Schrödinger’s Presidency
Last night Joe Biden mumbled a speech that allegedly explained his decision not to seek the Democratic Party nomination for president. He explained nothing. Indeed, it was farcically nonsensical.
He claimed that (a) he is one of the greatest presidents ever, with remarkable accomplishments, and (b) “the best way forward” for the nation was for him not to run–and thereby not continue his great leadership.
There was no explanation of how he got from (a) to (b). It was like the speech was written by the Underpants Gnomes of South Park: 1. Be a great president. 2. ???? 3. Don’t run for a second term.
The speech really sounded like him making the case for a second term that should have been met with cries of “Four More Years!” But no: he’s outta here.
Square that circle for me.
For her part, Stupide Jean-Pierre asserted that Biden’s decision had nothing–NOTHING–to do with his health. He’s hale and hearty and fit to be president not just for a half year, but four and a half years.
So what is it then? Inquiring minds want to know. (That would necessarily exclude the media, of course).
We therefore have a Schrödinger’s presidency. He is too dead to stand for a second term, but too alive to leave office before the end of his first.
That quantum uncertainty is extremely convenient for the Democratic Party, which engineered this entire fiasco: indeed it is their creation. Biden’s obvious decrepitude means that they had to get rid of him as a candidate, but having him leave office now would create extreme political difficulties.
Going the 25th Amendment route would lead to Congressional hearings–which would result in awkward questions regarding how long he has been non compos mentis and who knew it when and the machinations behind his defenestration. Resignation would put Kamala Harris in the presidency, and require the naming of a vice president–which would also entail Congressional hearings. Not having a VP would also mean that Kamala could not break ties in any legislation that the Democrats try to ram through before a possible, and indeed likely, defeat in November.
It is beyond obvious that the real reason for Biden’s involuntary exit is that the Democratic Party “elite” (most prominently Barack Obama) and its donors deemed Biden unelectable. Meaning that they decided to disenfranchise its primary electorate, and indeed, to rubbish the entire primary system to return to the pre-1968 party boss system.
In the name of “our” democracy, dontcha know. (Just who this “our” encompasses is an interesting question. Democrats always utter the phrase in a very proprietary way).
Well, truth be told they had already rubbished the primary system in 2020 and especially in 2024, when the Party rigged the system so that Biden would face no real primary opposition. (Recall that several states actually canceled their Democratic primaries).
But Biden’s increasingly impossible to conceal mental incapacity blew that clever scheme to smithereens. So the same consiglieri (and especially the capo di tutti capi, Obama) who brought upon themselves-and the nation-that fiasco have again decided to smother even the possibility of competition for the nomination and install their preferred candidate-Kamala.
Selection, Not Election: The Sequel. (Could actually be Part IV. The nomination process was rigged in 2016 and 2020 (just ask Bernie), and obviously twice in 2024. There hasn’t been a truly competitive, election-driven nominating process in the Democratic Party since 2008).
Perhaps there is reason for optimism. Since their Plan A was an epic failure, why should their Plan B (which is just a variant of A) work any better?
One of my interlocutors on X said that this all reminded him of The Death of Stalin. There are some parallels, but it reminds me more of the ouster of Khrushchev: a coup mounted by the party to remove its leader who had become inconvenient.
Either way, it’s all very, very Soviet.
And by the way: does a coup count as insurrection, or nah?
And speaking of Soviet, the airbrushing of Kamala’s past and the rewriting of history that began the second she was anointed would make a 1930s Soviet propagandist blush. The sick part is that one could argue that the Soviet apparatchik knew that the consequences of not doing so were the gulag or death: the U.S. media is doing it because they want to. They are again using Orwell as a playbook not a warning: “He who controls the past controls the future.”
The past few weeks have been the most shameful in American history. But I believe that the weeks to come will put them in the shade.
This amused me.
https://halturnerradioshow.com/index.php/component/content/article/bidens-wristwatch-shows-different-time-than-live-national-address-it-was-recorded?catid=20
Comment by dearieme — July 26, 2024 @ 6:05 am
So, is the Orwellian quote “He who controls the past controls the future.” In any way related to the Harris word salad “Blah blah blah the past (hand in air) something about the present, blah, blah the future” (other hand in the air).
Comment by Donald Wolfe — July 26, 2024 @ 10:42 am
Harsh, Mr Wolfe. The notorious remark, if said once by someone with a functional brain, would seem perfectly defensible.
The fuss reminds me a little of the fuss about Rumsfeld’s remark about unknown unknowns. It seemed to me that he was clever enough to understand it but that almost no journalist was.
Whereas with Harris I have to wonder whether she understands it herself or is simply in awe of the fine word ‘unencumbered’. Its resemblance to ‘cucumber’ might explain why she likes to include it in her word salad.
Comment by dearieme — July 26, 2024 @ 12:10 pm
@dearieme. That is very amusing.
Two possibilities–either plausible! 1. Yes, it was pre-recorded. 2. He doesn’t know how to set his watch and it doesn’t matter because people tell him what to do at every moment.
Comment by cpirrong — July 26, 2024 @ 2:26 pm
All this talk of being too old & lacking mental acuity is going to come back and bite all you GOPhers in the ass big-time. The Dems are going to milk this for all its worth – just wait until the next debate.
It’s also amusing you’re so vexed about the Dem’s nomination process. Surely it’s only any concern to their membership? Your average man-in-the-street won’t give a sh*t.
PS JD Vance eh, stellar pick or what? Maybe that recent post should have been titled ‘JD Vance: All the wrong polls.’
Comment by David Mercer — July 26, 2024 @ 3:10 pm
@ Donald Wolfe:
‘Who controls what has been controls what can be. Who controls yesterday’s tomorrow controls what has been.’
I’m sure this can be represented in a Venn diagram, and/or with pictures of school buses and a coconut tree.
Comment by Ex-Global Super-Regulator on Lunch Break — July 26, 2024 @ 7:43 pm
The Democrats switched to Plan A-2 because it is their only chance to win after the Great Debate.
The media will pump Kamala Harris like the second coming and in this process will Sovietize everything about her past including the term “Border Czar”. Harris is young, much younger than Trump and Biden, so this is refreshing. Her lack of intellect and likeability will be masked in this media frenzy which is all going on.
More importantly, they can strategically use the VP selection to try to remove a state like Arizona or Pennsylvania off the map for Trump. This is critical. If you look at the 2020 results and adjust the electoral counts, add a couple of states that Trump is leading in such as Georgia, Arizona, and Nevada that gets Trump to 268. Since (in theory if you believe all GOP Congress will support Trump) he needs ONE more electoral vote. That could be Nebraska 2nd Congressional district, Pennsylvania, Michigan, or Wisconsin.
Take away Arizona from that list by naming astronaut Mark Kelly as the VP selection (although Trump may have too big of a lead) then the chess board becomes more difficult. Or Josh Shapiro would potentially take away Pennsyvania.
So even if the Plan B is really just the same as Plan A, which was a failure in both policy and campaign, it adds cards to play for the Democrats that could in the end win for them.
Comment by MARK — July 27, 2024 @ 3:00 pm
Elsewhere,
T. Rump, speaking at a bitcoin conference:
‘On day one, I will fire Gary Gensler and appoint a new SEC chairman.’
Crowd goes apeshit.
‘I didn’t know he was that unpopular.’
Comment by Ex-Global Super-Regulator on Lunch Break — July 27, 2024 @ 4:10 pm
Please see the Sy Hersch
Piece laying everything out
Comment by T C Phillips — July 29, 2024 @ 12:30 am
“Everyone has a plan till they get punched in the mouth”. LOL
Some interesting analysis on the immediate aftermath of the now-forgotten assassination attempt on Trump, with the hurried selection of his VP. It’s almost as if they wanted Biden to stay on, and had no concept of their plight were he actually to step down. As one journo noted, you know he’s worried ‘cos he’s waaay angrier of late (“I got shot in the ear godammit! Surely that counts for something??” I paraphrase..)
Comment by David Mercer — July 29, 2024 @ 1:33 am
The weeks following the Trump loss at the general election of 2020 were pretty shameful, and obviously culminated in January 6th. Bogus lawsuits by Trump and his crackpot lawyers (Mike Pence’s words), weird conspiracy theories, unhinged twitter outbursts with no sense of duty to facilitate a peaceful transfer of power to the winners of the election.
Comment by [email protected] — July 29, 2024 @ 9:12 pm
Do you think Harris will be the nominee or are they doing a full court press and whitewashing of her record to see how she polls? If she isn’t winning, they install their preferred candidate at the convention. Remember, they are more Soviet than Democrat
Comment by Jeff Carter (@pointsnfigures1) — August 2, 2024 @ 6:21 am
@12, Jeff: NYPost said yesterday her campaign gained $300M in July, double of T. And she has enough votes for nomination.
Comment by Tatyana — August 3, 2024 @ 6:42 am
@Jeff Carter. I had originally thought that the convention would be a free-for-all, but it looks like the fix is in. That’s their Soviet move. That, along with the whiplash-inducing propaganda blitz we are seeing which is buying her time. They are going to nominate prior to the convention to make a last-minute challenge more difficult.
The question is whether the propaganda high can last past Labor Day. Will she really be able to shove her past positions down the Memory Hole? I would like to think no, but do not put it outside the realm of possibility.
And as Tatyana notes, she has been able to get the money spouts open again. Truth in political labeling would require renaming the Democratic Party the Donor Party. Would that they turn into the Donner Party.
Comment by cpirrong — August 3, 2024 @ 2:18 pm
In that case the GOP would be the Transaction Party – no allegiances beyond those which feather your nest.
Comment by David Mercer — August 4, 2024 @ 1:12 am