Friends, Biden gave his big speech yesterday explaining why he exited the race, and it left more questions unanswered than answered. Basically, Biden said it was time for new, fresh, younger leadership (but for some reason it wasn't time last week?), and a change was also needed to "save democracy". Funnily enough, "saving democracy" was the very reason Biden was running in the first place. I guess it's a handy catchphrase that, for a Democrat, can be deployed in any situation, especially those involving the direct invalidation of democracy -- but there's nothing new in that.
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c047281jj8do
In other news, a slew of polls have been published since Kamala Harris became the heir apparent, and by and large they paint a picture of a race that hasn't changed all that much. Trump remains in the lead nationally, by a slim margin, and in the swing states, by a slim margin, and he enjoys slightly bigger leads when the race is considered a five-way contest instead of a head-to-head matchup. What's more, Harris may be enjoying her "honeymoon period" with voters, and especially with the media, so one has to wonder if she's found her ceiling yet, in terms of public support. The stark reality is...no one knows. This race has been, statistically speaking, a lot less dynamic than it has been in the sense of bullets flying, candidacies imploding, etc. The best guide to the future is indeed the past, but even that is an imperfect guide, to be sure.
Dr. Waddy from Jack: I thought maybe he would spring a surprise resignation and when he didn't I turned it off. I helped care for a very elderly person who was declining mentally. We gently and gradually relieved her of any consequential decision making. I expect relatively responsible people are doing the same with him. Before long, I think, he will be a living El Cid. Good point though about a possibility of his playing a role in compromising the election should it go badly for the dems. He might well be a useful front for an extraordinary move by . . . ? Harris, Pelosi, Dr.Jill, a theretofore clandestine coterie?
ReplyDeleteRAY TO JACK
DeleteAt least "El Cid" (his title, meaning the Lord, in a medieval, not a religious sense), was for a long time the National Hero of Spain, or at least one of them, since he died in the very late 11th Century.
His real name was Rodrigo Diaz de Bivar, and he was from Burgos, Spain (spelling?) as I recall. But he fought the Muslim pukes and he was a REAL HERO, and he didn't have dementia.
Just a small history lesson from an historian (me) and I spent three years in Spain, during which time even trick drivers in Spain knew who the National Hero was, and could partially recite The Poem of The Cid.
Also a movie about him with Charlton Heston as El Cid. Not scolding Jack, but no comparison between him and Joe Numb Nuts.
RAY TO JACK
ReplyDeleteI meant truck drivers, not trick drivers, the later who would be race car drivers in our country.
Ray from Jack: From my cursory knowledge of El Cid I understood that he was actually propped up on a horse after his death and led his troops that way in a famous charge. Is it true? That was the basis of my speculative comparison of him with a living but prostrate Biden. Is the analogy creditable? Perhaps not; Biden is not a heroic figure.
ReplyDeleteRAY TO JACK
DeleteI was not blasting you because you mentioned El Cid. The name, as you used it, just caught my eye. Quite frankly, the last scene in the highly dramatized movie (although the foremost expert in Spain on El Cid was on set), was more legend and myth than reality. Also, Rodrigo Diaz de Vivar (Bivar) was as much a mercenary for The Muslims as he was for Christians in Al Andaluz, which is what The Muslims called what is now Spain when they had control of it from the 8th Century to 1492. Unlike El Cid, Biden will probably slip into history without any epic poems written to honor him. Maybe when he passes on, Biden can be propped up on a bike and sent off down Rehoboth Beach.
Ray: Thanx; I know almost nothing about the history of Spain. My brothers are just coming back from Barcelona, which I've always thought, if I did go to Spain, is where I would go. I understand it has an impressive medieval section.
ReplyDeleteQuite right, Jack. We would be unwise to write off Biden just yet. He still is president, after all, and that ain't nothin'. What I wonder, though, is whether Biden might be inclined to use his executive powers to help Kamala, or to hurt her. Part of him, let's face it, might be happy to see her lose (and thus him proven right).
ReplyDeleteRay, I thank you for the history lesson re: El Cid. I didn't know any of that!
I agree, Jack: we conservatives are way too deferential and polite, and I count myself in that group of weenies, by the way. Lefties pour their scorn on anyone who dares contradict them, and they thus bully countless Americans into acquiescence, if not necessarily obedience. We, by contrast, do not seem to have the courage of our convictions, and that is a major problem.
I hear great things about Barcelona! Alas, I've never been anywhere in Spain.