Election 2020

[Teenwolf]

Here's the only other snippet from the episode I could find.

[Teenwolf]

I saw this article in response to Obama's comments. I doubt many Dems agree with it, but at least he isn't criticizing any Democratic candidates !

https://prospect.org/politics/what-obama-really-wants/

Awesome read, thanks for posting.

Most resonant highlights:

Wolf insists that the president “cares first about electability,” a concept that has dominated political talk this year as if it’s some kind of pinpoint science. Allow me to make one point about this. The two winning Democratic presidential candidates in the past 40 years—Bill Clinton and Obama himself—ran on a narrative of hope, while “electable” nominees who stressed competence and caution, from Michael Dukakis to John Kerry to Hillary Clinton, all lost. Campaigning in poetry is not a privilege available only to moderate technocrats; progressives who express their ambitions can also attract a popular following.

The sample size of modern presidential elections is far too small to make any definitive judgments about what themes and approaches work.

Obama's resistance to progressives is weirdly cynical for the "hope & change" guy, but it makes sense in serving to protect his ego and his legacy.

Even though Obama routinely expressed throughout his presidency that America has a long way to go to be perfected, even though he praised “good new ideas like Medicare for All” as recently as last September, he seems to see anyone else saying these things as attacking his legacy. One reason why Obama attempts to rally the base for moderates may be in his difficulty abiding a Democratic Party that even intimates that he failed to tangibly benefit the lives of the working class.

[...]

But let’s be honest about the endgame. Obama is intervening on behalf of a cramped, self-censoring politics, one that dreams big but fights small, one that comforts the well-off by assuring them their fortunes will be safe and the game will proceed to their benefit. He has said, according to the Times, that the eventual primary winner “will come back to me when they need me,” and they will. But they might not come back to his policies, and that’s apparently unacceptable.

[The Feral Slasher]

Awesome read, thanks for posting.

Most resonant highlights:



Obama's resistance to progressives is weirdly cynical for the "hope & change" guy, but it makes sense in serving to protect his ego and his legacy.

Kind of surprising to realize the Dems have only had two presidents in the last 40 years. Both were young and to most people's opinion "charismatic". Fodder for the Mayor Pete crowd I suppose.

[Sour Masher]

Kind of surprising to realize the Dems have only had two presidents in the last 40 years. Both were young and to most people's opinion "charismatic". Fodder for the Mayor Pete crowd I suppose.

Yes, I've cited this fact as I've expressed fears that the Dems won't get behind one of the old candidates. The Dems seem to propel young, charismatic candidates to victory and stay home for everyone else.

[The Feral Slasher]

Yes, I've cited this fact as I've expressed fears that the Dems won't get behind one of the old candidates. The Dems seem to propel young, charismatic candidates to victory and stay home for everyone else.

Mayor Pete it is !!

[Sour Masher]

Mayor Pete it is !!

Not sure he is all that charismatic, and I forgot the other factor--you have to appeal to AA voters. Pete does not. If he can figure that out, I do think he is a real contender. But if he can't, he isn't.

[The Feral Slasher]

Not sure he is all that charismatic, and I forgot the other factor--you have to appeal to AA voters. Pete does not. If he can figure that out, I do think he is a real contender. But if he can't, he isn't.

so if he's not charismatic how do you explain his rise from a humble small town mayor to a presidential contender ?

[Sour Masher]

so if he's not charismatic how do you explain his rise from a humble small town mayor to a presidential contender ?

Well, in a night club full of 4s, a 7 looks like a 10. I do find him amazingly polished for a 37 year old. But he isn't a real contender until if/when he gains support among AA voters.

[The Feral Slasher]

Well, in a night club full of 4s, a 7 looks like a 10. I do find him amazingly polished for a 37 year old. But he isn't a real contender until if/when he gains support among AA voters.

Why do you hate Democrats !

[Sour Masher]

Why do you hate Democrats !

I like 'em all--it's just most of them need to invest more points into their charisma stat.

[The Feral Slasher]

I like 'em all--it's just most of them need to invest more points into their charisma stat.

Dungeons and Dragons ref ? Been like 35 years for me. Is that still a thing or did technology destroy it ?

[Kevin Seitzer]

Biden deals with a stutter? Certainly puts the criticisms about his speaking ability in a different light.

https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine...rofile/602401/

[Sour Masher]

Dungeons and Dragons ref ? Been like 35 years for me. Is that still a thing or did technology destroy it ?

It's still a thing. I'd played once as a teenager, got nostalgic and felt I missed out and played half a mini-campaign with some of the grad students I work with recently. I played a warlock with a high charisma score. I can't find the time to do it again with my kids being young, but they play all the time. Still a vibrant community for it, I am told.

[Sour Masher]

Biden deals with a stutter? Certainly puts the criticisms about his speaking ability in a different light.

https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine...rofile/602401/

My five year old has one, but not bad at the moment, thankfully--it was really bad for a few months when he was four and has been off and on bad since he was 2, but at this point, I think it will mostly fade as he ages, as it did for me. I had a bit of it too at that age, and still do the occasional word replacement, to get away from getting stuck, that Biden seems to do. I like Biden, and think those who don't like him may over blow his stumbles a bit, but I also think they clearly go beyond this. He's messed up names and dates and memories as well. Obviously, we all are capable of doing that to a degree, and he is probably fairly average in that regard for his age. But these things get amplified and scrutinized when you are vying to be the POTUS, as they should.

Separate from that, if Biden's stutter was bad as a kid, it is impressive he has been able to overcome it to the extent he has. I still think he may be the best candidate out there when it comes to the one-on-one off-camera make the person feel special skill. I see him look someone in the eyes, a glimmer in his and totally attentive, and it makes me think, if he could do that with every single voter, he could win off that alone, despite all his stumbles and other issues. But he can't, and he will have to face Trump again and again. I fear he just isn't up to it.

[revo]

Mike Bloomberg officially announces he’s entering the race.