"We shouldn't be talking about Trump because he'll never win. Let's talk about Biden's possible run." Your very serious media.
— Jeet Heer (@HeerJeet) August 3, 2015
I’d forgotten which “reporter” had her fingerprints on this old hit piece…
That time Maureen Dowd destroyed Joe Biden's presidential hopes http://t.co/rj4rgtzEr9
— Paul Blumenthal (@PaulBlu) August 2, 2015
… On this side of the Atlantic, many Presidential campaign strategists of both parties greatly admired the way it portrayed Mr. Kinnock, who subsequently lost to Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, as a man of character. Senator Joseph R. Biden Jr. of Delaware, a Democratic hopeful, was particularly taken with it.
So taken, in fact, that he lifted Mr. Kinnock’s closing speech with phrases, gestures and lyrical Welsh syntax intact for his own closing speech at a debate at the Iowa State Fair on Aug. 23 – without crediting Mr. Kinnock…
… Which sets the gilded frame around Dowd’s vile weekend fanfic of a dying Beau Biden imploring his dad to save us from the dreaded Hillary: The important question, for MoDo and her enablers, is not Is this true? or If true, is it important? The important question is: Will this get me style points at the next Beltway party?
And — once again — it worked! For Maureen, at least!
Flashback to mid-July, when Draft Biden reported raising just $78k in the second quarter http://t.co/aN8Si2u4dA
— Gabriel Debenedetti (@gdebenedetti) August 3, 2015
Clintonites decline to wear anxiety on their sleeve re Biden, via @Annie karni http://t.co/aEZXG3gV0L
— Maggie Haberman (@maggieNYT) August 2, 2015
She’s the new Queen of the Cocktail Weenies!
Back in the real world, Nate Silver is depressingly sensible…
Joe Biden's running what you might call a Schrödinger’s Cat campaign, neither wholly in the race or wholly out of it. http://t.co/RJSWBasix0
— Nate Silver (@NateSilver538) August 3, 2015
Sure, Joe Biden has every right to run for President in 2016, and there are people who very badly want him to run in 2016… some of them not even in the anyone-but-HER or GOP-ratfvckers or purity-pony demographics. Whether he wants to run, or whether he could get enough votes if he did run, that’s a separate issue entirely.
Right now, as Fivethirtyeight makes clear, Biden’s the best possible “insurance policy” for the Democrats. If something happens to Hillary (a lightning strike, some crazed stalker at a campaign event outmaneuvers the Secret Service), we’ve got a tested candidate ready to roll against whatever loon or empty suit eventually claws to the front of the Republican clown car. Otherwise, Joe can keep promoting President Obama’s agenda, serving as a voice of reason (and wit!) in the Senate, and generally reap the well-deserved rewards of a lifetime of public service.
And if I thought Maureen Dowd retained any semblance of the sense of shame the nuns of her Catholic childhood worked to inculcate in her, I’d warn her she should retire before she turns into the next-gen Peggy Noonan.
RaflW
Just because it’s more fun to watch twitter than the crappy TV forum:
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@RaflW: Sam Stein has a good live-tweet of whatever that is that’s going on
RaflW
Too late. The Denver pot story was probably her turning point.
dmsilev
@RaflW: And I trust you mean that the answers are reminiscent of this classic:
Jim, Foolish Literalist
Susan Collins said earlier today, or at least was quoted as saying, she was gonna vote against defunding PP
ETA: Mark Kirk voted against defunding, cause he’s up for reelection
dmsilev
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: Assuming anyone actually asks her, she’ll probably use the standard weasel excuse about how voting for cloture and voting against the underlying issue are two Completely Different things.
RaflW
@dmsilev: Yep. Or this tidbit:
When asked about her feelings on making euthanasia a legal practice, 2012’s contestant Leah Cecil of California responded:
“That’s one of the things I’m not educated on so I need to look up on what that means … but I do know that’s a vaccine.”
RaflW
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: She voted to allow a vote, which seems close to being against it before she was for it, or vise versa. Or something.
Gin & Tonic
Probably giving this more thought than it deserves, but it seems to me there’s a very small set of people who know what Beau Biden said to his father when he was dying, and none of them are Maureen Fucking Dowd.
JPL
So I guess the mini debate in NH was polite towards one another, according to Rachel. I assume that is the way Fox will keep it. I think Thursday is gonna be a bust. Obama bad, Hillary bad, let’s reclaim our country.
Cacti
@Jim, Foolish Literalist:
But I’m sure she agonized over what to do before voting the party line.
Cuz that’s just the kind of bold, bipartisan Senator she is.
smintheus
Democrats don’t want a coronation; polls are clear on that. And from the nominee’s perspective, a contested primary involves voters and donors more avidly while tuning up the campaign apparatus and sharpening the candidate’s pitch. An entry by Biden would be a windfall for whomever emerges as the nominee.
RaflW
@smintheus: In theory I agree, but tactically Biden should stay out, for now. Obama is on a roll, and Biden needs to do his Veep job of laying low. The WH is on message (the recent fukit/mic drops are sweet) and Biden stepping out on the former Obama SOS is just what the lazy pricks in the press want.
Tree With Water
Then again, a lot of things can happen between now and 2016, because unlike past years democrats don’t have a field of current candidates in the mix. If lighting indeed strikes, Biden might well be struck.
JDM
We’ve got a really nice spare – same high quality tires as the rest the the limo, whilst the GOP clown car is running on a full set of those temporary spares that are bald to boot, and decidedly underinflated. They’re using those because the spares they’ve got crammed into the trunk are even worse.
Heliopause
Don’t be so sure that Nate Silver doesn’t have some reverse MoDo Mojo. The last two times he wrote about Trump he trashed him as a troll and a fraud, and naturally Trump’s poll numbers subsequently jumped.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
Good Christ, Republicans are the party of ideas and the future and jobs, jobs, jobs.
So Lindsey Graham brought up Bill Clinton’s…. blow jobs.
RaflW
@JDM: They’re using those because the spares they’ve got
crammed into the trunkfrom their crony contractor friends are even worse.Edited for GOP reality.
RaflW
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: I am thinking cruel and unkind thoughts about Lindsey and why presidential blowjobs get him angry.
eta: I think I need to step away from the computer and enjoy a bit of fresh air (and this gorgeous week in MN it really is fresh). See y’all in a bit.
JPL
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: According to Vitter those are real jobs, plus in his case think about the diaper manufacturers. Those are jobs, also.
smintheus
@RaflW: There’s no reason why Biden would need to go negative. If you fear a negative primary campaign against Clinton, you don’t want Webb granted prominence in debates as one of her only ‘legitimate’ rivals.
Jeffro
This is the thing about Biden that I think most people beside Dowd get: he is indeed the Democratic party’s backup if something happens to Hillary. She’s THAT much of a heir apparent and he’s THAT much of a party uniter. He’s like a transition Veep from now until November 2016.
On a side note, anyone who inflates, exaggerates, hypes, or otherwise puts out there whatever they heard 5th-hand about what Beau Biden said to his dad just before Beau passed away…that’s pitiful. They deserve a nice Christie punch in the face for that.
Chris T.
Relevant: http://www.smbc-comics.com/index.php?id=3817
Wag
I think Jpe would be huge assess as VP for President Sanders.
Dolly Llama
I wish he’d get in. He’d have one vote in the primary, at least.
Cacti
@Wag:
Yeah, no.
JPL
Earlier I mentioned that I thought the candidate would be Walker, but I guess his debt makes Rubio look good.
This was on Business Insider..
One of the debts is via Barclays and is estimated to be between $10,000 and $15,000. The interest rate on the debt is 27.24%.Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/scott-walker-has-tens-of-thousands-of-dollars-worth-of-credit-card-debt-2015-8#ixzz3ho6p0ap3
I might mention that your credit really sucks if your interest rate is 27.24 percent…
Wag
@Cacti:
That was meant to be Joe, not Jpe. F***ing iPhone.
RK
I’m looking forward to Joe asking another wheelchair bound man to stand up.
Tree With Water
@Dolly Llama: Two. My sister loves the guy.
srv
There is nothing that can come between Demobots and the becrowning of Billary Part Duex. I wonder how many mistresses on both sides get SS protection. Who will be Bill’s First Lady?
germy shoemangler
@RaflW:
I thought she’d come out in support of youth in Asia, but that first and foremost she supported youth in the United States.
JPL
I’m in moderation for some reason.. Business Insider has an article about Walker’s finances. It’s not pretty.. link
I might mention that your credit really sucks if your interest rate is 27.24 percent…
Benw
@Wag: in that case he’d have the distinction of being VP to two consecutive Socialist presidents!
SANDERS/BIDEN 2016
JPL
fkfkfkfkfkffk Business Insider has an article about Walker’s finances. He’s probably gone. Since I tried to post twice about it and both times ended in mod hell, you can find it yourself.
Cacti
@Wag:
I figured as much.
But the answer remains.
JPL
About one of Walker’s loan .. One of the debts is via Barclays and is estimated to be between $10,000 and $15,000. The interest rate on the debt is 27.24%.
Wouldn’t a pay day loan be better?
Amir Khalid
@Heliopause:
Trump is a troll and a fraud. As it turns out, that’s what the Republican party is clamouring for.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@Cacti: I am, as the internet tradition goes, so old I remember when Joe Biden was the warmongering MBNA toady, and the fact that Obama picked him was proof he was a sell-out who had only pretended to oppose the Iraq War
germy shoemangler
@JPL:
He should have talked to Montel Williams first.
smintheus
@JPL: I saw a piece elsewhere that said Walker revealed he has massive credit card debt, some of which he’s paying 27% interest on. So much for financial responsibility.
Cacti
@srv:
If Donald Trump was my party’s leading candidate, I’d probably want to talk about Bill Clinton’s love life too.
JPL
@germy shoemangler: Well I know you are younger than me by a few years, but in my times, those were mafia rates.
germy shoemangler
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: I was working second shift during the Anita Hill testimony; didn’t have to be at work until 4pm, and so I watched the whole damn thing during the day, rather than the evening news recaps, and I didn’t much care for Biden for a long time after that.
mai naem mobile
Speaking of.British politics, the late Tory PM Ted Heath is being investigated for child abuse/sexual abuse. He was the PM late 60s/early 70s. I believe Maggie Thatcher got her start with Heath
Benw
@JPL: I honestly don’t know what kind of scandal, short of actually, literally being in jail at the time, could cause a R candidate to withdraw.
germy shoemangler
@mai naem mobile: Heath is the one who gets name dropped in the Beatles’ TAXMAN.
Anne Laurie
@Wag:
Well, if the news didn’t make frequent commentor McLaren’s head actually explode, we’d at least find out what it’s like when an internet acquaintance is taken into custody for stalking campaign events with suspicious intent…
JPL
@germy shoemangler: I watched it also.
RaflW
@smintheus: It’s not about how Biden would campaign. It’s about the utter bullshit narrative the Village would make up. “Biden on the trail as friendship frayed in WH.” “Biden, once close to SOS Clinton now out to get her.” Whatever, I can’t think as lyingly stupid as Villagers, but they are famished for a negative storyline.
Anne Laurie
@germy shoemangler:
I finally forgave Biden for that particular stumble sometime after Obama was elected and before he took office. He’ll have to answer for it with St. Peter, but he’s done enough good for women to meet my imperfect standards.
RaflW
What @Jeffro says, too. Maybe I’m naive but I think Biden wants a Dem president more than he wants to be president. He will want to cement an Obama/Biden admin. If Clinton is the best shot, he’s a party loyalist and will help out.
germy shoemangler
@Anne Laurie: That was around the time I let bygones be bygones as well.
I think it was seeing him debate Sarah, and then Ryan.
Tree With Water
August baseball. When your team is good and in contention, there’s nothing like it.
cmorenc
Maureen Dowd needs to go back to in-depth reporting on Denver’s Green Mile, and try out the chocolates at some additional pot shops. Pot shops may distract her from taking more pot shots for awhile.
mai naem mobile
@germy shoemangler: the guy I remember from Anita Hills appearance was Arlen Specter who treated her like she was a murderer. I never liked Specter after that.
I thought Harold Wilson was the mentioned in the Taxman song.
SiubhanDuinne
@Anne Laurie @top:
Typo, right? I’m sure you meant “next-gin Peggy Noonan.”
Germy Shoemangler
@mai naem mobile: both Mr. Wilson and Mr. Heath are mentioned in the Beatles’ TAXMAN. Labour & Conservative.
SiubhanDuinne
@Wag:
Bqhatevwr.
schrodinger's cat
Nate Silver may be a statistician but he doesn’t seem to understand quantum mechanics. Calling Biden, Schroedinger’s candidate doesn’t make much sense. Biden is not running yet, right now he is only a candidate in MoDo’s mind.
Splitting Image
@mai naem mobile:
Wilson and Heath are both mentioned in the song.
Wilson was PM from 1964 to 1970 for Labour and again from 1974 to 1976. Heath was PM from 1970 to 1974 for the Conservatives and Leader of the Opposition during Wilson’s administration. Harrison wasn’t fond of either of them. (“Not a dime’s worth, etc.”)
Wag
@SiubhanDuinne:
:)
Cervantes
Which is why I call her writing clap-trap.
Bobby B.
“Parks & Rec” had a scene with Amy Poehler describing her dream guy: “The mind of George Clooney and the body of Joe BIden.” I always thought Joe had the body of an Indonesian hangman.
MikeBoyScout
My 2 kopeks
In 1988 I opened a Biden HQ.
The next day he withdrew.
I like Joe.
I prefer Joe.
But the man has a nearly 30 year history of proven inability to execute a viable national campaign.
Other than me, you know who understands this fact?
Vice President Joseph Biden.
Go nuts MoDo, you ignorant useless POS.
Ruckus
@JPL:
Wrong spin.
He is a friend of the rich, paying them back part of the money they pay him to be a stooge. He could not have those outstanding loans or pay a much more reasonable rate. and just keep more of it. Of course his math skills may need a minor tune up and that college education could have helped him understand. Or maybe it might have taught him how to not spend more than he makes in graft.
Ruckus
@MikeBoyScout:
Besides has anyone heard him state in any way that he like to be president? Yes he ran (poorly) before this gig but it sure looked like his heart wasn’t in it. And now he’s gotten a few yrs older and had the experience of being in the building and the room. I’d bet he’s had enough. And I’d also bet you are right and he knows it. Would he take one for the team? I’d bet yes on that, but want to? Still betting no.
Mike D.
You come off more wanting your argument to be right than believing it is. I.e., like this is about you really not wanting Biden to run, not so much really thinking that he shouldn’t or that he won’t, or that it’s stupid or crazy to think he would.
It’s actually a little crazy to think he wouldn’t, other than that he hasn’t decided to yet. He’s a little old, but unviable. He’s the most experienced possible candidate bar none. He’s the six-year sitting VP. He should run, unless he doesn’t want to, and I don’t really see why he wouldn’t want to. (Most reports over the course of the Obama presidency have been that he has always wanted to, so this MoDo stuff isn’t like out of left field or anything).
As far as the Beau Biden reporting, I don’t find it vile at all; I find it moving as hell. I think anyone seeing straight would (unless you have a strong reaction to the idea of Beau not so much liking the idea of a basically unopposed run to the nomination for Hillary).
You just come off as a knee-jerk HIllary protector to get so exercised over this. Cool out. If Joe wants to run, he’ll run, and that should be okay with us. If we want him to occupy the position of the consensus back-up to Hillary should something happen, we should be okay if he decides to take a run at it himself in the meantime. And, in any case, he’s the two-term VP of a successful presidency: we hold support the idea of him running just on the merits, out of a belief in the record of a successful president. Plus, Joe’s a great guy and a good pol, and the party should get a chance to actually decide if it wants HIllary or him to be the standard-bearer gong forward.
Mike D.
@Mike D.: *not* unviable
Anne Laurie
@Mike D.:
Beau was widely supported, not just by his proud father, as a potential Presidential candidate himself. I can certainly see him, knowing he was dying — knowing exactly, from experience, how hard that would hit his old man — telling Joe he should get out there and run himself, one last time.
What’s vile is a self-interested columnist who’d done her best to destroy Joe Biden using these family stories as an excuse to take her (unrelated) bitchery out for a public airing.
Joe could’ve spent the last many months parading his dying son as a reason to give him some slack on his political goals. He chose to keep it in the family, as we Irish-Americans say. MoDo peeping through the ICU curtains, for the delectation of her Beltway buddies, is just disgusting whatever your political leanings.
Mike D.
@Anne Laurie:
What’s vile is a self-interested columnist who’d done her best to destroy Joe Biden using these family stories as an excuse to take her (unrelated) bitchery out for a public airing.
Columnists don’t have to consistly pro-this guy and anti-that gal. Their views can change; they can recognize the good and the bad, and not ever column has to equally feature both. There’s nothing vile. about that. And: in the sense in which Dowd is self-interested, we’re all self-interested. We seek success in our careers; if you’re in media you’re partly just trying to get noticed. Anywy.. columnists are generally paid employees of for=profit companies who are in it to make a good living. Yeah, they’re self-interested. So what?
Joe could’ve spent the last many months parading his dying son as a reason to give him some slack on his political goals. He chose to keep it in the family, as we Irish-Americans say. MoDo peeping through the ICU curtains, for the delectation of her Beltway buddies, is just disgusting whatever your political leanings.
Well, some number of months – I imagine six at most (not sure how long Beau could be qualified as “dying”). Anyway, he could have spent those months doing that, and chose not to. Instead, he chose to spend the next few weeks doing so. You think that story was not floated by Biden – by his people with his blessing? Of course it was. It’s nutty to look at a story like that in this context and not know that’s what’s going on with it. It’s conscious p.r. by Biden, and a damn fine bit of it, as well. Dowd’s just the messenger here. This is trial balloon released by Joe himself or his closest people at the time and to outlets of his choosing.
C.V. Danes
@Benw:
Last time I checked, we already have a serious alternate candidate who’s doing quite well drawing crowds…
C.V. Danes
@Benw: Sanders, definitely!
And disregard the above. Not sure how that comment got linked to you.
GHayduke (formerly lojasmo)
@srv:
Also too, billy carter once drank a beer. Troll harder, little bitch.
ETA: and I’m not even a Clinton backer.