The Cognitive Dissonance Presidency

David Remnick: “Biden has rightly asserted that the voters regard this election not only as a debate about global affairs, the environment, civil rights, women’s rights, and other matters of policy but as a referendum on democracy itself. For him to remain the Democratic candidate, the central actor in that referendum, would be an act not only of self-delusion but of national endangerment.” “To refuse to do so, to go on contending that his good days are more plentiful than the bad, to ignore the inevitability of time and aging, doesn’t merely risk his legacy—it risks the election and, most important, puts in peril the very issues and principles that Biden has framed as central to his Presidency and essential to the future.”

From the Philadelphia Inquirer editorial board: “President Joe Biden’s debate performance was a disaster. His disjointed responses and dazed look sparked calls for him to drop out of the presidential race.” “But lost in the hand wringing was Donald Trump’s usual bombastic litany of lies, hyperbole, bigotry, ignorance, and fear mongering. His performance demonstrated once again that he is a danger to democracy and unfit for office.” “In fact, the debate about the debate is misplaced.

I’ve never seen Democrats more divided. In the two days since Joe Biden gave a horrifically bad debate performance, it seems like half the party believes Democrats need a new nominee and the other half are incredulous that Democrats aren’t rallying around the president. .memberful-global-teaser-content p:last-child{ -webkit-mask-image: linear-gradient(180deg, #000 0%, transparent); mask-image: linear-gradient(180deg, #000 0%, transparent); } Join now to continue reading. Members get exclusive analysis, bonus features and no advertising.

Rick Wilson: “History is replete with bad debate performances: Clinton’s first outing in 1992, George W. Bush’s Boston groaner (I was there, and it was awful), and Obama’s first showing against John McCain. Debates matter until they don’t, but they matter most to the chattering and online classes.” “But there’s no spinning it.

Stuart Stevens: “As a former Republican who spent decades pointing out flaws in the Democratic Party, I watch the current Democratic panic over President Biden’s debate performance with a mix of bafflement and nostalgia.” “It’s baffling that so many Democrats are failing to rally around a wildly successful president after one bad night.

“Some of the Biden administration’s top domestic priorities, from cracking down on power-plant pollution to bringing back net neutrality, are on shakier legal footing after a Supreme Court decision on Friday shifted power away from federal agencies,” the Wall Street Journal reports.