Tag Archives: Joe Biden

national news, political news

How is this race even close?

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I admit that I am slow on the uptake at times, particularly when it comes to certain political trends.

The state of the current presidential campaign is my latest example.

I will go to my grave more than likely wondering how in the name of God Almighty that President Joe Biden finds himself fighting for his political life against the likely Republican nominee.

The GOP nimrod pledged to craft an infrastructure plan. He didn’t. He pledged to build a wall on the southern border and make Mexico pay for it. He didn’t do that either. He said he would declare war on the COVID pandemic and fight like hell against it. Oh, man, he failed miserably.

Biden succeeded him in 2021 and got Congress to pass an infrastructure bill and then defeated the pandemic. Yeah, the border crisis has worsened, but he’s redoubling his efforts there.

The economy is rockin ‘n rollin’ and Joe Biden can take some credit for that.

It should be a runaway. Biden should be facing the prospect of a landslide victory in November. He likely won’t get one.

The former Liar in Chief figures to make it a close race. How in the world a twice-impeached and multiple indicted candidate is hanging in there is beyond my capacity to understand.

Uncategorized

How do you measure strangeness?

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I am at a complete loss over this issue … which deals with measuring political strangeness.

The past two election cycles produced campaigns that competed for the title of Weirdest Campaign in Political History. The 2016 campaign resulted in the fluke for the ages when Hillary Clinton lost the Electoral College vote while garnering 3 million more votes than the nimrod who won.

Then came the next four years of chaos and confusion.

The 2020 election resulted in the aforementioned nimrod losing the White House to Joe Biden. Then the Liar in Chief refused to concede the election loss, depriving the president-elect of the “peaceful transition of power” that he deserved.

Those two elections were weird.

Now comes the third in a row. How in the world do we measure its bizarre quotient.

It’ll be the same two men, apparently, competing for the presidency. Joe Biden is the incumbent this time. His opponent will be the moron he defeated four years ago. Polls show the Republican challenger leading, but by the slimmest of margins.

Will these two men debate each other? Hah! I am not going to wait for that to occur. Because they likely won’t. And why is that?

Do you think the challenger wants to answer questions about the upcoming trials that await him? He has been charged with felonious conduct relating to (a) the theft of classified documents, (b) whether he incited the mob assault on the Capitol on 1/6 and (c) whether he interfered with the 2020 election by demanding that Georgia officials “find” enough votes to overturn that state’s 2020 presidential election result.

To be sure, President Biden has some walls to scale if he wants to be re-elected. He has to deal with the immigration crisis; he must find a solution to the war in Gaza; he needs to keep the heat on Russia as it continues its illegal war of aggression in Ukraine. The GOP challenger is making hay on the border crisis … but he has no solutions to offer.

Biden’s State of the Union speech the other evening was a stemwinder. He has set the table nicely for a spirited campaign. However, I hate the notion of this presidential election causing one to nibble on his or her nails.

It should be a cakewalk for the incumbent. The nature of the challenger’s hold on so many MAGA minions, though, lends a quality that, for my money, makes this race the weirdest of them all.

crime news, national news

Yes, he was an ‘illegal’ immigrant

Lest you think I am a Joe Biden lackey, I have to acknowledge that the president was wrong to apologize to the killer of a woman whose case has become a rallying cry for the MAGA movement.

Laiken Riley died at the hands of a man who was in this country illegally. President Biden referred to him as an “illegal” immigrant, then apologized to him for his use of the term “illegal.” Biden said he should have called him an “undocumented” immigrant.

Talk about splitting hairs!

The dude was in this country illegally. He reportedly broke U.S. immigration law by coming here, then committed a horrific crime. Riley was killed while jogging on the University of Georgia campus. Police arrested a man from Venezuela, Jose Ibarra, who came to this country — dare I say it — illegally.

The president’s apology now has lifted the issue of immigration to the top shelf of campaign issues heading into the 2024 presidential campaign.

Damn, I wish Biden would take greater care on issues such as this. He blurted out a description that, on its face, is accurate. He did not need to apologize for speaking the truth about an individual charged with a horrible crime.

media news, national news, political news

Waiting for the unknown

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There once was a time when surprises occurred during presidential primary campaigns.

All eyes would be focused on established political stars or — in the case of the current Republican nominee-in-waiting — on notorious characters.

Then the surprise would occur. Someone would burst out of the crowd. That someone would an individual no one had heard of … or so it seemed. They would take the rest of the field on head to head. The unknown candidate then would collect enough delegates to win the nomination from their party.

Alas, those days appear gone. Maybe forever. Why is that? Social media platforms grant instant celebrity status to newly minted politicians. I think of the likes of Marjorie Taylor Greene and Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez.

MTG and AOC both earned celebrity status by having their names initialized in the manner I have just demonstrated. One of them, MTG, has been a disgrace. AOC — again, in my view only — has emerged as a star; to be fair, I had my doubts about AOC when she arrived in D.C.

I am wishing at times for a new star to burst forth from the tall grass and capture our hearts and minds.

American voters are facing a presidential election this year with two warhorses fighting each other. One of them is a seasoned politician with decades of public service under his belt. Joe Biden, though, is 81 years of age and has been on center stage almost from the moment he became a U.S. senator in January 1973. He says he’s ready for the fight that awaits him; I am taking him at his word.

His probable opponent … I cannot print his name. He is 77 years of age and has been impeached twice, indicted four times, faces 91 criminal counts, incited an assault on our government, lost his re-election bid and has never conceded defeat, been convicted of sexual assault, has lied about his wealth, denigrated a legitimate Vietnam War hero, mocked a physically challenged reporter and said those who serve in the military are “suckers” and “losers.”

I long for a return to an era when someone fresh, clean and scandal free can emerge from the shadows and capture our imagination.

Who is that person? If I knew his or her name, that would take away the surprise.

local news, national news, political news

GOP pissants reveal their ‘character’

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Let me be clear that I was disappointed, but not the least bit surprised, at the behavior demonstrated by the MAGA chorus of what passes for a once-great political party last night at President Biden’s State of the Union speech.

They showered the president with catcalls and jeers for parts of his speech, showing the world what kind of classlessness comprises the Republican side of the congressional aisle.

My instinct for fairness compels me to point out something before I return to my point: Democrats have on occasion done the same thing when a Republican president has delivered an important speech on the state of our great nation. We also had a House speaker, Nancy Pelosi, tear up her hard-copy text of an SOTU speech delivered by President Biden’s immediate predecessor. That was a poor look, too, to be sure.

I want to remind readers of this blog, though, of an important point.

It is that exactly two people — the president and vice president — hold their office because of votes cast by an entire nation. Congress comprises 535 individuals who are elected either by voters in their states or in congressional districts carved out by legislatures.

Just two people, Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, have the standing to demand respect and decorum from their audience to whom they are speaking.

Joe Biden didn’t get it from the likes of, say, the MAGA loudmouth from Georgia, Marjorie Taylor Greene, who also showed great disrespect for the rules of the House by wearing a MAGA ballcap on her pointed head. The idea that House Speaker Mike Johnson would allow such a thing to occur is disgraceful on its face; no headgear is allowed in the House chamber, period.

Oh, wait! Had he scolded MTG for breaking the rules, she likely would file a petition to have him removed. Therein lies the real story behind who’s running the show in the House … and it damn sure isn’t the speaker.

Joe Biden delivered a fiery speech from the podium. It resonated with this North Texas blogger. Welcome to the fight, Mr. President.

national news, political news

No mention of ex-POTUS’s name

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Well, I’ll be deep-fried and fricasseed. I was certain President Biden would pepper his State of the Union speech with the name of the fellow he succeeded as president.

He didn’t.

Biden didn’t mention his name not one single time!

I had prepared to swill ouzo from a flask tonight at every mention of the former Moron in Chief’s name.

Hah! I can save it for another time.

Still, my first reaction to President Biden’s speech is quite positive. He came to the joint congressional session prepared to wage political war. He didn’t disappoint.

local news, media news, national news, political news

No need to ID this guy by name

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Everyone on Earth now likely knows the name of the next Republican Party presidential nominee, as he has captured the party nomination for the past three election cycles.

Thus, you won’t need to read his name on High Plains Blogger. I made a command decision some weeks ago to boycott the idiot’s name, to keep it off my blog posts … to the extent that I can.

There might be an occasion where I quote another politician who has to use his name. I am going to seek ways to write around it.

Why do this? It’s purely selfish. I am sick and fu**ing tired of seeing his name in print and hearing his name mentioned on broadcast media. The very sound of his name makes me feel like puking.

The sight of his overfed, over made-up face causes the same sort of revulsion.

I am wondering whether I should invoke a private drinking game tonight as President Biden delivers his State of the Union speech. Every time the president mentions his 2024 general election foe by name, I am thinking about taking a swig from a small bottle of ouzo I received the other day from a friend of mine.

If I do, I am likely to be wasted by the end of the evening.

President Biden clearly is preparing for a rematch against the former moron in chief he defeated in 2020. He mentions his name liberally whenever he speaks these days in public. That’s fine. It’s good to remind voters specifically who drove the economy into the tank with his feckless, reckless and careless response to the COVID crisis.

That’s a topic for another day.

Meantime, I will watch our president declare that the health of our union is strong and is getting stronger. I just hope my flask of ouzo will last the entire speech.

national news

Nothing wrong with note cards

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As Republicans continue to make President Biden’s alleged intellectual slippage an issue, I am intrigued by a recent criticism that has emerged.

The president uses note cards to conduct meetings with public officials. My response? Big fu**ing deal! There is nothing wrong with an individual who happens to be president of the world’s most powerful nation relying on written notes to help guide him through sensitive discussions.

I recall that President Reagan relied on note cards when he met with individuals. I also recall that Democrats took pot shots at Reagan for what they implied was a sign that he had slipped a bit, too.

One of my favorite critics happened to be the congressman who represented me in the House of Representatives, Democrat Jack Brooks of Beaumont, Texas. Brooks routinely would come to visit us at the Beaumont Enterprise and usually took time to swipe at Reagan. He actually once criticized Reagan’s use of note cards as a crutch.

But … guess what! Brooks did the very same thing! He, too, would meet with our editorial board and would glance at note cards to remind him of points he intended to make.

I am not the least bit concerned about President Biden’s mental acuity. He slips up occasionally, misstating people’s names or saying he’s been somewhere when he hasn’t. BFD, man!

As for the note cards, let the man scribble a note or two on them to remind him of the topic at hand. It’s part of doing business in a highly complicated world.

economic news, national news

Age = experience

So, the talking point now on the 2024 election appears to be that Joe Biden is “too old” to continue as president of the United States.

What … utter … pig … dookie!

President Biden met earlier this week with four congressional leaders of both parties in the White House. Present were Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell, House Republican Speaker Mike Johnson, Senate Democratic leader Charles Schumer and House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries.

The word coming out of the meeting? The fear of a government shutdown effective on Saturday appears to have waned … significantly! How’s that?

Well, it appears that Biden brought his 36 years of experience as a U.S. senator to bear. Oh, he also had those eight years as VP prior to being elected president in 2020.

The man’s experience in working through these knotty matters is invaluable. He knows the language of the Senate; he’s fluent in it, given that he spoke it for so long.

I am not going to accept any notion that POTUS’s mental acuity is in decline. Yes, he’s got lots of miles piled onto his 81-year-old body. However, he is continuing to demonstrate an ability to work through the gritty details of government.

He knows the complexities of working with such a cumbersome form of government that we have in this constitutional republic of ours. I am now thinking of the probable alternative to a president who has devoted his entire professional life to public service.

I will settle any day of the week for the experience that Joe Biden brings to work every day over the chaos that no doubt will accompany the idiot who wants the job that President Biden continues to do well.

media news, national news, political news

How does POTUS battle back?

For the ever-lovin’ life of me, I don’t understand a lot of things, such as public opinion polling that seems to fly directly against the winds of success of a particular politician.

The pol I have in mind is the president of the United States of America, Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. By an overwhelming measure, Joe Biden has enjoyed a successful presidency.

Jobs are up; inflation is in check; the economy is the strongest on Earth; infrastructure is being improved; we are battling climate change; our international alliances are stronger than ever; we have gotten past the COVID pandemic.

Is the world a perfect place? Of course not! We cannot possibly produce a perfect world. Immigration is in crisis; war has erupted in Ukraine and in Israel and Gaza.

Biden is taking plenty of heat for all that has gone wrong on his watch and virtually none of the credit for all that has gone right. The RealClearPolitics poll average places Biden at a 39.7% approval rating.

What the hell is going on?

I know the polling is a static measure. It gauges the public mood in the moment. It is the proverbial snapshot of our feelings right now.

Still, it annoys me to no end in sight that President Biden continues to fight this perception — fed by the right-wing mainstream media — of a public that is uncertain about our future. The MAGA media are clinging to the coattails of Biden’s presidential predecessor, the former Idiot in Chief who wants his old job back.

They are swallowing the swill he peddles, believing the nation is going straight to hell. It damn sure isn’t!

I have no advice to offer the president and his re-election campaign team on how to revive the president’s standing. I guess perhaps the president ought to just keep hammering at his predecessor — the GOP nominee-in-waiting — by reminding everyone about the chaos that accompanied him throughout his sole term in office.

Only the idiotic former POTUS actually pledges to make matters worse if the worst happens and he is elected this November.

Polling takes a lot of hits. I am not going to concede that the polls we see today will hold up until Election Day. Still, they are enough to drive me out of my mind!