Biden for President?

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Segnosaur said:
Did it ever occur to you that some people might have preferred Biden for, you know, other reasons than "Gosh he's the most electable"?

Maybe some people like his policies, such as his health care plans to provide near-universal coverage (remember, BernieCare is actually one of the least preferred health care plans), or his plan to expand the use of Nuclear power.

Maybe some people think he did well-enough when serving as VP that they feel he would be capable enough as a president.

Maybe they think his long history of serving with the Democrats will give him more influence in order to push policies through congress (compared to some other candidate, who shall remain nameless, who considers himself "an outsider" and likes to take pot-shots at the "establishment").

While I am sure the issue of "electability" might come into play for some people, its foolish to assume that was the only thing people may have picked Biden for. (And I'm sure electability was a factor with some BernieBros too... just look at how much they crowed over early polls that showed Sanders doing well against Trump.)
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If there's good reason to believe Biden will act promptly and effectively on his plan to expand nuclear power, I'll vote for him. I know it's hard to give assurances about campaign promises, so I'll settle for a consistent track record in the Senate, or clear leadership on this issue in the Obama Administration.
 
SuburbanTurkey said:
Assuming Biden wins, it's going to be a strange presidency.

His key issue is removing Trump, which he achieves the first second he steps into the white house.

What is his mandate after that? I know he has policies, but it's pretty clear to me that people supporting him don't really care at all about them. 4 years of rudderless ship? 4 years of running headlong into a McConnell brick wall in the Senate and a fractious, inward fighting Democratic party? Gonna be fun!

That's assuming Biden wins of course. If he loses, we have to find HRC 3.0 to launch to run against Trump's illegal third term.
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Seems like four years of stuff McConnell won't support is just what Democrats need right about now.
 
theprestige said:
Seems like four years of stuff McConnell won't support is just what Democrats need right about now.
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There's an inherent assumption that McConnell will be a part of the picture for those four years and he's none too popular heading into his reelection, at the moment.
 
As I believed would happen, Obama just officially endorsed Biden as soon as it was clear that he would be the nominee.
 
TragicMonkey said:
Why, whatever are you implying? Obama had complete faith in Biden the whole time! *wink, wink*.
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It was a wise move by Obama not to endorse anyone until the nominee was clear. If he'd endorsed someone else and they'd lost the nomination, he'd have to answer why he didn't support the nominee before. Unlike Trump, Obama thinks before he opens his mouth.
 
Stacyhs said:
It was a wise move by Obama not to endorse anyone until the nominee was clear. If he'd endorsed someone else and they'd lost the nomination, he'd have to answer why he didn't support the nominee before. Unlike Trump, Obama thinks before he opens his mouth.
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I didn't say it was unwise. I'm saying by doing it that way the endorsement is less than ringing.
 
TragicMonkey said:
I didn't say it was unwise. I'm saying by doing it that way the endorsement is less than ringing.
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Of course, your entitled to your opinion but I disagree.

“If there’s one thing we’ve learned as a country from moments of great crisis, it’s that the spirit of looking out for one another can’t be restricted to our homes or our workplaces, or our neighborhoods or our houses of worship. It also has to be reflected in our national government,” Obama said in a nearly 12-minute video message that touched on the coronavirus pandemic.

“The kind of leadership that’s guided by knowledge and experience, honesty and humility, empathy and grace,” he continued. “That kind of leadership doesn’t just belong in our state capitols and mayor’s offices. It belongs in the White House. And that’s why I’m so proud to endorse Joe Biden for president of the United States.”
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Link

I had to laugh at this from the same article:

Weighing in on the endorsement Tuesday, Brad Parscale, Trump’s reelection campaign manager, asserted that Obama “spent much of the last five years urging Joe Biden not to run for president out of fear that he would embarrass himself,” and now “has no other choice but to support him.”
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There is no evidence whatsoever to support this obviously false statement, but it's a great example of how low Trump's campaign goes.
 
Stacyhs said:
It was a wise move by Obama not to endorse anyone until the nominee was clear. If he'd endorsed someone else and they'd lost the nomination, he'd have to answer why he didn't support the nominee before. Unlike Trump, Obama thinks before he opens his mouth.
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It's kind of a good news, bad news situation, I think.

The good news is that given a choice between Trump and Biden, Obama confidently chooses Biden.

The bad news is that this seems to be the only choice Obama is confident about.

What would have happened if Sanders or Warren had won? Would Obama have endorsed them? Endorsed nobody? Issued a statement saying he really thought Biden would have been the better candidate, but "oh well, too late now"?

Dissecting your post:

It was a wise move by Obama not to endorse anyone until the nominee was clear.

It was also a very easy move. He waited until the decision was made for him, and then came out in agreement with it.

If he'd endorsed someone else and they'd lost the nomination, he'd have to answer why he didn't support the nominee before.

Yes, just like every other voter in the country. Presumably Barack Obama was always able to make a good case for his support of one candidate over the others. Having to answer for your endorsement doesn't seem like such a bad thing, if you have the answers. Which you would, since they're the same answers you yourself needed, to arrive at that endorsement to begin with.

Unlike Trump, Obama thinks before he opens his mouth.

In some ways, Obama seems a lot more concerned about his image, and a lot more protective of it, than Trump does.

It's not like Obama needed all this time to think about who to endorse. It's not like it's just a happy coincidence that he finished thinking it through right after his preferred candidate became the presumptive nominee.

If he'd endorsed Biden earlier, what's the worst that could have happened? Democratic voters could have disagreed, and nominated someone else. I get that Barack Obama is much more likely to think about his personal embarrassment before opening his mouth, but by the same token it seems like he lacks the courage to risk being wrong.

All of which is to say, if Obama had endorsed Biden earlier, it would have meant something. It would have been risking something valuable for the sake of something he really believed in.

Endorsing Biden now carries no risk. This renders the sincerity of his belief entirely moot.

It'll be interesting to see how Trump handles primary endorsements, once his term is over.
 
theprestige said:
It's kind of a good news, bad news situation, I think.

The good news is that given a choice between Trump and Biden, Obama confidently chooses Biden.

The bad news is that this seems to be the only choice Obama is confident about.
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That's quite the assertion you've made. I had no idea Obama discussed his confidence of the other candidates with you. Did you text or talk on the phone?

What would have happened if Sanders or Warren had won? Would Obama have endorsed them?
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Probably. Beating Trump is the most important thing.

Endorsed nobody? Issued a statement saying he really thought Biden would have been the better candidate, but "oh well, too late now"?
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We'll never know as Obama wisely hasn't shared his opinion on the other candidates. Except maybe with you.

Dissecting your post:

It was a wise move by Obama not to endorse anyone until the nominee was clear.

It was also a very easy move. He waited until the decision was made for him, and then came out in agreement with it.
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Sometimes the wise choice is the easy one. The decision wasn't made for him; he made the decision of when and whom to endorse.

If he'd endorsed someone else and they'd lost the nomination, he'd have to answer why he didn't support the nominee before.

Yes, just like every other voter in the country. Presumably Barack Obama was always able to make a good case for his support of one candidate over the others. Having to answer for your endorsement doesn't seem like such a bad thing, if you have the answers. Which you would, since they're the same answers you yourself needed, to arrive at that endorsement to begin with.
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"Every other voter's" endorsement does not carry the same weight as Obama's. My, or your, or Joe Blow Next Door's endorsement means diddly squat to anyone but ourselves.
Unlike Trump, Obama thinks before he opens his mouth.

In some ways, Obama seems a lot more concerned about his image, and a lot more protective of it, than Trump does.
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DAMN! I nearly spit out my tea when I read that. It's not his image he's protecting. He just knows that his words have consequences unlike Trump who just opens his mouth and spews out whatever he thinks is advantageous to him at the moment.

It's not like Obama needed all this time to think about who to endorse. It's not like it's just a happy coincidence that he finished thinking it through right after his preferred candidate became the presumptive nominee.
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Again, did Obama share his thoughts with you by text or phone call?

If he'd endorsed Biden earlier, what's the worst that could have happened? Democratic voters could have disagreed, and nominated someone else. I get that Barack Obama is much more likely to think about his personal embarrassment before opening his mouth, but by the same token it seems like he lacks the courage to risk being wrong.

All of which is to say, if Obama had endorsed Biden earlier, it would have meant something. It would have been risking something valuable for the sake of something he really believed in.

Endorsing Biden now carries no risk. This renders the sincerity of his belief entirely moot.
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Wow. Your ability to know Obama's mind, what he's confident about, how much time he needed, what he's personally concerned about, what courage he lacks, what he really believes in and his sincerity concerning his endorsement is amazing!

It'll be interesting to see how Trump handles primary endorsements, once his term is over.
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Sell them to the highest bidders?
 
Upchurch said:
That's true, too. I wonder what it would look like if Biden wins, McConnell loses, and the Republicans retain control of the Senate.
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I'd be tempted to say that it couldn't be worse than what we have now, but the GOP keeps finding new depths.
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I suppose it depends on what various republican senators really think of McConnell and his tactics (such as his obstruction, and his enabling of Stubby McBonespurs).

So far, the republican party seems to be goose-stepping along with Moscow Mitch. I wonder if there are any republicans who may actually prefer the Senate take a different stance, either because they feel some guilt (unlikely but possible), or because their ego doesn't like the fact that they seem to be taking second place to the Turtle, or because they think current republican tactics will eventually lead to disaster for the republicans.
 
theprestige said:
If he'd endorsed Biden earlier, what's the worst that could have happened? Democratic voters could have disagreed, and nominated someone else.
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Actually the worst that could happen:

Obama endorses Biden... Biden loses and Sanders/Warren/Buttigieg/etc. win. Obama switches his endorsement. But, Obama's early endorsement of Biden has caused a few of his supporters to become strongly attached to Biden.

General election comes along... some of those former Biden supporters decide they won't vote for the eventual Democratic nominee, in part because they were too disappointed in "Obama's guy" losing.
 
For Pete's sake, in 2016 Bernie bros all whined because "the establishment" was biased. So Obama stayed out until the nomination was secure.
 
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