2024 Presidential Election Thread

[Northwestcoug]

Criticizing Biden is "declasse"? Ha. Stop.



All politicians are sleazy is a lazy dodge.

It's funny you and other think that Biden is clean as long as he doesn't personally accept money. He allowed Hunter to enrich himself by peddling influence and engaging in these activities. You think he had no idea what Hunter was doing? Nonsense.

And why do you think these foreign institutions paid all that money to Hunter? Just a random goodwill donation to his crack fund?

You missed the bolded part of your response. Why in the hell would you even bring up Hunter's problems when criticizing Biden as a politician?!? That's Ted level. You can do better.

I have no idea what Biden did and didn't know about Hunter's business dealings. I admit, it's a fair assumption that he knew some things and he might have used his influence to help him. On the other hand, Hunter could have been very good at selling his influence to his dad and washington power, and they lapped it up. Regardless, influence peddling in Washington is nothing new, despite it being unsavory.

This is not the main point. You are inferring that his historically low approval ratings are explained by his level of sleaze, and by extension, he is one of the sleaziest presidents we've had. I don't buy it. There are a myriad of reasons why his ratings are terrible. The so-called scandals are only moving the GOP and the fringes of independents. Very few millennials and progressives in his own party are jazzed about him, and it isn't because of the sleaze.

[Jeff Lebowski]

You missed the bolded part of your response. Why in the hell would you even bring up Hunter's problems when criticizing Biden as a politician?!? That's Ted level. You can do better.

I have no idea what Biden did and didn't know about Hunter's business dealings. I admit, it's a fair assumption that he knew some things and he might have used his influence to help him. On the other hand, Hunter could have been very good at selling his influence to his dad and washington power, and they lapped it up. Regardless, influence peddling in Washington is nothing new, despite it being unsavory.

This is not the main point. You are inferring that his historically low approval ratings are explained by his level of sleaze, and by extension, he is one of the sleaziest presidents we've had. I don't buy it. There are a myriad of reasons why his ratings are terrible. The so-called scandals are only moving the GOP and the fringes of independents. Very few millennials and progressives in his own party are jazzed about him, and it isn't because of the sleaze.

Go back and read USUC's list. Sleaze was one of many reasons he has been a crappy president.

Hunter is absolutely fair game in the conversation. Allowing a family member to so extensively and blatantly profit from foreign influence peddling is wrong.

Again, your main response is "influence peddling in Washington is nothing new". And "everyone does it." If that works for you, great. But please try not to act incredulous when it bothers other people.

[Northwestcoug]

Go back and read USUC's list. Sleaze was one of many reasons he has been a crappy president.

Hunter is absolutely fair game in the conversation. Allowing a family member to so extensively and blatantly profit from foreign influence peddling is wrong.

Again, your main response is "influence peddling in Washington is nothing new". And "everyone does it." If that works for you, great. But please try not to act incredulous when it bothers other people.

His son, Hunter, is addicted to crack and whores

If you believe this is fair game, then I'm surprised and I'll leave it at that.

Let me ask you directly, since no one here believes Biden is pure. Is his level of sleaze historically bad? This is the heart of what I'm interested in. I'm already holding my nose voting for him. But I don't think the case has been made that his sleaze is outside of the norm.

Again, let me stress. No one is happy about political sleaze. But we also have to deal with reality. You haven't made the case that the prime mover of his approval ratings is his sleaze.

[tooblue]

Just for context ...

Jared Kushner defends his equity firm getting $2 billion from Saudis after he left White House

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/jared-k...mal-khashoggi/

"After Kushner left the White House, he started a private equity firm that received a reported $2 billion investment from the sovereign wealth fund controlled by Prince Mohammed"

[Jeff Lebowski]

If you believe this is fair game, then I'm surprised and I'll leave it at that.

Let me ask you directly, since no one here believes Biden is pure. Is his level of sleaze historically bad? This is the heart of what I'm interested in. I'm already holding my nose voting for him. But I don't think the case has been made that his sleaze is outside of the norm.

Again, let me stress. No one is happy about political sleaze. But we also have to deal with reality. You haven't made the case that the prime mover of his approval ratings is his sleaze.

I don't believe I have ever stated that this is the prime mover of his approval ratings. Correct me if I am wrong.

[frank ryan]

Biden is a bad person. Biden is corrupt. Biden is a bad president. He is better than Trump in most ways AND it's a travesty that he is the Dem ccandidate. He may be worthy of voting for in this insane instance, but he is not worthy of being celebrated.

He's really not, especially as lifetime politicians go.

[Northwestcoug]

I don't believe I have ever stated that this is the prime mover of his approval ratings. Correct me if I am wrong.

It was inferred.

All true. And it helps explain why he has one of the lowest approval ratings for a president in US history.

Why do yo think Biden has the worst approval rating of any president in history at this point in his tenure?

If I misinterpreted what you were trying to say here then my apologies.

[Non Sequitur]

Go back and read USUC's list. Sleaze was one of many reasons he has been a crappy president.

Hunter is absolutely fair game in the conversation. Allowing a family member to so extensively and blatantly profit from foreign influence peddling is wrong.

Again, your main response is "influence peddling in Washington is nothing new". And "everyone does it." If that works for you, great. But please try not to act incredulous when it bothers other people.

How is Biden supposed to disallow his son from trading on the family name? Send him to his room? If Joe Biden was benefitting from Hunter's actions, then that's sleazy. If he was encouraging it or promoting it, then that's sleazy. I haven't seen any evidence of that. Tim Ballard traded extensively on his friendship with Melvin J. Ballard. Is that on Melvin J. Ballard? If your father is vice president of the United States, companies will hire you and pay you a lot of money whether you're qualified or not. What is it that Joe Biden could have done that would have soothed your moral outrage?

[PaloAltoCougar]

I keep hearing this and Biden suffers from the same family sickness that afflicts all famous folks with any ounce of power. Yes, sleazy as hell, but I wonder why Biden is held to a higher standard than everyone else (the Clintons, the Trump crime family, Clarence Thomas and his wife, some of those Bridges boys, etc.).

Let us not forget Billy Beer!

[Jeff Lebowski]

It was inferred.

I explicitly said, "it helps explain". I didn't say it was the main reason. Furthermore, I was responding to the list of items by USUC included lots of things. Not just corruption.

I never said that corruption is the main reason people don't like him. While it bothers me personally, the main reasons are the economy, immigration, and his general incompetence. See poll results here:

https://news.gallup.com/poll/610322/...isapprove.aspx

[Jeff Lebowski]

How is Biden supposed to disallow his son from trading on the family name? Send him to his room? If Joe Biden was benefitting from Hunter's actions, then that's sleazy. If he was encouraging it or promoting it, then that's sleazy. I haven't seen any evidence of that.

There is zero evidence that Biden ever tried to stop him. Not only that, Biden has repeatedly defended his son's actions.

Tim Ballard traded extensively on his friendship with Melvin J. Ballard. Is that on Melvin J. Ballard?

When he become aware of what he was doing, Melvin J. Ballard told Tim Ballard to stop and then Tim Ballard was excommunicated. Apples and oranges.

If your father is vice president of the United States, companies will hire you and pay you a lot of money whether you're qualified or not. What is it that Joe Biden could have done that would have soothed your moral outrage?

And why do they pay all that money to a crack-addicted loser? Hmmm... Tough one.

[Maximus]

Just for context ...

Jared Kushner defends his equity firm getting $2 billion from Saudis after he left White House

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/jared-k...mal-khashoggi/

"After Kushner left the White House, he started a private equity firm that received a reported $2 billion investment from the sovereign wealth fund controlled by Prince Mohammed"

funny how this didnt make the list?

or how china rented space in trump tower for millions until he lost the election. lol.

[USUC]

Primarily because he appears to be so old. That magnifies missteps, which all Presidents make. He's done some very good things (Chips Act, the Infrastructure and Investment Jobs Act, and even tried a immigration reform bill) which for some reason do not bring him credit. The economy is humming along and unemployment is way down, down so much that businesses are hard pressed to find the labor they need.

Why he doesn't get more credit baffles me.

You mean this Chips Act?

Commentators have noted that CHIPS and Science Act money has been sluggish. What they haven’t noticed is that it’s because the CHIPS Act is so loaded with DEI pork that it can’t move.


The law contains 19 sections aimed at helping minority groups, including one creating a Chief Diversity Officer at the National Science Foundation, and several prioritizing scientific cooperation with what it calls “minority-serving institutions.” A section called “Opportunity and Inclusion” instructs the Department of Commerce to work with minority-owned businesses and make sure chipmakers “increase the participation of economically disadvantaged individuals in the semiconductor workforce.”

https://thehill.com/opinion/4517470-...the-chips-act/

He's really not, especially as lifetime politicians go.

I wont defend career politicians by any means, but Biden is especially egregious. What career politician is comparable as far as amassing wealth not only for themselves and their family? Maybe Pelosi? Has Mitch McConnell or Chuck Schumer?

[Moliere]

Why do yo think Biden has the worst approval rating of any president in history at this point in his tenure?

Ha, fusnik won’t look at the evidence because facts don’t matter when he has his brain to tell us what is true.

[fusnik]

This is all insanity. Obama offered to pay for Bidens family medical bills and give Joe a loan to cover familial expenses in 2015. Joe Biden is worth 10mm. His brother maybe 10mm and his son is so rich he had to have Joe buy him a truck because he couldn’t swing the monthly payments.

Where are the untold fortunes and millions of dollars you guys are referencing?

Biden is one of the most vetted people in the history of the world and also in the throes of senility and yet he’s able to hide his families fortunes and make it look like to an army of forensic accountants that he’s one of the poorest Presidents ever, it
really is incredible.