Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

When I decide to be condescending, you won’t have to dream up a fantasy about it.

He seems like a smart guy, but JFC, what a dick!

Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Be a traveling stable for those who can’t find room at the inn.

Fuck that bum, let’s go Joe!

🎶 Those boots were made for mockin’ 🎵

We won’t go back.

“Everybody’s entitled to be an idiot.”

The Supreme Court cannot be allowed to become the ultimate, unaccountable arbiter of everything.

I was promised a recession.

Oh FFS you might as well trust a 6-year-old with a flamethrower.

New McCarthy, same old McCarthyism.

Republicans don’t trust women.

I desperately hope that, yet again, I am wrong.

If you thought you’d already seen people saying the stupidest things possible on the internet, prepare yourselves.

Wow, you are pre-disappointed. How surprising.

Cole, when it comes to calico cats, restraint is overrated.

Proof that we need a blogger ethics panel.

The arc of history bends toward the same old fuckery.

I wonder if trump will be tried as an adult.

I really should read my own blog.

DeSantis transforming Florida into 1930s Germany with gators and theme parks.

When your entire life is steeped in white supremacy, equality feels like discrimination.

“What are Republicans afraid of?” Everything.

You are here: Home / Politics / Politicans / CBS Sunday Morning: President Biden Speaking

Reader Interactions

188Comments

  2. 2.

    schrodingers_cat

    Best President since I came to the US, way back in Bill Clinton’s presidency. He saw people from marginal groups as equals and reversed decades of austerity (trickle-down) policies that favored the investment class for the policies that favored the salaried class.

    So no wonder that TPTB and soft racists (within the media, among the Ds and the donor class) wanted him out. Here is hoping that Harris-Walz continue with those policies.

  3. 3.

    AM in NC

    Best President of my lifetime, no doubt.

    amazing list of policies. Decency and compassion. Learned from his past mistakes and overcame past prejudices. And takes the notion of service seriously.

  6. 6.

    Leto

    Thank you, Mr President. I hope you enjoy all the time with Dr Jill, getting all the ice cream, going for ‘Vette drives, and spending time with the family.

  7. 7.

    bbleh

    @Leto: [Ruby Rhod voice:] he gets ALL the ice cream!

    Just try to imagine the Felon doing anything similar for the sake of the country and the election (leaving aside the, ahem, policy differences).  They just couldn’t be more day-and-night.

  9. 9.

    stinger

    Joe Biden and Jimmy Carter are among the best human beings to have served as president. And I use the word “served” advisedly. Both men look upon elected office as service. We are lucky to have had them.

  12. 12.

    Cheryl from Maryland

    A man, who while making some imperfect decisions, is capable of change and learning, always wanted to do the best for our country, dedicated himself to service, and showed his greatness as Vice-President and now President.  The US has been fortunate to have him.

  14. 14.

    rodwell

    Joe Biden is the best president of my lifetime.  He has the attribute of all great president.  He wanted to job to do something instead of being someone.  TFCG and both Bushes are great examples of the latter.  he got us out of Afghanistan.  He made the necessary investments in infrastructure, manufacturing, and climate change which will put us a better path for the future.  He unified Europe to deal with the threat Putin/Russia.  Joe is a decent man.

  16. 16.

    Jeffro

    TaMara, thank you very much for putting up the video!  I’m going to watch it later and will share it around too.

    An absolutely kick-ass President – one of the greatest, that’s for sure!

  17. 17.

    Mike in Pasadena

    Then Vice President Biden dragged Obama across the finish line on same sex marrriage. In his debt forever, even if the Supremely Corrupt Six or rethuglicans in congress snatch it away. And President Biden pulled us out of Viet oops out of Afghanistan.

  18. 18.

    kindness

    They aren’t in your facing it but the primaries over at LGM are still putting out ‘See! I told you so!’ pieces.  They were right on the subject and wrong at how they went about it.  Love you Uncle Joe.

  19. 19.

    EarthWindFire

    Thank you seems so inadequate but sometimes that’s all you can say. There’s so much to say thank you to Joe Biden for.

    Thank you for always learning. Thank you for lifting up our oft taken down brown and black brethen by being Barack’s joyful warrior and boosting Kamala. Thank you for finally turning around our pissing on my head and telling me it’s raining economics. Thank you for getting us out of Afghanistan even with one hand tied behind your back by TFG. Most of all, thank you and your family for being the decency and normalcy we needed during the national nightmare that was 2020.

    Thank you, Joe.

  22. 22.

    Tim C.

    @schrodingers_cat:

    Depends on if you want to do any longer (for an electric) range driving.   The E-golf suffers from a smaller battery and range than both the Leaf and the Bolt.   The bigger deal on the E-golf is that it does not have a temperature regulation system on its relatively small battery so there’s going to be quicker battery degradation if you live in an environment with more extreme temperatures.  All the more reasonably priced Electrics also have a max charge rate of 50kw which can make fast charges take about 45 min or so under normal circumstances.

    Personally I love my 2020 Bolt!   240mi range on a full charge and I do longer trips a 2-4 times a year.   The Bolt is, I think, the only one with a temperature regulation system for the battery as well.

  23. 23.

    CaseyL

    @rodwell:

    he got us out of Afghanistan.

    Ripping off that bandaid, knowing he would be vilified for it, took enormous grit.  I don’t think even Biden realized the MSM would completely turn on him after that and begin the long process of whittling him down.  All the more kudos to him for sticking to it.

    Joe Biden deserves every plaudit we can give him for his accomplishments, which are foundational and were achieved in the face of a Congress even more hostile than Obama had to deal with.  I hope he has more up his sleeve in the coming six months :)

    I have great faith in Harris’ ability to continue the great work, but I do hope she sets aside a space for Biden as Special Advisor or something.

  25. 25.

    FastEdD

    I have nothing but love and respect for President Biden. All the grief he went through. It was tough to see him drop his re-election bid but It reminds me of what Harry Truman said about the presidency. Becoming a private citizen is a promotion.

  28. 28.

    Freemark

    @kindness: and they were only right because Joe made it work. Left up to them Kamala would be out and we would be having a brokered convention. So they are still wrong.

  30. 30.

    M31

    the number of amazingly competent and difficult-to-do things that Biden has overseen is very large:

    covid vaccination plan (which was in shambles under Trump)

    revitalizing manufacturing (esp given the glaring supply-chain dangers during the pandemic)

    getting inflation down without destroying the middle and lower classes

    student loan relief despite the Supreme Court/GOP

    most pro-labor administration IN HISTORY

    most pro green energy administration IN HISTORY (with results! look at the amount of solar installation in the past year, I think it’s like 50% of the installed TOTAL)

    etc. etc.

    plus the stuff that he did right but got neverendingly punished for:

    Afghanistan pullout (most successful and largest disengagement EVER) (this is really what started the downward publicity spiral)

    Ukraine (early on it was masterful with the information disclosures, though after a while it go so cautious it became harmful, I hope that this can go in a better direction)

    respect and yes, ‘normalcy’ in the world, though I doubt anyone ever will trust the US as much as pre-Trump ever again

    BY FAR the best president of my lifetime

  31. 31.

    lowtechcyclist

    I’ve been saying for years now that he’s the best President of my lifetime*, and I’m sure not going to stop saying that now.

    *Born during Ike’s first term

  32. 32.

    BritinChicago

    He saw clearly that the turn towards ‘supply-side’ or ‘trickle-down’ economics that the country took with Reagan had been extremely detrimental. The opposition of Manchin and Sinema in his first term, and the narrow loss of the House (and of course the obstructiveness of the Republicans) in his second, meant that he was not able to do anything like as much as is necessary to correct course. (In particular, major changes to the tax code are needed, to tax the wealthy more.) But what he has accomplished is extremely consequential, and his repudiation of trickle-down will, I hope, prove inspirational to a future administration that can get major changes to the tax code through Congress. I’m hoping it’s the Harris-Walz administration and that Biden will appear in history as the guy who showed us the promised land, even if he wasn’t able to get there himself.

    Then of course there’s the minor matter of the restoration of competence and decency in all parts of the government!

    Thank you Joe!

  33. 33.

    Almost Retired

    Best President of my lifetime and I’m pretty effing old (Kennedy Administration baby).  But hopefully young enough to still be around to see how history treats his Presidency and the events of the Summer of 2024.

    I also hope to still be around to visit the Trump Presidential Library….but old enough that whatever actions I take involving bodily excretory functions or buckets of pig’s blood can be explained away as “Pawpaw’s off his medication. “

    And the Biden Library!  Finally I’ll be able to see Delaware as something other than a safe space for corporations and a state-sized speed trap!

  34. 34.

    geg6

    I love this great man so much.  I only wish my mom could have lived to see his presidency.  She was a big fan back from the start of his career as a young senator who had such tragedy in his life but was a good dad to his sons through it all.  He loves this country and its people the same as he does his family.  He is just the best.

  35. 35.

    delphinium

    Thank you President Biden! I will always appreciate you promoting fair policies and all the incredible legislation that have helped us tremendously as a country.  And your continued decency and compassion is so admirable.

  36. 36.

    M31

    I’m going to propose that in Harris/Walz’s first term that Joe Biden be made head of the Marlarky Eradication Unit, and he’ll go around to various people that need some correction, say some stick-in-the muds in the State Dept., or House Republicans, the FBI NY field office, etc. He’d swing a motorcycle chain in one hand and an ice cream scoop in the other, and ask John Roberts if he wants to get Corn Popped or does he want some mint chocolate chip.

    “The choice is yours, my friend, the choice is yours.”

  38. 38.

    Fair Economist

    Biden has done such an amazing job as President, under very trying circunstances, and still is such a warmhearted and decent man. I will be forever grateful to have had him as President.

  39. 39.

    KatKapCC

    A truly good man. One of the best we have ever seen or likely will ever see. Thank you, Joe.

  40. 40.

    Eduardo

    Love Uncle Joe so much.  Best President since I came to the US a couple of weeks after W first inauguration.

    Awesome achievements wrt to climate, infrastructure, reversing the hollowing out of Americas productive capacity specially in strategic sectors.  This is still a serious national security issue.  All that with thin majorities.

    Oh and his foreign policy was miles away better than Obama’s not to talk about Bush’s (the invasion of Irak is the worst blunder of Americas foreign policy I can remember and of course Trump who is a traitor.

    Then being POTUS and give up reelection after sweeping the primaries for the good of the country.  Damn.

    Thank you, Joe, thank you.

  43. 43.

    Nelle

    @schrodingers_cat: i hope you don’t mind me chiming in.  I like the shades of red, orange, and brown of the snakes.  The color choices really aid the determined , fierce sense of the Gorgon.  The shade of blue for the background is great contrast

  44. 44.

    Frankensteinbeck

    @M31:

    most pro green energy administration IN HISTORY

    Obama deserves mad respect for green energy.  The reason green electrical generation had the huge technological breakthroughs that make it all possible today is the Stimulus.  Obama packed it with money for green energy research.

    EDIT – I was working for Japanese television news at the time and this was one thing I researched for them.  Loved that job.  Wish it hadn’t been temporary.

  47. 47.

    Mike E

    Hats off to France, they played to win more than the US tried not to lose. Defense wins championships!

  48. 48.

    Johnnybuck

    I was going to say that Joe Biden was the best President in my lifetime (He was) but I really think he was one of the best Presidents of all time.

    This country was on the verge of collapse four years ago. Disease, economic uncertainty, civil strife, a bitterly divided nation, hopelessness, despair. Much like Lincoln, or Roosevelt, Joe Biden had to succeed, or we would have lost all. It cannot be said enough that Joe Biden saved this country.

    I look at the enthusiastic, joyful, pugilistic campaign of Kamala Harris, and the overwhelming outpouring of support everywhere she goes, and I realize that Joe Biden built that too. I realize all that he has done has made all of this possible. There is no going back.

  49. 49.

    Raoul Paste

    If you can write a Postcard to Voter, you can send a letter of thanks to the White House.  It doesn’t need to be long.

    Yes, only a staffer will see it, but the quantity of letters will be significant.

  51. 51.

    BethanyAnne

    @schrodingers_cat: I love that! I like the expression on her face, the decorations on the serpents. I like the “pop” between the orange and the blue. I read “Stone Blind” a couple of years ago, a retelling of the Medusa story from her perspective, and loved it. I can see the Medusa from that story in the painting.

  53. 53.

    Anyway

    @Raoul Paste: If you can write a Postcard to Voter, you can send a letter of thanks to the White House.  It doesn’t need to be long.

    oooh, I am going to do this — thanks!

  55. 55.

    jackmac

    I’ve lived through 11 presidents and Joe Biden has been the best of them all.  While I can only speculate what a second Biden term might have been like, Madam President Harris will have a great legacy to draw on.

  57. 57.

    zhena gogolia

    @Johnnybuck: He must have been mentoring her all along. She was my candidate in 2020, but I can see such growth in her since then. And she was pretty damn good already!

  58. 58.

    Heidi Mom

    As others have suggested, his achievements are all the greater when seen against the backdrop of tragedy that has haunted his life.  Is a comparison to Lincoln too much?

  63. 63.

    Mike E

    @eclare: I didn’t see power couple Sue Bird and Megan Rapinoe in the audience, that and A’ja would have gotten the anti-woke crowd apoplectic!

    ETA and there she is!

  64. 64.

    True Blue Spark

    I remember vividly (god, was it really just a few weeks ago?) how angry I was when I first heard Biden was stepping back. “Great,” I thought, “the asshole billionaires behind the papers won. They get everything they wanted, again, with no consequences.”

    But then they didn’t get everything they wanted. There was no messy struggle for the nomination, thanks to Joe’s foresight and planning. And now we’re in a far better place than I could have predicted. Harris and Walz are more than equal to the task ahead of them.

    (So was it “the right choice”? I don’t think I want to go that far. I always believed Joe could win, and I still do. But we’ll never know that for sure either way, and that’s okay. What matters is it was a good choice, made with the whole country in mind.)

    So thank you, President Joe Biden, for everything you’ve done for us in your decades of service. For never forgetting that the purpose of the government is to make things better for all of us.

    (Long time lurker who’s never got round to commenting before, but I just had to join the love for 46.)

  66. 66.

    eclare

    Joe Biden has been the best president of my lifetime, born 1968.  Besides the skill he shows in getting legislation passed, what I admire the most is his humanity.  Story after story of him helping others, comforting others, even with all of the tragedies in his life.  You’d think he would be out of compassion by now, nope.

    I wish for him lots of time on the beach, endless ice cream, and hugs on demand from his family.

  70. 70.

    Johnnybuck

    @zhena gogolia: She was my first choice too. God that seems like ages ago. He knew what he was doing when he picked her. He knew what he was doing when he endorsed her.

  72. 72.

    West of the Rockies

    Carter, Obama, Biden…  excellent, inspirational human beings!  Obama accomplished a lot given the constraints he faced.  Biden has done better.

  73. 73.

    Matt McIrvin

    History will be kind to him, if anything like a legit discipline of history exists decades from now.

    His crack about the mistake of not putting “Joe did that” on all the construction signs was on point. I think that right now, it’s difficult to see how big-ball his administration was, and it’s partly because he was following an absurd clown show that ended in an attempted violent self-coup by a wannabe strongman. I remember a lot of us saying in 2020-21 that we wanted to make politics boring again. But it had the effect of obscuring what Biden’s administration was actually doing.

    Next year, my town is going to replace its crumbling hundred-year-old Main Street bridge. That’s just his most visible legacy in my neighborhood.

    I think it’s not quite the Great Society, but his foreign policy wasn’t the Vietnam War either.

  75. 75.

    Jackie

    Back to topic: Joe Biden is, IMO, the best President of my lifetime.

    I wish my dad was alive to ask his opinion; sadly he passed during TCFG’s term. He always thought LBJ and FDR were the most influential presidents; but I think he’d put Biden “right there” among them.

  77. 77.

    TaMara

    @Raoul Paste: This is a good idea. Here is the recommendations from the White House:

    Here are a few simple things you can do to make sure your correspondence gets to the White House as quickly as possible.

    • If possible, email us! This is the fastest way to reach the White House.
    • If you write a letter, please consider typing it on an 8 1/2 by 11 inch sheet of paper.
    • If you hand-write your letter, please write as neatly as possible with an ink pen.
    • Include your return address on your letter as well as on your envelope. If you have an email address, please share it with us too.
    • And finally, please be sure to write on the outside of your mailing envelope the complete address for the White House to make sure your letter gets to us as quickly and directly as possible:

    The White House
    1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W.
    Washington, DC 20500

  80. 80.

    eclare

    @Johnnybuck:

    Same here, my first choice in 2020.  I was so happy when he picked her for VP.  He recognized her talent and nurtured it, which is so important. Her victory will ensure that his legacy continues.

  81. 81.

    BethanyAnne

    When Joe won, I changed my Twitter bio (I still had an account then.) to “Joe got back up. Life knocked him down over and over and over. But he just kept getting. back. up. Life will knock you down, too. Follow his lead. Get back up. You can do more than you know.”

    I love that he went big. I’ve felt sort of like America is … lost somehow, for the past 30 years or so. Like we just don’t dream and do big anymore. And then along comes Obama and gets healthcare done. And Joe does *so* much all over the place. The SCrOTUS knocks his student debt plan down, and he gets back up and accomplishes much of it anyway. The immigration bill may yet pass for Kamala. Expanding NATO, backing Ukraine, the infrastructure bill, going big on recovering from inflation and Covid. Joe’s administration has set America up to succeed on so many fronts. He’s been a work horse, not a show horse, and damn has he worked for us. Thank you, Joe.

  84. 84.

    stacib

    @Freemark: And, this is why I’m still angry.  All of the folks crowing about how right they were totally leaves out the brokered convention nonsense.  Not a single one of them had a plan other than to drop Biden.  Without him engineering this, we would still be smack dab in the middle of a shitshow.  I wanted Biden in 2016, still in 2020 and still in 2024.  I truly hope he has a great “retirement”.

  86. 86.

    zhena gogolia

    @stacib: You haven’t heard the revisionist history explanation. They were just fooling when they talked about the brokered convention so people wouldn’t think they just wanted a “coronation” of Harris. I was certainly fooled. When Zoe Lofgren came out in lockstep with Pelosi saying, “We don’t want a coronation,” I almost threw up. It would have been A TOTAL DISASTER. And I don’t believe for a minute that they didn’t mean it.

  89. 89.

    comrade scotts agenda of rage

    @Steve LaBonne:

    I look in at LGM every once in a while and have zero regrets about deleting my Disqus account.

    The Three Stooges there are poster children for fauxgressive clowns.

    And to echo what’s been said, Biden’s *easily* the best president of my lifetime.

  94. 94.

    Kristine

    @Raoul Paste: I should do that.

    I still tear up when I see him. I’m thrilled with how things are going now— 🤞—it was the best possible outcome. But I have so many questions about what led up to it that I hope will be answered in the coming years.

  96. 96.

    japa21

    @Omnes Omnibus: We were hearing different things from different people.  And many of us still believe Joe could have won.

    That being said, I am no longer angry.  Anger is an energy wasting emotion and the only people it hurts are those who are angry.

    I can’t say I was right just as those baking Joe’s stepping done can’t legitimately say they are right, though they’ll try. The reality is that we will never know.

    What I can do is work as hard as I can to make sure Harris/Walz wins convincingly in November and Dems win up and down the ballot as much as possible.

  99. 99.

    PJ

    @zhena gogolia: Yep.  Despite what Pelosi said this week about thinking there would be some kind of “blitz primary”, and being, at best, indifferent about Harris, she secretly wanted and knew it would be Harris all along, but didn’t want ordinary folks to think it was a “coronation.”

    The gloaters are not going to shut up about how right they are, because we’ll never know the outcome if Joe had stayed in the race  (which I personally am sure he would’ve won.)

    I don’t doubt that what Biden said is true, that certain Democratic representatives and senators, probably in purple districts or states, were concerned about their personal reelection chances, and having lower campaign funds if the big money donors would continue withholding their checks if Biden were the candidate.  I would guess that many of them were whining to Pelosi and Schumer about it, and this is the main reason why they worked to get Biden out.  Instead of working to get Biden, and themselves, reelected by promoting what he and Congress accomplished over the last three and a half years and what they would accomplish in his second term, it was a lot easier to give the money men what they wanted.  There are no profiles in courage here.

  100. 100.

    wenchacha

    I didn’t like the PBS Frontline2 this week about the life and times of Joe Biden.

    First off, did they really have to use Peter Baker as one of their contributors? Why not Stephen Miller?

    I tuned it out after a bit. Too many clips of POTUS Biden not at his best, too much gossip about Pelosi and Obama. It just made Joe look feeble instead of highly accomplished and respected.

  101. 101.

    KatKapCC

    @schrodingers_cat: @BethanyAnne: Stone Blind was terrific. Have either of you read the novella Here, the World Entire by Anwen Kya Hayward? Another wonderful retelling of the Medusa myth:

    After being accused of desecrating Athena’s temple and subsequently cursed with monstrousness, Medusa lives alone on the outskirts of the world, secluding herself from everyone so as to keep both herself and the rest of the world safe. When Perseus comes to ask for her help, Medusa tries desperately to make him leave, but no matter what she does, Perseus stays. As the days wear on and she reveals more about the events that led her to the cave, it becomes obvious that there is a choice to make: stay safe and alone, or re-enter the world with Perseus. One question still remains, however: what does Perseus want?

    I read it earlier this year and loved it. Very short but so poignant. Honestly made me cry a bit.

  102. 102.

    Omnes Omnibus

    @japa21: I can’t say I was right just as those baking Joe’s stepping done can’t legitimately say they are right, though they’ll try. The reality is that we will never know.

    What I can do is work as hard as I can to make sure Harris/Walz wins convincingly in November and Dems win up and down the ballot as much as possible.

    QFT

  104. 104.

    Tom Levenson

    @schrodingers_cat: I’ve been looking at shorter range used evs as well.

    The catch with the Bolt that friends of mine who own one tell me is that before 2020 the seats were uncomfortable (to many); they got better in ’20 and were again improved in ’22. Otherwise people seem to love them.

    I’ve been curious about 2020 or later Ioniq EVs from Hyundai. This is was the EV version of Hyundai’s Prius fighter–it’s more comfortable and quieter than the Toyota. (We have a 2013 Prius plug-in and I can attest that it’s a very noisy car on the road, and while not a misery to sit in, nothing to write home about either.) Beginning 2020 it got a larger battery and is rated at ~170 miles range. They’re pretty cheap used. As are late 2010s Kia Niro and Hyundai Kona EVs. Can’t speak to battery temperature issues mentioned above.

    But overall, it looks like one can get a pretty good used EV with adequate range for well under $20K before any of the used EV federal and state incentives one might qualify for.  Let us know what you decide!

  105. 105.

    zhena gogolia

    @PJ: Except Biden and Harris (and I’ll give credit to AOC, Crockett, and Sanders). (That is, “profiles in courage”)

  107. 107.

    NotMax

    @TaMara

    Used to have a PO box in a hamlet in the Poconos. Post office (including boxes) in half the living room of the postmistress’ house, so no ready access outside of business hours.

    Still, for $5 a year a bargain by any measure. No keys for the box, combination lock with an alphabetic dial.

    Oddity: split my time between PA and NY. Kept my NY driver license (paper, no picture). My Pennsylvania PO box address was what was printed on the NY license.

  108. 108.

    dm

    “Joe Biden is the best president of my lifetime.”

    Makes me think of a cheerful reversal of the Simpsons meme: “The best president of your lifetime, so far.”

    But if it does work out that way, Joe Biden will be largely responsible for it.

    I loved Joe’s rueful “The mistake I made was not putting ‘Joe did that’ stickers on all the highways and bridges under construction.”

  109. 109.

    Baud

    Alternative history is bunk, but I believe fighting for Joe for a month helped us avoid a mini primary or brokered convention and also helped boost public acceptance of Kamala as the replacement, in a way that would not have happened if Joe had caved and dropped out immediately after the debate.

  111. 111.

    CaseyL

    @TaMara:

    Email thank-you letter submitted! I was effusive, but hopefully not too much :)

    @comrade scotts agenda of rage: ​

    I’ve been thinking about a Bolt, though I’m not planning to buy another car anytime soon. Probably a used one, when and if: balancing improved range and battery life against the ever-increasing suite of surveillance software (do not want!).

    Hopefully there will be more public chargers by the time I finally take the plunge into an EV. I live in a townhouse complex, so getting my own just isn’t gonna happen.

  114. 114.

    schrodingers_cat

    @zhena gogolia: CBC too. Jaime Harris who heads the DNC. Both the Clintons. Hakeem Jeffries. Black women who are the base of our party. The Governor’s association, and D governors who stood by the ticket.

    The people floating the addle brained mini primary did not get any takers from any serious Ds (Whitmer and Newsom come to mind).

  118. 118.

    laura

    My deep admiration and gratitude to President Joseph Biden will never diminish. Heartfelt letter to follow. Roadie Brother the Younger and I had a long conversation about writing him thank you letters yesterday. I’m tucking that conversation in the pocket of my heart.

  121. 121.

    Johnnybuck

    @Baud: Since it basically went off without a hitch, I think you’re right. I really doubt anyone would have tried to run against Harris after Joe’s endorsement.

  125. 125.

    CaseyL

    Celebrating President Joe also means doing whatever we can to get Harris-Walz elected.

    The GOP is mounting an organized campaign to purge eligible voters off the registration rolls in Red and Swing States. Jay Kuo and Joyce Vance have some thoughts and advice on how to combat them, which I pass along (with some edits of my own) for your own information and to share with others:

    Republicans are carrying out organized voter-purging campaigns in red states and swing states. They are working to get eligible voters tossed off the rolls, so that when you show up to vote you’re not listed as a registered voter.

    There is a step you can take in advance of voting in federal elections to make sure your registration status is active. And it’s easy. You can go online and check your registration status.

    Also, the National Motor Voter Act says you can’t be removed from the voter rolls closer than 90 days out from the election. We’re past that point now, so, if you check your status and you’re an active voter, your state can’t change that before the election. Take a screenshot, keep it handy, and if there are any issues, you’ve got proof that you’re an active voter. If there’s any question at the polls, you’ve got documentation.

    If you live in a red state or swing state especially, please check your registration status. Do it today, and take a screenshot showing that your registration is valid. Make sure there’s a date stamp in the meta data on the photo.

    You can check your status at IWillVote today or vote.gov today. It takes just a minute.
    Protect your right to vote.

    Your vote is your voice. Don’t let the GOP silence it or you.

    h/t Joyce Vance and Jay Kuo

  126. 126.

    MagdaInBlack

    @NotMax: Oh! I had forgotten about that, thank you for reminding me of one more place I’ve always wanted to visit

    Eta: especially the gardens.

  130. 130.

    Belafon

    @CaseyL: That’s probably why states like here in Texas are putting people on a suspended status list. They haven’t removed them, but if you don’t go and reactivate, it can take a couple of steps to make sure your vote gets counted.

  132. 132.

    cain

    @Johnnybuck:

    And then she picked Walz! That was a masterstroke.

    History is going to look back and be in awe of the democratic presidents that our party has produced in the past 40 years. Everyone of them compassionate human beings.

  133. 133.

    Layer8Problem

    I want Biden to write a memoir after he leaves the presidency. With receipts, with the gloves off. I want him to go full Mal Reynolds.

    Mal: Sure. It would be humiliating. Having to lie there while the better man refuses to spill your blood. Mercy is the mark of a great man.

    [lightly stabs Atherton with the sword]

    Mal: Guess I’m just a good man.

    [stabs him again]

    Mal: Well, I’m all right.

    Mind you, he’s a better person than I am.

  134. 134.

    dnfree

    @schrodingers_cat: It’s your interpretation that the post about Pelosi was “gloating”.  She’s being interviewed about her book, and she also has a lot to be praised for.

  135. 135.

    p.a.

    The accomplishments of Joe & the full Dem team given the Congressional numbers over four years is fantastic!  High bar for K & her team.  Hope to make it easier by breaking the tRumpublicans apart in Nov.

  136. 136.

    CaseyL

    @Belafon: ​

    Then much the same remedy: going to the website or, if they really want to be bastards (and I’m sure they do) to the voter registration office in person, to make sure your status is “active.”

    Last I heard, the Georgia program allowing any random ratfucker to cancel thousands of voter registrations had received a cease-and-desist letter, but I haven’t heard anything about whether they’ve actually ceased-and-desisted.

  137. 137.

    The Kropenhagen Interpretation

    @stacib: I truly hope he has a great “retirement”.

    He has a great model in Jimmy Carter for a post-Presidency. May it be long and fruitful. This is still a brilliant and compassionate man, after all.

  138. 138.

    kalakal

    Biden is a truly great man and President.

    Despite being dealt a weak hand in the house and Senate his accomplishments surpass those of any President for decades.

    The old cliche about kings was that their most important job was providing an heir and Uncle Joe has excelled in that too.

    I think that from the very beginning Biden was far more conscious than all of his predecessors* of how consequential his VP choice could be due to a medical event. He picked his hope for the future, the brightest, best, toughest and the one he considered to have the best character ( and as a thoroughly decent person himself Biden is both a very good judge and has

    very high standards of character) .

    From 2020 we’ve had a master of the US political system training up a brilliant student to be his successor in a way I don’t think any president has. I’m taking nothing away from MVP, she is her own person and a truly impressive one at that.

    The greatest compliment a student can pay their teacher is to surpass them, I really, really look forward to seeing Harris do that.

    *FDR would be the exception

  139. 139.

    Geoduck

    @sdhays: In fairness, it was just one LGM front-poster, Paul Campos, who went nuts with the Parkinson’s stuff, and he was constantly mercilessly ragged in the comments about it. But yeah, Loomis is also still doing “neener neener neener” posts.

  141. 141.

    Matt McIrvin

    @Belafon: The “inactive voter” roll bit me once in Massachusetts! It was for not responding to the city census, a survey taken yearly by paper mail. If you don’t respond enough times, you get inactivated, and to vote with a regular ballot you need to show proof of address (not photo ID). There have been cases in the past of partisan “poll observers” trying to give people grief about this process.

  142. 142.

    Kelly

    @Baud:  I believe fighting for Joe for a month helped us avoid a mini primary or brokered convention

    This seems correct. I hadn’t thought of it.

  143. 143.

    comrade scotts agenda of rage

    @Tom Levenson: ​
     

    The catch with the Bolt that friends of mine who own one tell me is that before 2020 the seats were uncomfortable (to many); they got better in ’20 and were again improved in ’22. Otherwise people seem to love them.

    Which is why I tell people to buy a 2023. Plenty on the market and have taken the big, initial depreciation hit. Seats are good, inside is far less platic-ey than the earlier ones, etc.
    It took GM 5 years to get the Bolt “right” but when they did, they hit a home run.

  144. 144.

    What Have The Romans Ever Done for Us?

    Biden has been certainly the most effective Democratic President since probably LBJ in terms of getting a policy agenda implemented. Hard to judge…Obama gets a bad rap IMO. The Affordable Care Act was huge and he did get the Stimulus package through despite Republican opposition…he shouldn’t have had to do that but did. He never did find a way around or through total Republican opposition after that but it probably was impossible.

    Clinton was kind of shafted by having to fight a rear-guard action against advancing-to-peak Reagan conservatism. Plus his personal behavior was an issue that hamstrung him and IMO contributed to Al Gore not being elected to succeed him (with a huge assist from SCOTUS but they couldn’t have intervened if the election weren’t such a nailbiter).

    But Joe was definitely great and deserves our thanks and gratitude. I hope he’s at peace with his decision and happy and contented. The Presidency is a pressure cooker and hopefully a big part of him is relieved and happy about his impending retirement.

    If Harris can get as much done as Joe did we’ll be in great shape, but as we saw with Obama and Clinton, being a great campaigner, which she appears to be so far, doesn’t always equate to getting policy enacted. So we’ll (hopefully) see how she does with that.

  146. 146.

    sentient ai from the future

    Legend. Fucking Legend.

    also, his and pelosi’s leadership are directly responsible for the safer and more secure place i’m at in my existence relative to 5-7 years ago.

    i couldnt possibly thank them enough.

  147. 147.

    Bill Arnold

    @Baud:

    Alternative history is bunk, but I believe fighting for Joe for a month helped us avoid a mini primary or brokered convention and also helped boost public acceptance of Kamala as the replacement, in a way that would not have happened if Joe had caved and dropped out immediately after the debate.

    Yes. Well-stated.

  152. 152.

    L Boom

    @schrodingers_cat:  This is maybe the 15th comment I’ve made on BJ in the almost 20 years I’ve been lurking here (Jesus!) but that Gorgon is awesome. Just showed it to my 5 year old, my wife and I were explaining the Medusa story to her yesterday. Perfect timing!

  153. 153.

    dnfree

    @The Kropenhagen Interpretation: Maybe it’s just me, but sometimes it seems there’s some ungenerous interpretation of the motives of others here.  I’m an infrequent commenter, and I’ve seen it addressed at esteemed posters and commenters as well as those who aren’t as well known.

  154. 154.

    stacib

    @What Have The Romans Ever Done for Us?: As I remember it, Al Gore did everything in his power to disconnect from Bill Clinton because of Clinton’s behavior and the Republican clusterfuck that resulted from it.  I think that hurt him more than anything since Clinton was still popular among some constituencies that took note of that, read it as disloyal and stayed home.

  155. 155.

    Hoodie

    @Baud: One thing Joe may have always had in the back of his mind once it became clear that Trump was running again is that Dems could not afford a food fight for the nomination to run against Trump. It may have influenced his decision to run for reelection and the timing of his decision to step aside. His reelection bid was already subject to the question as to whether voting for Joe was, in essence, voting for Harris because Joe might not be able to serve a full second term. In terms of democratic legitimacy, he may have come to the conclusion that it is just better to have Harris run directly.  Doing what he did allows the focus to remain on beating Trump and avoid the distraction of a potentially divisive primary fight among a bunch of good but ambitious pols on the Dem bench.

  157. 157.

    Jackie

    @wenchacha:

    I didn’t like the PBS Frontline2 this week about the life and times of Joe Biden.

    Thanks for the heads up! I planned to watch it later today… Preseason NFL will do fine, instead!

  158. 158.

    Bupalos

    Biden had the best presidency in generations because the party is in a better place than it has been. He is and has always been an incredibly skilled and truly democratic politician. Which means he believes in representing his constituency. There are times in his career when that meant some pretty negative things, but the coincidence of Joe Biden and a national constituency that had changed for the better delivered a startlingly successful presidency.
    And while I don’t go in for the “hero” stuff in politics, voluntarily relinquishing power and being able to see and care about a common political good separate from his own political self-regard… that really does make him a legendary figure in American and world politics.

  159. 159.

    Archon

    Joe was a good President who got an unfair ending in alot of ways but frankly this “best President in my lifetime” screeds are a bit over the top IMO.

  161. 161.

    Kelly

    I’ve always valued experience in elected politicians. Term limits are a scam to to give lobbyists and oligarchs more chances to bullshit rookies. Biden’s experience showed from the time he took the S Carolina primary to boosting Harris to the nomination.

    That said I was strongly leaning toward Harris in 2020. I respected Joe but thought we needed a younger ticket to up our chances of holding the Presidency through several cycles. Joe exceeded my expectations in every way.

    The months from September 2020 thru January 2021 were emotionally excruciating. We fled from our secure home the Labor Day 2020 fires in Oregon into COVID infested refugedom.  Half our neighborhood burnt down. Looking out at the wreckage of our friends homes every day. Politics grew crazier every day climaxing  January 6th. Then Joe was sworn in and things started getting better.

    He deserves credit for many things he got done with political skill. Getting us out of Afghanistan was his best moment of political courage.

  162. 162.

    Bupalos

    @dm: I think that’s a wishful thought. I don’t think people look at those projects that way.

    it does point up Biden’s faith that good governance is the best politics. It just doesn’t really work that directly or quickly.

  163. 163.

    Bupalos

    @Archon: It’s always hard to know at the time. In retrospect, both Clinton and Obama look like largely wasted opportunities to get in front of problems that now become existential.

  164. 164.

    What Have The Romans Ever Done for Us?

    @stacib: Could be true. I remember a lot of “Clinton fatigue” discussion back then that I thought kind of hurt Gore but maybe distancing from Clinton to counter that turned some folks off.

  166. 166.

    dnfree

    @schrodingers_cat: Yes, that is my opinion.  And what you said about gloating is your opinion.  I’m sorry when I see negative motives attributed to people whose varied opinions I value, including yours.

  168. 168.

    banditqueen

    Like so many who have already commented, I think Joe Biden is a talented, dedicated, imaginative president and I’m proud to have voted for him. And like all people who are extraordinarily good at their jobs, Joe makes it look easy–he just gets things done, from leaving Afghanistan to helping to reduce the student loan burden (he’s not done yet). I didn’t expect miracles  but he sure has done more than what any of us could have hoped for–if solutions to some problems were easy we wouldn’t have to worry about those problems anymore–but he confronted issues and that alone will help to move things forward. I think Kamala Harris will continue to address some of what Joe didn’t have time to finish–let’s get her and Tim to the White House! And thank you, Mr President.

  171. 171.

    wjca

    Biden looks to be the most consequential President of my lifetime.  And one of the two (along with Jimmy Carter) finest human beings in the Oval Office in my lifetime.  (Which stretches back to Harry Truman. Although I was too young to remember him.) 

    @Almost Retired: I also hope to still be around to visit the Trump Presidential Library

    That would be a shoddily constructed outhouse, in poor repair, with your choice of The Art of the Deal or Pravda for TP.

  172. 172.

    Gloria DryGarden

    @kalakal:

    I think that from the very beginning Biden was far more conscious than all of his predecessors* of how consequential his VP choice could be due to a medical event. He picked his hope for the future, the brightest, best, toughest and the one he considered to have the best character ( and as a thoroughly decent person himself Biden is both a very good judge and has very high standards of character) .

    From 2020 we’ve had a master of the US political system training up a brilliant student to be his successor in a way I don’t think any president has.

    yes. Clear, and blazing w hope.

    also this:

    @CaseyL: I do hope she sets aside a space for Biden as Special Advisor or something.

    I think we still need his statecraft skills and his knowledge and experience about international relations. I hope he can be involved. There is a lot many politicians and diplomats can learn from him, if he’s available for mentoring and advising. I feel adamant and urgent about this.
    (not able to find better more eloquent words yet today)

  177. 177.

    Frankensteinbeck

    @zhena gogolia:

    I take for granted that Pelosi knows politics better than me.  It was glaringly obvious to me that Biden would endorse Harris, his delegates would choose to shift to her, and the rest of the party would fall in.  There weren’t any other viable options.  Besides Biden, only Harris could win, and the delegates were Biden/Harris delegates, not just Biden.  Convincing them to all fall in behind Harris would be trivial.

    If I knew all that, Pelosi certainly did.  I view any statements she makes through that lens.  Wanting the process of legitimacy to play out where the delegates choose Harris does not seem weird.  Everybody had their chance to stand up and offer an alternative to Harris.  Nobody who tried got enough traction to be even an ‘also ran’.  Harris got the nomination fair and square, to the extent that’s possible if Biden is not nominated.

  178. 178.

    zhena gogolia

    @Frankensteinbeck: When they (she and her surrogates) said they “didn’t want a coronation” on national television, it was perceived by the TV hosts and everyone else as saying (usually in direct questions about whether it would be Harris) that there would be a competition. A competition would have been disastrous.

  179. 179.

    dnfree

    @zhena gogolia: TV hosts often take the most obvious interpretation of what a politician is saying.  I’m sure you, like I, have listened to a politician’s statement and then seen the journalistic interpretation of it and said “But that’s not what they SAID!”.

  182. 182.

    laura

    @Archon: covid vaccines saved lives. The inflation reduction act saved My family, over $24,000 per year in health care premiums since 2020. President Biden made it possible for me to save $100,000 and age into Medicare next month. He changed more lives than just mine.

    Best President of my life.

  186. 186.

    PJ

    @dnfree: ​
      But what Pelosi said this week is that she thought there would be a “blitz primary”, and she was surprised when everyone coalesced around Harris. It could be, as you suggest, that she is still being completely disingenuous, but after Harris sealed the nomination, it would seem pointless to keep pretending, and yet, according to you, that is what Pelosi is doing.

  188. 188.

    dnfree

    @PJ: I don’t know what Pelosi was doing, weeks ago or now. But she has done enough shrewd things over the years, including dragging the ACA over the finish line when it seemed hopeless, that I think she deserves the benefit of the doubt as to her motives and her actions. Some commenters here are saying “She’s dead to me” or the equivalent, which seems excessive, and condemning any fellow commenters who take a different view.

    And in line with the topic of this post, Biden has done a wonderful job as President and is  still making a difference, and I do appreciate him very much. I just also appreciate Pelosi and acknowledge that I don’t know what all went on behind the scenes.

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