(from https://www.nbcnews.com/think/opinion/trump-s-2020-chances-look-bright-thanks-his-democratic-rivals-ncna1053456 By Keith Koffler) with comments from moi:
". . . Among the most enviable and least recognized qualities of a presidential candidate is something they share with lottery winners and bowling champions: A talent for dumb luck" . . .
Right on the the lottery, but it seems to me that bowling most certainly requires a fair amount of skill
". . . And for those politicians blessed with this wholly undeserved and unearned gift, the most valuable form of it, the lucky break coveted over all others, is a lousy opponent. President Donald Trump demonstrated such talent in abundance in 2016 when he faced the widely despised Hillary Clinton". . .
No disagreement here
"This is not to say Trump won’t earn the presidency. Or that he did not in 2016 either. He adroitly tapped into a gold mine of discontent with the established order, understanding the anger in the hinterland far better than the professional politicians and pundits who couldn’t see the problems with the establishment because they were part of it. But he also got lucky with his opponent — and he barely won". . .
Yes! BARELY! And 'earning' is not the word I would choose to describe how he got into office. Furthermore, I hope 'earning' (at the present time) includes 'performing' and 'accomplishing' as well as 'comporting', none of which can be attributed to this president
". . . As if to ensure his reelection, the Democrats have come up with former Vice President Joe Biden as the alleged front-runner — at least according to current polls — anointing him the most electable of the lot". . .
Unfortunately, very true.
". . . (Biden) called the actual commander in chief “President Hump,” . . .
Quite possibly not unintentional, unless he meant to say 'Lump'?????
proclaimed a preference for truth over facts and briefly relocated mass shootings that had occurred in El Paso, Texas and Dayton, Ohio to Houston and Michigan.
". . . Former San Antonio Mayor Julian Castro blew the dog whistle on Biden’s mental state as loudly as possible. “Are you forgetting already what you said just two minutes ago?” he demanded after the former VP denied he had said people would have to buy into his health care plan". . .
Take heed Democrat/Biden supporter. This is an indication of something.
". . . the former vice president has been veering from the truth himself, including recent claims that he opposed the Iraq War from the beginning, that he didn’t oppose busing and a story about pinning a silver star on a service member in Afghanistan. . . "
See above.
". . . Neither of the two leftist Democrats running not too far behind Biden, Sens. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts or Bernie Sanders of Vermont, holds much chance of winning the presidency in a country where, according to the 2018 Election Day exit polls, a significant portion of voters consider themselves moderates". . .
Possibly, but '2018 exit polls'. . . C'MON!!! Either Warren or Sanders would, in the election, scare the orange shit out of this clown.
". . . Booker and former Rep. Beto O’Rourke. . . [are] nowhere in the polls". . .
The POLLS!!?? C'MON. You press guys and your polls should be a little more humble after calling your horse in 2016!!
(from https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2020-election/biden-cites-segregationist-senators-he-recalls-past-civility-senate-n1019211)
". . . We didn’t agree on much of anything. We got things done. We got it finished. But today, you look at the other side and you’re the enemy. Not the opposition, the enemy. We don't talk to each other anymore.". . . Biden said he believes "one of the things I'm pretty good at is bringing people together," before citing negotiations he had to partake in with Mitch McConnell, now the Senate majority leader. . . “I know the new New Left tells me that I’m — this is old-fashioned," he said earlier. "Well guess what? If we can’t reach a consensus in our system, what happens? It encourages and demands the abuse of power by a president. That’s what it does. You have to be able to reach consensus under our system — our Constitutional system of separation of powers.". . . "
(from https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/state-of-union-nancy-pelosi-clap-trump-sarcastic-democrat-republican-speech-a8765366.htm)
". . . His calls for political unity seemed particularly hollow given reports Mr Trump had mocked former vice president Joe Biden, and the late Republican Senator John McCain and Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer just hours earlier during the State of the Union lunch, which was attended by several news reporters. . . Mr Trump said: “When I say something that you might think is a gaffe, it’s on purpose; it’s not a gaffe. When Biden says something dumb, it’s because he’s dumb.” . . He also reportedly described Mr Schumer as a “nasty son of a bitch”, and talking about Mr McCain, he said: “He wrote a book and the book bombed.” . . .Responding to Ms Pelosi’s standing ovation, US journalist Mark Gongloff wrote: “You could power Cleveland for weeks on this pure sarcasm energy”. . ."
. . . is (still) the message . . . (from http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2014/01/30/hillary-clinton-is-the-biggest-frontrunner-for-the-democratic-presidential-nomination-ever-yes-ever/) ". . . Hillary Rodham Clinton's 61-point edge over Joe Biden in new Washington Post-ABC News polling makes her the single biggest frontrunner for a Democratic presidential nomination . . . " (http://www.nbcnews.com/politics/politics-news/poll-hillary-clinton-early-2016-frontrunner-barely-n269601) ". . . half of American voters - 50 percent - saying they could see themselves supporting her if she runs for the White House in 2016, while 48 percent oppose her. . . " (from http://www.latimes.com/nation/politics/politicsnow/la-pn-hillary-clinton-2016-analysis-20150410-story.html) ". . . Clinton will enter the 2016 Democratic presidential race — finally, officially — as the most commanding front-runner in generations. (http://observer.com/2015/06/berniemania-why-socialist-bernie-sanders-is-the-sensation-of-the-presidential-race/) YET, . . . IN SPITE OF THE FACTS: ". . . Yet Mr. (Bernie) Sanders, with his slight stoop and cloud of white hair flaring off his ruddy scalp, sometimes suffers on the stump. Later that day in a rec hall across the border in Keene, N.H., packed with about 700 people, some wearing homemade T-shirts Magic Markered with “Bernie 2016,” he lamented the plight of a young teacher he had just met. “Obviously in our society we desperately need teachers,” Mr. Sanders said to his audience. “And her crime for wanting to get a master’s degree was that she is now $200,000 in debt and paying interest rates between 6 and 9 percent. … All of this stuff is crazy stuff.” If the country does not reform its environmental policies, he said a grim fate awaits: “more drought, more famine, more rising sea levels, more floods, more ocean acidification, more extreme weather disturbances, more disease and more human suffering.” . . . "
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. . . or was the debate something like this? . . .
(from http://www.boston.com/news/politics/2012/president/candidates/romney/2012/10/11/fact-check-slips-vice-president-debate/7ZH8sFVuIfG2B7XpZaaozH/story.html)
". . .Vice President Joe Biden has
mangled a heaping helping of facts over the years. Despite being newer
to presidential-campaign politics, Republican Paul Ryan has already
earned something of a reputation Vice President Joe Biden has mangled a heaping helping of facts over the years. Despite being newer to presidential-campaign politics, Republican Paul Ryan has already earned something of a reputation for taking flying leaps past reality.
How'd they do Thursday night?
Here’s a look at some of their claims:
BIDEN, on whether U.S. should have beefed up security at the U.S. Consulate in Libya before the deadly terrorist attack there: ‘‘We weren’t told they wanted more security there.’’
RYAN: ‘‘There were requests for more security.’’
THE FACTS: Ryan is right, judging by testimony from Obama administration officials at a congressional hearing this week.
Charlene R. Lamb, a deputy assistant secretary for diplomatic security, told lawmakers she refused requests for more security in Benghazi, saying the department wanted to train Libyans to protect the consulate. ‘‘Yes, sir, I said personally I would not support it,’’ she said.
Eric Nordstrom, who was the top security official in Libya earlier this year, testified he was criticized for seeking more security. He said conversations he had with people in Washington led him to believe that it was ‘‘abundantly clear we were not going to get resources until the aftermath of an incident. How thin does the ice have to get before someone falls through?’’
___
RYAN: ‘‘We should have spoken out right away when the green revolution was up and starting, when the mullahs in Iran were attacking their people. We should not have called Bashar Assad a reformer when he was turning his Russian-provided guns on his own people.
THE FACTS: Neither President Barack Obama nor anyone else in his administration ever considered the Syrian leader a ‘‘reformer.’’ The oft-repeated charge stems from an interview Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton gave in March 2011 noting that ‘‘many of the members of Congress of both parties who have gone to Syria in recent months have said they believe he’s a reformer.’’ She did not endorse that view. The comment was widely perceived to be a knock at senators such as John Kerry of Massachusetts who maintained cordial relations with Assad in the months leading up to his crackdown on protesters.
___
BIDEN: ‘‘We went out and rescued General Motors.’’
THE FACTS: Actually, the auto bailout of General Motors and Chrysler began under President George W. Bush. The Obama administration continued and expanded it.
___ RYAN: ‘‘And then they put this new Obamacare board in charge of cutting Medicare each and every year in ways that will lead to denied care for current seniors. This board, by the way, it’s 15 people, the president’s supposed to appoint them next year. And not one of them even has to have medical training.’’
THE FACTS: Ryan is referring to the Independent Payment Advisory Board, created under President Barack Obama’s health care overhaul law. It has the power to force cuts in Medicare payments to service providers if costs rise above certain levels and Congress fails to act. But it doesn’t look like the board will be cutting Medicare ‘‘each and every year,’’ as Ryan asserts. Medicare costs are currently rising modestly and the government’s own experts project the board’s intervention will not be needed until 2018 and 2019 at the earliest — after Obama leaves office if re-elected to a second term.
___
BIDEN, when asked who would pay more taxes in Obama’s second term: ‘‘People making a million dollars or more.’’
THE FACTS: Obama’s proposed tax increase reaches farther down the income ladder than millionaires. He wants to roll back Bush-era tax cuts for individuals making over $200,000 and couples making more than $250,000.
___
RYAN: ‘‘We cannot allow Iran to gain a nuclear weapons capability. Now, let’s take a look at where we've gone — come from. When Barack Obama was elected, they had enough fissile material — nuclear material — to make one bomb. Now they have enough for five. They’re racing toward a nuclear weapon. They’re four years closer toward a nuclear weapons capability.’’
THE FACTS: Ryan’s claim is misleading. Iran isn’t believed to have produced any of the highly enriched uranium needed to produce even one nuclear weapon, let alone five. That point isn’t even disputed by Israel, whose Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu implored the world at the United Nations last month to create a ‘‘red line’’ at enrichment above 20 percent. Iran would have to enrich uranium at much higher levels to produce a weapon. There is intelligence suggesting that Iran has worked on weapon designs, but not that it has developed a delivery system for any potential nuclear warhead. . . "
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