Jim Meyer: 1 - Yeah, I'm freaking out. 2 - I'm old enough to remember the freakout after Reagan's halting, bumbling performance in his first debate as an incumbent. IIRC, he did OK in that election.

never happened before www.nytimes.com/2011/09/11/u...

Am obviously just one of many many reporters getting their phones blown up by elite Dems in positions of influence, power, money freaking the fuck out tonight. All I’ll say before pivoting to writing copy is this is Not the usual bed wetting, Biden should step aside fan fic. Tonight was different

Democrats Fret Aloud Over Obama’s Chances (Published 2011)www.nytimes.com Elected officials and party leaders at all levels said that their concern about President Obama’s vulnerability in 2012 has intensified as the economy has displayed fresh signs of weakness.

I can report from here in suburbia that my democratic friends are also freaking the fuck out. Biden seems to have dementia. My 18 year old son doesn’t want to fucking vote for him because he’s so goddamn old. And tonight‘s debate just proved it.

I’m not trying to antagonize people who have these doubts about Biden, just noting they are longstanding and not fully supported by the evidence. I wish his every appearance contradicted them as strongly as the State of the Union did, but they don’t always.

1 - Yeah, I'm freaking out. 2 - I'm old enough to remember the freakout after Reagan's halting, bumbling performance in his first debate as an incumbent. IIRC, he did OK in that election.

Reagan was utterly hobbled by dementia at that point, so maybe not great.

Counterpoint: www.youtube.com/watch?v=b5wf...

President Reagan, Mastermind - SNLwww.youtube.com President Reagan (Phil Hartman) acts hopeless and clueless in public, but in private he's an evil mastermind who knows every detail about everything happenin...

Yeah, we later learned that Reagan was a robot following scripts two years into his first term, and Nancy was making policy with the help of her astrologist. To be clear, Biden isn't senile.

One of the best skits ever.

Oh wow. Then what happened? Oh Ollie North and a bunch of other psychos got free reign to do some wheeling and dealing in coke and weapons.... oh..... Totally a non issue to have the executive not there mentally!

The problem is there probably won’t be another debate if Biden is the nominee — it’s going to be a bumpy few months.

I'm older than you because I remember how things ended up for Hubert Humphrey.

Reagan was a young lad of 73 during those debates.

A wildly different media and political ecosystem existed at that time. It was another world and the press was not gunning for Reagan on that issue.

I was in first grade in 1984 (but still remember being the only one in my class to raise his hand for Mondale). Could you tell me again how this played out on TikTok, Instagram, and Fox News?

I'm old enough myself. Reagan was only 73 versus 81. Reagan was professionally trained in putting on a show. Reagan was running against a weak politician. Reagan had an approval rating in the mid to high 50s.

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