The Biden Presidency

You looked friendly and amiable, and like you belonged after the nod to the gentleman as he passed.--Percy

That gentleman was Governor Walz of Minnesota.

So you got to see old Joe, watch and listen to him, real-time live? Nice beard.If you care to share, Oh Bearded One, what are your impressions of this guy? Can he do another term?

He is an old man. He is physically slow, but seemed sharp. What other choice do we have? Is he my first choice? No. Then again my first choice would not be elected. You dance with the one that brung ya. Let's get him elected and then deal with down the road.

People have to remember that this president is supported by entire scads of advisors. As I read it Joe Biden is not alone in his office the way Trump was. He appears to have a strong staff and his decisions are not made with limited input. And his input comes from the whole of the Democratic Party.Trump was advised by only his closest staff unless they disagreed with him then his only advice came from himself. And he is a proven liar, thief, rapist, insurrectionist who, quite openly, says that he will lead a revolution if defied.No we don't have any choice.

My tennis group has gotten older through the years, and two of us are 82 now. One is still spry, the other has been slowed by double knee replacement, but both still hit a mean ball. Mentally, both are very sharp. Often they are placing the ball in the exact right spot.At her 95th birthday party my grandmother played piano with the band.Some people are old at a certain age, some aren't. How physically old is Biden? He exited the room very slowly, in stark contrast to running onto the stage after winning the 2020 election. Has he slowed that much, or does it just take a few steps for the joints to loosen up after standing stationary at a podium for a while? I don't know.But what's important in a president is his mind. I don't think he's displayed much of his mind publicly during his presidency, though he seems to be gradually emerging from hibernation during this election year. As far as I can tell he's the same guy we elected nearly four years ago, just physically older and slower.But age could strike him down at any time and then it will be President Kamala Harris. In my view she's been a disappointment, as has Joe. But when considering how a Democratic win in September might play out for the country over the following four years, it isn't a question of whether Biden or Harris would be a good president. The question is whether they'd be a better president than Trump, and of that there can be no doubt.--Percy

Well, if they win in September, that should shut up everyone who thinks Biden is slow.

LOL!!

I think the pardoning of his son Hunter Biden is the biggest mistake of the Biden presidency. Yes, average citizens are rarely charged with the same crimes as Hunter Biden for the same violations (lying on a gun application form, non-payment of taxes that were subsequently paid), and especially not when known to be suffering under addiction. Yes, what's been done to Hunter Biden is obviously unfair.But setting an example by refraining from taking advantage of power and privilege is even more important. It makes Biden no better than Trump, who will claim he's doing no more than his predecessor when he pardons the January 6th insurrectionists and any of his friends and family still in need of same. Rudy Giuliani comes to mind.--Percy

Ill disagree.Hunter was explicitly targeted for political reasons. The usual punishment for what he actually did is a plea deal. There was a plea deal, and it was derailed...by political opponents.The power of the pardon is explicitly for addressing miscarriages of justice, which this absolutely 100% was. He should have had consequences, the plea deal should have happened, but the pardon power is all or nothing.Biden's mistake was promising not to pardon him.Meanwhile, Trump pardoned people of far worse crimes, and is now appointing the criminals he had to pardon to political and powerful positions. Biden is not showing that he's "the same" unless you sane-wash Trump's actions to the degree that our media loves to.Biden's pardon was appropriate to address an actuall miscarriage of justice. Trump's pardons are simple "get out of jail free" cards to let his cronies escape consequences when their convictions were utterly fair and took special care to ensure no political bias. They are not the same. Noit at all.

I'm going to do both. I agree. David Weiss, appointed in 2018 while Trump was still president to oversee the inquiry, was hostile toward Hunter Biden and pursued him relentlessly across all fronts. All he could find was a false answer on a firearm application, and non-payment of taxes, offenses committed while Hunter was a confirmed addict and which aren't normally pursued criminally.But the reason the plea deal fell apart are complex, see Inside the Collapse of Hunter Biden’s Plea Deal - The New York Times. After Weiss decided not to pursue prosecution, two IRS agents came forward and accused the Justice Department of interfering with their investigation, but the very next paragraph begins this way, "Now, the I.R.S. agents and their Republican allies..." Why would I.R.S. agents, who'd you'd hope would be neutral politically about tax issues, have Republican allies? That doesn't sound anything close to unbiased. I.R.S. agents with Republican allies sound like the kind of agents who would exploit political vulnerabilities, like those of a president of the opposite party whose son was in legal hot water.To me it seems very clear that Hunter Biden is the victim here, however sketchy his attempts to take financial advantage of being the president's son. Half the country voted for Trump, and so it is likely that a very sizable portion of the country doesn't see Hunter Biden's treatment as a miscarriage of justice.The pardon power isn't all or nothing. Pardons can be very specific in their application. Agreed. Are you sure about that? I could only find one of possible significance, Charles Kushner, the father of Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner. Trump has selected him to serve as ambassador to France. To quote Politico, "Joe Biden’s broad reprieve for his son gives the president-elect new rationale for even more expansive pardons than those he issued in his first term." What proportion of the country sees it as a miscarriage of justice, or sees the legal charges against Trump's people as political witch hunts?All that being said, shortly after my earlier post I changed my mind and posted this comment to the Washington Post:

Percy:

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While Hunter Biden's pardon is unprecedented, so is Trump's demonstrated penchant for vengeance. That Hunter Biden was charged with the crimes he was, when no normal citizen would be, is just more evidence of this.

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So Joe Biden had to consider the strong possibility that once in office Trump would drive his Justice Department to charge Hunter Biden with additional serious crimes and that the persecution would just never end.

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Joe Biden's judgment is not at fault here. He sized up the dangers of a Trump presidency to his family pretty accurately.

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--Percy

Hell will freeze over before Republicans are convinced to change their ways because of an example set by a Democrat.It isn't the best look for Biden, but personally, I could care less. The whole situation turned into a political farce, so I have no problem with the pardon.