dagblog - Comments for "Don't worry about Joe Biden's age, we need his wisdom now"

FYI, Biden was born almost a

PeraclesPlease — Thu, 26 Nov 2020 21:06:50 +0000

In reply to I often listen to a lot of

FYI, Biden was born almost a year after Pearl Harbor, with the Battle of Midway concluded, and Guadalcanal as the 1st of the new island hopping halfway over. True, the European theater was slower starting, mostly learning bombing strategies and an invasion of Morocco.

I often listen to a lot of

Orion — Thu, 26 Nov 2020 20:45:03 +0000

In reply to Totally agree with Senior's

I often listen to a lot of old radio shows. There is a program that was called Family Theater that was on during the 1940s. That was a time when America was largely dominated by Democrats but was culturally very conservative. They had a motto - "the family that prays together stays together" - and there were a few programs where the protagonist personally talked with Abraham Lincoln about American society and history. The way that Biden talked in his Thanksgiving speech really reminded me of the style of talking used back then, a style that I never thought would come back. Biden is actually too old to be a Baby Boomer - he is a member of the Silent Generation and was born while World War II was heating up for America, not afterward. He comes from a disposition that kept America going when prosperity couldn't be taken for granted.

He lost twice & was losing

PeraclesPlease — Wed, 25 Nov 2020 21:36:00 +0000

In reply to TRUE! He was made for this

He lost twice & was losing this one til Clyburn made a backroom deal.
I'm fine with it - the party needed an intervention before it committed sappuko
(don't try this at home, kids - those Ginsu knives are sharp!!!)
and it was likely the kind of deal Biden was most comfortable.

TRUE! He was made for this

artappraiser — Wed, 25 Nov 2020 21:33:34 +0000

In reply to It *is* a major problem that

TRUE! He was made for this kind of campaign, might have easily failed another kind.

It is a major problem that

PeraclesPlease — Wed, 25 Nov 2020 20:51:34 +0000

In reply to Totally agree with Senior's

It *is* a major problem that how candidates campaign is completely unrelated to their skills at governing. Biden was largely saved campaigning. Next election will be back to the awful normal.

"don't expect activism from

ocean-kat — Wed, 25 Nov 2020 19:11:59 +0000

In reply to Totally agree with Senior's

"don't expect activism from it (like I think other people do, very unrealistically"

At this point liberals who are still pushing for extraordinary legislation are very unrealistic even if both democratic senators win in the Georgia run off. As imo are you in expecting bipartisan legislation. But the presidency can be an activist position. Roosevelt was and he's not ancient history imo and on the right Reagan was an activist president. Even Johnson was reported to be very aggressive in pushing his agenda even with his own caucus. Significantly more aggressive than later presidents. Obama with his large majority of house democrats and 60 democratic senators could have been a game changing president quite easily if he wanted to be.

Totally agree with Senior's

artappraiser — Wed, 25 Nov 2020 18:42:41 +0000

In reply to Don't worry about Joe Biden's age, we need his wisdom now

Totally agree with Senior's point here and have said it more than once on this forum, in this particular case and at this particular time, it's a massive feature, not at all a bug.

I didn't realize how much so during the primaries at all, it was just: he's a centrist, he'll be fine. Other people would complain they don't like him at all, bring up examples of big bloopers in the past, how he sold out this for that, clueless about this or that, and I would find myself thinking: ok, maybe they're right, he'd make a lousy candidate.

But then I saw what he was doing when he really started to get some steam and more and more every day I started to see it: whoa this guy is perfect because he's been there and done that, learned from all those mistakes, plus knowing he's going to meet his maker soon and is a believer in god, has left behind most reasons that can influence younger men to do morally questionably things. The only influence left at his age is legacy concerns. Where undue influence would be because of narcissism or perhaps something like a family business that you wanted to benefit your heirs. If you know anything about his life, he doesn't have those issues, just the opposite.

Throw in that he was an active V.P. for 8 years, knows exactly what the job entails, knows the White House, knows the mistakes Obama made, can call on his Dem predecessors for advice, knows nearly everyone in the Senate personally and knows up down and sideways how Congress works.

If you look at the presidency like I do as a purely executive position and don't expect activism from it (like I think other people do, very unrealistically), he's like a god sent perfect candidate for the job!