To think how on earth can Biden be President

I’m not sure there’s anyone else is there?

I guess there's always Michelle, @EasternStandard

I know she's said repeatedly that she doesn't want it, but I'd be absolutely amazed if she's not being pressured behind the scenes - though the lady really does have integrity so could presumably resist it if she wishes

I think the difference there is that one person did everything in his power to deny he had any papers, arranged to have any evidence he had them destroyed, then when some were found denied he had any more (which he did have), then tried to "declassify" them retrospectively which is forbidden. They also showed these papers off to people with no security clearance to boast about having them. There was a large number of boxes.

The other person, the moment it was suggested they had papers, did a complete search & handed over everything he had with an apology. There was one box and a few personal notebooks.

So both may have possessed papers they shouldn't have, but one immediately co-operated with enforcement and the other lied and obstructed them at every turn. One could easily have forgotten he even had the papers, the other not only knew damn well he had them, but showed them off.

"Don't seem to have a realistic alternative to offer"- it’s just quite astonishing isn’t it. Of all the capable people there are in the US!

It is indeed, @Clearinguptheclutter, but as I've said before, the difficulty is that few with real integrity would want to go anywhere near politics (and who could blame them)

FWIW I'm as horrified at the idea of Trump2 as anyone else, but I suspect that some of the nastiness we're seeing from staunch democrats is born of their own frustration, because they know the party's making a ghastly mistake which is going to see everyone stuck with him

Given that much of the President’s job is foreign policy, the opinions of people outside the US matter.

I was discussing this with my DS 17, and he wisely pointed out that once there is a question about Biden,'s competence, his credibility has gone. And since essentially the accusation against him is that he is mortal and aging, there is no possible defence.
He is currently one of the most, if not the most powerful men on earth, he will have the best healthcare possible, but even these things do not make him immune to aging.

She has actually made a statement backing him, saying the report is political.

Biden does have a speech impediment, think it must take a lot of thought to stop it happening in public. Not sure why they are not open about that. Trump mixed up Niki Halley the other day for Nancy pelosi.
Did you hear what he said to a lawyer taking his deposition ‘ see you next Tuesday’ turns out it means Cunt.
Imagine what he would do to all intelligent women in the US.

Biden doesn't know what day it is, Trump doesn't care what day it is.

300 million people and this is the best eithier party has got is crazy.

I’m not sure there’s anyone else is there?

Both seem to be ahead in their parties

@Puzzledandpissedoff
agree, but
don't seem to have a realistic alternative to offer - it’s just quite astonishing isn’t it. Of all the capable people there are in the US!

That's actually a very valid point, and it may also reflect well on the party for "allowing" him to leave instead of exploiting a clearly sick man

The problem of course is that they're leaving it a bit late in electoral terms and don't seem to have a realistic alternative to offer, and the problem's not going to go away as the ballot nears

Regan was NOT the best president.

But agree that they are handing the vote to Trump

Reagan was a better president than any that have followed him to date.

The only morally decent president since Reagan has been Obama (I’m talking about not executing people for votes, pushing cigars up interns, dodging enquiries into family members’ wrongdoing etc - not ‘moral’ in the sense of political morality.) And Obama ended up being a washout.

Nobody sane wants Trump again. But Biden is likely to be unelectable because the world can see that he’s seriously mentally infirm. So the Dems are handing it to Trump.

Well done Dems, top work. 👏👏👏

Meh . I'm old enough to to remember the election of Ronnie ' Bedtime for Bonzo ' Reagan. My mate exclaimed ' they might as well elect Zaphod Breeblebox!'

On the radio phone ins there was universal horror from the callers. Reagan was gaga, he was a bomb happy tax cutter, a senile B movie actor etc. Platoons of experts were wheeled out to reassure the punters : Don't worry he won't be left near the Red button. The civil service have got this and so on. Which broadly speaking was about right.

The problem with Orange shigibbon is he actually knows the job a bit better this time and will have a plan to nobble the army and civil service. On the other hand - in 2016 he had the benefit of the doubt. And revealed himself as a criminal sociopath. Plus the economy favours Biden. For now.

Americans not understanding the proper use of “twat.” 🙄
You can’t look like a twat, you can only be or act like a twat.

cheers, hth

Is that true? A twat is a vagina, no? I would have thought looking like a vagina was easier than acting like one. I don't like it as an insult however it's used, personally.

On topic, I agree Biden is too old. I don't understand why leaders of countries don't have retirement ages like nearly every other job. I know it's not compulsory to retire at 65-70 but nearly everyone in a decently paid, well regarded job does and I bet most of those who don't are soon managed out. I think 70 should be the absolute upper limit for a job as key as running a country/the Western world!

Also, history will be far kinder if he stands aside now, or declines to run in the election - rather than either become incapacitated during his next term or, more likely, lose because of refusing to step aside

He wouldn't be the first president to make major gaffs, especially about other countries - American politicians often seem very insular. Ronald Reagan once made a speech about American relations with Third World countries, where he said repeatedly. 'America has a lot to offer the Third World War'. Gerald Ford gave his best wishes to President Anwar Sadat 'and your great country of Israel' (this was at a time when Egypt and Israel were mortal enemies).

Biden is far from perfect, and it's a pity that no one who'd be under 80 by 2028 is a serious candidate. BUT when considering Biden, let's remember that the alternative is Donald Trump: a supporter of truly vicious policies; a serial offender against both financial and sexual decency; a threat to his country's democracy, and thereby the world's stability. Almost anyone would be better for America and the world than Trump: A block of wood. Dan 'Potatoe' Quayle. No one at all, as happened in Stormont for two years and in Belgium for several months. Any Prime Minister we've had here, even Liz Truss. And certainly Joe Biden.

Thanks - would have been gutted without your response.

💅

I can see why many democrats are sticking with him - for the reasons you say and why they feel need to rally round him. However I do wonder if this is a case of the rare exception.

On a world stage they are basically denying what people can clearly see for themselves - just as Trump and Trump supporter do. Trump still worse option for many many reasons - but I think both Biden and Trump weaken the USA on the world stage and just storing up problems for the USA internally.

@Puzzledandpissedoff jinx 😊

Democracy doesn't work that way. You can set unequivocal requirements like 'must be a citizen' and 'minimum age' (maximum age might be an idea) but realistically, it's up to the voters to determine who is 'fit' to represent them. Not courts, or doctors or anyone who isn't elected.

While I don't like Trump, I like even less that liberals are trying to keep him off the ballot because of his policies or things that he's done. And I go so far as to include criminality in that. In Northern Ireland, a convicted terrorist was elected to Westminster as an MP DURING serving his sentence in jail. Sounds a bit bizarre, but that's democracy at its finest and to erode that is to lead us down a very dangerous path.

From the Library of Congress: "Legal requirements for presidential candidates have remained the same since the year Washington accepted the presidency. As directed by the Constitution, a presidential candidate must be a natural born citizen of the United States, a resident for 14 years, and 35 years of age or older"

It's obviously more complicated than that since the public have to be persuaded to vote for whoever it is, but basically that's it - no medical, nothing - though they do often get tame medics to spout whatever's wanted as things move along

There's also the 25th (amendment) by which a president can be removed if clearly incapacitated, but ... well, politicss again

I don't have a good grasp over how the US political system works, but in general challenging incumbent presidents within the same party is messy business. The party prefers to keep the field clear. History would indicate that when a party changes the presidential candidate the election is usually lost. Moreover, history seems to favour incumbent presidents for second terms in most cases. In this case it was Biden who beat Trump last time, and it seems the safer route to take.

Why cant the entirety of the USA produce anything better than these two?! Basically Biden is opening the door to Trump voters. Which is proper scary.

It is apparent quite a young country compared to most of the west/developed countries yet it is increasingly governed by a very old very elite section of society - that tends not to go well long term.

Having said that I'm unhappy with our current lot of politicians in UK - and think many in western democracies have similar gripes.

It's well known Reagan who was 77 when he left office and it came out later was suffering cognitive decline before he did so - I've seen it suggest Thatcher's increasing intransigence in later years may have been early sign of her illness. Mental decline doesn't hit everyone some miss it even in their 80s but Biden been clearly confused and stumbling for last year or so in public - it's sad to watch I just don't know how he'd be able to do 4 more years in such a demanding role.

I don’t know how America has got to the point where they have to choose between someone with dementia or someone who is accused of sexual assault/inciting a riot/fixing election results. What a sorry state of affairs.

Sorry, @FrannieSaid, but I'm not interested in obscenity-laden insults

Happily there are a lot of balanced, rational posters on these threads who make worthwhile posts even while disagreeing with each other, so I won't be responding to you again