The Bully Pulpit is a core aspect of the Presidency

[Tom Rinaldo]

A few individuals are authorized to pen statements officially ascribed to the President. More can make statements on behalf of "the Administration." But only one person commands the Bully Pulpit. When, and how, he or she uses it constitutes a central element of leadership. Americans listen to the voice of the President, particularly in times of crisis or turmoil, and they have done so in large numbers ever since FDR initiated his fireside chats during the Great Depression. The spoken words of the President, and his or her ability to deliver them with sufficient conviction to persuade even skeptics of their truth and wisdom, can alter the mood of the nation, and the mood of the nation in large part determines the success or failure of critical endeavors, which for this election includes the continued survival of our democracy

The current ability of Joe Biden to project strength and clarity is not inconsequential in regards to his leadership ability. It is highly relevant, particularly during a presidential election year when most voters, if only for a few months, shift their attention partially from their own individual concerns toward those of our nation as a whole. The choices for America must be powerfully articulated, and there is no one in a better position to do so than the President of the United States.

Not all great leaders are great orators. They don't need to be. Their communication skills however should be more than merely adequate, and never far short of that bottom line standard. President Biden failed in that regard during the debate that unofficially launched the 2024 presidential election contest. One can dismiss that as "one bad night" Likewise one could dismiss a stumble at the starting block in the 100 meter dash, during the Olympic trials, as "one bad night" for a sprinter, but that specific "bad night" can be all it takes to eliminate a champion from qualifying for the Olympics.

President Biden has repeatedly demonstrated his ability to effectively deliver prepared remarks using a teleprompter. But it has been 8 months since he held a full unscripted press conference. He also sat for few major media interviews during that same period. That is changing now., with a press conference being held by him tonight, and a prime time TV interview to be broadcast on Monday. i look for strong performances from our President that will allow a significant percentage of the electorate to turn their attention back from concerns over Biden's "fitness" to the dire threat posed to America by the candidacy of Donald Trump.

It is true that Democrats are less than fully united now over who we should now run for President. Whether President Biden stays in the race or ultimately steps aside we will all be unified behind our nominee soon. In the meantime we can little afford to be attacking each other now as insufficiently loyal to the mission at hand, which is to ensure that Donald Trump never sees the inside of the Oval Office again. Those who feel President Biden must run again, those who feel that he shouldn't, and those who are as yet still unsure unanimously agree on that. In a mere matter of weeks we will all be working together toward a Democratic victory in November, unless we allow bitterness generated now to undermine that effort.

.

[ucrdem]

1. Oh please.

Dems are already united. Biden used the bully pulpit for a week to tell cretinous congress critters to STFU, and it worked. There is only one nominee. There is no question of replacing him.

Where have you been?

[Tom Rinaldo]

2. Factually it is clear that not all Dems are currently united

Certainly all Democrats are not all united around a strong conviction that Biden should remain in the race. You may want that to be the case but that doesn't make it true, unless you decide to conceptually throw out of the Party any Democrat, be they voters or elected officials, who don't share your view on the matter.

[ucrdem]

3. Fine, what's your plan B?

[Tom Rinaldo]

5. I have not ruled out "Plan A" yet

I am not calling on Biden to withdraw, but yes that could change if he "continued to have bad nights. " It would take a solidifying conviction that Biden running again would lesson our chances of holding on to the Presidency, and to the Senate, and to doom our chances of winning the House for me to move on to Plan B.

The Best Plan B i can think of, if it came to that, would be for as many leading Democrats to unify behind Kamala Harris as possible to continue the superb record of the Biden/Harris Administration for another four years

For Plan B to be considered things would have to look bleak for Biden; bad internal polling numbers combined with poor fundraising and growing public disease with his public appearances, for example, that started to put Swing States out of reach for us. Were that to become true I would hope some of our esteemed Party leaders, men and women who Joe Biden has known and respected for years, would engage in private discussions with him, with a goal of asking Biden to support his VP seeking the Democratic nomination. Were Biden to flatly refuse at that point, we would have no other option than to back him for reelection no matter how dismal his prospects may have (hypothetically) become.

[ucrdem]

6. He doesn't need to pass any more sniff tests, he just needs run and win.

So far, 15 elected Democrats have publicly called on Biden to step down. NONE have privately discussed this with him in the White House. 34 have publicly supported him, including the leaders of both houses, Schumer and Jeffries, who met yesterday with House and Senate Dems and agreed to do nothing further. No White House meetings, no interventions, no delegations. Biden HAS flatly refused to consider stepping down, publicly, more than once. He published a 2-page letter to that effect. Here's the link with names:

https://www.npr.org/2024/07/05/g-s1-8551/biden-support-tracker

The let's-run-so-and-so show is over I'm afraid. There is no plan B except the one built into the process (basically, VP takes over if President steps down or worse).

[Tom Rinaldo]

7. I apreciate your view and this discussion

While we may not completely agree I am glad to be on the same team with you. We can and will defeat Trump

[ucrdem]

8. Thank you, Tom, and likewise!

Incidentally if you're worried that Joe has forgotten how to use the bully pulpit, here's encouraging evidence that he hasn't (there are longer versions, but they start with ads):

Go Joe!

[democrattotheend]

4. I agree, and I am glad you said it

I've been afraid to say what I really think because of how harshly people get shouted down here about this. FTR, I am not calling for Biden to drop out and I am honestly torn because Joe Biden is a good man, he has been a great president, and based on his governing abilities he absolutely deserves a second term. But like you said, the bully pulpit is an important aspect, and more importantly he can't do any good in a second term if he can't win the election. I agree with you that he needs to do more to put people at ease by having more unscripted events to prove it was just a bad night.

I also agree it does no good to turn on each other, and it also does no good to bury our heads in the sand. The reality is, while I think reports of cognitive decline have been greatly overstated, Joe Biden isn't the same man he used to be. Everyone was glowing about his appearance at the AFL-CIO yesterday, and while he wasn't bad, I was there 16 years ago when he spoke in the lobby of the same AFL-CIO building after a similar meeting with the labor leaders, and he was a lot sharper and more charismatic back then. That doesn't mean he isn't up to the job of being president or that Biden on his worst day isn't still 1,000,000 times better than Trump on his best day, but a big part of me wishes he had decided not to run for reelection and cement his legacy as the man who righted the ship after Trump and then passed the baton to the next generation of leaders of a wonderful inclusive, diverse party. I don't believe he should be forced out by the party elite, but I wish he had come to that conclusion on his own a year ago. I believe his original plan was to only serve one term, and I wish he had stuck to it.