One senses that Kyle Smith is not a fan:
Biden’s voter pitch is this: Ignore a half-century record of dishonesty, incompetence, and wretched judgment and think only this: “Joe’s a nice guy who reaches across the aisle.” It may work, given exogenous circumstances, but then again, as Barack Obama reportedly said in private during this year’s primaries, “Don’t underestimate Joe’s ability to f*** things up.”
It’s long, but RTWT.
Thursday Victor Davis Hanson gave a lecture on current events (at Hillsdale) and he said something that struck me as spot on.
VDH comment.
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During WW-I, Churchill commented that Admiral Jellico was the only man who could lose the war in an afternoon. If the British Grand fleet was defeated in a battle like Jutland, Germany would strangle Britain with a naval blockade, force her out of the war, and that would be that.
VDH noted that similarly, Biden is the only candidate in US history who could lose the entire election in five seconds, just by saying something typically Biden. Every time he goes in front of cameras, his handlers must be absolutely terrified that he will do just that. In contrast, Trump can say pretty much anything, speak extemporaneously for hours, and suffer any combination of attacks, because he’s been doing that for years.
Is there anything to that story that in 2009, the Vice President, ahem, touched a woman “inappropriately” at a staff party? And this particular women was in a relationship with a man who was in the Secret Service? And that said Secret Service agent had to be held back from, what is the correct term of art, playing a little chin music on the face of the Vice President of the United States?
And that the agent in question received a one-week suspension as punishment for his outburst, instead of say, being fired or at least reassigned for attempting to batter a person he was presumably guarding? And that the Secret Service admits to expunging any record of this incident?
https://pjmedia.com/news-and-politics/matt-margolis/2020/09/04/joe-biden-accused-of-groping-breast-of-secret-service-agents-girlfriend-during-2009-photo-op-n890257
If the agent got a one week suspension, what discipline was mete out to the Vice President? Did the President confine the Vice President to his room in Blair House for a week?
Yeah, this is a case of this woman’s word against Mr. Biden? And the word of a Secret Service agent? And the word of the rest of the Secret Service detail holding this agent back? And the word of their supervision, to whom they had to explain the whole incident?
And who disrespects a guy in this way whose job it is to put himself in harms way on your behalf?
Or is this all Fake News?
“Make whatever case you feel is morally correct, but try not to go so far that you wind up starring in enemy propaganda.”
Joe is unsafe.
If you want a safe space, Joe is not who you want in your space.
Unsafe at any speed.
I’m surprised NR would allow this kind of article, given “the editors'” seeming endorsement of Biden and virulent hatred of President Trump. Even Kyle sends highly mixed messages, refusing (for example) to refer to the President as either President Trump, or Mr. Trump – just as Trump. Even the 1970s New York Times made an explicit editorial policy decision to refer to President Nixon either by that title, or as “Mr. Nixon.” As obviously opposed as the paper was to him, they showed respect. Kyle trashes Biden, but his remarks about President Trump are as disrespectful as most of those in the mainstream media. What is he trying to say?
In Kyle Smith’s linked article, the president is initially referred to as “President Trump” and subsequently referred to as “Donald Trump” twice (plus once more in a quote) and as simply “Trump” six times (excluding the phrase “Trump voters”).
Compare today’s NR article by Victor Davis Hanson, “Trump, Race, and Class”, where in the body the president is initially referred to as “Donald Trump” and subsequently referred to as simply “Trump” nine times (excluding the phrases “Trump surge”, “Never Trump”, “Trump supporters”). https://www.nationalreview.com/2020/09/trump-race-and-class/
The lack of honorifics would appear to reflect modern style and NR’s editorial standards more than the anyone’s individual expression of support or hatred of the president.
I watched Biden lie with complete authority in the VP debate with Sarah Palin. Israel had just been through another war with Hezbollah, and Hezbollah had been storing missiles in private homes. Somehow, a UN resolution got passed condemning this, probably to prevent Israel from finishing off the war. Biden said that under UN resolution 1422, the French Army had kept Hezbollah from re-arming. In fact, it was UN troops, who sat and watched Hezbollah re-arm. I wish that Sarah Palin had known enough to fact-check him right there in the debate; it would have destroyed Biden’s credibility in a very public way. But the moment passed, and Biden looked presidential. (At least he got the UN resolution number right.)
I guess that is what you get when you (allegedly told about Governor Palin) pass by the stack of briefing materials.
On the other hand, Paul Ryan was the Ur-wonk. I cannot imagine the good Congressman passing up studying anything handed to him from Mr. Romney’s team, and I guess that didn’t save him in his debate with the same man.
Biden vs. Paul Ryan was the worst debate performance I’ve ever seen. I honestly thought Biden was on drugs; he giggled through the entire thing. Paul Ryan couldn’t do anything but sit there and pretend it wasn’t happening.
And the media claimed Biden won because of the laughs, grins, and insults. Both Biden and Harris are employing the laughter counter argument this cycle and it makes them look insane but the media still loves it.