Not today Sir, Probably not tomorrow.............................................. bayfront arena st. pete '94
you're finally here and I'm a mess................................................... nationwide arena columbus '10
memories like fingerprints are slowly raising.................................... first niagara center buffalo '13
another man ..... moved by sleight of hand...................................... joe louis arena detroit '14
Not today Sir, Probably not tomorrow.............................................. bayfront arena st. pete '94
you're finally here and I'm a mess................................................... nationwide arena columbus '10
memories like fingerprints are slowly raising.................................... first niagara center buffalo '13
another man ..... moved by sleight of hand...................................... joe louis arena detroit '14
Not today Sir, Probably not tomorrow.............................................. bayfront arena st. pete '94
you're finally here and I'm a mess................................................... nationwide arena columbus '10
memories like fingerprints are slowly raising.................................... first niagara center buffalo '13
another man ..... moved by sleight of hand...................................... joe louis arena detroit '14
Not today Sir, Probably not tomorrow.............................................. bayfront arena st. pete '94
you're finally here and I'm a mess................................................... nationwide arena columbus '10
memories like fingerprints are slowly raising.................................... first niagara center buffalo '13
another man ..... moved by sleight of hand...................................... joe louis arena detroit '14
Not today Sir, Probably not tomorrow.............................................. bayfront arena st. pete '94
you're finally here and I'm a mess................................................... nationwide arena columbus '10
memories like fingerprints are slowly raising.................................... first niagara center buffalo '13
another man ..... moved by sleight of hand...................................... joe louis arena detroit '14
Not today Sir, Probably not tomorrow.............................................. bayfront arena st. pete '94
you're finally here and I'm a mess................................................... nationwide arena columbus '10
memories like fingerprints are slowly raising.................................... first niagara center buffalo '13
another man ..... moved by sleight of hand...................................... joe louis arena detroit '14
Not today Sir, Probably not tomorrow.............................................. bayfront arena st. pete '94
you're finally here and I'm a mess................................................... nationwide arena columbus '10
memories like fingerprints are slowly raising.................................... first niagara center buffalo '13
another man ..... moved by sleight of hand...................................... joe louis arena detroit '14
Not today Sir, Probably not tomorrow.............................................. bayfront arena st. pete '94
you're finally here and I'm a mess................................................... nationwide arena columbus '10
memories like fingerprints are slowly raising.................................... first niagara center buffalo '13
another man ..... moved by sleight of hand...................................... joe louis arena detroit '14
Not today Sir, Probably not tomorrow.............................................. bayfront arena st. pete '94
you're finally here and I'm a mess................................................... nationwide arena columbus '10
memories like fingerprints are slowly raising.................................... first niagara center buffalo '13
another man ..... moved by sleight of hand...................................... joe louis arena detroit '14
Not today Sir, Probably not tomorrow.............................................. bayfront arena st. pete '94
you're finally here and I'm a mess................................................... nationwide arena columbus '10
memories like fingerprints are slowly raising.................................... first niagara center buffalo '13
another man ..... moved by sleight of hand...................................... joe louis arena detroit '14
The gifted op ed/ interview article here just oozes with the frustration many of us feel. I felt queasy just reading this and the potential of catastrophe simply overwhelms me.
Gail Collins: Bret,
I know you’re busy writing about your reporting trip to Israel, and I
am looking forward to reading all your thoughts. But, gee, can we talk
about the Times-Siena poll on the presidential race that came out on
Sunday? Donald Trump is ahead in almost all the critical states.
Yow. Pardon me while I pour myself a drink.
Bret Stephens: Nice to be home. Please pour me one while you’re at it.
For
readers who don’t know the gory details of the poll, here they are:
Across six battleground states, Trump leads President Biden 48 percent
to 44 percent among registered voters. In the crucial swing states that
Biden won last time, Trump is ahead in five — Arizona, Georgia,
Michigan, Nevada and Pennsylvania — while Biden leads only in Wisconsin.
Biden is losing support from young voters, Hispanic voters, Black
voters — constituencies Democrats have depended on for decades to
overcome the longstanding Republican advantage among whites.
Women
voters favor Biden by eight percentage points, 50 percent to 42
percent, but men favor Trump by a far wider 18-point spread: 55 percent
to 37 percent. (I guess that’s another definition for the term “manspreading.”)
On the economy, voters prefer Trump over Biden by a 22-point margin.
And a whopping 71 percent think Biden is too old to be president, as
opposed to just 39 percent for Trump.
Gail: Whimper, whimper.
Bret: Basically,
this poll is to Biden’s second-term ambitions what sunlight is to
morning fog. Isn’t it time for him to bow out gracefully and focus his
remaining energies on the crises of the moment, particularly Ukraine and
the Middle East, instead of gearing up for a punishing campaign while
setting the country up for Trump’s catastrophic comeback?
Gail: Well,
you and I both hoped he wouldn’t run for re-election. But he did, and
he is — and as I’ve said nine million times, he’s only three years older
than Donald Trump and appears to be in much better physical condition.
Bret: For all we know, Biden may be physically fitter than Alex Honnold and mentally sharper than Garry Kasparov, even if he’s hiding it well. But this poll is pretty much voters yelling, “We don’t think so.” Ignore it at your peril.
How
about putting in a good word for Dean Phillips, the Minnesota
representative challenging Biden? Or at least urging the Biden team to
lose Kamala Harris in favor of a veep pick more Americans would feel
confident about as a potential president, like Lloyd Austin, the defense
secretary?
Gail: I’m
not gonna argue about perfect-world scenarios. Harris might not be your
ideal potential president — or mine — but dumping her from the ticket
would suggest some historic degree of bad performance. And she really
hasn’t done anything wrong.
Bret: Harris
could well be the best vice president ever, though she’s also hiding it
well. But the point here is that voters are underwhelmed, and her
presence on the ticket compounds Biden’s already abysmal numbers.
Gail:
I’m tormented by this whole national vision of Biden as an aging dolt
while Trump plays the energetic orator. As our colleagues Michael Bender
and Michael Gold pointed out recently, Trump’s had “a string of
unforced gaffes, garble and general disjointedness” in his speeches
lately.
Bret: Trump has always been the Tsar Bomba
of idiocy. But too many people seem more impressed by his rhetorical
force than appalled by his moral and ideological destructiveness.
Gail: Why does Biden have this terrible image while Trump’s his old, fun-under-multiple-indictments self?
Bret: That’s
a great question. As a matter of law, I think Trump belongs in jail.
The political problem is that the indictments help him, because they
play to his outlaw appeal. He wants to cast himself as the Josey Wales
of American politics. His entire argument is that “the system” —
particularly the Justice Department — is broken, biased and corrupt, so
anything the system does against him is proof of its corruption rather
than of his. And tens of millions of people agree with him.
Gail: This is the world that grew up around us when the Riddler was more fun than Batman.
Bret: Perfectly
said. The good news in the Times-Siena poll is that Trump’s negatives
are also very high. They’re just not as high as Biden’s. Which means
Democrats could easily hold the White House with another candidate. But
you seem reluctant to push the idea.
Gail: Yeah,
since Biden is very, very definitely running, I don’t see any point in
whining about the fact that I wish he wasn’t. He’d still be 10 times a
better president than Trump.
Bret: I
just refuse to believe Biden’s candidacy is inevitable. Democrats seem
to have talked themselves into thinking that any primary challenge to
Biden just guarantees an eventual Republican victory, since that’s what
tends to happen to incumbent presidents, like George H.W. Bush, Jimmy
Carter and Gerald Ford. But the alternative is to watch Biden risk his
single greatest accomplishment — defeating an incumbent Trump in the
first place — by heedlessly running in the face of overwhelming public
skepticism.
Gail: What’s
so frustrating is — Biden has a really fine record. The economy has
picked up. He’s gotten a huge program passed for infrastructure projects
like better roads and bridges. He’s always got the fight against global
warming on his agenda. He stands up firmly for social issues most
Americans support, like abortion rights.
Bret: All
the more reason for him to rest on his laurels and pass the baton to a
younger generation. I can think of a half-dozen Democrats, particularly
governors, who would trounce Trump in a general election just by showing
up to the debate with a pulse and a brain. Let me just start with four:
Gretchen Whitmer, Josh Shapiro, Jared Polis, Wes Moore. …
Gail:
I know Trump appears more energetic, but he’s really only a whole lot
louder. Either way, his multitudinous defects in character and policy
really should make the difference.
Bret: Hope you’re right. Fear you’re not.
Gail: Sigh.
Let’s change the subject. You’re in charge of Republicans — what’s your
party going to do about the dreaded Senator Tommy Tuberville?
Bret: For the record, I quit the G.O.P. more than five years ago.
As
for Tuberville, who is holding some 370 senior military promotions
hostage because he objects to Pentagon policies on abortion, I suggest
he should have a look at what just happened in Israel. The country just
paid a dreadful price in lives in part because far-right politicians
ignored the degradation of the country’s military readiness while they
pursued their ideological fixations. I hope defense hawks like Lindsey
Graham join forces with the Senate majority leader, Chuck Schumer, to
change Senate rules and move the nominations to a vote.
Speaking of Congress, your thoughts on the effort to censure Representative Rashida Tlaib over some of her rhetoric?
Gail: Well,
Representative Tlaib accused Israel of committing genocide. She’s also
said that President Biden “supported” genocide of the Palestinians, a
comment that was offensive to Biden while also, I think, hurting the
Palestinian cause. But I wouldn’t want to see members of Congress
distracted from the deeply serious issues at hand with a squabble about
censorship, particularly one championed by folks like the dreaded
Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene.
Bret: Readers
won’t be surprised to know that I find Tlaib’s views wrong and
repellent. Like Taylor Greene, she’s an embarrassment to her party and
the House. But that’s exactly the reason I oppose efforts to censure
her. One of the things that distinguishes free societies like America
and Israel from dictatorships like Hamas’s in Gaza is that we stand for
freedom of speech as a matter of course, while they suppress it. The
right censure for Tlaib would be to get voted out of office, not muzzled
by her colleagues.
Gail:
But let’s get back to that poll for a minute. I was fascinated by the
fact that only 6 percent of the respondents identified themselves as
union members. I think the unions have done great things for the working
class and middle class in this country and I’m very much saddened by
their dwindling influence.
Bret: I’ve always been pro-union. They’re a powerful force for greater automation and an argument for free trade.
Gail: Hissss …
Bret: OK,
that was my inner Alex P. Keaton speaking. But union leaders should at
least stop to ask themselves why, if they’re so terrific, so many
American workers are reluctant to join them. I feel that way about
certain other self-regarding institutions, including much of the news
media, that are so full of their own wonderfulness that they can’t
figure out why people keep fleeing in droves.
Gail: Bret,
we’ve entered the November holiday season — really did enjoy the
trick-or-treaters last week and was pleased to notice that the popular
costumes in our neighborhood seemed to go more toward skeletons and
ghosts than celebrities and pop culture heroes. On to Thanksgiving and
then I’m gonna challenge you to come up with a list of things in the
public world you’re thankful for.
Bret: Pumpkin-spice lattes. Just kidding.
Gail: Meanwhile,
this is Republican debate week, featuring several people nobody’s
really heard of and an absent Donald Trump. I guess your fave, Nikki
Haley, is near the head of the pack, such as it is. Think she still has a
whisper of a chance?
Bret: Not
sure. But you’ve somehow reminded me of a lovely poem by Adrienne Rich,
which seems to capture both Haley’s candidacy and my daily struggles
with coherent prose.
You see a man trying to think.
You want to say to everything: Keep off! Give him room! But you only watch, terrified the old consolations will get him at last like a fish half-dead from flopping and almost crawling across the shingle, almost breathing the raw, agonizing air till a wave pulls it back blind into the triumphant sea.
It’s called “Ghost of a Chance.” Here’s me hoping Haley’s got more than that.
“The fear of death follows from the fear of life. A man [or woman] who lives fully is prepared to die at any time.”
If the election were held today, Trump beats Biden pretty easily. I know Biden's old (but, hey, who isn't in this election?) but that this is even possible, much less likely, says something about who America is today.
Part of me thinks the best way to serve his country right now is for Joe to say "time for me to retire. I won't be running for re-election." The only hesitancy I have is that the Dems don't really have any good candidates waiting on the bench. That said, someone under 80 that isn't a retread of the past 15 years might have a chance to beat the polarizing wannabe autocrat.
1995 Milwaukee 1998 Alpine, Alpine 2003 Albany, Boston, Boston, Boston 2004 Boston, Boston 2006 Hartford, St. Paul (Petty), St. Paul (Petty) 2011 Alpine, Alpine 2013 Wrigley 2014 St. Paul 2016 Fenway, Fenway, Wrigley, Wrigley 2018 Missoula, Wrigley, Wrigley 2021 Asbury Park 2022 St Louis 2023 Austin, Austin
If the election were held today, Trump beats Biden pretty easily. I know Biden's old (but, hey, who isn't in this election?) but that this is even possible, much less likely, says something about who America is today.
Part of me thinks the best way to serve his country right now is for Joe to say "time for me to retire. I won't be running for re-election." The only hesitancy I have is that the Dems don't really have any good candidates waiting on the bench. That said, someone under 80 that isn't a retread of the past 15 years might have a chance to beat the polarizing wannabe autocrat.
If the election were held today, Trump beats Biden pretty easily. I know Biden's old (but, hey, who isn't in this election?) but that this is even possible, much less likely, says something about who America is today.
Part of me thinks the best way to serve his country right now is for Joe to say "time for me to retire. I won't be running for re-election." The only hesitancy I have is that the Dems don't really have any good candidates waiting on the bench. That said, someone under 80 that isn't a retread of the past 15 years might have a chance to beat the polarizing wannabe autocrat.
There are a few dems that would be great in my opinion.
Newsom, Whitmer, Shapiro
Remember the Thomas Nine !! (10/02/2018)
1998: Noblesville; 2003: Noblesville; 2009: EV Nashville, Chicago, Chicago 2010: St Louis, Columbus, Noblesville; 2011: EV Chicago, East Troy, East Troy 2013: London ON, Wrigley; 2014: Cincy, St Louis, Moline (NO CODE) 2016: Lexington, Wrigley #1; 2018: Wrigley, Wrigley, Boston, Boston 2020: Oakland, Oakland:2021: EV Ohana, Ohana, Ohana, Ohana 2022: Oakland, Oakland, Nashville, Louisville; 2023: Chicago, Chicago, Noblesville 2024: Noblesville, Wrigley, Wrigley, Ohana, Ohana
If the election were held today, Trump beats Biden pretty easily. I know Biden's old (but, hey, who isn't in this election?) but that this is even possible, much less likely, says something about who America is today.
Part of me thinks the best way to serve his country right now is for Joe to say "time for me to retire. I won't be running for re-election." The only hesitancy I have is that the Dems don't really have any good candidates waiting on the bench. That said, someone under 80 that isn't a retread of the past 15 years might have a chance to beat the polarizing wannabe autocrat.
Why is Biden's age a problem and trump's isn't?
My guess is that Trump gets a pass because he's a political prisoner. (Tongue firmly in cheek with this.)
Virginia Beach 2000; Pittsburgh 2000; Columbus 2003; D.C. 2003; Pittsburgh 2006; Virginia Beach 2008; Cleveland 2010; PJ20 2011; Pittsburgh 2013; Baltimore 2013; Charlottesville 2013; Charlotte 2013; Lincoln 2014; Moline 2014; St. Paul 2014; Greenville 2016; Hampton 2016; Lexington 2016; Wrigley 2016; Prague 2018; Krakow 2018; Berlin 2018; Fenway 2018; Camden 2022; St. Paul 2023; MSG 1 2024
Not today Sir, Probably not tomorrow.............................................. bayfront arena st. pete '94
you're finally here and I'm a mess................................................... nationwide arena columbus '10
memories like fingerprints are slowly raising.................................... first niagara center buffalo '13
another man ..... moved by sleight of hand...................................... joe louis arena detroit '14
If the election were held today, Trump beats Biden pretty easily. I know Biden's old (but, hey, who isn't in this election?) but that this is even possible, much less likely, says something about who America is today.
Part of me thinks the best way to serve his country right now is for Joe to say "time for me to retire. I won't be running for re-election." The only hesitancy I have is that the Dems don't really have any good candidates waiting on the bench. That said, someone under 80 that isn't a retread of the past 15 years might have a chance to beat the polarizing wannabe autocrat.
I'm assuming you are basing this off the polls from this weekend. According to other polls released on the same day a "generic" democrat would easily defeat Trump.
There are so many unknowns that lie ahead including multiple wars, a possible recession, easing of inflation, and multiple criminal trials of the republican nominee that could easily land him in prison.
This time in 2011 Romney led most polling as well. However, I am less confident today than I was four years ago at the same time.
seriously. who conducted them? what questions were asked. how were the questions asked. how respondents were contacted.
we just accept tesults withoit knowing pertinent information?
wtf.
Nah, Mickey....I don't think ignoring and dismissing them is wise. I think there is cause for concern...however I also think most people have no idea how inundated they will be with daily reminders of how terrible a person Trump is next year.
I don't think there's ever been this many variables at play as there will be in this upcoming election...and that is saying something after 2020.
100% pure unadulterated chaos awaits us in the next 12 months.
seriously. who conducted them? what questions were asked. how were the questions asked. how respondents were contacted.
we just accept tesults withoit knowing pertinent information?
wtf.
Nah, Mickey....I don't think ignoring and dismissing them is wise. I think there is cause for concern...however I also think most people have no idea how inundated they will be with daily reminders of how terrible a person Trump is next year.
I don't think there's ever been this many variables at play as there will be in this upcoming election...and that is saying something after 2020.
100% pure unadulterated chaos awaits us in the next 12 months.
ok. most polling is done by targeting actual voters/likely voters , no?
Whole lot of Gen Z/Millenials haven't exactly established voting habits, no?
How much stock can we honestly put in these when they have been so fucking wrong, so consistently?
Not today Sir, Probably not tomorrow.............................................. bayfront arena st. pete '94
you're finally here and I'm a mess................................................... nationwide arena columbus '10
memories like fingerprints are slowly raising.................................... first niagara center buffalo '13
another man ..... moved by sleight of hand...................................... joe louis arena detroit '14
If the election were held today, Trump beats Biden pretty easily. I know Biden's old (but, hey, who isn't in this election?) but that this is even possible, much less likely, says something about who America is today.
Part of me thinks the best way to serve his country right now is for Joe to say "time for me to retire. I won't be running for re-election." The only hesitancy I have is that the Dems don't really have any good candidates waiting on the bench. That said, someone under 80 that isn't a retread of the past 15 years might have a chance to beat the polarizing wannabe autocrat.
Why is Biden's age a problem and trump's isn't?
Because the hypocrisy is a feature, not a bug.
1995 Milwaukee 1998 Alpine, Alpine 2003 Albany, Boston, Boston, Boston 2004 Boston, Boston 2006 Hartford, St. Paul (Petty), St. Paul (Petty) 2011 Alpine, Alpine 2013 Wrigley 2014 St. Paul 2016 Fenway, Fenway, Wrigley, Wrigley 2018 Missoula, Wrigley, Wrigley 2021 Asbury Park 2022 St Louis 2023 Austin, Austin
I just saw a Facebook memory of my post from three years ago and shit like this still continues to amaze me.
"It’s funny that a Scranton native who moved to Wilmington when his father lost a job and went to a public university defeated an NYC birthright billionaire who was bought into Penn and has never mowed a lawn...and that’s considered the elites defeating the working class."
1995 Milwaukee 1998 Alpine, Alpine 2003 Albany, Boston, Boston, Boston 2004 Boston, Boston 2006 Hartford, St. Paul (Petty), St. Paul (Petty) 2011 Alpine, Alpine 2013 Wrigley 2014 St. Paul 2016 Fenway, Fenway, Wrigley, Wrigley 2018 Missoula, Wrigley, Wrigley 2021 Asbury Park 2022 St Louis 2023 Austin, Austin
seriously. who conducted them? what questions were asked. how were the questions asked. how respondents were contacted.
we just accept tesults withoit knowing pertinent information?
wtf.
Nah, Mickey....I don't think ignoring and dismissing them is wise. I think there is cause for concern...however I also think most people have no idea how inundated they will be with daily reminders of how terrible a person Trump is next year.
I don't think there's ever been this many variables at play as there will be in this upcoming election...and that is saying something after 2020.
100% pure unadulterated chaos awaits us in the next 12 months.
ok. most polling is done by targeting actual voters/likely voters , no?
Whole lot of Gen Z/Millenials haven't exactly established voting habits, no?
How much stock can we honestly put in these when they have been so fucking wrong, so consistently?
seriously. who conducted them? what questions were asked. how were the questions asked. how respondents were contacted.
we just accept tesults withoit knowing pertinent information?
wtf.
Nah, Mickey....I don't think ignoring and dismissing them is wise. I think there is cause for concern...however I also think most people have no idea how inundated they will be with daily reminders of how terrible a person Trump is next year.
I don't think there's ever been this many variables at play as there will be in this upcoming election...and that is saying something after 2020.
100% pure unadulterated chaos awaits us in the next 12 months.
ok. most polling is done by targeting actual voters/likely voters , no?
Whole lot of Gen Z/Millenials haven't exactly established voting habits, no?
How much stock can we honestly put in these when they have been so fucking wrong, so consistently?
Not today Sir, Probably not tomorrow.............................................. bayfront arena st. pete '94
you're finally here and I'm a mess................................................... nationwide arena columbus '10
memories like fingerprints are slowly raising.................................... first niagara center buffalo '13
another man ..... moved by sleight of hand...................................... joe louis arena detroit '14
If the election were held today, Trump beats Biden pretty easily. I know Biden's old (but, hey, who isn't in this election?) but that this is even possible, much less likely, says something about who America is today.
Part of me thinks the best way to serve his country right now is for Joe to say "time for me to retire. I won't be running for re-election." The only hesitancy I have is that the Dems don't really have any good candidates waiting on the bench. That said, someone under 80 that isn't a retread of the past 15 years might have a chance to beat the polarizing wannabe autocrat.
Why is Biden's age a problem and trump's isn't?
Because the hypocrisy is a feature, not a bug.
For the GOP voter, sure, we know that... but personally, I can't subscribe to the nonsense narrative that Biden's age is a problem and trump's isn't.
If the election were held today, Trump beats Biden pretty easily. I know Biden's old (but, hey, who isn't in this election?) but that this is even possible, much less likely, says something about who America is today.
Part of me thinks the best way to serve his country right now is for Joe to say "time for me to retire. I won't be running for re-election." The only hesitancy I have is that the Dems don't really have any good candidates waiting on the bench. That said, someone under 80 that isn't a retread of the past 15 years might have a chance to beat the polarizing wannabe autocrat.
Why is Biden's age a problem and trump's isn't?
Exactly! Biden is only three years older than Trump and in much better physical and mental shape.
So here's a thought to keep in mind over the next year. In the worst case scenario in which Trump beats Biden, I will convince the governors of California, Oregon, and Washington, to secede from the U.S. and form a separate country. California's economy alone is strong enough to support a new country. The ass-hat MAGATS who live in these west coast states will lose their shit and move to red states. That will leave plenty of room and housing for all American citizens who have not lost their minds and are not Trump fans. We will welcome these sane citizens with open arms. We have two very large mountain ranges that will conveniently form a good solid barrier between us and the C.U.S.A. (Crazed United States of America).
Keep us in mind. We care about you more than Trump ever will. He only cares for himself, and his followers are hopelessly insane.
“The fear of death follows from the fear of life. A man [or woman] who lives fully is prepared to die at any time.”
Comments
Not today Sir, Probably not tomorrow.............................................. bayfront arena st. pete '94
you're finally here and I'm a mess................................................... nationwide arena columbus '10
memories like fingerprints are slowly raising.................................... first niagara center buffalo '13
another man ..... moved by sleight of hand...................................... joe louis arena detroit '14
Not today Sir, Probably not tomorrow.............................................. bayfront arena st. pete '94
you're finally here and I'm a mess................................................... nationwide arena columbus '10
memories like fingerprints are slowly raising.................................... first niagara center buffalo '13
another man ..... moved by sleight of hand...................................... joe louis arena detroit '14
Not today Sir, Probably not tomorrow.............................................. bayfront arena st. pete '94
you're finally here and I'm a mess................................................... nationwide arena columbus '10
memories like fingerprints are slowly raising.................................... first niagara center buffalo '13
another man ..... moved by sleight of hand...................................... joe louis arena detroit '14
Not today Sir, Probably not tomorrow.............................................. bayfront arena st. pete '94
you're finally here and I'm a mess................................................... nationwide arena columbus '10
memories like fingerprints are slowly raising.................................... first niagara center buffalo '13
another man ..... moved by sleight of hand...................................... joe louis arena detroit '14
almost as bad as the one he made where he decided to work with trump in the first place.
"Well, you tell him that I don't talk to suckas."
Not today Sir, Probably not tomorrow.............................................. bayfront arena st. pete '94
you're finally here and I'm a mess................................................... nationwide arena columbus '10
memories like fingerprints are slowly raising.................................... first niagara center buffalo '13
another man ..... moved by sleight of hand...................................... joe louis arena detroit '14
Not today Sir, Probably not tomorrow.............................................. bayfront arena st. pete '94
you're finally here and I'm a mess................................................... nationwide arena columbus '10
memories like fingerprints are slowly raising.................................... first niagara center buffalo '13
another man ..... moved by sleight of hand...................................... joe louis arena detroit '14
Not today Sir, Probably not tomorrow.............................................. bayfront arena st. pete '94
you're finally here and I'm a mess................................................... nationwide arena columbus '10
memories like fingerprints are slowly raising.................................... first niagara center buffalo '13
another man ..... moved by sleight of hand...................................... joe louis arena detroit '14
Libtardaplorable©. And proud of it.
Brilliantati©
Not today Sir, Probably not tomorrow.............................................. bayfront arena st. pete '94
you're finally here and I'm a mess................................................... nationwide arena columbus '10
memories like fingerprints are slowly raising.................................... first niagara center buffalo '13
another man ..... moved by sleight of hand...................................... joe louis arena detroit '14
Not today Sir, Probably not tomorrow.............................................. bayfront arena st. pete '94
you're finally here and I'm a mess................................................... nationwide arena columbus '10
memories like fingerprints are slowly raising.................................... first niagara center buffalo '13
another man ..... moved by sleight of hand...................................... joe louis arena detroit '14
Not today Sir, Probably not tomorrow.............................................. bayfront arena st. pete '94
you're finally here and I'm a mess................................................... nationwide arena columbus '10
memories like fingerprints are slowly raising.................................... first niagara center buffalo '13
another man ..... moved by sleight of hand...................................... joe louis arena detroit '14
Trump May Not Need a Coup This Time
Gail Collins: Bret, I know you’re busy writing about your reporting trip to Israel, and I am looking forward to reading all your thoughts. But, gee, can we talk about the Times-Siena poll on the presidential race that came out on Sunday? Donald Trump is ahead in almost all the critical states.
Yow. Pardon me while I pour myself a drink.
Bret Stephens: Nice to be home. Please pour me one while you’re at it.
For readers who don’t know the gory details of the poll, here they are: Across six battleground states, Trump leads President Biden 48 percent to 44 percent among registered voters. In the crucial swing states that Biden won last time, Trump is ahead in five — Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada and Pennsylvania — while Biden leads only in Wisconsin. Biden is losing support from young voters, Hispanic voters, Black voters — constituencies Democrats have depended on for decades to overcome the longstanding Republican advantage among whites.
Women voters favor Biden by eight percentage points, 50 percent to 42 percent, but men favor Trump by a far wider 18-point spread: 55 percent to 37 percent. (I guess that’s another definition for the term “manspreading.”) On the economy, voters prefer Trump over Biden by a 22-point margin. And a whopping 71 percent think Biden is too old to be president, as opposed to just 39 percent for Trump.
Gail: Whimper, whimper.
Bret: Basically, this poll is to Biden’s second-term ambitions what sunlight is to morning fog. Isn’t it time for him to bow out gracefully and focus his remaining energies on the crises of the moment, particularly Ukraine and the Middle East, instead of gearing up for a punishing campaign while setting the country up for Trump’s catastrophic comeback?
Gail: Well, you and I both hoped he wouldn’t run for re-election. But he did, and he is — and as I’ve said nine million times, he’s only three years older than Donald Trump and appears to be in much better physical condition.
Bret: For all we know, Biden may be physically fitter than Alex Honnold and mentally sharper than Garry Kasparov, even if he’s hiding it well. But this poll is pretty much voters yelling, “We don’t think so.” Ignore it at your peril.
How about putting in a good word for Dean Phillips, the Minnesota representative challenging Biden? Or at least urging the Biden team to lose Kamala Harris in favor of a veep pick more Americans would feel confident about as a potential president, like Lloyd Austin, the defense secretary?
Gail: I’m not gonna argue about perfect-world scenarios. Harris might not be your ideal potential president — or mine — but dumping her from the ticket would suggest some historic degree of bad performance. And she really hasn’t done anything wrong.
Bret: Harris could well be the best vice president ever, though she’s also hiding it well. But the point here is that voters are underwhelmed, and her presence on the ticket compounds Biden’s already abysmal numbers.
Gail: I’m tormented by this whole national vision of Biden as an aging dolt while Trump plays the energetic orator. As our colleagues Michael Bender and Michael Gold pointed out recently, Trump’s had “a string of unforced gaffes, garble and general disjointedness” in his speeches lately.
Bret: Trump has always been the Tsar Bomba of idiocy. But too many people seem more impressed by his rhetorical force than appalled by his moral and ideological destructiveness.
Gail: Why does Biden have this terrible image while Trump’s his old, fun-under-multiple-indictments self?
Bret: That’s a great question. As a matter of law, I think Trump belongs in jail. The political problem is that the indictments help him, because they play to his outlaw appeal. He wants to cast himself as the Josey Wales of American politics. His entire argument is that “the system” — particularly the Justice Department — is broken, biased and corrupt, so anything the system does against him is proof of its corruption rather than of his. And tens of millions of people agree with him.
Gail: This is the world that grew up around us when the Riddler was more fun than Batman.
Bret: Perfectly said. The good news in the Times-Siena poll is that Trump’s negatives are also very high. They’re just not as high as Biden’s. Which means Democrats could easily hold the White House with another candidate. But you seem reluctant to push the idea.
Gail: Yeah, since Biden is very, very definitely running, I don’t see any point in whining about the fact that I wish he wasn’t. He’d still be 10 times a better president than Trump.
Bret: I just refuse to believe Biden’s candidacy is inevitable. Democrats seem to have talked themselves into thinking that any primary challenge to Biden just guarantees an eventual Republican victory, since that’s what tends to happen to incumbent presidents, like George H.W. Bush, Jimmy Carter and Gerald Ford. But the alternative is to watch Biden risk his single greatest accomplishment — defeating an incumbent Trump in the first place — by heedlessly running in the face of overwhelming public skepticism.
Gail: What’s so frustrating is — Biden has a really fine record. The economy has picked up. He’s gotten a huge program passed for infrastructure projects like better roads and bridges. He’s always got the fight against global warming on his agenda. He stands up firmly for social issues most Americans support, like abortion rights.
Bret: All the more reason for him to rest on his laurels and pass the baton to a younger generation. I can think of a half-dozen Democrats, particularly governors, who would trounce Trump in a general election just by showing up to the debate with a pulse and a brain. Let me just start with four: Gretchen Whitmer, Josh Shapiro, Jared Polis, Wes Moore. …
Gail: I know Trump appears more energetic, but he’s really only a whole lot louder. Either way, his multitudinous defects in character and policy really should make the difference.
Bret: Hope you’re right. Fear you’re not.
Gail: Sigh. Let’s change the subject. You’re in charge of Republicans — what’s your party going to do about the dreaded Senator Tommy Tuberville?
Bret: For the record, I quit the G.O.P. more than five years ago.
As for Tuberville, who is holding some 370 senior military promotions hostage because he objects to Pentagon policies on abortion, I suggest he should have a look at what just happened in Israel. The country just paid a dreadful price in lives in part because far-right politicians ignored the degradation of the country’s military readiness while they pursued their ideological fixations. I hope defense hawks like Lindsey Graham join forces with the Senate majority leader, Chuck Schumer, to change Senate rules and move the nominations to a vote.
Speaking of Congress, your thoughts on the effort to censure Representative Rashida Tlaib over some of her rhetoric?
Gail: Well, Representative Tlaib accused Israel of committing genocide. She’s also said that President Biden “supported” genocide of the Palestinians, a comment that was offensive to Biden while also, I think, hurting the Palestinian cause. But I wouldn’t want to see members of Congress distracted from the deeply serious issues at hand with a squabble about censorship, particularly one championed by folks like the dreaded Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene.
Bret: Readers won’t be surprised to know that I find Tlaib’s views wrong and repellent. Like Taylor Greene, she’s an embarrassment to her party and the House. But that’s exactly the reason I oppose efforts to censure her. One of the things that distinguishes free societies like America and Israel from dictatorships like Hamas’s in Gaza is that we stand for freedom of speech as a matter of course, while they suppress it. The right censure for Tlaib would be to get voted out of office, not muzzled by her colleagues.
Gail: But let’s get back to that poll for a minute. I was fascinated by the fact that only 6 percent of the respondents identified themselves as union members. I think the unions have done great things for the working class and middle class in this country and I’m very much saddened by their dwindling influence.
Bret: I’ve always been pro-union. They’re a powerful force for greater automation and an argument for free trade.
Gail: Hissss …
Bret: OK, that was my inner Alex P. Keaton speaking. But union leaders should at least stop to ask themselves why, if they’re so terrific, so many American workers are reluctant to join them. I feel that way about certain other self-regarding institutions, including much of the news media, that are so full of their own wonderfulness that they can’t figure out why people keep fleeing in droves.
Gail: Bret, we’ve entered the November holiday season — really did enjoy the trick-or-treaters last week and was pleased to notice that the popular costumes in our neighborhood seemed to go more toward skeletons and ghosts than celebrities and pop culture heroes. On to Thanksgiving and then I’m gonna challenge you to come up with a list of things in the public world you’re thankful for.
Bret: Pumpkin-spice lattes. Just kidding.
Gail: Meanwhile, this is Republican debate week, featuring several people nobody’s really heard of and an absent Donald Trump. I guess your fave, Nikki Haley, is near the head of the pack, such as it is. Think she still has a whisper of a chance?
Bret: Not sure. But you’ve somehow reminded me of a lovely poem by Adrienne Rich, which seems to capture both Haley’s candidacy and my daily struggles with coherent prose.
You see a man
trying to think.
You want to say
to everything:
Keep off! Give him room!
But you only watch,
terrified
the old consolations
will get him at last
like a fish
half-dead from flopping
and almost crawling
across the shingle,
almost breathing
the raw, agonizing
air
till a wave
pulls it back blind into the triumphant
sea.
It’s called “Ghost of a Chance.” Here’s me hoping Haley’s got more than that.
www.headstonesband.com
Part of me thinks the best way to serve his country right now is for Joe to say "time for me to retire. I won't be running for re-election." The only hesitancy I have is that the Dems don't really have any good candidates waiting on the bench. That said, someone under 80 that isn't a retread of the past 15 years might have a chance to beat the polarizing wannabe autocrat.
2013 Wrigley 2014 St. Paul 2016 Fenway, Fenway, Wrigley, Wrigley 2018 Missoula, Wrigley, Wrigley 2021 Asbury Park 2022 St Louis 2023 Austin, Austin
Newsom, Whitmer, Shapiro
1998: Noblesville; 2003: Noblesville; 2009: EV Nashville, Chicago, Chicago
2010: St Louis, Columbus, Noblesville; 2011: EV Chicago, East Troy, East Troy
2013: London ON, Wrigley; 2014: Cincy, St Louis, Moline (NO CODE)
2016: Lexington, Wrigley #1; 2018: Wrigley, Wrigley, Boston, Boston
2020: Oakland, Oakland: 2021: EV Ohana, Ohana, Ohana, Ohana
2022: Oakland, Oakland, Nashville, Louisville; 2023: Chicago, Chicago, Noblesville
2024: Noblesville, Wrigley, Wrigley, Ohana, Ohana
Not today Sir, Probably not tomorrow.............................................. bayfront arena st. pete '94
you're finally here and I'm a mess................................................... nationwide arena columbus '10
memories like fingerprints are slowly raising.................................... first niagara center buffalo '13
another man ..... moved by sleight of hand...................................... joe louis arena detroit '14
There are so many unknowns that lie ahead including multiple wars, a possible recession, easing of inflation, and multiple criminal trials of the republican nominee that could easily land him in prison.
This time in 2011 Romney led most polling as well. However, I am less confident today than I was four years ago at the same time.
I don't think there's ever been this many variables at play as there will be in this upcoming election...and that is saying something after 2020.
100% pure unadulterated chaos awaits us in the next 12 months.
Not today Sir, Probably not tomorrow.............................................. bayfront arena st. pete '94
you're finally here and I'm a mess................................................... nationwide arena columbus '10
memories like fingerprints are slowly raising.................................... first niagara center buffalo '13
another man ..... moved by sleight of hand...................................... joe louis arena detroit '14
2013 Wrigley 2014 St. Paul 2016 Fenway, Fenway, Wrigley, Wrigley 2018 Missoula, Wrigley, Wrigley 2021 Asbury Park 2022 St Louis 2023 Austin, Austin
"It’s funny that a Scranton native who moved to Wilmington when his father lost a job and went to a public university defeated an NYC birthright billionaire who was bought into Penn and has never mowed a lawn...and that’s considered the elites defeating the working class."
2013 Wrigley 2014 St. Paul 2016 Fenway, Fenway, Wrigley, Wrigley 2018 Missoula, Wrigley, Wrigley 2021 Asbury Park 2022 St Louis 2023 Austin, Austin
they certainly were last year. red wave anyone?
Not today Sir, Probably not tomorrow.............................................. bayfront arena st. pete '94
you're finally here and I'm a mess................................................... nationwide arena columbus '10
memories like fingerprints are slowly raising.................................... first niagara center buffalo '13
another man ..... moved by sleight of hand...................................... joe louis arena detroit '14