All right. Here is my long, nuanced take on the last week of Biden panic and media chaos.
I'm probably going to make a lot of people on every side mad with at least part of what I have to say here.
I'm probably going to make a lot of people on every side mad with at least part of what I have to say here.
1) Biden is genuinely older than he was, does not have the physical stamina he used to, and it is apparent in his speeches.
2) It is also apparent in his speeches he is cognitively fine. He answers questions sharply and with policy nuance. He just sounds tired doing it.
2) It is also apparent in his speeches he is cognitively fine. He answers questions sharply and with policy nuance. He just sounds tired doing it.
3) Biden is inherently distrustful of elite journalists and don't give them the access they believe they deserve.
4) This has caused a reporter vendetta that is fueling the current media cycle.
4) This has caused a reporter vendetta that is fueling the current media cycle.
5) This has ALSO caused Biden's team to be ill-equipped in getting him visible with the public.
6) That lack of immediate visibility in the wake of the debate has caused real alarm among Democratic lawmakers that triggered leaks that further feed the media frenzy.
6) That lack of immediate visibility in the wake of the debate has caused real alarm among Democratic lawmakers that triggered leaks that further feed the media frenzy.
7) At the same time, Biden's antipathy to the press is exaggerated. He DOES sit for interviews often, just with local sources and talk show hosts, not Beltway reporters.
8) This further fuels Beltway reporter resentment towards him because they feel they're entitled to access.
8) This further fuels Beltway reporter resentment towards him because they feel they're entitled to access.
9) Beltway reporters had a serious decline in quality in the Trump years, started asking dumber, more gossipy and less policy-based questions and this trend has continued under Biden.
10) That further intensified Biden's handlers' choice to limit his interactions with them.
10) That further intensified Biden's handlers' choice to limit his interactions with them.
11) The press focus on all of this is not nothing. It's based on real fears from Democrats who were banking a lot of their confidence he could bounce back in polls on voters seeing Biden's competence, and they're afraid that won't happen now.
12) Trump's and SCOTUS' threats to democracy and his own personal and mental issues are, objectively, still a much more newsworthy and important issue than all of this, and the feeding frenzy has completely shut it all out for many voters who need that information.
13) If Biden wants to survive, he has to suck up his resentment of the press, rightly or wrongly, and give them the access and unscripted engagement they are demanding of him.
14) If he can't, Democrats aren't wrong to have a serious conversation about replacing him with Harris.
14) If he can't, Democrats aren't wrong to have a serious conversation about replacing him with Harris.
15) Democrats can still win the election either with Biden or with Harris. Polls show just about every voter from 2020 who hated Trump still hates him.
16) If the election were held today, Trump would be the favorite. Democrats have to change course.
16) If the election were held today, Trump would be the favorite. Democrats have to change course.
Okay. I've said my piece.
Happy Independence Day.
Happy Independence Day.
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