Biden announces he won’t seek reelection

[rubytue]

Jul 24, 2024 14:27:57 GMT -5 shauni27 said:

wise_rita , I was thinking something similar this morning, lol. Like it was all part of a big plan because holy shit, at this point I could not have guessed that this would ever go so well otherwise, haha.

Who’s playing 6D chess now 🤣🤣

[icedcoffee]

Aww great address, Joe!

[underwaterrhymes]

Jul 24, 2024 19:17:04 GMT -5 icedcoffee said:

Aww great address, Joe!

I was in a webinar tonight and forgot all about this. I need to find a clip.

[livinitup]

(I remember the days of listening to the president from the Oval Office with prepared remarks on TV. Joe didn’t do this much (this was the 4th time?) and Trump, never. It was nice.)

President Biden to the American people

(Why drop out of the race) “To unite my party.”

Pres. Biden: "I have decided the best way forward is to pass the torch to a new generation. It's the best way to unite our nation."

Country and democracy matter more than ambition.

“A nation of promise and possibilities. I’ve been blessed … I am so grateful for all of you. Let’s all work together to save our democracy.”

[notsopicky]

CNN: David Axelrod put Scott Jennings on blast during post-Oval Office address analysis for basically being a cold heartless asshole. Finally somebody called this POS on his ugly bullshit. I hate Jennings with the power of 1000 suns.

President Biden cares more about this country in his little finger than Orange Foolius could muster in his whole body in 100 lifetimes.

[notreal]

This has taken all of the press Trump was getting for the ear thing and the RNC and made it all Dems all the time, if it wasn't planned it was good timing and if it was planned it's genius.

[pixy0stix]

It bothers me that multiple people are referring to a real assassination attempt as "the ear thing." I don't really care about Trump, but I do care about gun violence and accurately talking about the seriousness of gun incidents.

[underwaterrhymes]

Heather Cox Richardson has the speech up on her FB page. It’s beautiful and although I haven’t had a chance to watch it yet, it made me cry. Posted below in spoiler tags.

SPOILER: Click to show

July 24, 2024 (Wednesday)

Tonight, President Joe Biden explained to the American people why he decided to refuse the 2024 Democratic presidential nomination and to hand the torch to Vice President Kamala Harris.

Speaking from the Oval Office from his seat behind the Resolute Desk, a gift from Queen Victoria to President Rutherford B. Hayes in 1880, Biden recalled the nation’s history. He invoked Thomas Jefferson, who wrote the Declaration of Independence; George Washington, who “showed us presidents are not kings”; Abraham Lincoln, who “implored us to reject malice”; and Franklin Delano Roosevelt, who “inspired us to reject fear.”

And then he turned to himself. “I revere this office, but I love my country more,” he said. “It’s been the honor of my life to serve as your president.” But, he said, the defense of democracy is more important than any title, and democracy is “larger than any one of us.” We must unite to protect it.

“In recent weeks, it has become clear to me that I need to unite my party in this critical endeavor,” he said. “I believe my record as president, my leadership in the world, my vision for America’s future, all merited a second term. But nothing, nothing can come in the way of saving our democracy. That includes personal ambition. So I’ve decided the best way forward is to pass the torch to a new generation. It’s the best way to unite our nation.”

There is “a time and a place for long years of experience in public life,” Biden said. “There’s also a time and a place for new voices, fresh voices, yes, younger voices. And that time and place is now.”

Biden reminded listeners that he is not leaving the presidency and will be continuing to use its power for the American people. In outlining what that means, he summed up his presidency.

For the next six months, he said, he will “continue to lower costs for hard-working families [and] grow our economy. I will keep defending our personal freedoms and civil rights, from the right to vote to the right to choose. I will keep calling out hate and extremism, making it clear there is…no place in America for political violence or any violence ever, period. I’m going to keep speaking out to protect our kids from gun violence [and] our planet from [the] climate crisis.”

Biden reiterated his support for his Cancer Moonshot to end cancer—a personal cause for him since the 2015 death of his son Beau from brain cancer—and says he will fight for it (although House Republicans have recently slashed funding for the program). He said he will call for reforming the Supreme Court “because this is critical to our democracy.”

He promised to continue “working to ensure America remains strong, secure and the leader of the free world,” and pointed out that he is “the first president of this century to report to the American people that the United States is not at war anywhere in the world.” He promised to continue rallying a coalition of nations to stop Putin’s attempt to take over Ukraine, and vowed to continue to build the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). He reminded listeners that when he took office, the conventional wisdom was that China would inevitably surpass the United States, but that is no longer the case, and he said he would continue to strengthen allies and partners in the Pacific.

Biden promised to continue to work to “end the war in Gaza, bring home all the hostages and bring peace and security to the Middle East and end this war,” as well as “to bring home Americans being unjustly detained all around the world.”

The president reminded people how far the nation has come since he took office on January 20, 2021, a day when, although he didn’t mention it tonight, he went directly to work after taking the oath of office. “On that day,” he recalled, “we…stood in a winter of peril and winter of possibilities.” The United States was “in the grip of the worst pandemic in the century, the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression, the worst attack on our democracy since the Civil War.” But, Biden said, “We came together as Americans. We got through it. We emerged stronger, more prosperous and more secure.”

“Today we have the strongest economy in the world, creating nearly 16 million new jobs—a record. Wages are up, inflation continues to come down, the racial wealth gap is the lowest it’s been in 20 years. We are literally rebuilding our entire nation—urban, suburban and rural and tribal communities. Manufacturing has come back to America. We are leading the world again in chips and science and innovation. We finally beat Big Pharma after all these years to lower the cost of prescription drugs for seniors…. More people have health care today in America than ever before.” Biden noted that he signed the PACT Act to help millions of veterans and their families who were exposed to toxic materials, as well as the “most significant climate law…in the history of the world” and “the first major gun safety law in 30 years.”

The “violent crime rate is at a 50-year low,” he said, and “border crossings are lower today than when the previous administration left office. I’ve kept my commitment to appoint the first Black woman to the Supreme Court of the United States of America. I also kept my commitment to have an administration that looks like America and [to] be a president for all Americans.”

Then Biden turned from his own record to the larger meaning of America.

“I ran for president four years ago because I believed…that the soul of America was at stake,” he said. “America is an idea. An idea stronger than any army, bigger than any ocean, more powerful than any dictator or tyrant. It’s the most powerful idea in the history of the world.”

“We hold these truths to be self-evident,” he said. “We are all created equal, endowed by our creator with certain inalienable rights: life, liberty, the pursuit of happiness. We’ve never fully lived up to…this sacred idea—but we’ve never walked away from it either. And I do not believe the American people will walk away from it now.

“In just a few months, the American people will choose the course of America’s future. I made my choice…. “[O]ur great vice president, Kamala Harris… is experienced, she is tough, she is capable. She’s been an incredible partner to me and a leader for our country.

“Now the choice is up to you, the American people. When you make that choice, remember the words of Benjamin Franklin hanging on my wall here in the Oval Office, alongside the busts of Dr. [Martin Luther] King and Rosa Parks and Cesar Chavez. When Ben Franklin was asked, as he emerged from the [constitutional] convention…, whether the founders [had] given America a monarchy or a republic, Franklin’s response was: ‘A republic, if you can keep it.’... Whether we keep our republic is now in your hands.”

“My fellow Americans, it’s been the privilege of my life to serve this nation for over 50 years,” President Biden told the American people. “Nowhere else on Earth could a kid with a stutter from modest beginnings in Scranton, Pennsylvania, and in Claymont, Delaware, one day sit behind the Resolute Desk in the Oval Office as the president of the United States, but here I am.

“That’s what’s so special about America. We are a nation of promise and possibilities. Of dreamers and doers. Of ordinary Americans doing extraordinary things. I’ve given my heart and my soul to our nation, like so many others. And I’ve been blessed a million times in return with the love and support of the American people. I hope you have some idea how grateful I am to all of you.

The great thing about America is, here kings and dictators do not rule—the people do. History is in your hands. The power’s in your hands. The idea of America lies in your hands. You just have to keep faith—keep the faith—and remember who we are. We are the United States of America, and there is simply nothing, nothing beyond our capacity when we do it together. So let’s act together, [and] preserve our democracy. God bless you all and may God protect our troops.

“Thank you.”

And with that, President Joe Biden followed the example of the nation’s first president, George Washington, who declined to run for a third term to demonstrate that the United States of America would not have a king, and of its second president, John Adams, who handed the power of the presidency over to his rival Thomas Jefferson and thus established the nation’s tradition of the peaceful transition of power. Like them, Biden gave up the pursuit of power for himself in order to demonstrate the importance of democracy.

After the speech, the White House served ice cream to the Bidens and hundreds of White House staffers in the Rose Garden.

And when the evening was over, First Lady Dr. Jill Biden posted an image of a handwritten note on social media. It read: “To those who never wavered, to those who refused to doubt, to those who always believed, my heart is full of gratitude. Thank you for the trust you put in Joe—now it’s time to put that trust in Kamala.”

[neverfstop]

Jul 24, 2024 21:00:31 GMT -5 pixy0stix said:

It bothers me that multiple people are referring to a real assassination attempt as "the ear thing." I don't really care about Trump, but I do care about gun violence and accurately talking about the seriousness of gun incidents.

Agreed. The more info I see, the more it appears to be opportunity shooting.  He wanted to do something splashy- for whatever jacked up reasons & cultural pressures he was influenced by. I think he would have tried to kill Biden or any other high profile, easily available target.  it's a gun access, maybe mental health, and likely socialization issues, but not a "left wing nut job who was ideologically motivated"

[kellady]

Jul 25, 2024 2:03:02 GMT -5 neverfstop said:

Jul 24, 2024 21:00:31 GMT -5 pixy0stix said:

It bothers me that multiple people are referring to a real assassination attempt as "the ear thing." I don't really care about Trump, but I do care about gun violence and accurately talking about the seriousness of gun incidents.

Agreed. The more info I see, the more it appears to be opportunity shooting.  He wanted to do something splashy- for whatever jacked up reasons & cultural pressures he was influenced by. I think he would have tried to kill Biden or any other high profile, easily available target.  it's a gun access, maybe mental health, and likely socialization issues, but not a "left wing nut job who was ideologically motivated"

I agree, and the more common bump stocks, assault rifles, and the like are, the easier access, the more shootings will continue. But I swear if this nut job had sprayed the crowd with assault rifle fire, the gun nuts would still demand their rights under the second amendment.  Basically, we’re screwed.

[sunshineandpinot]

Jul 24, 2024 21:00:31 GMT -5 pixy0stix said:

It bothers me that multiple people are referring to a real assassination attempt as "the ear thing." I don't really care about Trump, but I do care about gun violence and accurately talking about the seriousness of gun incidents.

Agree 100%. Someone was killed. This is a BFD. 

[chickadee77]

I agree and don't want to minimize gun violence.

However. There's a tiny part of me that is like, "See, now, how 'thoughts and prayers' feels when it's someone that's important to YOU?" They actively minimize the deaths and loss that happen daily. They've pushed for the news cycle to roll right over those people killed by gun violence, so they shouldn't be shocked when it happens to them. It's another case of reaping what one sows.

I am sorry for the friends and family of those killed. I rather hope it makes them consider their political stance and how that may affect the possibility of this happening again.

[hermione]

Watching VP Harris speak to the AFT in Houston. It’s so nice to hear a candidate who can give a speech, stay on topic, be engaging, and make intelligent points all at the same time.

[Bad Dingo]

Obamas have endorsed: (gift article) wapo.st/3Wjvtzs

[konapoppy]

Americans agree that Bidrn dropping out was the right choice: www.nytimes.com/2024/07/26/upshot/biden-polling-exit-approval.html?unlocked_article_code=1.-E0.o1F-.x3ePmRLn9Ema&smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare&sgrp=c-cb