I’m Worried - The Debate

The New York Times wrote…

President Biden hoped to build fresh momentum for his re-election bid by agreeing to debate nearly two months before he is to be formally nominated. Instead, his halting and disjointed performance on Thursday night prompted a wave of panic among Democrats and reopened discussion of whether he should be the nominee at all.

Over the course of 90 minutes, a raspy-voiced Mr. Biden struggled to deliver his lines and counter a sharp though deeply dishonest former President Donald J. Trump, raising doubts about the incumbent president’s ability to wage a vigorous and competitive campaign four months before the election. Rather than dispel concerns about his age, Mr. Biden, 81, made it the central issue.

But on the other hand AP News reported…

Trump falsely represented the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol as a relatively small number of people who were ushered in by police and misstated the strength of the economy during his administration.

Biden, who tends to lean more on exaggerations and embellishments rather than outright lies, misrepresented the cost of insulin and overstated what Trump said about using disinfectant to address COVID. Here’s a look at the false and misleading claims on Thursday night by the two candidates.

Poynter said this about fact checking,

President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump, the presumptive presidential nominees, shared a debate stage June 27 for the first time since 2020, in a feisty confrontation that —  thanks to debate rules — managed to avoid the near-constant interruptions that marred their previous meetings.

Biden, who spoke in a raspy voice at the debate’s start, struggled at times, at one point saying that his administration “finally beat Medicare.”After the debate, during a stop at a Waffle House, Biden told reporters he had a sore throat, according to the pool report.

Trump, meanwhile, repeated numerous falsehoods, including that Democrats want doctors to be able to abort babies after birth.

Trump attacked Biden’s record, blaming inflation and other issues on Biden’s “insane and stupid policies.” Biden questioned Trump’s conduct, noting that Trump is a convicted felon and saying he has the “morals of an alley cat.”

And then we have this little gem...

Worst president rankings

Biden: Presidential historians “voted who was the worst president in American history. “From best to worst. They said he was the worst in all of American history.”

True. The 2024 Presidential Greatness Project Expert Survey, released in February, collected responses from 154 presidential historians, which included current and recent members of the American Political Science Association. The survey ranked Biden as the 14th best president in U.S. history, and put Trump last.

The historians were asked to give every president a score, from 0 to 100. Abraham Lincoln topped the list with an average score of 95, while Biden scored an average of 62.66. Trump averaged just under 11 points.

So what I saw was a man who at ever drop of a hat lies even when he doesn’t have to lie and I saw another man trying to remember facts figures. So your choice this fall is between an old man, and a lying used car salesman that I wouldn’t buy a car from let alone run a country.

*****

I have to wonder if the President stuttering affects his speech and if the President has Parkinson Disease. He behaves just like my brother behaves and he has Parkinson Disease, slow and methodical.

 

---

 

Update: 9:30AM

I have been looking into Parkinson Disease.

What I learned,
 

Biden had a complete neurological exam in 2023 and the findings… In the June 2023 edition of Care for the Aging an article by Jerald Winakur reports,

He’s a bit stooped, his gait stiffer, and his voice less forceful. His lifelong stutter is mild but manifests at times. In addition, he has some difficulty with throat clearing. According to the publicly available records, his physician of 15 years, Dr. Kevin O’Connor, performed a comprehensive examination on the president on November 19, 2021, and again in early 2023. In his reports, Dr. O’Connor addresses all these issues in turn thoroughly, including appropriate consultations and procedures by ear, nose, and throat, orthopedic, cardiac, neurological, and gastrointestinal specialists.

President Biden’s stiffened gait is explained by arthritis of the spine, old sports injuries, and a relatively recent right midfoot fracture. A neurological examination showed “no findings which would be consistent with any cerebellar or other central neurological disorder, such as stroke, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s or ascending lateral sclerosis.” His workup did reveal that the president has esophageal reflux — a benign, common condition — as a cause of his throat-clearing.

[…]

All but the most partisan of us can make a reasonably objective assessment of President Biden’s cognitive capacity by watching him on television. His 2023 State of the Union speech showed him to be lively, feisty, and able to engage appropriately and extemporaneously with the audience — as he also has done during interviews since that time. To this geriatrician, he is not exhibiting signs of dementia. Should he have formal cognitive testing as part of his yearly comprehensive physical examination? Of course he should, and the results should be made public. Indeed, why not ask for the same from all members of Congress over a certain age?

So there might be another reason why he walks and behaves that way besides Parkinson Disease. But I worry about "image" he might be in good health but he sure doesn't look it.

 

---

 

Update: 10:30 AM

I understand where this is coming from…

These Are The Likely Democratic Presidential Candidates If Biden Drops Out—As Rough Debate Prompts Calls To Stand Down
Forbes
By Sara Dorn

Growing concerns over President Joe Biden's age and ability to effectively serve a second term—invigorated by a rocky debate against Donald Trump on Thursday—have fueled speculation he could, despite his campaign's forceful denials, drop out of the 2024 presidential race, leaving these Democrats best poised to step into his shoes if he does.

[…]

Biden’s age, coupled with his habit of rhetorical gaffes and low approval rating, have fueled speculation among politicos for months about possible Biden replacements, though most of the suggestions are fierce defenders of the president who have rejected any assertions they would challenge Biden.

After a rough debate Thursday in which Biden lost his train of thought, spoke with a hoarse voice and made several verbal flubs, some Donald Trump opponents and Biden allies raised the idea of Biden stepping aside.

My take on the plan of action… Trump is a liar, he lied, and lied and lied all during the debate! Yes, Biden is slow but he remember all those facts and figures, his mistakes were in the number and not outright lies like Trump. While Biden was struggling the figures to get them right.

What I’ll like to see is an ad pointing out all the lies… with a buzzer for each and a big red stamp that says “Lies” go across Tump's face.

 

---

 

Update: 6/29 @ 8:00AM

 

It is not only here in the U.S. that is worried about the election but...

Foreign diplomats react with horror to Biden’s dismal debate performance
CNN
By Kylie Atwood, Nic Robertson, Luke McGee and Jeremy Herb
June 29, 2024

President Joe Biden’s dismal showing at the CNN presidential debate against former President Donald Trump resonated around the world, with foreign diplomats expressing shock and concern while raising questions about the implications for a consequential US election that could upend the foreign policy status-quo should Trump be elected again.

“Hard to watch” is how multiple foreign diplomats described Thursday night’s debate between Biden and Trump to CNN.

The overwhelming sentiment among more than half a dozen diplomats from Europe, the Middle East and Asia whom CNN spoke to was that it was “a bad night for Biden,” as one European diplomat put it.

“It is a sad reality that Biden is old, and he is getting older. We saw it. I had difficulties understanding what he was saying, and I understand English pretty well,” said a second European diplomat.

“Trump ate him alive,” said an Arab diplomat.

“I was shell-shocked. I could not believe my eyes,” an Asian diplomat said of Biden’s performance.

You know who is gleeful over the debate… Putin. His little pet could end up president again.

 “When Putin saw that, he said, you know what, I think we’re going to go in and maybe take my – this was his dream. I talked to him about it, his dream. The difference is he never would have invaded Ukraine. Never,” Trump said.

A Ukrainian politician told CNN he found Trump’s statements on the war in Ukraine “worrying.”

“We’re very concerned because we, more or less, understand what it means for Ukraine, (a) Biden presidency, and we really don’t know what it means for Ukraine, a Trump presidency,” Oleksiy Goncharenko told CNN. “It can be very good, it can be very bad. We just don’t know. And that’s definitely concerning.”