From The Wall Street Journal: How the White House Functioned With a Diminished Biden in Charge

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37 Responses

  1. Jaybird
    Ignored
    says:

    How long ago was the information in this story a conspiracy theory?Report

  2. InMD
    Ignored
    says:

    What a cluster.Report

  3. Chris
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    says:

    If this is all true, it sounds like he never should have run in 2020, because he was likely already in pretty serious decline.Report

    • Jaybird in reply to Chris
      Ignored
      says:

      The good news: The people who defended him were right.

      Afghanistan withdrawal debacle? That wasn’t Biden’s fault!
      Gas prices? That’s not Biden’s fault!
      Inflation? That’s not Biden’s fault!
      Losing the election? That wasn’t Biden’s fault either.Report

      • Chris in reply to Jaybird
        Ignored
        says:

        It’s amazing that we live in a country with two shite parties, one reduced to a proto-fascist cult of personality that’s currently being led from behind the scenes by the son of a South African emerald dealer, and the other a gerontocracy clinging to power so tightly, and at the expense of any other aim, that they ran a septuagenarian in serious cognitive decline for president, twice.Report

    • Marchmaine in reply to Chris
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      says:

      Not in a conspiratorial way, but in the back of my mind I always kinda wondered if Obama knew Joe was past peak as VP and why he would never get behind him before he was president.Report

      • Chris in reply to Marchmaine
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        says:

        I mean, he had to, right? They seemed pretty tight, so Obama would definitely have noticed the difference.Report

        • Marchmaine in reply to Chris
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          says:

          Yeah, well, that’s my supposition anyway… not that Biden had completely lost it, but that he [Obama] knew he’d passed from aging to aged. I think the steeper decline happened post election.

          The 2020 election was sooo weird with Covid and the organized Tuesday consolidation where the young folk all dropped out… not out of conviction, but, well, not sure really.Report

          • North in reply to Marchmaine
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            says:

            Sure, conviction that Sanders would be a disaster and that they didn’t want to duplicate the GOP’s primary experience from 2016 from the left side of the spectrum.

            But, yes, the 2020 election was very weird.Report

            • InMD in reply to North
              Ignored
              says:

              I believe the endorsement by Clyburn was the critical moment for the center lane of candidates. That seemed to signify Biden would get the black vote which was both where Bernie was weakest and on whose votes many of the remaining primary states would turn.

              Even with this info I am not convinced it was the wrong decision. It was on Biden and those closest to him to have a sense of his cognitive status.Report

              • North in reply to InMD
                Ignored
                says:

                Agreed. In the clear stark light of hindsight Biden should either have not run at all in 2020 in which case likely one of the other center laners or a centrist who sat out because of Biden would have gotten the nod and thumped Trump or he should have said he wasn’t running again after the midterms.Report

  4. Philip H
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    says:

    I look forward to similar stories regarding the next president.Report

    • Jaybird in reply to Philip H
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      says:

      (stands up)
      (clears throat)
      “What about Ronald Reagan?”Report

      • Philip H in reply to Jaybird
        Ignored
        says:

        What about him? His Alzheimer’s wasn’t apparent until the last year or so of his second term, and was described subsequently as mild enough to be not a big deal.

        Not that it matters much since he couldn’t get reelected in the GOP nowdays.Report

    • Marchmaine in reply to Philip H
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      says:

      We shouldn’t have cried Gorilla as early as we did.

      Trump’s lost a step, is too old for office and shouldn’t be President… but my hunch is that slipping as much as Biden will be more noticable for the 1) absence of Trump from the big stage, or 2) Trump won’t GAF and it’ll be like the Biden Debate every day until, 3) He gets knifed in the back Pardoned and feted as the best President Ever as he Golfs his way to Valhalla.Report

  5. John Puccio
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    says:

    Can’t wait for the article that finally informs us which individual(s) have actually been running the Executive Branch for the past 2+ years.Report

    • Philip H in reply to John Puccio
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      says:

      That would be the same as in any Administration – the career civil servants. Above that it really doesn’t matter much.Report

      • Damon in reply to Philip H
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        says:

        Somehow I don’t think that, assuming “running the Executive Branch” means “making decisions only the president should be making” and that’s how I interpret it, none of them should be. They are there for advice, expertise on subject maters, and implementing the president’s decisions, NOT determining policy.Report

        • Philip H in reply to Damon
          Ignored
          says:

          White Houses of both political stripes during my almost 24 years have functioned by a President making big decisions on course setting, and leaving the navigation to the cabinet secretaries and the civil service. In many cases cabinet Secretaries do set policy in their areas of jurisdiction because that’s what they are there for when the President has no engagement one way or the other. The Transpiration Secretary might ask the President how he feels about additional funding for heavy rail transit – which is a policy issue – but the Secretary may not get a response and have to decide for themselves. Nothing – including this article – suggest even the Biden White House has deviated form this model.Report

          • Marchmaine in reply to Philip H
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            says:

            Clearly this is how things work at the highest level.

            However, the way that the Biden Administration lost control of the narrative and lost control of things like the Inflation Reduction Act Infrastructure Spending Bill had negative effects. First, it’s not clear that we are getting a good ROI on the actual Infrastructure Investments and Second, if we are, or to whatever extent we are, the lack of oversight and ownership by Biden and his Admin is the sort of thing the President typically does.

            So, I think it’s fair to say that the American Public isn’t really sure (i’m not sure the Govt. is sure) whether the IRA is spending it’s $1T remit to any particular benefit other than contractors. That’s a big Biden failure that I think is likely directly attributable to his decline and inability to own, manage and communicate his signature legislation. Presidents are still important to make sure that things get done and people are held (somewhat) accountable for consuming contracting $$$$$$ without delivering. The more $ the more important it is to own and manage.Report

      • John Puccio in reply to Philip H
        Ignored
        says:

        So which career civil servant decided it was ok for Ukraine to expand military strikes into Russia?Report

  6. Derek S
    Ignored
    says:

    What if Biden’s cabinet did their job and removed him?

    You would have had a couple years of Harris as president and then going into 2024 elections with her own record.

    Do you think it would have made a difference? Well, other than being honest about Biden and doing the right thing.Report

  7. Jaybird
    Ignored
    says:

    Chris Cillizza has apologized for not covering this at the time.Report

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