Following Last Nights Debate, President Biden Resets and Strikes the Right Notes and Tone at a North Carolina Rally

Coming off what he now admits was a poor performance in last night's 2024 Presidential Debate, President Joe Biden came out swinging at a post-debate rally in North Carolina, acknowledging his missteps from yesterday evening and forcefully making the case for his reelection against 34-time convicted, sexual assaulter, liar in chief, and traitor Donald 'I killed Roe v Wade' Trump.

With chants of "four more years," Mr. Biden said "I'm here in North Carolina for one reason. I intend to win this state in November...If we win here, we win the election."

Biden continued by saying they would do this by enacting a progressive problem-solving agenda that includes:

• "Standing up for the women of America."
• "To Restore Roe v Wade as the law of the land."
• "To stand up for the right to vote."
• "To stand up for Medicare and Social Security."
• "We're going to fight for Child Care, Paid Leave."
• "Make the tax code fair."
• "We're going to keep lowering the costs of prescription drugs not just for seniors but every single American."
• "We're going to keep protecting the Affordable Care Act."
• "Protect our children and get the weapons of war off our streets."
• "Provide clean drinking water, high-speed internet, and quality education for every child in America."
• "Secure our border and protect legal immigration."
• "Unlike the other guy, we're going to stand up to dictators like Putin. America bows to no one."
• "Keep dealing with the climate crisis."
• "Protect, preserve, and defend our Democracy."

The President continued on the need to fight for the American Ideal, saying "That is what is at stake in America this election. Your freedom. Your Democracy. America itself is at stake."

Pivoting to last night's debate, Mr. Biden repeated one of his most praised lines of the event, saying he spent "90 minutes on stage debating a guy who has the morals of an alley cat." He claimed that Trump "set a new record for lies told in a debate" and reminded the audience that his predecessor had laid "America flat on his back" thanks to his poor handling of the Coronavirus.

He also attacked Trump for lying about not saying he called veterans "losers" and suckers," reminding the crowd that it was Trump's own Chief of Staff that acknowledged his boss said it. 

The President also brought up, like he did at last night's debate, that "40 of his top advisors including the Vice President (Mike Pence) aren't supporting him this time around."

Mr. Biden also called out Trump's lies about crime, noting that it was during the Biden/Harris Administration that "violent crime has hit a 50-year low."

He also reminded the crowd that he said "that the only person on the stage" last night "that was a convicted felon was Donald Trump" with his 34 convictions and being found liable for sexual assault and business fraud. 

While the supporters chanted, "Lock him up," Biden called Mr. Trump "A one-man crime wave" and someone who "has no respect for women and the law."

The President called Mr. Trump's claim that "he had nothing to do with January 6 his biggest lie" and condemned him for "wanting to pardon all those criminals." Later, he brought up that Trump, even after the moderators asking him the same question three times, would not say if he would accept the election results.

He also called attention to Trump saying "he was proud to have killed Roe v Wade" and "proud that politicians should make decisions about women's health." calling it "A nightmare."

Mr. Biden berated Mr. Trump's calls for a new tax cut for the wealthy and richest corporations at the expense of Medicare and Social Security while also raising taxes on working and middle-class individuals with new tariffs.

Saying "we've come a long way from the mess Donald Trump left us," the President pointed out that "we have the strongest economy in the world" and acknowledged "we have more to do," especially on further reducing inflation by tackling "corporate greed."

The President also cited 15 Nobel Economic Laureates who said his fiscal plans would generate growth while Trump would spark rising inflation and a recession.

Mr. Biden closed with: 

"I know I'm not a young man. I don't walk as easily as I used to. I don't speak as easily as I used to. I don't debate as well as I used to."

"But I know what I do know."

"I know how to tell the truth. I know right from wrong. I know how to do this job. I know how to get things done. And I know like millions of Americans know. When you get knocked down, you get back up."

"I know what it took to take our economy from the depths of the pandemic to where it is today, the strongest economy in the world. I know what it will take to bring this economy to everybody. I know what it'll take to rally the world and stand up to Putin and defend freedom..."

With chants of the Obama phrase "Yes you can," Biden sought to allay concerns about his abilities to perform, saying, "Folks, I give you my word...that I would not be running again if I didn't believe with all my heart and soul I can do this job...the stakes are too high..."

He also went after his 34-time convicted and twice impeached predecessor, stating that:

"Donald Trump is a genuine threat to this nation. He's a threat to our freedom. He's a threat to our Democracy. He's literally a threat to everything America stands for. He doesn't understand...that America is the finest and most unique nation in the world...Donald Trump is motivated by revenge and retribution. Well, revenge and retribution never built a damned thing."

He finished, with chants of "U.S.A, U.S.A." in the background, by offering:

"You and I are a Nation of hope, optimism, and possibilities. That's what always built America. The choice in this election is simple. Donald Trump will destroy our Democracy. I will defend it...Donald Trump is the first President in American History that called America 'a failing nation.' Who the hell does he think he is?...I don't know a President that wouldn't trade places with America in a heartbeat. He's dead wrong. America is not a losing nation. America is winning...We just have to remember who we are. We're the United States of America. There's nothing beyond our capacity 

Do Not Panic Democrats

From CNN

Let us be honest. Optically, at least, President Biden had a bad performance at the first Presidential Debate of 2024.

He appeared lost and rambling, especially in the first few moments of the event. Watching him, it looked like he was suffering from a combination of being overprepared and a cold he had recently developed.

Historically, it is important to remember that incumbent Presidents like Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush, George W. Bush, Barack Obama, and Donald Trump all had poor first debate performances.

Remember Reagan, the second Bush, and Obama all wound up winning reelection.

President Biden improved in his presentation as the debate progressed. Most of Biden's responses to questions were on point and accurate - in contrast to Trump. His best moments were calling Trump a felon, a whiner, a sucker, a loser and a liar. Biden told Trump he "had the morals of an alley cat" and defended our country from Trump's many falsehoods.

Donald Trump, for his part, was a braying ass. He performed for his base, spewing the same lies and grotesque statements that have been discredited by fact-checkers for years.

Trump also utterly failed to answer most of the questions put to him, including childcare or fentanyl. He falsely blamed Jan. 6, 2021, on the Mayor of Washington, DC and Nancy Pelosi. Trump vomited his many lies about the economy, immigrants, law and order, America's standing in the world, late-term abortions, and the state of the country.

The moderators had to ask him three times if he would accept the election results until he finally gave a vaguely worded conditional "yes."

That the moderators, CNN's Dana Bash and Jake Tapper, did not point out Trump's constant lies was a disservice to the American People.

Post-debate analysis

Fortunately, CNN did a stellar post-debate analysis of Mr. Trump's trips into fantasyland.

Furthermore, the initial reaction of most of the individuals in focus groups on CNN and MSNBC seemed to recognize that pretty much all of what Trump said were stinking lies and total bull fecal matter. He did not appear to win many if any, new voters this evening.

That said, they also felt President Biden looked bad. However, unlike Trump, whom most of them loathed, they had sympathy for Biden and recognized him as decent and honorable.

To their credit, Vice President Kamala Harris and California Governor Gavin Newsom, both appearing on CNN and MSNBC following the debate, acknowledged the President had a bad start, but Trump's performance was repellent from beginning to end.

Vice President Harris pointed out that, unlike Trump, "President Biden has the endorsement of his Vice President."

Newsom said that it was nonsense to abandon the person "that brought you to the dance" with his substantial record of accomplishment after "one bad performance."

Newsom is right. 

You do not abandon the person that brought you to the dance after one poor performance.

I am still with Joe Biden

I am with the President who has a remarkable list of achievements, does not, unlike the other guy, have a criminal and impeachment record, speaks optimistically about the country like Humphrey and Reagan, and will fight, unlike the other guy, for the people, freedom, and Democracy.

This situation is similar in some respects to 1948 when Democrats looked for other candidates, including Dwight Eisenhower, to run against Thomas Dewey because they did not think Truman could win.

Truman got the nomination, and he won against Dewey.

While time will tell what will happen in 2024, Democrats should not panic now.

Remember the other guy has a date with a judge on July 11 and his poll numbers are slipping after his 34 convictions. 

With his great multitude of lies and outlandish statements, he also had a horrible debate performance tonight and did not appear to sway anyone to his side.

So, do not panic. There is still time to reset this. 

Well Put: Editorial Poster

 

Editorial Cartoons for the Week

 

"Freedom or Fascism:" Deb Haaland, Priya Sundareshan, and Oscar De Los Santos Powerfully Lay Out What is at Stake in the 2024 Elections

 "Freedom or Fascism?"

"Our Elections Matter." "Our Votes Matter."

"Having elected officials who care about you and your family and not just themselves."

"Make no mistake He (Donald Trump) will take a wrecking ball to the foundations of our Democracy."

Photo by Delaney Corcoran.

Earlier this evening (June 21, 2024) at the Copper Star Coffee Cafe in Phoenix, Secretary of Interior Deb Haaland, Arizona State Senator Priya Sundareshan, and State Representative Oscar De Los Santos powerfully laid out what is at stake in the upcoming November elections, making the case why President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris should be re-elected to a second term and Democrats up and down the ballot should be chosen to serve the people.

State Representative Oscar De Los Santos. Photo by David Gordon.

Representative Oscar De Los Santos Sets the Mood for the Campaign Event

Representative De Los Santos set the mood for the evening for the audience by asking "Are you excited to send Donald Trump to the trash bin of History this November? Are you excited to send Kari Lake to whatever dark Q'Anon corner of the internet she came from this November?"

He ably framed what was at stake by telling the audience that this election was not about "Two candidates, or two politicians, or two political parties? Frankly, it's not even a choice between liberals and conservatives...This is a choice that fundamentally comes down to choosing between a future that is decided by freedom or one characterized by fascists."

He then pointed out a couple of contrasts between President Biden and Donald Trump in this election including:

• Somebody (Trump) who says he wants to be a Dictator on day one versus somebody (Biden) who granted one of the biggest reprieves for immigrants in American history just this week.
• Somebody (Biden) who has signed into law the most historic climate change legislation and brought down prescription drug prices for seniors versus somebody (Trump) who's committed 34 felonies.

When asked to elaborate on his remarks comparing the two candidates after the event, Representative De Los Santos offered:

"You've got one candidate (Trump) who's already pledging to not accept the results of the election if he wins who's pledging to be a quote dictator on day one versus the Democrat President Joe Biden who is ensuring that more people can vote. He's looking to strengthen voter protections in the US Congress. So this couldn't be more clear. It frankly isn't about left versus right or Democrat versus Republican at this point. It's about American versus Un-American."

Senator Priya Sundareshan Speaks on the Vital Need to Protect Reproductive Freedom this Election.

Saying it's because of Donald Trump and his three Supreme Court picks that Arizona is currently living under extreme abortion bans, Senator Sundareshan spoke passionately on an issue she championed throughout the last session of the Arizona State Legislature: Protecting Reproductive Freedom. 

State Senator Priya Sundareshan. Photo by David Gordon.

After praising the successful efforts of the Democrats at the State Capitol to help repeal the 1864 era Abortion Ban that Donald Trump's Supreme Court resurrected on the Grand Canyon State with their overturning of Roe v Wade, she reminded the audience that the new post-Roe reality makes "our state legislature plays an outsized role in protecting our rights or in not protecting our rights" and it was necessary to elect Democrats who have vowed to protect them.

She warned that "Arizona's Republicans in the State Legislature and all the way up to the top are extreme and have followed Donald Trump, carving themselves in their his image, vowing to the MAGA wing of the Republican Party that they're looking to restrict access to things like medication abortions, contraception, and even essential medical services like In Vitro Fertilization."

She warned, citing the contents of the Project 2025 report, "that Donald Trump and his allies are going to continue to come for our rights, and, if given the chance, he and his allies will ban medication abortion nationwide. His allies have published their plans to get rid of, to rip away access to reproductive health care, including medication abortion and birth control in all 50 states by Executive action, so they may not need the help of Congress."

In her closing comments, Sundareshan struck an optimistic note on the power of the people, saying, "Arizona's votes matter. Our elections matter. Our votes matter...Representation matters...We've got to make sure that we turn out the vote because... we have the chance this November to put in our State Constitution, the right to reproductive freedom. But we also have to protect these rights at the national level as well and that includes the White House. We have to get Joe Biden back into the White House...We have to make sure that Donald Trump does not find his way back to the White House because then no one in Arizona will be safe if they follow through with their plans."

After the event, Senator Sundareshan conveyed her admiration for Secretary Haaland, calling her "a trailblazer" as a House Representative and Cabinet Secretary.

When asked to elaborate on her earlier remarks at the event she said:

"We're at a Crossroads again. We can continue to see our trajectory rising with the reelection of Joe Biden, but we also have the great risk that we could go back to the times of Donald Trump and all the terrible fears and darkness that brought." 

When asked to comment on how Biden/Harris policies have benefited Arizona, Senator Sundareshan said:

"I mean just underlining the number of jobs that have been created during President Biden's term. I think that's really one key focus and I mean, it's not just jobs. It's good paying jobs. It's union jobs. It's jobs that have these protections. I think 15 million jobs have translated well in Arizona."

"I have gone to many opening ceremonies (like a recent event for the opening of a Solar Gains facility in Tucson)and things like that" 

Interior Secretary Deb Haaland Talks about "America's Comeback Story" under the Biden/Harris Administration and Lays Out What is At Stake in this Election.

Secretary of Interior Deb Haaland. Photo by David Gordon.

Picking up where Senator Sundareshan left off, Secretary Haaland told the audience that "representation does matter" and they, the people, have the power to go out, and educate their communities on what is at stake in this election and which ticket "Do we trust to fight for us for our families and for our future."

She then went through a recent history lesson of what the country was like that last year of the Trump/Pence Administration, calling it "dark" because of the "deadly pandemic raging (thanks in part to Mr. Trump's mismanagement across the country."

She also reminded the people gathered that "there were thousands of small businesses that were shuttering, some of them forever. Millions of Americans were losing their jobs. Democracy was hanging by a thread. We were lurching from crisis to crisis all exacerbated by a chaotic dangerous President who was only thinking about himself every single day and never thought one time about you or me. We were a nation in desperate need of a healing voice in the state and how we found that in President, Joe Biden."

The Secretary then recited the accomplishments and achievements of the Biden/Harris Administration, calling it "A great American comeback story. These accomplishments included:

• "Investing in America's middle class, rebuilding our economy for the middle out and the bottom up. 
• A record chattering 15 million jobs.
• More than 800,000 good-paying manufacturing jobs have returned to our shores and many of those are union jobs. 
• Main streets Across America are booming. Small businesses are launching at record rates. Latino entrepreneurs are starting new businesses at the fastest rate in over a decade. Black business ownership is growing at the highest rate in three decades.
• The landmark Bipartisan Infrastructure investments. He's modernizing roads, bridges, trains, public transit, and more making communities safer cleaner, and easier to navigate. 
• Lower drug costs for seniors on medications like insulin.
• Inflation has cooled... Gas, milk, toys, appliances, electronics, car rentals, and airfare will all cost less than they did a year ago... Prices are down. Wages are up. Jobs are abundant and America is building again. 
• A recent rise in consumer confidence.
• Expanded benefits for veterans exposed to toxic substances (The Pact Act.)
• The first major gun violence law in a generation.
• The most consequential climate action in history.
• Restored American leadership on the world stage rallying our allies to defend."

Ms. Haaland thanked the Biden/Harris supporters in the room and others who voted in 2020 and 2022 that helped make the above results possible. 

She then laid out the stakes in the upcoming November election, telling those gathered that the mission is to re-elect the Biden/Harris ticket so they can finish the job they started in 2021 and reminding them of the need to return the current administration and "elected officials that care about you and your family and not just themselves."

She reminded everyone that the Biden/Harris Administration is about:

• Having an America "where everybody has a fair shot at a better life no matter where you're from."
• To give "all Americans more freedom." 

The Secretary reminded everyone of the never-ending turmoil that was the four years of the twice-impeached Trump Administration calling the 45th White House occupant "criminally indicted and disgraced" whose "office every day brought chaos, crisis, and corruption as he put his own interests ahead of ours."

Ms. Haaland pointed out, based on the experience of January 6, 2021, the dangers to the American Republic, noting that "he (Trump) won't think twice about burning down our Democracy just to stay in power except this time, he's not even trying to hide it...He pledged to be a dictator on day one. That should scare every single one of us. And he declared that immigrants are poisoning the blood of our country. He told insurrectionists who tried to end American Democracy I am your retribution. He vowed to go after those who dared defy him using the full might of the federal government. Make no mistake. He will take a wrecking ball to the foundations of our democracy. And that means we have no choice but to beat him."

She also evoked the MAGA Republican Domestic Agenda including "making the economy for the ultra-rich, breaking Social Security and Medicare, ripping away Health Care, outlawing abortion, polluting our planet, undermining our elections, and diminishing America's standing in the world."

In her closing remarks, the Secretary relayed:

"As our economy and our democracy continue to recover from the chaos of Donald Trump, we simply can't afford to turn back the hands of time and go back to that dark and dangerous time. The stakes in the election couldn't be higher in November. Our nation will choose between two dramatically different visions for our future. MAGA Republicans see a land of carnage. Joe and Kamala and the Democrats see a land of possibilities. MAGA Republicans see a failed state. Joe, Kamala, and the Democrats see the greatest country on Earth. MAGA Republicans see Americans as angry and divided. Joe, Kamala, and the Democrats know we can still do anything as long as we do it together."

In "Achievement Unlocked" the Lincoln Project Highlights the Achievements of the Biden/Harris Administration

 For all the misguided souls out there who think we were better off four years ago with Sexual Assaulter, Traitor, Twice Impeached, and 34 Times Convicted Popular Vote Loser Donald 'I killed Roe v Wade' and 'Let's use bleach to cure COVID' Trump in the White House, the Lincoln Project has released a new ad "Achievement Unlocked" that shows the measures the Biden/Harris Administration has helped secure to help move the United States forward and lift Americans up.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aZmebNWRUxk

Starting with music playing in the background and the caption President Biden produces results, the ad, without a narrator in this presentation, shows an analyst on the MSNBC Lawrence O'Donnell show, under the caption 'Booming Economy' stating that the "Biden Administration has been more successfully economically interventionist than the New Deal."

The next segment shows inflation falling over the last year and a half, getting closer to two percent, and Wall Street achieving record heights as broadcast by... wait for it... Fox News. 

The ad then touts the positive benefits of the Inflation Reduction Act, with commentators noting the funding for "climate investments, health care reforms, corporate tax reforms, insulin price caps, prescription drug reform, and Affordable Care Act subsidies."

The piece then highlights the CHIPS Science Act, with President Biden hailing it as "Groundbreaking chips and science laws that's going to ensure that technologies and jobs of the future are made here in America."

The next segment shows the President signing The Pact Act, which would help one million veterans and their survivors with their physical and mental health care. The ad shows the President saying, "In America, we leave no veteran behind."

The American Rescue Plan is cited next with the ten million jobs it helped create and, as Mr. Biden said, "Given people in this nation, working people, middle-class folks, people who built the country a fighting chance."

The piece then commemorates the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (the one Mr. 'Infrastructure Week' could not achieve,) with President Biden citing its purpose of rebuilding and modernizing "America's roads, bridges, ports, deliver clean water, high-speed internet."

The ad then shows a graph illustrating job creation in the Biden/Harris Administration to the tune of over 15 million positions. 

The ad closes with President Biden saying:

"All of this progress is part of our vision and plan and determined effort to get the job done for the American People."

The ad ends with President Biden signing a measure in the Oval Office, remarking, "Got it."

What part of these accomplishments does the other side have a problem with or is against?

Biden

"There's a Threat Facing Women in America:" Bipartisan Seneca Project Frames the Choice for Women in 2024 With Their First Ad "A Time for Choosing"

 The Bipartisan Seneca Project, named in part from the 1848 Seneca Falls movement that promoted women's rights in the United States, has unveiled a powerful new ad called "A Time for Choosing" that frames what is at stake for American women in the 2024 elections.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tbuGSYwJUCo

The ad starts with TV Journalist Norah O'Donnell announcing the Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v Wade.

With newspaper clippings depicting women losing their reproductive freedom playing in the background, The narrator then warns that "There's a threat facing women in America that transcends party lines."

A crying woman says "My country doesn't care about me."

The narrator continues, with a video of historic women's marches, saying: "And it's time we ask ourselves. Do we still value the freedoms that we have fought so hard for?" 

Another woman states "We should all have the care that we need."

The narrator remarks "This election is a choice. And it is a time for choosing. We're told we have to choose between left or right."

Donald Trump's mug shot with the word convicted on it is shown next to President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris. 

The narrator conveys "But we know what the real choice is. It's a choice between our freedom or their (with a picture of the Republican Speaker of the House, Mike Johnson) control."

"Between our right to determine our own destinies or Donald Trump."

"So seriously America. What the hell are we doing? We can't sit on the sidelines while women in America suffer and die because a right we once had has now been criminalized. If we don't make the right choice, there's no state to escape to. There's no going back."

"Choosing who will shape our future is a right we still have left...for now. And that choice is up to us."

Editorial Cartoons for the Last Two Weeks. Sorry I missed last week.