Joe Biden, Senator from Citibank (oops, DELAWARE), to Run for President

"One word from Clyburn and a certain demo snapped to it!"

I can see where Biden may have had a reasonable thought hidden inside that poorly expressed, to the point of idiocy, statement. Maybe what he was thinking, but washed all sense out of, is the idea that the overwhelming majority of African-Americans in the USA are descendants of slaves brought the USA prior to 1850, which makes them very long-term multi-generational Americans. as opposed to recent immigrants. The Latino community, otoh, contains members from every Latin American nation, which represents a really wide diversity of cultures as different as Cuba, El Salvador, Mexico, Puerto Rico, or Chile.

There's a lot of scrabble pieces rattling around in his skull

It's legit the sort of thing someone his age would say and then if you were like ' excuse Me' he'd be like 'you know what I mean!' and get all flustered

God we're so fucked

Biden trying to express the fact that there was a specific African-American ethnogenesis that occurred due to the slave trade:

"Unlike the African-American community, with notable exceptions, the Latino community is an incredibly diverse community"

All those classified briefings on all those critical subjects over all those years and most of what comes out of his brain looks like so many lint-covered peppermint candies fished out of an old suit coat pocket.

You're all missing it. What he was saying is "blacks are a reliable Democratic constituency, except for a few whack jobs like Clarence Thomas and Ben Carson, unlike Latinos, who vote Republican in significant numbers in ways that often correlate to national origin."

I can see where Biden may have had a reasonable thought hidden inside that poorly expressed, to the point of idiocy, statement. Maybe what he was thinking, but washed all sense out of

He expanded on his thoughts at another teleconference this afternoon.

This is the hill Biden's apparently going to die on. This afternoon he appeared in a virtual roundtable and doubled down on his “Latinos have a more diverse culture than blacks” take pic.twitter.com/j8azhzL5YJ

— Tom Elliott (@tomselliott) August 6, 2020

lmao

One thing I learned knocking doors during the primaries was that if the house had this font, they were voting for Warren. pic.twitter.com/8J0CSL96Vr

— Cory (@Substituted_) August 6, 2020

it's tim kaine

wait til Biden finds out Toni Morrison didn't like Hamilton

wait til he realizes Hamilton isn't about George Hamilton

i mean, he's saying "latino" doesn't denote just one ethnicity or national origin. mexican-americans and cuban-americans trace their heritage from different countries and also have had different immigrant experiences. in contrast, african-americans have a shared history in america that can be traced back before independence.

it kind of makes sense i just don't understand the relevance of the point.

and of course, it falls apart once you consider the true diversity of people in america. there are afro-latinos, there are people who immigrated here from various parts of africa, etc.

re Biden's video on taking a cognitive test:

It's amusing that his instant comparison is that the TV reporter should take a test for cocaine use before coming on air.

His best position is in the basement and he's done really well there over the last 10 weeks. Changing formation and playing him out of position just behind the microphone and camera is unfathomable

Imagine Biden talking our way into a second Trump term. (I mean, I think it's unlikely but imagine)

Not that we shouldn't all be completely terrified even if Biden does go back to his hole since he's clearly not competent to handle the challenges we're going to face over the next 24 months.

It's amusing that his instant comparison is that the TV reporter should take a test for cocaine use before coming on air.

It's very amusing that, hours before insisting that black Americans have no culture, his first thought to attack a black American with was that people should assume he does cocaine, and even more amusing that Biden doesn't know the difference between a heroin addict and a cocaine user.

Y'know, I'm getting the feeling that this Biden guy might be racist.

god, could my dad drive a car. oof

Biden sits mute as Democrats & Republicans savage Karen Bass for a few bland remarks she made about Cuba and Fidel Castro, then hires a rightwing, viciously anti-Cuba Republican hack to "rev up" Latinx for his campaign...https://t.co/5dcf9GAKVs

— Jeffrey St. Clair (@JSCCounterPunch) August 7, 2020

Ana Navarro is the pits.

If he picks Kamala it will just confirm what everyone thinks—that he is just a mannequin being propped up by the party who isn’t in control of his own campaign. If I was Biden, I would pick someone who I at least knew and liked, just to remind people I am alive.

"everyone"

itt a bunch of white guys who can't process the idea that some people actually like/respect Kamala Harris

i like her

i can process it, looking at the other con artists people like/respect

I’m not saying I mind her. I just don’t think she’s the person Biden would want to govern with. Could be wrong

So long as the pick isn't older or male-er, I don't give a damn whom Joe Biden picks tbh

sorry to say he's announced that his VP will be Norman Mailer

I would like to see him choose Kamala Harris

A shame Flannery O'Connor's dead.

I tried holding Biden at gunpoint every day but each time he just said "come on, jack..."

Oh shit I can’t believe he chose Joe Arpaio.

I definitely like/respect Kamala. She was impressive in cross-examination during the Kavanaugh and various other hearings. She's smart and she controls the witness well, which is hard to do. I think she's smart and tough. To the extent the VP job requires a hatchetwoman she will excel.

I also get some of the criticisms of her. I wish she had a better record on police reform/criminal justice, but no one with a legit record in this area is going to get picked by Biden.

Alfred is ultimately right: the VP pick is nearly meaningless.

Did I say she is smart? At least one of us is.

re Biden's video on taking a cognitive test:
It's amusing that his instant comparison is that the TV reporter should take a test for cocaine use before coming on air.
― the pinefox

Exactly what I thought--immediately--when I watched that clip. I suppose Biden's defense would be he's pointing out the perniciousness of stereotypes--black = cocaine / old = Alzheimer's--but not a helpful comparison.

(Especially when the response was so quick that he's not consciously pointing out anything, he's just reacting.)

Harris is smart, but so are plenty of people.

It's just such a drag that in order to be a successful politician in this country, you have to shred any sense of ethics or genuine compassion for other people.

if all that seemed fine for his brain to say what on earth was he teeing up before he stopped himself??

Bill Clinton was smart. What good did that do us?

Obama seemed to project genuine empathy while ordering the drone bombing of Americans. Politicians, especially good ones, aren't jus' folks.

Who are these mythical people who are uniformly empathetic towards everyone at all times? They literally don't exist.

Exactly.

If you want to see me set fire to my empathy, eavesdrop when a student asks for a Zoom conference to discuss a paper thirty minutes into the cocktail hour.

AOC gets the closest :)

set fire to my empathy

Adele's finest

and i should say, she exudes empathy toward people who seem to deserve it, at least.
xp

Who are these mythical people who are uniformly empathetic towards everyone at all times? They literally don't exist.

no one actually asked for this AFAICT