Exactly four years after he announced he would challenge then-president Donald Trump for the leadership of the United States, President Joe Biden today announced his reelection campaign, along with running mate Vice President Kamala Harris. The contrast between the 2019 announcement video and the one released today shows how both the country and Biden have changed over the past four years. The earlier video featured former vice president and presidential hopeful Biden alone. It began by focusing on Charlottesville, Virginia, and the promise of the Declaration of Independence, written by Charlottesville’s famous resident Thomas Jefferson, that all men are created equal. Biden claimed that while we haven’t always lived up to those ideas, we have never walked away from them. They are the foundation of who we are.
Wa Po columnist Eugene Robinson says being underestimated is Biden's superpower. I think that's spot on. For fifty years he's dealt with the grinding reality of how to rack up incremental progress in a tangled system. He is brilliant at it and much more than that - he is a deeply, passionately moral person. He's brought us back from the abyss, and knows he's the wall between us/US and fascism.
I am deeply grateful and five million percent behind him and VP Harris.
I cannot immediately bring to mind anything significant that modern Republicans are either for or against that is not demonstrably, empirically, fake, from the promises of Reaganomics to the claims of massive voter fraud (unless you count GOP gerrymandering) that no one can prove. "More wealth for the wealthiest and 'austerity' for everyone else" is not such a popular sales pitch, so they must wrap it in a web of lies. And what a tangled web it has become.
Stunning news from every direction. Thank you Heather, for focusing on a President and Vice-President who care about the People. The real people who depend on them to serve the nation with purpose and compassion. I was not a Biden fan, but am now. I think the next election will result in a sweep of Republicans out of office with their hateful and unpopular policies. They have come to this fight with paper straws.....
Earlier on, I had hoped that a younger Democratic candidate would emerge, but one didn't. When I realized that my ONLY objection to Biden's candidacy was his age, and that that single fact did not bother me personally, it only worried me about what other (younger) voters might think. Suddenly I'm over it. He has my full and enthusiastic support. No one solely on the question of Biden's age would turn to Trump as a reasonable alternative. After all, when Biden was a senior in high school, Trump was a freshman. Not a huge difference. Trump shows more evidence of mental deterioration than Biden ever has. The dye job and spray tan are easily seen through to those who actually look.
"Don't interfere with your enemy while he's commiting suicide."
I don't recall the author, (The Art of War?) but I hope Biden's campaign keeps that wisdom in mind.
Democrats and progressive independents must also keep in mind that we must tip the House back to a Democratic majority, and at least keep the Senate majority, though better to increase the Democratic majority there as well.
Republican gaffs, stupidity, indictments, resignations, maybe a SCOTUS resignation, etc. could breed complacency. We must get everyone to the polls in 2024. Nobody stays home on election day.
PS; Thank you, Bernie Sanders for throwing your full, enthusiastic endorsement behind Biden. Had you done the same for Hillary Clinton immediately after she got the nomination in 2016 we would likely be living in a very different world now. I don't think I'm ever going to be able to let go of that grudge.
Democrats - Hopeful, positive, progressive, aiming to better the lot of EVERY American citizen, regardless of ethnic background, skin color, religion. economic background or sexual orientation.
Republicans - Hate - based, irrational adrenaline - driven fearmongers who embrace ignorance, despise progress, hate knowledge, critical thinking & are divisive. I could list more traits of the Party of Trump, but I'd be here well until into the afternoon or later.
It's infuriating that the mainstream media not only ignores Biden's accomplishments, but CONSTANTLY claim "polls" (with out any context) that say that a majority of Americans do not want Biden to run.
If the "news" media insists on using polling 'statistics' then I want to know who conducted the poll, what was the sampling size, how were these folks polled (landline? door-to-door? how?) and how was the question phrased?
I have to admit I'm a bit worried as the next election season approaches. Age is a back-ground issue for Democrats (70% wish there was a younger flag-bearer). This means folks will take a harder look at Harris, as the designated stand-in if the president is incapacitated. Harris has not been highly visible, and has suffered the blows of pundits saying she runs a hostile shop with a revolving door of staff. I'm not in a position to draw judgement, but she hasn't been all that visible to me and I don't have a good grasp of her "presidential" attributes. There isn't any compelling reason to identify someone else; however there are candidates whose record as chief executives have been demonstrated in governorships, so you can infer more easily about their leadership competency. VP is a particularly difficult place to "show leadership" since you're always walking a half-step behind the President and must carefully guard the message so it doesn't seem out of sync with POTUS. Biden has far better soft skills than the Orange Emperor, but he still carries a bigger stick than Harris. How will the White House elevate Harris as heir apparent to bolster the presidential race? I think the tone set by his announcement is masterful; it needs to be followed up by plenty of similar messaging with substance, in stark contrast to what we've observed from the opposing party and it's hooligan leadership.
The thing that strikes me about that video is its promise. Not of "greatness", whatever that might mean, but just plain old happiness. No fear, no hate. Happiness in union. It's beautifully edited - the run forward, laughing, in the quickly cut final shot. I looked at it on YT, and what did the comments say? "Go Brandon". That's all they could find. And then the others began to pile up: "You've got my vote, Joe." "I'll be voting for you, Joe, like I did last time."
I am Gobsmacked by the chump blather about the damage Joe B has done to this country. Will anybody scream “LIAR, LIAR” from the rooftops…. The dystopian crap the repubs generated to hang around Joe’s neck is what they vision for us, and have since chump’s inauguration speech.
Good morning, This is a wonderfully constructed essay. Thank you for assembling all the important points of President Biden’s re-election announcement. He is doing a fine job as POTUS no matter how old he happens to be. We should remember Satchel Page’s reflection, "How would you be if you didn’t know how old you was?"
Biden's "freedom" pitch and the coming political realignment
'As the right retreats from the theme of "freedom," the left sees an opening'
"The Republican retreat from the frame of freedom is a tectonic, under-appreciated shift in American politics. And it may be the start of a profound political realignment. For the first time in a generation, the idea of freedom is not an especially important animating principle for the right. They use the word still, but they are fundamentally about something else now, fundamentally about protecting people from supposedly menacing forces like demographic change and changes to M&Ms and children’s books and “woke” corporations. This is the pitch not of freedom but of the strongman."
Wa Po columnist Eugene Robinson says being underestimated is Biden's superpower. I think that's spot on. For fifty years he's dealt with the grinding reality of how to rack up incremental progress in a tangled system. He is brilliant at it and much more than that - he is a deeply, passionately moral person. He's brought us back from the abyss, and knows he's the wall between us/US and fascism.
I am deeply grateful and five million percent behind him and VP Harris.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2023/04/13/biden-polling-belies-strength/
I cannot immediately bring to mind anything significant that modern Republicans are either for or against that is not demonstrably, empirically, fake, from the promises of Reaganomics to the claims of massive voter fraud (unless you count GOP gerrymandering) that no one can prove. "More wealth for the wealthiest and 'austerity' for everyone else" is not such a popular sales pitch, so they must wrap it in a web of lies. And what a tangled web it has become.
Stunning news from every direction. Thank you Heather, for focusing on a President and Vice-President who care about the People. The real people who depend on them to serve the nation with purpose and compassion. I was not a Biden fan, but am now. I think the next election will result in a sweep of Republicans out of office with their hateful and unpopular policies. They have come to this fight with paper straws.....
Earlier on, I had hoped that a younger Democratic candidate would emerge, but one didn't. When I realized that my ONLY objection to Biden's candidacy was his age, and that that single fact did not bother me personally, it only worried me about what other (younger) voters might think. Suddenly I'm over it. He has my full and enthusiastic support. No one solely on the question of Biden's age would turn to Trump as a reasonable alternative. After all, when Biden was a senior in high school, Trump was a freshman. Not a huge difference. Trump shows more evidence of mental deterioration than Biden ever has. The dye job and spray tan are easily seen through to those who actually look.
"Don't interfere with your enemy while he's commiting suicide."
I don't recall the author, (The Art of War?) but I hope Biden's campaign keeps that wisdom in mind.
Democrats and progressive independents must also keep in mind that we must tip the House back to a Democratic majority, and at least keep the Senate majority, though better to increase the Democratic majority there as well.
Republican gaffs, stupidity, indictments, resignations, maybe a SCOTUS resignation, etc. could breed complacency. We must get everyone to the polls in 2024. Nobody stays home on election day.
PS; Thank you, Bernie Sanders for throwing your full, enthusiastic endorsement behind Biden. Had you done the same for Hillary Clinton immediately after she got the nomination in 2016 we would likely be living in a very different world now. I don't think I'm ever going to be able to let go of that grudge.
Democrats - Hopeful, positive, progressive, aiming to better the lot of EVERY American citizen, regardless of ethnic background, skin color, religion. economic background or sexual orientation.
Republicans - Hate - based, irrational adrenaline - driven fearmongers who embrace ignorance, despise progress, hate knowledge, critical thinking & are divisive. I could list more traits of the Party of Trump, but I'd be here well until into the afternoon or later.
It's infuriating that the mainstream media not only ignores Biden's accomplishments, but CONSTANTLY claim "polls" (with out any context) that say that a majority of Americans do not want Biden to run.
If the "news" media insists on using polling 'statistics' then I want to know who conducted the poll, what was the sampling size, how were these folks polled (landline? door-to-door? how?) and how was the question phrased?
I have to admit I'm a bit worried as the next election season approaches. Age is a back-ground issue for Democrats (70% wish there was a younger flag-bearer). This means folks will take a harder look at Harris, as the designated stand-in if the president is incapacitated. Harris has not been highly visible, and has suffered the blows of pundits saying she runs a hostile shop with a revolving door of staff. I'm not in a position to draw judgement, but she hasn't been all that visible to me and I don't have a good grasp of her "presidential" attributes. There isn't any compelling reason to identify someone else; however there are candidates whose record as chief executives have been demonstrated in governorships, so you can infer more easily about their leadership competency. VP is a particularly difficult place to "show leadership" since you're always walking a half-step behind the President and must carefully guard the message so it doesn't seem out of sync with POTUS. Biden has far better soft skills than the Orange Emperor, but he still carries a bigger stick than Harris. How will the White House elevate Harris as heir apparent to bolster the presidential race? I think the tone set by his announcement is masterful; it needs to be followed up by plenty of similar messaging with substance, in stark contrast to what we've observed from the opposing party and it's hooligan leadership.
The thing that strikes me about that video is its promise. Not of "greatness", whatever that might mean, but just plain old happiness. No fear, no hate. Happiness in union. It's beautifully edited - the run forward, laughing, in the quickly cut final shot. I looked at it on YT, and what did the comments say? "Go Brandon". That's all they could find. And then the others began to pile up: "You've got my vote, Joe." "I'll be voting for you, Joe, like I did last time."
Amazing hopeful forward looking picture of America from Biden!
Give Biden a democratic Senate and House, and, among other things, US get the other half of Biden's agenda: i.e., his other infrastructure bill.
I am Gobsmacked by the chump blather about the damage Joe B has done to this country. Will anybody scream “LIAR, LIAR” from the rooftops…. The dystopian crap the repubs generated to hang around Joe’s neck is what they vision for us, and have since chump’s inauguration speech.
Vote blue
Good morning, This is a wonderfully constructed essay. Thank you for assembling all the important points of President Biden’s re-election announcement. He is doing a fine job as POTUS no matter how old he happens to be. We should remember Satchel Page’s reflection, "How would you be if you didn’t know how old you was?"
Biden's "freedom" pitch and the coming political realignment
'As the right retreats from the theme of "freedom," the left sees an opening'
"The Republican retreat from the frame of freedom is a tectonic, under-appreciated shift in American politics. And it may be the start of a profound political realignment. For the first time in a generation, the idea of freedom is not an especially important animating principle for the right. They use the word still, but they are fundamentally about something else now, fundamentally about protecting people from supposedly menacing forces like demographic change and changes to M&Ms and children’s books and “woke” corporations. This is the pitch not of freedom but of the strongman."
https://open.substack.com/pub/anandwrites/p/bidens-freedom-pitch-and-the-coming?r=9kpps&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web
Fascinating contrast of the Biden videos. And the RNC gave us a preview of the increase in "fake" we can expect.
We all have a lot of work to get the turnout we need this time. The work has just begun.