a tad old--need fresh, new challenge-Cory Booker or similar..........
7
Hindsight acid. Biden wasn't even in the carpark in 2008, let alone the ballpark. He just didn't happen at the right time. McCain should have been the Republican candidate in 2000, but didn't happen.
i took a new job a year ago at the age of 60 and I am working 52 hrs a week as a physician. i ask myself why sometimes since it wipes me out. i am in relatively good health. We need YOUNGER candidates. Look how tired President Obama looked sometimes and I am sure he could fly through any reading materials.
47
Where are the GenX’s, Millenial, late Boomers' no interest in the job ?
We need new ideas, some fresh baggage and clearly adults to run for POTUS.
24
What we need, Mr. Martin, is to allow our president to spend his or her time thinking, not running around like a chicken without a head (picturing Trump as I write.)
Once, it was the ancients --the sages -- who were finally wise enough to lead. Let's try that for a change. Find someone who can read and write and think logically and speak clearly. See how it goes.
1
Trump’s inability to grow into a job has little to do with his age. He is the same person today as he was when his father sent him off to military school to get some aelf discipline. In other words, he has never had the ability to acquire a new skill set. I’ll admit, I thought the Presidency might show him how much growing up he gas left to do, but I was wrong. Couldn’t have been more wrong.
23
What do the USA and the now defunct Soviet Union have in common? Each is a gerontocracy.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gerontocracy
Gerontocracies go hand in hand with cronyism and crony capitalism. A cosy cabal of good old boys and good old girls, grimly hanging onto power, refusing to resign their privileges.
The kids marching against guns are America's future – not these dinosaurs and relics from the sixties and seventies.
31
Old fools.
And this is why I'd never vote for Biden. He ought to know better.
7
Gail, wake up!
Joe Biden talking sexual assault - the same guy who has a history of grabbing and hugging women and young girls in the most inappropriate ways - do you not see the irony here?
And for all the talk of Trump's administration making policy on the fly and the problems that come with that, let's relive the Obama administration's campus sexual assault policy. Based on a threat to take away all federal funding, colleges and universities rushed to put in draconian processes that removed basic due process rights for those accused of such assaults. The result was innocent students being railroaded out of school and with their transcripts forever stained. Today those same schools face lawsuits they can't possibly defend with the all the legal and settlement costs they bring with them. All this because the Obama administration acted in haste for political gain with no thought of the consequences.
Remember that the next time you criticize the Trump folks for some less than well thought out policy.
2
Yeah, the draconian Obama guidance that cases of sexual assault didn't need 'beyond a reasonable doubt' standard, but could go on 'the preponderance of evidence.'
Really, really tough, right?
But Betsy is fixing that, and pretty soon all a violated person will need is three male witnesses.
And by the way ... Obama is no longer President, so the whatabout stuff doesn't work so well as a distraction any more.
4
Chris, Wake up!
You excoriate the Obama administration for a hastily planned sexual assault policy. Every plan, pronouncement and policy we have seen from Donald J Chaos & Co. has been a walk-back debacle. The man had no actual plans, just a lot of lying off the cuff remarks and it shows every day. As for the Obama administration, they steadily guided our economy back from the brink of total disaster. They have accomplishments to point to, the current administration has not achieved much at all except a huge tax give away for their big pocket donors.
2
I doubt if you had a son or brother subjected to this kangaroo process you would feel the same way. Most all of these matters are disputed consensual encounters and involve no criminal charges from law enforcement. The school administrators and panels hearing these matters do so as a sliver of their normal routine and are designed to be biased against the charges student. The motivating factor of federal dollars corrupted the whole process.
In an odd way, it is nice to see Trump being such a lousy President. It would be less fun to see Biden being a great President and watching people like Trump say that they could do better.
4
By "Claymation" I assume you're referring to Celebrity Deathmatch. That would be great, especially with H.R. McMaster as referee.
3
Can we just agree that neither Donald Trump or Joe Biden should be president? Surely we can do better.
41
My money's on Joe. For the knockout.
8
As one with a severe, incurable case of Peter Pan Syndrome, I shouldn't be throwing stones, but is this where we are in 2018? Really?
Maturity, professionalism, and decorum seem to have left the building. No wonder we can't have nice things.
11
I think Joe Biden is on to something. Not nostalgia for teenage fisticuffs, but for the commander-in-chief leading into the fray: Bush and Saddam should have gone mano-a-mano. Trump and Kim. Sell tickets and pay off the national debt.
8
I believe you intended to say "what heels drop over the weekend".
Anyway, while France, New Zealand, Canada, and other nations ride demographic waves and elect younger leaders to run their countries, the Dems are intent on blowing another chance at changing the country with Biden, Sanders, and Warren. Sounds like a great strategy to de-motivate younger voters whose values actually line up with Democrats well. Hey kids, love your enthusiasm. How about voting for one of your grandparents for President?!
19
I think we should use China as our guide. When Democrats retake Congress, they should quickly abolish term limits. Yes a constitutional amendment, but they could serve it up with the repeal of the second as a sort of digestive and, voila, we could have the Clinton, no the other one, the one that actually balanced the books and could play a musical instrument (not second fiddle). It would just be worth it to see them all squirm ... or we could have the last one back, he’s got many good years in him, and they would squirm even more.
5
I'm a very proud veteran, as is my Husband, my Father, and several Uncles. My Brother, my only sibling, died in a Jeep accident while serving his second enlistment in the US Army. He undoubtedly would have been a
"Lifer". This background is prelude to saying I really can't begin to describe my visceral loathing for that Creature. Cadet Bone Spurs degrades and stains the service and Honor of every member of the Armed Services, both past and present. A five time draft dodger that will absolutely exploit, abuse and sacrifice our Military, in an attempt to save his bloated carcass. As for his Collaborators, hope it's worth it. You've sold your souls, and made a deal with the Devil. Payment is coming due, and the Devil doesn't accept checks, or I.O.U.s..
174
My spouse is the only one of nine siblings who served (Marines)--and the only one who didn’t vote for Trump. It just boggles the mind.
5
Thank you and all your family for your service to our country; we are better and stronger for the conviction and courage of our veterans.
I completely agree with you regarding the Creature.
5
At this point Biden could go running naked around the Lincoln Memorial and he’d still be preferable to Trump. You have to realize that the nation is suffering from outrage fatigue. While Biden’s statements were wrong and inappropriate, those norms that we used to apply have vanished.
13
What's the probability that Trump doesn't make it to 2020?
6
"Really, would you rather contemplate two of the highest-ranking officials in modern American history talking smack, or John Bolton?"
Actually, contemplating John Bolton and what damage he can do to the country may not be as entertaining as contemplating Trump and Biden's trash talk, but we must do it.
The guy who wrote "To Stop Iran's Bomb, Bomb Iran" in the NY Times in 2015 is now advising an impetuous and tough-talking empty suit about National Security affairs. It is always the guys who avoid going into real wars who want to fight real wars.
Bolton who joined the Maryland Army National Guard to avoid going to Vietnam and Trump who used student draft deferments and bone spur in his heels to avoid going into Vietnam may now start trouble with Iran, which can create havoc in the Gulf, Middle East and beyond.
Contemplating the madness that can be caused by Bolton and Trump and telling our Congressional representatives to stop the madness is the right thing to do.
30
It’s amazing how low the bar for President is now that even Biden looks good
- not just voting for but supporting Clarence Thomas’ confirmation over Anita Hill’s charges
- plagiarism in his campaign speeches when he ran for President
- trash talking with Trump. What grade are these 70 year olds in!
- aside from overcoming many personal tragedies with bravery and grace can anyone say what he stands for?
We need new leadership in the Democratic party.
14
Funny, after a lifetime of service in the public eye, this is the worst behavior you can cite for Biden? You would not fare so well.
Sold, it's Uncle Joe for 2020!
4
Can you imagine Mr. Sanders talking like Biden did in front of those high school kids in Miami?
Gen X can’t take over fast enough.
- A Boomer
43
Trouble is, we can't be bothered.
2
Biden's next move is to challenge Trump to an actual boxing match. Trump will never, ever show up to a real fight. This will make him look cowardly to his base, which thrives on cartoonish ideas of masculinity. Biden: call TRUMP'S bluff, please
4
Joe Biden once described having learned to stand up for himself from his mother, who instructed him that if someone was mean, he had to bloody their noses.
Can you imagine Trump similarly fighting, beyond tweeting or running his mouth? Please! Trump has only words, and is too much of a mollycoddle to be visceral the way Biden is.
Biden can show up the Bully-in-Chief.
And, of course, Joe Biden also has scars from the unthinkable losses he has endured, children and a wife. Biden is a survivor.
Biden knows what issues are worth fighting for, like denouncing rape and providing guaranteed healthcare. Trump cares mostly if his ego has been bruised and about the depth of his wallet.
Whether Biden will have an appetite to run for 2020 remains to be seen. But in any case, it would be exhilarating to see Biden go toe to toe with Trump. My money is with Biden, the time-tested fighter, not on Trump, who only makes himself seem big by belittling others.
13
I am so disappointed in Joe Biden for stooping to Trump’s level. I think they are both crazy. I am appalled by their immaturity. Joe Biden knows better.
15
Well Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe was 93 when he was overthrown, and he's talking about making a comeback!
1
My money would be on Joe Then now and always
10
It's becoming ever more clear that the one quality which should disqualify a candidate is that they want the job.
How can we trust anyone who would want to be president?
So that leaves us with an enticing alternative: A Draft. We draw from a pool of over achievers, rather than corrupt egomaniacs, judge them by their abilities alone, and then impose a term of service on them. We would be able, like a football team, to assign people to the right jobs for their abilities and maintain balance and diversity.
How could that could possibly provide us with a worse government than we now have?
15
High school brawling and bullying is not where our political discourse needs to go. It's up to the DEMs to lead the way out of this swamp. The GOP isn't going to do it.
Biden, Sanders, Warren ... They're all good... and old... I'd vote for any of them happily. But I think "image" is underestimated by DEMs and to find a winner we need to look for someone with similar policy views but in a younger, more charismatic package, an Elon Musk of politics.
7
The conditional statement "If P, then Q" is always true when the hypothesis P is false. Trump owns almost all of the real estate around conditional statements based on false hypotheses and his modus operandi is to continue to expand his empire based on such claims.
It is a shame that this land isn't just some remote island inhabited by one and devoid of visitors, but now Trump is president and Biden and others feel the need to visit.
You aren't in high school--so come up with whatever conclusion you want--but you sure sound like it.
2
Why is everyone so worked up on numbers? Especially when as people get older there can be a vast difference between some 73-year-old and some other 73 year olds and the same can be said for Biden who exercises , eats well, is trim and that goes a long way to longevity in one’s life. As opposed to trump who’s fat , never exercises and doesn’t eat well. Need I say more?
12
It was really irresponsible of Biden to suggest that the two should fight it out - I thought he would be above that kind of outcome. Sad!
2
George W. Bush was such a wretched President, we were able to swing in reaction to a decent and competent man. Trump is so much worse than Bush, one would hope we might swing to a successor president who would be comparatively better than Obama—a sort of poetic justice dream. Unfortunately, our political discourse has been so corrupted we are unlikely to have a good winning option from the Democrats. Instead, we’ll likely get a septuagenarian whose narcissim wins out over good sense. Unfortunately, no Florida high school student will meet the minimum age requirement of 35 to run for President in 2020. Every last one of them seems to offer more vision and common sense than any current governor or member of Congress.
17
Gail, Given that your subject is really presidential election-2020, might I suggest that the duel between Trump and Biden be resolved, most agreeably, by the Democratic candidature for president of the mayor of New Orleans? Just listen to what Mitch Landrieu says, and the way he says it. He is one who could bring our county together.
11
For our friends in Rio Linda, we have to mention all three, of the "Three Amigos". Hillary, Joe and Bernie. Their combined age is a little less than the country. Until Hillary bows out or gets "whacked", she is "in it to win it". This is her election and it won't be stolen, again. Bernie, the one that required cheating to beat, believes he is the people's choice. Certainly, the White, under 30 crowd was digging Bernie. Joe, as the over 50 crowd knows well, has run before. He typically garners about 40 votes, mostly from relatives.
The rest of the 2020 club is TBA(To Be Announced) shortly. There are about 12. About the same number as in the movie "Cocoon". But, could go higher if Hillary cancels. One more fall and she'll be the national spokes woman for, "Help, I've fallen. Call the get away van."
Joltin' Joe versus The Donald, could be as exciting as a softball playoff between two retirement communities. Those oldsters can be feisty, but, after 15 minutes, a 24 hour timeout is called.
If Joe or one of the other seasoned citizens becomes the Democrat nominee, it will the elephant's memory trying to engage minds where a 30 second video seems like History Channel documentary. With a starting line up the Democrats could field, the 7th inning stretch will be a welcome sign, the end is near.
1
Biden's exchange with Trump illustrates why people of integrity should never challenge an unprincipled bully by using the latter's methods. Trump has nothing to lose in such juvenile posturing, because much of his base likes it and the rest of us expect this kind of behavior from him. Biden, on the other hand, has a solid reputation as a mature adult (albeit one who sometimes speaks before he thinks).
Trading silly threats with the president as if they had just entered puberty will amuse many of Trump's critics, but it probably won't increase their respect for Biden. Humor remains an important weapon for exposing the absurdity behind Trump's pretensions, but not if the person wielding the weapon raises doubts about his own maturity.
9
Speaking as one midstream in a segue between curmudgeonhood and dotage I just don't get why our choices are limited to folks my age or older, who spend most of our time at the dog park discussing medical issues with others of our ilk. I'm as concerned about free trade, nuclear proliferation and world hunger as the next man (or woman) but equally worried about my creaking knees, failing eyes and digestion. I'd prefer someone who still takes all that for granted mostly, and could concentrate on the important stuff. I guess I'm not a driven as some. While I've not had any liaisons that would make headlines on access hollywood or in the enquirer, I do have a medicine cabinet full of embarrassment. I also don't like that most of these guys are filthy rich, though I understand how it works. I guess after having a fairly young guy with a lot of brains and not too much experience we were tired of being responsible adults and wanted to be governed by someone in their second childhood. Hence the tantrums, schoolyard bullying and lies. I do think it's important our next president's voice has changed, listening to this guy gives me a headache. There's a lot to be said for childlike empathy, or any empathy at all. I'm not in favor of any more TV stars, preening is unbecoming. I'd make an exception for Robert Redford, but he's no spring chicken either. Same with Alex Trebek, and he's Canadian anyway.
17
None of our aging anti-hero’s are a good choice for the Presidency unless somehow they could reverse their decay of their minds to become another Winston Churchill. We need a leader, not another party centric ideologue of which we have an unending supply of currently.
3
I argue Biden didn't advocate assaulting a U.S. President. His statement was directed toward a vile braggart teenager to which Trump fits the bill. And this is the context of the 1950's. Trump's response tweet is in the present tense.
11
We deplore Trump for his violent rhetoric but we think it is OK for VP Biden to do the same? And maybe want him to run for President? I like Biden a lot, from a policy standpoint, but anyone who threatens personal violence against another person is not fit for office. Biden's comments, while honest, show us once again what happens when white male privilege is allowed to run the world. The answers to problems become more violence, more anger and more macho posturing. Enough. Elect some young, intelligent, compassionate and progressive individuals to office in 2018 and then do the same for the White House in 2020. If we've learned anything from Trump, it is that we can't tolerate more of the same from either side of the aisle.
5
all of this, all of it, just because nearly half of US eligible voters decided the 2016 presidential election was unworthy of their consideration. So much for our great nation.
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And a few million of them in very key states thought that tossing a vote to the hapless Jill Stein was the answer.
Too many fools.
6
I sincerely wish that our choice had been between Biden and Kasich.
Neither perfect--who is. But decent, moderate, experienced, sensible leaders who would embrace the center and people of both parties.
23
Seems as if -- with this statement -- you are buying into the tired old anti-Clinton narrative that suggested there was equivalence between her shortcomings and those of Mr. Trump. Ms. Clinton is (and was) the most experienced, sensible and informed individual -- from either party -- to have run for president in at least the last 50 years. I, for one, am tired of hearing her reputation trashed and tarnished by those who wish to make her the punching bag of the Democratic far left.
30
There is nothing center about Kasich. That is, if you know anything at all about his political history. He’s just the run-of-the-mill conservative Republican who just happened to have decent manners, that should be the lowest common denominator, not the highest quality to be found in a potential president of the United States. Big problem when our opinions are founded not on factual evidence But on vague impressions
21
Kasich is NOT a moderate if his record is examined. He's only moderate in comparison to 45 and Cruz, etc.
6
I think Joe, Bernie, and Elizabeth should stay home. And I'm guessing Trump will have issues to deal with other than running for re-election once Mueller completes his investigation. Democrats need new faces and thinking like Joe Kennedy III, Seth Moulton, one of the Castro brothers, or Kamala Harris, etc. Time to move on.
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Why jump from the frying pan into the fire? We should just turn off the gas.
It's bad enough that President Trump has lowered the level of discourse to vulgar tweets, but I was really sorry to see Joe Biden join Trump in the sewer..
Say it ain't so Joe, say it ain't so!
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Oh please, can we just wait until after the 2018 election to talk about the 2020 race? Sadly, it's past time for Joe Biden to cut it out, he's a great guy but should know when to stand pat.
Bernie's a great guy too, with the ability to fire us all up about being more idealistic and trying to get fairness back, but he's way too divisive and sometimes prickly with it. His fans have a tendency to chase unicorns and attack people like me (I voted for him in the primary and regret it now). This earlier remark, which surprised me by getting a lot of approval, about sums up that problem:
I am sooooo tired of Democrats blaming other Democrats for what Republicans did. Time to wake up and get to work, and help our friends and allies. We've got trouble, real trouble, and we need to run the real villains out of town.
Meanwhile, we have two dangerous monsters, Bolton worse that Pompeo, who want to bomb us all to kingdom come, and don't care that it will hurt us and the planet beyond repair.
Putin's puppy is still in charge, and we need the energy to resist him and get some power back. All the blame in the world won't make unified Republican opposition go away, their vote cheating, their hatred of universal benefits, their greedy looting and exploiting. We need to survive 9+ more long months even if we get back one house of Congress. Meanwhile, go Notorious RBG, go!
Time to stop the chickenhawks' fantasy games from becoming all too real, blood, sweat, tears, and death all around.
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I was working on taxes recently and noticed that far too much money that should have gone to charity went to political donations instead. I'm sure we're not alone.
Bad situation that! And the charities need more thanks to Trump et al. and the ongoing criminalization of the unprosperous by the kleptocracy, the transfer of value to those who have more than enough from those who don't.
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“their hatred of universal beliefs”
If 49% of the country doesn’t agree how can they be universal beliefs?
2
Emily, Susan Anderson said "universal benefits" not "universal beliefs". She refers to Social Security (aka Old Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance btw the actual official name of Social Security), and Medicare.
Virtually all of us contribute to these and benefit from them. That's what make them universal and popular, much to the chagrin of ultra-conservatives.
3
Personally, I was hoping for a Biden/Obama ticket in 2008- which is what we got but the wrong way around. Had that happened, Obama would probably be our president right now and The Donald would be doing Dancing with the Stars. Anyway, Joe has always had a somewhat inelegant way of expressing his thoughts in public but, with respect to his brains, his heart and his political convictions, he lacks absolutely nothing that a chief executive really needs. Which is to say that our kitty-grabber-in-chief shares one of Biden's faults and none of his virtues. And if they ever did tangle in a back-alley somewhere, my money would be on Joe.
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Elizabeth Warren is a very energetic and youthful 69 year old. Moreover, she has not been in politics forever, like Biden and Sanders. Imo, she has brought energy and passion to the Democratic party. and should be counted as a newcomer, not an old timer, whose time has come (and gone). Her political career is just starting, and I would be thrilled to see her in the White House.
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Please never use the word youthful in conjunction with a 69 y.o. no matter her qualifications. We need people in their 30s and 40s to be at the forefront of our political leadership not in their 70s. Warren and Sanders are virtuous, but they block the future just as much as the evil geezers of the current cabinet and GOP leadership.
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Yes, she not only has compassion and dedication, but she is willing to work for all of us. But I'm eager to let this go for now.
2
I like Warren but think she's too much of a lightening rod. Like Trump, she'd energize a segment of the democratic base but alienate enough others to make it questionable whether she could govern with a large enough majority to be effective. I want someone who will WIN and govern sensibly.
1
A lot of people wish they could go back to 1955 just to have the opportunity to beat up Trump in high school.
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best comment of the week!
8
Best comment!
3
I like Joe Biden, as most do. It’s always good to see a major politician who wears more makeup than Donald Trump, and who has resolved to array HIS thousands of plugs FAR less ridiculously for his age. He must gnash his teeth every day, knowing that if he’d contended for the 2016 Democratic presidential nomination against HRC and Bernie, he’d be president today, and Bolton would be doing Russian gun rights videos to FEED himself.
The only problem he offers Democrats for 2020 is that he turned 326 years old last November (he’s actually 75, would be just shy of 79 on Election Day 2020, and just shy of 83 on Election Day 2024). 70 may be the new 60, but for now 80 remains 80, as anyone 80 and older knows full well.
But you never know – as long as the store-bought teeth hold out …
Do I think he’s too old to be president? Not today, but look me up when we see what he looks like in 2020.
The notion that Biden is any less a generational remnant than Donald Trump in basic attitudes is unrealistic: his recent comments simply mean that he’s a better politician than Trump could ever be. But, then, Americans didn’t elect Trump because they wanted a consummate politician, but a mover and a shaker. If Trump can make the case in 2020 that America still needs one and delivers on his promises, he would romp all over Biden. Biden had his moment, and regardless of his understandable reasons (his son had just died) for not seizing it, that moment probably has passed.
2
Deliver on his promises? He's broken virtually every one that he ran on. (I'm still waiting for his detailed plan to provide all Americans with great health care at low low premiums considering how everything he ultimately signed off on proposed doing nothing of the sort.)
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stu:
Actually, Trump has KEPT a lot of the promises on which he ran, and is visibly working on others -- otherwise, his base wouldn't continue to support him so overwhelmingly. True, he hasn't gotten very far on health care, but then ... neither did Obama, Pelosi and Reid. It's not surprising that he's having problems with our single most contentious, complex and generally difficult issue. But, then, his presidency isn't over yet, is it?
1
@Luettgen: Trump's base doesn't support him for what he has accomplished, obviously. All he has managed to do legislatively in 15 months was pass a tax cut that mostly benefits the rich while massively raising the deficit.
Trump is losing the suburban white voters in his base, especially women. They've realized the damage such a boorish, thuggish, ignorant, incompetent charlatan can inflict. He's an embarrassment to the nation and the Republican party. Those who continue to slavishly worship him do so not because he has kept his promises on policy but because he plays to their hatreds, resentments, envy, racism, misogyny, homophobia and other worst instincts.
Obama, having been handed a tanking economy and two out-of-control wars by his Republican predecessor, accomplished much more than Trump. Especially on healthcare. Trump can't destroy the ACA no matter how hard he tries.
No, Trump's presidency isn't over. His own staff leaks incessantly, and the smarter, saner ones have left or are leaving. The Mueller investigation and sex scandals continue. Trump can't find a competent lawyer willing to defend him. Watching his reckless self-destruction until he is impeached, quits, loses the next election, or dies in office will be vastly entertaining. He deserves to go down, and he will.
43
Biden may have been a bit inelegant in his high-school scenario of punching the president in his stupid face. But it’s interesting how much we worry about a little inelegance, or some missing emails or some other ordinary blunder that gives us a little jolt, considering that the president’s bizarre comments are measured on a Richter scale of vulgar insanity.
If Biden’s too old to be president then the guy who’s currently squatting in the Offal Office is surely too ignorant, too vile, too dishonest, too disgusting and too tied up with accusations of sexual abuse and cheating with multiple porn actresses to hold the job. Yet there he is, put there by people who were so fed up with Obama’s poise, intelligence and grace that they sent a clear signal that they weren’t going to take it anymore.
People do get better as they get older. But frankly I think the president is the best darn fraudulent crotch-groping ignoramus that he can be. If he were any better at it, he’d win the Ignoble Prize for Awfulness, with an honorable mention going to all the little people who voted for him.
But no one, even as a joke, should advocate doing harm to the president. We must avoid anything that might interfere with his living a long life in retirement so that he might hear the endless jokes, insults and shameful condemnations that will attend his retirement, and echo in his empty skull for years to come. It’s only fair.
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As long as his retirement is spent in a small space with iron bars and a cot.
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If I had my choice, I would retire him to Elba.
40
St Helena would be a better choice. No return, no 100 Days, no Waterloo.
12
Looking at the list of presidents by age when elected since JFK who was 43, the next three were 52 to 61, then Reagan @ 69, G. H. W. @64, Bill Clinton 46, George W, 54 and Obama @ 47 and then The Don, 70. Thus we see that age is really not a factor only in the sense that the Pacs and pollsters make it one. I believe we the voting public need to move past any questions of age, and focus on actual legitimate questions; mental health (duh) physical health, emotional health those being the bar for competence, then bring on the 'politics'.
40
Very disheartening.
I like Joe Biden and think he would have made a good president, had he run and won in 2016. But as an old fogey myself, I think that's water under the bridge - for him, for Bernie and others of their generation.
Their best role now is elder statesmen, making the case for the Democratic Party and a slate of young candidates.
But Joe won't help anything by descending to trump's level of rhetoric.
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Mancuroc, I agree with you entirely except when you say: But Joe won't help anything by descending to Trump's level of rhetoric.
Collins said: "Biden’s take-Trump-out performance came during an emotional talk to students at the University of Miami, as part of a campaign against sexual assaults on college campuses that was started in the Obama administration."
Trump is not an adult and his spontaneous tweet proves that beyond doubt. All anti-Trump politicians MUST find ways to unwind rhetorical rope so Trump can, again and again, rhetorically hang himself.
I think we can count on him to do just that.
4
I heard the entire Clarence Thomas hearings, remember Biden also voted to give Bush II the same powers to go to Iraq that Hillary did, remember what he did with the bankruptcy law and other things to represent the corporate king pins from Del and so I don't like Biden and wonder how someone who failed to even get traction running twice for president is now assumed by some to be the answer to our prayers. He was a good VP to Obama -- and creamed Paul Ryan and Sarah Palin in the VP debates, although that is hardly a high standard given his opponents -- that is the best that can be said for the man.
Much more useful stumping for a candidate that could win.
And Biden would not have been able to beat Hillary let alone Trump had he run in 2016. More misogynist blather. He made the right decision in 2016, and hopefully he will retire on a high note instead of a Quixotic run for president in 2020. Hillary picked the Biden clone as VP --Tim Kaine -- and that wasn't good enough for the deplorables.
7
I learned long ago, never to wrestle with a pig.
You get dirty, and besides, the pig likes it. -- George Bernard Shaw
5
I like Joe Biden and think he'd make a good President. He has one big plus over all the other possible Democratic candidates, which is experience in the Oval Office. While experience is good in and of itself, it will be a very helpful credential in the 2020 campaign. Trump will say, as many Presidential incumbents have said, that he has the actual experience of being President and no other candidate knows what it's like and therefore he should be re-elected because only he can "keep America great." Well, Biden, unlike Warren, Sanders, Harris, Cuomo, et. al., will be able to say that not only was he Vice President, but also was by his President's side in the Oval Office for 8 years assisting in most decision-making. Further, Obama would probably go all out to campaign for Biden (perhaps way more than he did for Hillary) and might be able to cobble together his old winning coalition. Time will tell, as it always does.
67
I think Joe Biden is a good and decent man and an able and thoughtful leader though it's hard to forgive him for the Anita Hill hearings. Nonetheless, I would prefer to vote in Michelle Obama or Oprah Winfrey.
27
If I can please pick up on your reference to experience: When Hillary Clinton spoke of her political experience, Trump disparaged it by saying that she had "bad experience." Well, "bad experience" is the theme that Democrats should throw at Trump come 2020. Seriously, he had a Republican Congress and all he got through in his first year was one tax bill, which is the kind of legislation that Republicans live for. Trump's experience will be marked by Twitter tirades, endless lies, self-indulgence and alienating allies.
Enter Biden and, hopefully, Obama to illustrate good experience. Nostalgia will be beyond strong for responsible governance. ;)
8
We may need those skills that Biden has to rebuild the country after the disastrous effects of the 45 administration.
3
Joe Biden's had his missteps but as vice president he never mentioned the size of a nuclear button or bragged that he knew more than the generals. Ms. Collins, the president is getting worse as time goes on, which debunks your theory about improving with age. And if onetime vice president Richard Nixon could make a comeback eight years after JFK showed him the door, so can Mr. Biden. And he doesn't have anywhere near the baggage as does the president.
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Nice points of comparison, silver. I am a Biden fan.
The most embarrassing gaffe I remember Biden making was when, reflexively, he asked a wheelchair-bound individual to stand up. That was an honest mistake. The Trump errors you cite here aren't just the whoops moments of someone who wasn't thinking focusedly, they are disturbing outbursts from a man who can't think straight at all. ;)
Time has not been a friend to Trump, but Biden has maintained well over time. I was so impressed by how Biden did next to the relatively young Paul Ryan in their vice presidential debate. Whatever gifts youth is supposed to confer were lost on Ryan, next to Biden. Lost was really how Ryan looked in that forum. Biden totally dominated him, grabbing the narrative, having facts and arguments at the ready, showing his confidence.
Thanks, as always, for writing. Take care.
10
Smokin' Joe may have left, but he hasn't gone away...
2
Joe Biden was a very good athlete in high school, I have no doubt he could have thrashed Rump then, and most likely now.
What some of would like to see is someone, anyone grab rump by the gonads in a vise grip and squeeze, then he might have some idea what those women felt like. Biden's remark brings out the true Rump coward.. The north end of a southbound swine and a mouth, it is hard to tell the difference.
We are treated daily to the machinations of a narcissist sociopath, more mouth than any possible brains, which seem to be ossified. He has a history of being a braggart, a slanderer, a coward, and totally unfit to be considered a member of the anthropodia. Even the chimps hide their faces in shame when he is around. His ancestry is in dispute,
Why any self respecting woman would even allow him to touch her and not be repulsed is beyond my understanding. I had a girlfriend once who smacked a man who assaulted her, with a frying pan in the face, coincidentally she was a redhead. Of all the president in my lifetime I cannot imagine any one of them making public statements like this. We know LBJ would tell some one what he would do to them, but not in a public pronouncement.
It seems like every day, some new unpleasantness about him appears. However, we must remember that those who support him, even admire him are much the same. I can not trust anyone who is a supporter of his.
358
But can you imagine how much worse it would be if tRump were a redhead?
12
Trump was also a very good athlete in high school which made his draft dodging on the basis of bone spurs even more hypocritical, disingenuous and disgusting.
6
So I am dying to know - are you the man the girlfriend smacked with a frying pan in the face? Was it hot off the burner? Coincidentally I am a redhead and I wonder why you added that detail?
4
It's a free country; whoever wants to run for President can run for President, as we were recently, painfully reminded.
Joe Biden's a good guy, but it's time to pass the Democratic baton to the non-retirement community.
Bill Clinton and Barack Obama vaulted out of relative obscurity to win the Presidency cleanly without Electoral College assistance, unlike the last two Greed Over People Catastrophes-In-Chief who both weaseled their way into office through Republican rigging and rampant voter suppression.
Democrats are superior on the issues; they just learn to message.
And by the time 2020 comes around, Daycare Donnie - if for some strange reason he is still in office and not enjoying a prison cell - will have sufficiently soiled his playpen so that once again Americans will be clamoring for yet another Democrat to step up and clean up all of the right-wing excrement and carnage left by yet another calamitous, disastrous, right-wing, Republican administration.
The more pressing matter in 2018 is registering disenfranchised citizens to vote and voting in a new Congress to defuse the time-bomb that is the David Dennison Administration.
Donate $5 to a voter registration organization to help overthrow the right-wing coup d'etat:
https://www.rockthevote.org/donate/
https://www.voterparticipation.org/support-our-work/donate-to-vpc/
https://www.eac.gov/voters/resourcesforvoters/
Voting in record numbers is the only way out.
And your life and your democracy depend on it.
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Thank you for the links. This is very important and should be repeated frequently.
11
Perhaps a typo--should be Dems "must" learn to message.
9
@Socrates - You're onto something with Pres. David Dennison; very very good one.
10
Gail, this column presumes there will be a 2020 election, which is not at all a certainty, and we know that would be fine with more than 1/2 of GOP'ers:
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/onpolitics/2017/08/10/52-pe...
Plus, we know from McConnell's and GOPers' ignoring of the Gorsuch nomination that GOP'ers will not let the Constitution nor 'regular order' stand in the way of their 'Party over country' scorched-earth ethos.
"If conservatives become convinced that they cannot win democratically, they will not abandon conservatism. They will reject democracy." - David Frum, former Dubya speechwriter
"The state of our Union is lawless" - Rep. Eric Swallwell, (1/30/18)
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The Fox-addled Republican Party is indeed a debased mess. The GOP has already done much damage to the country, its traditions and institutions, and it may do more yet.
4
Joe Biden ain't hidin'
His time he is bidin'
For a face to face with Don Trump,
The thrust of my verse?
He couldn't be worse,
If debating Trump on the stump.
We remember still
Mishandling Ms Hill,
And giving us Scalia's pal,
If he drubs the Don
A blessing upon,
And forgive Joe Biden we shall.
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