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things would be different for sure (lemmy.world)
submitted 10 months ago by to c/politicalmemes@lemmy.world
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[–] 30 points 10 months ago (8 children)

There's a pivotal moment that could've changed history (on this front).

In Biden's final State of the Union address, there were rumors circulating about his mental deterioration. A lot of insiders were reporting similar experiences. These were often dismissed, because they sound exactly like attacks from his opponents, particularly on the right.

Then the address happened. Biden was entirely present. He was passionate, he was articulate. He showed no signs of what people were claiming. Clearly, he had a very good day. The criticisms and reports stopped, although he skipped a number of traditional public appearances.

Fast forward a few months to the debate, and he had a bad night. Everything that people had been warning about, was on full display. To make it worse, Trump's dementia was having a good day.

What would've happened if the SOTU had happened on a bad day?

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  • [–] 15 points 10 months ago (4 children)

    Why do people forget that Biden told everyone he would be a one term/transitional President during his campaign. If theres a moment, then its the moment Joe Biden decided to go against his own pre-Presidential calculations and try to hold onto power for a second term.

    Justifications aside, he should have allowed the democratic process to follow through naturally (as much as is possible in that byzantine system). And fully supported the Democratic party's choice as an elder Statesman and soon to be Presidential Alumni who qould be remembered for his commitment to democracy over power, rather than power over democracy.

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  • [–] 12 points 10 months ago (3 children)

    People forget because Biden made his one term promise in an extremely dishonest and slimy way. He never actually explicitly promised to be a one term president. Instead, his campaign organized a large series of representatives to go out and imply that he would be a one term president. He got a bunch of Democratic big wigs to go around telling people that he would only run for one term. His campaign organized all of this messaging, but he himself never made the promise with his own lips.

    It wasn't just a mistake, it was a deliberate deception. He lied to the American people. He just crafted his lie carefully to provide plausible deniability later. Sure, there were tons of people, on his orders, saying that he would be a one term president. But he never actually promised to drop out after one term!

    He's a slime ball.

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  • [–] 2 points 10 months ago (2 children)

    Thats the uncharitable reading and the link discusses that.

    My opinion. If they thought it would sell, then they knew it was an acceptable option. Biden's decision not to understand the wisdom of a one term presidency was his failure. So it doesn't matter whether he planned to be a one termer or not, the option was in the frame. Therefore it was a real option he had, whether he took it seriously or not is all to his failing.

    The answer to why he wouldn't commit to it early is given in the linked article. If he had he would be a lame duck from the outset. Politics is about timing, a confirmation of a one term presidency at a normal time would have been the correct action. So from what I gather about the process, that would've been about a year out from the end of term.

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  • [–] 0 points 10 months ago (1 child)

    If he had he would be a lame duck from the outset.

    This is a bone headed take. A lame duck is not a lame duck simply because they're not running again. They're a lame duck because they're unpopular and politically irrelevant. If he had declared to be a one-term president, he could have spent his term building up a bench of potential candidates for 2024. He still would have had great power, influence, and the bully pulpit, even if he wasn't running again. He wouldn't be an individual, he would be part of a team. And that team is what would allow continuity and the prevention of a lame duck term.

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  • [–] 2 points 10 months ago

    Lame duck isn't a popularity contest.

    Your suggestions of what he could have done are all what a Lame Duck could get through, so i think you'rethinking a Lame Duck presidency is more useless than it is.

    Its the big policies, like that Inflation Reduction Act, or Jan 6 commission, that would have been much harder to even get started. I know, I know, so much for those.

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  • [–] 22 points 10 months ago

    Trump's dementia wasn't having a good day. He said his normal amount of stupid and incoherent things. We had accepted this from him as the dumb, angry, incoherent candidate. But when the smart, mostly articulate candidate had a performance that blew Trump's normal incoherence out of the water, it was too much to ignore.

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  • [–] 11 points 10 months ago* (1 child)

    Fast forward a few months to the debate, and he had a bad night. Everything that people had been warning about, was on full display. To make it worse, Trump’s dementia was having a good day.

    How insane is it for this to actually be part of the discourse? About which candidate's dementia was acting up more than the other's on a given day?

    The quoted bit above would give even a hypothetical outside party with no prior knowledge or experience of what's happened since, a pregnant pause followed by some variant of "what the fuck?"

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