Joe Biden

[SallyMae]

I do not actually ❤ Joe Biden. He is an institutional Democrat with a lot of privilege, and is part of the Clinton 'third way' political dynasty. I was not expecting a lot at first, and even so was disappointed, by the botched exit from Afghanistan and by legislative deadlock.

However several things have happened which have improved my views of Biden.

1. Getting the infrastructure and climate bills. For the first time, the United States is making a meaningful recognition of climate change and what causes it. The country is suffering from underinvestment in everything that matters, from education to health to infrastructure to changing our power systems. These bills are vital first steps and important accomplishments.

2. Leading in Ukraine. The system of alliances and sanctions that are preventing Russia from conquering Ukraine depend on a united front and Biden is the head of that alliance. His team is doing a credible job of keeping the pressure up.

3. Challenging the Washington Consensus. Presidents from Reagan forward, including Democrats, have subscribed to mass privatization, 'trickle-down' or supply-side economics. It's not working - the millionaires have become multi-billionaires and have a much greater share of the world's wealth than ever, while everyone else has stagnated or slipped.

Biden recently stated that he is done with trickle-down economics and wants an economy built "from the bottom up and the middle out." That's the kind of economy that lifted the standard of living for most in the United States to middle class in the 50s & 60s. It's a public/private partnership with strong emphasis on public education and good jobs. If Biden makes significant strides in creating demand for this kind of economy, his presidency will be pivotal.

4. Addressing the rising tide of authoritarianism. Right-wing Christian nationalism is gaining political traction in Europe. Sweden just elected a large number of hard right "former neo-Nazis". Italy is in the process of electing the first far-right government since WWII. Orbán in Hungary, Erdoğan in Turkey, Bolsonaro in Brazil, and Trump in the U.S. are all using the same tactics - scapegoating, Big Lie grievances, and promises to return to a former age of glory.

This movement is rising on economic stagnation and is a threat to systems of self-government all over the globe. Very few other world leaders have called this out for the threat it is, but Biden has. If he puts America in the lead for fighting against this tide, with economic realism and by standing for public good, he will be a force the world needs right now. Presidents can't ask for too much more than that.

[DSamuels]

He does not, that was made up by the NRA.

It was not. I literally watched him say it.

How do you square Biden being too stupid and senile to manage being president with the notion that every thing he says should he taken at face value?

99.99% of what he says is read off a teleprompter, or off the notecards he is given by someone.

[DSamuels]

And he’s doing such a damn good job of it by insulting and vilifying about 1/2 the population of the US. Go Joe!

President Biden is trying to unify the country whereas Trump divided us.

Not so great, but better than the last president.

How so?

Do you have a lot of money?

[WellPreserved]

And he’s doing such a damn good job of it by insulting and vilifying about 1/2 the population of the US. Go Joe!

President Biden is trying to unify the country whereas Trump divided us.

How so?

Do you have a lot of money?

More like 20% of the population. Do you think Biden would have won over that 20% if he hadn't "insulted" them?

[DSamuels]

And he’s doing such a damn good job of it by insulting and vilifying about 1/2 the population of the US. Go Joe!

President Biden is trying to unify the country whereas Trump divided us.

More like 20% of the population. Do you think Biden would have won over that 20% if he hadn't "insulted" them?

Only 20% of the population voted for Trump? Hmm, then Biden should have won by a much larger margin if 80% voted for him.

Honestly, I am surprised Biden got as many votes as he did. I think a lot of them were votes against Trump and not for Biden, the same way Trump won by getting the not Hillary votes.

[WellPreserved]

And he’s doing such a damn good job of it by insulting and vilifying about 1/2 the population of the US. Go Joe!

More like 20% of the population. Do you think Biden would have won over that 20% if he hadn't "insulted" them?

Only 20% of the population voted for Trump? Hmm, then Biden should have won by a much larger margin if 80% voted for him.

Honestly, I am surprised Biden got as many votes as he did. I think a lot of them were votes against Trump and not for Biden, the same way Trump won by getting the not Hillary votes.

Okay, I'm not great at math but I know that 66% of eligible voters voted in the 2020 election and only 47% of those voters voted for Trump so what percentage would that be?

[Lemons]

The 9mm is a handgun round.

Oh. Then if he can get that done he's made a difference in this country. But based on the fringe Republican crazies I doubt it can be done.

I'm not a fringe republican and I don't want the 9 banned. A problem is magazine size, imo. You're going to be hard pressed to get those restricted.

I meant the one that refuse to even think about removing any guns from the country even the ones that have only one use, that’s to kill people.

[Lemons]

If he was liberal he would be planning an elimination of handguns too

The 9mm is a handgun round.

The only reply i could give that was "ummm..."

I intended to say it was only the most popular handgun there is, but why bother. She'd I just spin another direction.

Why is it so popular? Oh never mind, I get it. They started making small guns that could hold larger bullets. The larger the bullet the more likely the kill. People with guns don’t just want to defend themselves, they want to kill.

[DSamuels]

More like 20% of the population. Do you think Biden would have won over that 20% if he hadn't "insulted" them?

Only 20% of the population voted for Trump? Hmm, then Biden should have won by a much larger margin if 80% voted for him.

Honestly, I am surprised Biden got as many votes as he did. I think a lot of them were votes against Trump and not for Biden, the same way Trump won by getting the not Hillary votes.

Okay, I'm not great at math but I know that 66% of eligible voters voted in the 2020 election and only 47% of those voters voted for Trump so what percentage would that be?

So you think he is insulting less than 1/2 (47%) of 66% which would be less than 33% of voters. Gotcha. You’re just counting voters. The way Biden and some democrats talk about Trump voters there are some who just don’t want to deal with people like that. That leads some to think the number is higher, some to think it’s much lower.

Only one thing is that both candidates got the highest numbers of votes ever. Biden got more votes than Obama. Biden 81.2 million and Trump 74.2 million.

No matter what numbers you use the way Biden has been talking about republicans lately, who are more than 20% of the population, is anything but unifying.

[WellPreserved]

Only 20% of the population voted for Trump? Hmm, then Biden should have won by a much larger margin if 80% voted for him.

Honestly, I am surprised Biden got as many votes as he did. I think a lot of them were votes against Trump and not for Biden, the same way Trump won by getting the not Hillary votes.

Okay, I'm not great at math but I know that 66% of eligible voters voted in the 2020 election and only 47% of those voters voted for Trump so what percentage would that be?

So you think he is insulting less than 1/2 (47%) of 66% which would be less than 33% of voters. Gotcha. You’re just counting voters. The way Biden and some democrats talk about Trump voters there are some who just don’t want to deal with people like that. That leads some to think the number is higher, some to think it’s much lower.

Only one thing is that both candidates got the highest numbers of votes ever. Biden got more votes than Obama. Biden 81.2 million and Trump 74.2 million.

No matter what numbers you use the way Biden has been talking about republicans lately, who are more than 20% of the population, is anything but unifying.

I think we are well beyond unifying. How would that even work?