Boston Globe: Biden was the Admiral Stockdale of this debate

[BeyondGeography]

Former vice president Joe Biden

Grade: D

Biden was the Admiral Stockdale of this debate: who is he and what is he doing here?

Who he is, of course, is the national Democratic frontrunner and the former vice president. But he ended up being a total non-factor in this debate and did nothing to stop the bleeding on his early state poll numbers or his campaign cash.

Biden constantly makes the argument he is the best Democrat to be on the debate stage with Donald Trump. However, he has yet to have a good debate, and in every debate he said something that was just weird, or he had a bad moment.

In Wednesday night’s debate, he was unsteady. He said he had the endorsement of the only African-American woman who was ever elected to the Senate. But there was a second African-American woman elected to the Senate — Kamala Harris — and she was standing on the stage with him.

Then there was his repeated use of the word “punching” when speaking about domestic violence.

Yikes.

https://www.bostonglobe.com/news/politics/2019/11/20/scorecard-grading-debate-performance-democratic-candidates/AFNnlHviWCbvGzoOdp0CmM/story.html?s_campaign=breakingnews:newsletter

[JoeOtterbein]

1. K n R

Sad.

[InAbLuEsTaTe]

29. It IS kinda sad Joe... I think what we saw was the beginning of the end of the Biden campaign.

Bernie/Elizabeth or Elizabeth/Bernie 2020!!
Either way, they're stronger together!!
Welcome to the revolution!!!

[boomer_wv]

71. It's almost as bad as if he'd written...

something like this

A man goes home and masturbates his typical fantasy. A woman on her knees, a woman tied up, a woman abused.

A woman enjoys intercourse with her man — as she fantasizes being raped by 3 men simultaneously.

Of course, we all know who actually wrote this. Right?

[George II]

81. You said that a couple of weeks ago, then Biden surged. Please keep saying it! Thanks.

[emulatorloo]

102. 'This will finally finish Joe Biden, trust me!'

Pundits have been saying that for months. Yet it still hasn’t happened.

[Hortensis]

91. I guess. Beyond COULD have posted someone with the opposite take.

In November the fate of our nation will be determined by a narrow margin -- if it wasn't already in 2014 or 2016. We don't know if we've already had our last genuine election yet. But assuming we didn't, I think it's way past time to realize what's at stake and commit to winning.

Trump, rising fascism and white nationalism, beginnings of ethnic cleansing, massive transfer of wealth and power away from the people, end of progressivism and liberalism in government. And so much more.

That doesn't mean supporting Biden, it means refusing any behavior that would help the Republicans and Russia to try to bring him down. Because he's currently still our top choice and we have to protect our best chance, whoever it is.

[Hassin Bin Sober]

2. Yep. Unfortunately.

[LanternWaste]

53. Nope. Fortunately.

(six of one, half a dozen of the other... and each as without merit as the other)

[NRaleighLiberal]

3. It is the first debate I mostly watched (laptop, WA Post website) - I thought Biden

was in the lower tier as to outcome - Gabbard absolutely worst, then Steyer - then Biden.

Klobuchar, Pete, Kamala, Yang, Booker, Sanders, Harris, and Warren the winners and all pretty close to each other.

[hedda_foil]

4. You skipped Warren entire.

[NRaleighLiberal]

6. sorry - tired! - I edited to add Warren in with the larger group. I didn't think she stood out

tonight. Booker and Klobuchar and Yang really threw it out there tonight, I thought, but I am still currently a Warren supporter and don't see changing.

[BlueMTexpat]

24. I don't see myself

EVER changing in the primaries.

To me, she is far and away the best of the candidates we have. Time will tell whether a majority of primary voters concur with me.

[InAbLuEsTaTe]

30. Love Elizabeth too!! Currently my #2... but I could easily see voting for her

as Elizabeth is clearly the most competent candidate in the group... maybe the most competent Democratic candidate ever!!


Bernie/Elizabeth or Elizabeth/Bernie 2020!!
Either way, they're stronger together!!
Welcome to the revolution!!!

[BlueMTexpat]

60. ...

[Bradshaw3]

5. So we've had what four debates now

And Biden has been either bad or mediocre in all of them? Not a good sign for debating in the GE.

[InAbLuEsTaTe]

31. I have to agree with you there!! I think Joe is done... too many gaffes.

Bernie/Elizabeth or Elizabeth/Bernie 2020!!
Either way, they're stronger together!!
Welcome to the revolution!!!

[Gothmog]

65. What Joe Biden Can't Bring Himself to Say

I was a stutter until about 4th grade. I find these attacks on Biden to be sad. This article about Joe's stuttering really hit home with me. The discussion of the movie The King's Speech was very moving for me.

Link to tweet

In Biden’s office, the first time I bring up his current stuttering, he asks me whether I’ve seen The King’s Speech. He speaks almost mystically about the award-winning 2010 film. “When King George VI, when he stood up in 1939, everyone knew he stuttered, and they knew what courage it took for him to stand up at that stadium and try to speak—and it gave them courage … I could feel that. It was that sinking feeling, like—oh my God, I remember how you felt. You feel like, I don’t know … almost like you’re being sucked into a black hole.”

Presidential candidates usually don’t speak about their bleakest moments, certainly not this viscerally. It resembles the way Biden writes in his memoir about the aftermath of the 1972 car accident that killed his first wife and young daughter and critically injured his two sons, Beau and Hunter: “I could not speak, only felt this hollow core grow in my chest, like I was going to be sucked inside a black hole.”

A few weeks later, I ask Jill Biden what she remembers about sitting next to her husband during the movie. “It was one of those moments in a marriage where you just sort of understand without words being spoken,” she says.

As he watched The King’s Speech, Biden accurately guessed that the screenwriter, David Seidler, was a stutterer. “He showed me a copy of a speech they found in an attic that the king had actually used, where he marks his—it’s exactly what I do!” Biden tells me, his voice lifting. “My staff, when I have them put something on a prompter—I wish I had something to show you.”

I agree with Joe that it would be difficult for trump to use Joe's stutter against him

In Biden’s office, as my time is about to run out, I bring up the fact that Trump crudely mocked a disabled New York Times reporter during the 2016 campaign. “So far, he’s called you ‘Sleepy Joe.’ Is ‘St-St-St-Stuttering Joe’ next?”

“I don’t think so,” Biden says, “because if you ask the polls ‘Does Biden stutter? Has he ever stuttered?,’ you’d have 80 to 95 percent of people say no.” If Trump goes there, Biden adds, “it’ll just expose him for what he is.”

I ask Biden something else we’ve been circling: whether he worries that people would pity him if they thought he still stuttered.

He scratches his chin, his fingers trembling slightly. “Well, I guess, um, it’s kind of hard to pity a vice president. It’s kind of hard to pity a senator who’s gotten six zillion awards. It’s kind of hard to pity someone who has had, you know, a decent family. I-I-I-I don’t think if, now, if someone sits and says, ‘Well, you know, the kid, when he was a stutterer, he must have been really basically stupid,’ I-I-I don’t think it’s hard to—I’ve never thought of that. I mean, there’s nobody in the last, I don’t know, 55 years, has ever said anything like that to me.”

This is an issue that I have strong feelings about.

[treestar]

78. Why?

The debates only count for so much, especially in the primaries.

You don't really think the Dotard is going to do well in the debates, do you?

[TexasTowelie]

7. They gave Klobuchar an A-.

She was clearly trembling throughout the debate and while she gave good answers, it is difficult to put her up at the top. I disagree with most of the rankings on most of the Boston Globe's scorecard.

[BeyondGeography]

10. Agree on the trembling

I’m surprised more people haven’t picked up on that.

[Merlot]

13. She sounded to me like she was about to cry

I wasn't sure if it were just an accent, or distinct way of speaking. I didn't see it as coming from nervousness.

[BeyondGeography]

14. Seems a lot of people noticed

[torius]

15. I thought a fan was blowing on her hair

Making it look like she was shaking, but it seemed to only be on the front of her hair. Not sure though. Her voice sounded fine.

[C_U_L8R]

26. Seemed more neurological than nervous.

Not wanting to guess but something is very visible. Has she said anything about it?

[The Blue Flower]

27. It looked like a tremor to me

But I don't see it this morning on Morning Joe.

[InAbLuEsTaTe]

32. I would give AK a B-... a solid B had it not been for the trembling.

Bernie/Elizabeth or Elizabeth/Bernie 2020!!
Either way, they're stronger together!!
Welcome to the revolution!!!

[Hav]

48. I wondered what it was

Was it really trembling? I thought it was only because of that part of the hair above her left eye in that unstable position moving more because of how it was styled. That's the only thing I noticed as it was a bit distracting.

[Green Line]

8. The Globe is constantly anti Biden

I have a subscription, they post Warren puff pieces every day.

[BeyondGeography]

12. So is Essence, I guess

See Joe Biden, who struggled immediately to sustain basic coherence when answering a question. I know many of your elder kin love this man because he’s friends with Barack Obama, but seriously, enough. Donald Trump is a damn fool, but he is a lot quicker than this man. See Biden responding to a question about male violence against women with the following tone deaf comment: “We have to keep punching at it, and punching at it, and punching at it.”

Or that odd comment he made about coming out of the Black community. He tripped over his words, which is not exactly a new hobby of Biden, but one that’s worsening with time. His stumbles only increased as time went on in this debate. That’s why I laugh at Biden’s claims that Trump’s Ukraine scandal serves a testament to the assertion that he is the most formidable Democrat seeking the nomination. Someone needs to stop confusing an easy target with being the hardest to defeat.

If they really wanted to scare Trump, they’d nominate a woman. But to his point, he does command a huge portion of the Black vote so we may be stuck with him. Please convince your relatives next week to save me from this. Since the Democratic establishment, in all its continued uselessness, can’t.

https://www.essence.com/articles/atlanta-democratic-debates/

[InAbLuEsTaTe]

33. That comment Joe made about coming out of the black community was stunning!!

Another day, another gaffe... oh well.


Bernie/Elizabeth or Elizabeth/Bernie 2020!!
Either way, they're stronger together!!
Welcome to the revolution!!!

[redqueen]

36. Ouch nt

[Hav]

51. Biden had a bad night and he looked tired the whole time

except for the end of his closing statement.
He could have worded many things better but he said that he's coming out of the Black community in terms of his support which is true. Far from the best way to put it but this is one of the points taken out of context and blown up unfairly.

[InAbLuEsTaTe]

70. Yes, by far Joe's worst debate performance.

Bernie/Elizabeth or Elizabeth/Bernie 2020!!
Either way, they're stronger together!!
Welcome to the revolution!!!

[Demsrule86]

43. More Warren supporters in the media...they obviously didn't watch the same debate I did...I thought

she was weak last night...and Biden had the best closing statement.

[The Valley Below]

9. Good lord.

Biden is pulling away and those left in the dust think it is a good idea to crap on the clear leader of the party.

Insane!

[TidalWave46]

23. Biden isn't the leader of the party.

He isn’t even an elected official nor does he hold any prominent role.

Chances are pretty good that he will be the leader of the party.

[Demsrule86]

44. Sliming the probable nominee is a bad idea unless you want four more years of Trump.

[TidalWave46]

46. Don't agree with you about the Trump part....

But I do agree that "sliming" the probable nominee is a bad idea.

[Demsrule86]

54. Most polls show Trump above 40%. He has to win three states...WI, MI and PA.

He could do it. And we simply must not allow this to happen.

[TidalWave46]

55. I don't think we will "allow" it to happen.

We have an excellent field of contenders. The front runner is solid and very little is moving his numbers. If that holds he will be in excellent shape. A start to finish lead is a great thing. In the end the winner of our primary is going to eliminate Trump.

[Demsrule86]

58. I agree...we have great candidates...and in any other election, I would not worry so much. But

not all of them will win a GE...Biden can win the Mid West and help with the Senate...I see no other candidate who will do this. And they are fine people. I would vote for any of them...but where we need the votes is problematic. Biden is our best shot.

[DavidDvorkin]

11. That's absurd

He did okay.

[stonecutter357]

16. good let's go Joe !

[Lizzie Boredom]

17. Senator Harris' mother is Indian and her father Jamaican

How does that make her African?

Also, Kamala is a Hindu name. I'm no supporter of Biden's, but on this point (African-American Senator) he was not wrong.

[WePurrsevere]

20. Boston Globe was revealing their own bias & assumptions...

You, OTOH, are correct and welcome to DU.

[TidalWave46]

22. For the most part, the term AA has morphed into something much larger.

It’s about how society views someone when they walk out their front door. I find it to be fully acceptable as the term has always had a life of its own.

[InAbLuEsTaTe]

35. Agree with you there.

Bernie/Elizabeth or Elizabeth/Bernie 2020!!
Either way, they're stronger together!!
Welcome to the revolution!!!

[mcar]

25. Yeah, like how Barack Obama isn't really

a black American bc his mother was white and father was African, right?

I remember certain groups making that absurd claim once upon a time.

[Demsrule86]

45. Obama's father was born in Africa...Apparently which I didn't know as I could care a less...

Kamala's has Indian and Jamaican parents...and a big who cares.

[Lizzie Boredom]

62. Non sequitur

Your post is not really worthy of a reply since you claim something that's in no way possible to infer from my post.

Obama is absolutely black. So is Harris, if she identifies as such. But she is not African. African is not synonymous with black, and African is no more an ethnicity than "American" is. These points are self-evident and shouldn't even have to be made, unless one is willfully obtuse.

Enough with the semantics. The main point is, Biden was right. And anyone claiming otherwise is just being disingenuous and playing politics.

[mcar]

64. Many Jamaicans came to that island as African slaves

So she has the right to self-identify as African American or black. I don't think it is appropriate for anyone else to make that judgment for her.

[Lizzie Boredom]

90. Harris' ancestors weren't slaves

She's a descendant on her father's side of an Irish slave owner who moved to Jamaica and founded a town there. He owned scores of slaves, but most of them Creole and not African. This according to Harris' own dad, who has Irish ancestry on both his maternal and paternal side. So, even calling Kamala Harris Irish-American is more correct than African-American. Having a little more melanin in your complexion than whites isn't enough to make you African. Having relatively immediate African ancestry makes you African. Otherwise the whole world is African, since humanity originated there.

The seeming obsession here with making everyone with a darker shade than a white sheet out to be African is a bit weird, and frankly insulting to people of color who are not African. Last I heard, Senator Harris identifies as Indian-American. If she also identifies as African-American, nobody is hurt by it for sure. But why isn't it appropriate to question? If I identify as a banana, will you blindly accept it without proof?

The point is, again, that Biden was right, and this whole thing is a complete non-story and just a politically motivated attack.

[StarfishSaver]

94. Telling a black woman how she should identify herself is beneath Democrats. Leave the whitesplaining

to bigots and Republicans.

[Lizzie Boredom]

95. Who's doing that?

And what do you know about my ethnicity to assume I'm whitesplaining?

Senator Harris is seemingly quite proud of her Indian heritage, having spoken about it many times. If she also identifies as African, did she object when Biden spoke about the only African-American senator?

In fact, has she spoken at all about being African? I find instances of her speaking about blackness and being black, but not claiming to be African-American. Can you point me to one such instance please? Or are you trying to ascribe something to her that she's not even claiming herself, just because you too conflate "African" and "black"? Seems a bit whitesplainy to me if so.

[StarfishSaver]

99. You are

And then you doubled down and did it again in greater detail in case anyone missed it the first time.

[Lizzie Boredom]

106. So, no answers to my questions, then

You just assume Senator Harris' ethnicity for her because it fits your narrative. How respectful of you to 'splain the "facts".

[StarfishSaver]

107. You're mighty confrontational for one here only 4 days and just eeking past a single-digit postcount

Harris' ethnicity is obviously something you feel very strongly about.

[treestar]

105. She was the little girl Biden tried to stop busing

though I suppose black people were not the only minorities, but busing seemed to mainly be about improving education for black children.

[tonedevil]

98. I wish you were correct...

about how low Democrats might go, but several threads on this board show me your hope is optimistic.

[StarfishSaver]

100. Indeed

[treestar]

104. How many generations?

She could still have a lot of African ancestry if the Irishman married a black woman and so on down the line.

[R B Garr]

40. +1. Not to mention that she didn't become Senator until 2016, after Obama/Biden

left office in 2016. Obviously Biden wasn't talking about her nor did he omit her since she wasn't there at the time anyway.
It's absurd she made that about herself.

[treestar]

79. This one does not float - Jamaica is like 98% black

and their ancestors come from Africa. The USA is not the only country in the Americas with a history of slavery. The Caribbean has tons of black people and they are all AA.

[Cuthbert Allgood]

80. Wow. You might want to walk that back.

If you are making a claim that Harris isn't African-American because her most recent ancestor comes from Jamaica, that sounds horrible.

[StarfishSaver]

93. Wow. That's a ridiculous claim

Even Biden doesn't believe that.

"I said FIRST! I said FIRST African-American female senator!"

Biden made a mistake. Why are Biden supporters twisting themselves into knots pretending he didn't? It only makes the supporters look silly and it doesn't make their candidate look very strong if he needs that kind of defense.

[R B Garr]

97. Why are you twisting into knots by trying to change what

he said. I didn’t see him changing what he said because he didn’t need to. He added a polite addendum but what he said was correct. Harris and Cory were ready to pounce since they wanted to diminish his support with African American voters.

He was honoring CMB by saying she had been the first AA female Senator.

She had been the only elected Senator means
she was the first Senator. It doesn’t mean she was the only Senator. He didn’t correct himself out of error because he wasn’t wrong.

If you have to browbeat people with these biased interpretations, it means there wasn’t much there to begin with.

I’m more disgusted with Harris for making a nice tribute to CMB about herself in a mistaken way. Now we are reminded that Biden swore Harris in as an Indian-American, so he wasn’t wrong.

[Raine]

18. Biden isn't my pick but

I think that's really harsh, I thought he held his own.

[Eugene]

19. I remember the 1992 Food Fight Debate and Joe Biden is no James Stockdale.

Yes, Joe Biden made a jaw dropping gaffe, but we know what he was trying to say. It's not a big f---ing deal.

[InAbLuEsTaTe]

37. No, not a big deal... but it is an indication that Joe has trouble expressing his thoughts.

I just don't think Joe is the best candidate to take on tRumpty Dumbpty.


Bernie/Elizabeth or Elizabeth/Bernie 2020!!
Either way, they're stronger together!!
Welcome to the revolution!!!

[Demsrule86]

52. Again...perhaps you need to read up on Stockdale...as a Navy Brat, I know the man is a hero...so

so please stop with this. You could put the entire staff of the Boston Globe in a room and they are not worth one hair on Admiral Stockdale's head...he was a fine man and a credit to the Navy and our country. Biden should wear the comparison as a badge of honor.

"When told by his captors that he was to be paraded in public, Stockdale slit his scalp with a razor to purposely disfigure himself so that his captors could not use him as propaganda. When they covered his head with a hat, he beat himself with a stool until his face was swollen beyond recognition. When Stockdale was discovered with information that could implicate his friends' "black activities", he slit his wrists so they could not torture him into confession.[12] During the course of his captivity, due to torture, his leg was broken twice."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Stockdale

[TidalWave46]

21. Seeing they gave Klobuchar an A- tell me this piece is bunk.

Klobuchar is one of my favorites but on appearance she absolutely bombed. This author is smoking the good shit.

[ritapria]

28. Biden had some shaky moments but

The voters don't seem to give a shit ……….His standing in the national polls seems solid …...As a Bernie supporter I wish Joe's numbers would fall but it doesn't seems like it's going to happen …….These debates have had little effect on voter preferences because there are too many people on stage …..No one is getting enough time to stand out from the crowd ….. Will we ever have debate with just the Top 6 or 7 candidates ? …. For example , I've heard enough from Steyer and Gabbard ...Please Go Guys

[InAbLuEsTaTe]

38. I agree... it's way past time to jettison the second and third tier candidates from the debate stage

Bernie/Elizabeth or Elizabeth/Bernie 2020!!
Either way, they're stronger together!!
Welcome to the revolution!!!

[cwydro]

34. I hit a paywall when I went to read it.

Darn.

[Alex Blaine Layder]

39. fake email gets through

what i hit was a demand for an email subscription. "[e-mail]" got me past that.

[cwydro]

41. Hey, good idea!

I’m paranoid about that though; i think my computer knows everything about me.

[highplainsdem]

42. BS.

[Demsrule86]

47. I would also add that no matter what...party or no party...Admiral Stockdale was a war hero who was

viciously tortured by the enemy so I find the Boston Globe is attacking not only Biden but the Admiral as well and it makes me sick to see this fine man attacked like this. And Biden did not appear like the Admiral...anyway.

But you know what anyone who attacks a war hero who was tortured and injured for serving his country can pound sand for all I care...disgusting. My Dad served in the Navy and so did my Mom-an officer and a nurse who served proudly...I was born at Great Lakes...My Dad was a medic attached to a marine unit during Korea and Vietnam ( I was born late in his life)...He was the greatest man I ever knew (except my husband who is amazing and my son ditto). I don't take kindly to those those who attack American heroes...for shame Boston Globe. you just demonstrated how much you suck and you do Warren no favors IMHO.

[Demsrule86]

49. Fuck you Boston Globe and I am sure Biden will be proud to be compared to an American hero like

Stockdale...

"When told by his captors that he was to be paraded in public, Stockdale slit his scalp with a razor to purposely disfigure himself so that his captors could not use him as propaganda. When they covered his head with a hat, he beat himself with a stool until his face was swollen beyond recognition. When Stockdale was discovered with information that could implicate his friends' "black activities", he slit his wrists so they could not torture him into confession.[12] During the course of his captivity, due to torture, his leg was broken twice."

In closing, fuck you again Boston Globe. For shame.

[The Valley Below]

72. I did not know these things about Admiral Stockdale.

What a badass. Respect. And thanks for sharing.

[Demsrule86]

73. Every navy brat has heard of Admiral Stockdale...and the person who wrote this article

and the Boston Globe are a disgrace. Fuck them all. And thanks! The man saved the lives of other prisoners too...he is an American hero and should not be treated in this manner. I would have deleted the OP if I could.

[The Valley Below]

75. I read up more about Admiral Stockdale after reading your post.

I must admit my previous ignorance of the man, and how--as with many--he was defined my "the moment" in my mind.

I now see that caricature is grossly unfair. He was a man of intellect and honor.

My sincere thanks for helping raise my consciousness.

[Demsrule86]

77. Thank you for taking the time to read about this American hero...he deserves better than to

be held up as an object of ridicule by the Boston Glob and some here. I would bet Joe knows the truth and will say he is proud but not worthy to be compared to this great man who was well loved by the troops.

[myohmy2]

50. I don't know...

...Joe's a great guy but is he the right guy right now?

...Joe's proclivity to gaffe and step on his own message is problematic to say the least...as the nominee, it will be our message...

...we've got a war ahead of us with trump and the republicans and I'm not sure Joe's up to the task...

...yes, I'm a Bernie supporter and I'm biased but nonetheless, it's something to think about and consider...

...we've got a lot riding on 2020...

[earthside]

56. It is true.

I feel for Joe Biden ... the presidency is something he has aspired to probably for most of his life.

But time has run out, just as it does for all of us human beings.

[Demsrule86]

74. It just sucks being the front runner and all...oh well I guess those in the single digits are the

lucky ones...

[Demsrule86]

57. Every time I read the title of this thread, it makes me sick. Again He was a hero...just horrible.

[Unclephil]

59. Every candidates has certain negative factors

Warren- Harvard, academia, Massachusetts- you couldn't draw up a candidate that the GOP would want to run against more- She defines every negative possible.

Bernie- Negative from multiple ways. He is a bit condescending and hits every negative of an ethnic new yorker.

Biden- long in the tooth

Harris- California

Klobachar wonderfully bright but just a dull.

Pete- 38

Just think who has the best chance in PA, WN and MN

[brooklynite]

61. BASHING!!!

At least, that's what I was told posting anything negative about Biden would be...

[Demsrule86]

76. I think you are talking about my post...and I said posting multiple nasty articles about Biden was

bashing and it is...why not post positive articles about Mayor Pete? It is very likely that Biden will be the nominee, and we should not give the GOP ammunition against him. Please note, while I opine about election chances IE who can win, I post about issues (not a fan of M4A). Also, I post positive articles about Biden, I do not post negative articles about other candidates...I did once or twice after the first debate (Kamala Harris) and I regret this. We need to consider that one of these folks will be our nominee.

[Gothmog]

63. @JoeBiden 's Support Increases Post Debate According to new 538/ @Ipsos Poll

Link to tweet

[UniteFightBack]

66. Sorry he's not losing as much support as you would like but I saw his town hall and he kicked

fucking ass.

[Calof]

67. Top Massachusetts newspaper criticizes Warren's main opponent

Didn't see that coming

[Gothmog]

68. Eugene Robinson-"sounded authoritative in a way that showed his experience and his stature as Vice P

Link to tweet

[MustLoveBeagles]

69. ...

[Gothmog]

82. "Stuttering can feel like a series of betrayals. Your body betrays you when it refuses to work in co

Link to tweet

[BeyondGeography]

83. I assume Joe had this problem in 2012 when he positively annihilated Paul Ryan in a debate

and nobody was talking about his stuttering afterward.

[The Valley Below]

84. And watch closely when Biden annihilates Trump.

Joe doesn't use his super-powers on fellow Democrats.

[BeyondGeography]

85. I definitely think that's part of the problem

But he didn't have this issue in 2008 either when he was one of the best debaters in the D primary.

[Gothmog]

87. Joe has had this issue his entire life

Joe has worked very hard to overcome this issue

[BeyondGeography]

89. It didn't get in the way of his debate performances

He's 77 years old, he's human and he is underperforming in these debates relative to what we've seen in the past. This isn't a plot to undermine Biden, it's a valid observation.

[The Valley Below]

88. I don't recall Joe Biden trying to annihilate Barack Obama (or HRC)

Which is part of why he ended up as Vice President.

He shows fellow Democrats the respect they deserve and isn't looking to make cheap shots.

That makes him presidential. The American people see that clearly.

[Gothmog]

86. Biden has been open about stuttering for a long time

Here is a 2010 episode of the View

[Gothmog]

92. Here are great comments by Joe Biden on this article

Link to tweet

[BeyondGeography]

96. This wasn't covered in-depth until now. Why?

[Gothmog]

103. I knew about this back when Joe ran in 1988 and 2008

This has always been part of his bio. This has never been a secret

[tirebiter]

101. Are there new numbers out?

Someone must feel threatened by Biden to throw this up again. Guess it didn't stick to the ceiling the first time.

[Gothmog]

108. According to Nate Silver, Joe Biden leads in three of the first four states

Link to tweet