5 ms·

So much this. Aside from Biden being MIA, something had seemed very "off" about him recently as well, and it doesn't inspire confidence. I know he's always bee

So much this. Aside from Biden being MIA, something had seemed very "off" about him recently as well, and it doesn't inspire confidence. I know he's always been a little gaffe-prone, but if you compare recent interviews with speeches he gave historically, it's pretty clear he's lost the edge he used to have.

bayesian_horse 7y ago
Missing in Action? Other than that political rallies are off for everyone (pandemic, you heard?), he has continued his campaign. If you didn't notice that, you weren't looking in the right places. Nobody will vote for Trump because Biden's "gaffes". He clearly is more mentally fit than Trump, who can barely string together logical sentences any more.
- lostapathy 7y ago
  I haven't been looking for him, but he's obviously not been able to make headlines, either. I don't personally have a dog in this fight, but it says something when people on both sides of the aisle question Biden's mental health. It was even posted in the Washington Post, this isn't just me imagining things.
  - bayesian_horse 7y ago
    Hard to make headlines, when you already more or less won the primary and there is this little thing going on in the World...
- bayesian_horse 7y ago
  Oh, totally, Biden isn't a young chap. Trump is a lot worse in this department. He started out as somebody with a narcissistic personality disorder who can't read and conned his way through life, failing upwards as he went, blowing his $400 million inheritance. He was never very truthful, but now he doesn't have the mental acuity to hide it. He slurs sentences and is unable to utter any details (i.e. "A number nobody wants to think about"= "A number I can't remember"). I've hardly ever heard him cite a number that is accurate. Really, discrediting Biden on mental health issues is entirely partisan, given the data we have on Trump. When Democrats said something to the effect it was in the primary election and compared to other candidates, not compared to Trump. Trump can't compete, intellectually, with any of the Top-20 candidates on the left.
  - krapp 7y ago
    >Trump can't compete, intellectually, with any of the Top-20 candidates on the left. He couldn't with any of his own fellow candidates either, and it doesn't matter. Mental fitness is, as you say, entirely partisan - only ever mentioned when discrediting an opponent, but not actually relevant. Americans hate intellectuals almost as much as they hate politicians, they associate intellect with effete globalists and cultural Marxism, and scum of the earth "experts." Trump was the only candidate willing to joke about the size of his dick and call people petty names, so he was a shoe in. It's not as if Trump was a brilliant orator, noble statesman and Rhodes scholar until at some point during his term he degraded to the state he's in today. He's exactly the person he was when he won, nothing new is known about his personality, beliefs or qualifications. The Republicans were very successful at poisoning the well around Hillary Clinton and the Democrats didn't help by picking an establishment candidate in an anti-establishment election. But then, there were conspiracy theories around the Clintons going back to Bill's tenure, so intimations that maybe there was evidence of treason and felony crimes in those leaked email and something something satanic pedo cult and maybe she did some murders already had a receptive audience. Joe Biden doesn't have the kind of heat, though. The only question to me is whether or not Democratic voters stay home in droves again - I assume most Republicans who vote will vote for Trump either out of party loyalty or actual fealty. Biden probably can't win many of them, so to me his job is to manage attrition from his own side, particularly from voters who wanted Bernie or someone more radical.
    - bayesian_horse 7y ago
      You underestimate how much Trump has motivated the Democratic party and basically anyone not on his side. Voter turn-out went through the roof in 2018. Without the Covid-19 crisis, it would certainly stay that high or get even higher. According to polls, Biden does have a better chance among independents and swing voters, even among disillusioned GOP members. The only chance for Trump is a massive depression or even suppression of voter turnout. Otherwise his base doesn't matter.
      - war1025 7y ago
        Biden is attractive to anyone who hasn't seriously looked into his as a candidate. He has great name recognition. He's associated with Obama, which has so far proven to be his golden ticket. The trouble is when he speaks, nonsense comes out.

bayesian_horse 7y ago

Missing in Action? Other than that political rallies are off for everyone (pandemic, you heard?), he has continued his campaign. If you didn't notice that, you weren't looking in the right places. Nobody will vote for Trump because Biden's "gaffes". He clearly is more mentally fit than Trump, who can barely string together logical sentences any more.

lostapathy 7y ago
I haven't been looking for him, but he's obviously not been able to make headlines, either. I don't personally have a dog in this fight, but it says something when people on both sides of the aisle question Biden's mental health. It was even posted in the Washington Post, this isn't just me imagining things.
- bayesian_horse 7y ago
  Hard to make headlines, when you already more or less won the primary and there is this little thing going on in the World...
bayesian_horse 7y ago
Oh, totally, Biden isn't a young chap. Trump is a lot worse in this department. He started out as somebody with a narcissistic personality disorder who can't read and conned his way through life, failing upwards as he went, blowing his $400 million inheritance. He was never very truthful, but now he doesn't have the mental acuity to hide it. He slurs sentences and is unable to utter any details (i.e. "A number nobody wants to think about"= "A number I can't remember"). I've hardly ever heard him cite a number that is accurate. Really, discrediting Biden on mental health issues is entirely partisan, given the data we have on Trump. When Democrats said something to the effect it was in the primary election and compared to other candidates, not compared to Trump. Trump can't compete, intellectually, with any of the Top-20 candidates on the left.
- krapp 7y ago
  >Trump can't compete, intellectually, with any of the Top-20 candidates on the left. He couldn't with any of his own fellow candidates either, and it doesn't matter. Mental fitness is, as you say, entirely partisan - only ever mentioned when discrediting an opponent, but not actually relevant. Americans hate intellectuals almost as much as they hate politicians, they associate intellect with effete globalists and cultural Marxism, and scum of the earth "experts." Trump was the only candidate willing to joke about the size of his dick and call people petty names, so he was a shoe in. It's not as if Trump was a brilliant orator, noble statesman and Rhodes scholar until at some point during his term he degraded to the state he's in today. He's exactly the person he was when he won, nothing new is known about his personality, beliefs or qualifications. The Republicans were very successful at poisoning the well around Hillary Clinton and the Democrats didn't help by picking an establishment candidate in an anti-establishment election. But then, there were conspiracy theories around the Clintons going back to Bill's tenure, so intimations that maybe there was evidence of treason and felony crimes in those leaked email and something something satanic pedo cult and maybe she did some murders already had a receptive audience. Joe Biden doesn't have the kind of heat, though. The only question to me is whether or not Democratic voters stay home in droves again - I assume most Republicans who vote will vote for Trump either out of party loyalty or actual fealty. Biden probably can't win many of them, so to me his job is to manage attrition from his own side, particularly from voters who wanted Bernie or someone more radical.
  - bayesian_horse 7y ago
    You underestimate how much Trump has motivated the Democratic party and basically anyone not on his side. Voter turn-out went through the roof in 2018. Without the Covid-19 crisis, it would certainly stay that high or get even higher. According to polls, Biden does have a better chance among independents and swing voters, even among disillusioned GOP members. The only chance for Trump is a massive depression or even suppression of voter turnout. Otherwise his base doesn't matter.
    - war1025 7y ago
      Biden is attractive to anyone who hasn't seriously looked into his as a candidate. He has great name recognition. He's associated with Obama, which has so far proven to be his golden ticket. The trouble is when he speaks, nonsense comes out.