The president has used a specific rhetorical device to tackle thorny issues. Not everyone on his team is sure it’s the most effective approach.
For much of his presidency, Biden has eschewed some of the traditional tools of the bully pulpit — extended news conferences and sit down interviews with major news outlets — in favor of the tentpole address: a speech designed to reframe the debate with a grand statement. He has done so on topics ranging from voting rights to race relations to the future of democracy, and, on Tuesday, antisemitism.
It ain’t because they think it’s better, it’s because Biden can’t handle those sit down interviews and big conferences.
And he doesn’t announce the “tent poles” ahead of time because then protestors from his own voting base show up to protest him.
He can’t even handle the work of campaigning for president…
Term limits and age limits on all political offices please and thank you.
Seriously.
In the thread about Bernie running again, I was surprised so many people claimed to be progressives and happy he’s signing up for another 6 year term…
Like, Bernie is by far my favorite modern day politician, like most political active members of my generation he’s why I became politically active when I did.
It was so weird I honestly couldn’t believe it.
Until I started checking post histories and seeing none of them had progressive comments. They were moderates happy they can use it as an excuse for Biden running.
Bernie is a great example of why term limits should exist tho. Because of the completely normal effects of aging, the last person that often realizes their age is a problem is themselves.
62 year old Bernie would have probably laughed at the suggestion he’d be signing up to be an 88 year old senator. But 82 year old Bernie isn’t capable of realizing how his age effects him.
If it happens to Bernie and RBG, it can happen to any of us. And likely will happen if we’re lucky enough to live that long.
Humans just can’t make the decision on their own that they’re too old. Because of what happens to our brains as we age. It’s just a very gradual change that happens over decades, and that’s hard to notice how much changed.
Sanders is mentally fine though, he’s intellectually flexible and able to keep up with the demands of the job.
The age isn’t the problem in an of itself, it’s the potential negative effects of age and the way that some people get their frame of reference stuck in a different era instead of being able to acknowledge reality in front of them Sanders doesn’t have that problem, Biden does.
Even if you believe that’s true now, you think it will still be true in 5?
The reason the only candidates with “presidential experience” are elderly is the Senate is full of people over retirement age.
It’s a roadblock to younger politicians, who have to wait for “their turn”. And because there’s less spots the higher you go, this isn’t just a federal level problem. People make it as high as they can, and stay in office till the other party wins because our primary system heavily favors incumbents.
And after 20-30 years, voters have likely evolved past those incumbents anyway.
It’s a lot of effects all adding up to make the country significantly more conservative.
It’s not normal to how government leaders this old.
The median age of world leaders is 62.
A full generation younger than most senior members of America’s government.
This shit is not normal anywhere else, and it wasnt here until recently
I might agree if the party politics were different, but the most likely outcome of Sanders vacating would be him being replaced with some right-wing neoliberal type.
Perhaps if there was a progressive candidate waiting in the wings who he could help elevate in his home state as they campaign in their primary that would be another thing, but I don’t know if there actually is someone like that waiting and ready.
Corporate neoliberal clones can be stacked up at a moments notice, genuine progressive public servant types are more rare and it takes a lot of groundwork to get them past the party establishment’s barriers to entry.
I might agree if the party politics were different, but the most likely outcome of Sanders vacating would be him being replaced with some right-wing neoliberal type.
Why would you think that?
Bernie’s state loves him, his endorsement would be a literal golden ticket to his seat…
genuine progressive public servant types are more rare and it takes a lot of groundwork to get them past the party establishment’s barriers to entry.
Do you think Bernie has zero staff and been doing everything his self for decades?
For the reasons I outlined following that. Do you know if there is actually a progressive candidate waiting in the wings? Because if not, it will be a neolib regardless of how much his state loves him.
There needs to be someone for him to endorse before he steps down, not after.
