2020 Presidential Election

[Skeptic Ginger]

Originally Posted by Craig4

It would be nice to have a system where your vote counted toward your candidate as much as everyone else's. Right now, your vote only helps your candidate if said candidate wins your state. Republicans in California and Democrats in Texas might as well not bother voting for president. The only votes that really matter are a few independent voters in about six swing states. The rest of us are background noise.

That's not true. There are lots of down ticket candidates: all the House members and some of the Senate seats that matter.

[Skeptic Ginger]

Originally Posted by Tero

But anyway, I will read Cohen's book as soon as it gets here.

I hope that one would come out in late Oct. but I see it will come out in 2 days.

[angrysoba]

Originally Posted by Craig4

It would be nice to have a system where your vote counted toward your candidate as much as everyone else's. Right now, your vote only helps your candidate if said candidate wins your state. Republicans in California and Democrats in Texas might as well not bother voting for president. The only votes that really matter are a few independent voters in about six swing states. The rest of us are background noise.

Originally Posted by Skeptic Ginger

That's not true. There are lots of down ticket candidates: all the House members and some of the Senate seats that matter.

Yes, but Craig4 was specifically referring to a vote for president, and the way that it is set up, it really does seem as though voting for president in a number of states is not worth it.

That said, you should still vote. Texas might even come into play this year as the vote has narrowed. I also know Americans who did not vote last time believing that their own vote in Michigan would not be of any consequence, except Michigan did swing to Trump.

At the very least, voting in California for the Democrats helps to illustrate how ridiculous the EC is. If people stayed home or only voted down-ballot, people could look at the vote tally and say, "See, the EC vote is pretty much in line with the popular vote." I think you guys, as Americans ought to use your votes to expose who ridiculous it is to have such a discrepancy.

[JoeMorgue]

One of my biggest issues with the EC is that it creates this popular image of huge, landslide victories that don't actually happen.

In 1972 Richard Nixon defeated George McGovern 520 EC votes to 17 (one faithless elector casting a vote for Libertarian candidate John Hospers instead of the pledged Nixon/Agnew ticket accounts for the odd vote out.)

520 to 17 is a slaughter. If you're playing a sporting event and you lose 520 to 17 you never had a chance of winning. You have to wonder why you even tried. Even if a voting populace understands the EC perfectly well on a literal mental level you can't say that isn't emotionally draining and demoralizing.

But the popular vote, while still a strong, no-ifandsorbuts about it win for Nixon, was only 60.67% to 37.52%.

If you lose 6 to 4 it feels a lot more like you still had a chance to win. It's still getting beat, beat bad but it's not embarrassing. It's not a blowout. It doesn't make you wonder why you even tried. Being down 4 points to 6 is something you can come back from. Being down 520 to 17 is not.

[Skeptic Ginger]

And in the fake videos that support Trump, paid for with taxpayer dollars category:

Paid for by US taxpayer money:
Yahoo News stream: 'The Gotaway': Online video produced and posted by the Border Patrol spreads fear of migrants

Quote:

A video produced by U.S. Border Patrol agents and shared across several official government social media accounts this week begins like the cold opening of a true-crime thriller. A Border Patrol vehicle sits parked in what looks like a desert in the dead of night, as the scratchy sounds of a radio being tuned are heard on the soundtrack. Inside the truck, two uniformed agents listen to a news report about an undocumented immigrant wanted for rape and murder in California.

“Police in Santa Maria, California say a man who was in the country illegally is now charged along with another suspect in the rape and deadly attack of a 64-year-old woman,”... “actual audio from CBS Evening News.”

The audio, which appears to have been pulled directly from an August 2015 CBS News report, is the only part of the nearly 3-minute video which is not a dramatization. The video was produced by agents from the Border Patrol’s El Centro Sector, located in Southern California’s Imperial Valley. It has been posted on the El Centro Sector chief’s official Instagram, Facebook and Twitter accounts, as well as the national Border Patrol agency’s official YouTube page, Facebook and Instagram accounts.

Sure is easy to spread lies on social media these days.

Quote:

Featuring drone footage, suspenseful music and even fake blood, the video, titled “The Gotaway,” a Border Patrol term used to describe illegal border crossers who evade apprehension, shows the agents in dramatic pursuit of a car full of migrants. From the front seat, a menacing Hispanic man with a full sleeve of tattoos (presumably the “coyote” who brought them across the border) ... the agents, now with backup, chase the migrants on foot, catching all of them but one. The camera then cuts to a shot of silhouetted man in dark clothing running into what looks like a suburban strip mall, where he skulks in the darkness behind a man talking on a cellphone. Revealing his tattoo-covered arm as he emerges from the shadows, the so-called gotaway asks the other man for money, then pulls out a knife and stabs him in the chest, running off into the darkness as the man lies in the street, fake blood running down his white shirt.

And if that wasn't enough they add in references to

Quote:

a Fox News headline about the 2015 murder of Kate Steinle in San Francisco, and another about the arrest of the undocumented man suspected of killing University of Iowa student Mollie Tibbetts in 2018 and then a sequence of headlines about murders and other violent crimes linked to undocumented immigrants. ...

They claim

Quote:

“The initial intent was to inform the workforce, but it was subsequently determined that it would also serve to inform the community and citizens about the nature of the work and dangers faced by Border Patrol and the community at large,” the CBP official said in a statement provided to Yahoo News. “CBP is committed to informing the public of our mission and challenges, and stands behind using our law enforcement personnel to tell the CBP story.” ...

Yeah that's real believable.


There is a wealth of research that has found that people who entered the country illegally are less likely to commit crimes than those who were born here.

So promoting racism: check
Vilifying undocumented immigrants: check
Fear mongering: check
Using taxpayer dollars for a political ad: check
Kissing Trump's ass somewhere along the line: check

[Stacyhs]

Well, we have been told that Mexico is sending us their rapists and murderers after all.

I was attacked when I was 22 when I lived in California. Thankfully, I fought back and was unharmed except for a black eye. He wasn't from Mexico. Or Hispanic.

[Bob001]

Originally Posted by Skeptic Ginger

That's not true. There are lots of down ticket candidates: all the House members and some of the Senate seats that matter.

True. But voter turnout is always much bigger in presidential election years than others.

[Safe-Keeper]

UnAmerican - the Lincoln Project

I understand that they are hammering this message now (gotta forge while the iron is hot), but I think their main weapon leading up to the election should be how Trump decided fighting covid "didn't make sense politically" (to quote Kushner), because the virus was hitting blue states the hardest.

It's the strongest argument against Trump that I can think of.

[The Great Zaganza]

Originally Posted by Safe-Keeper

UnAmerican - the Lincoln Project

I understand that they are hammering this message now (gotta forge while the iron is hot), but I think their main weapon leading up to the election should be how Trump decided fighting covid "didn't make sense politically" (to quote Kushner), because the virus was hitting blue states the hardest.

It's the strongest argument against Trump that I can think of.

A brief look into US history show that what the Trump-Gang is doing is actually very American: traditionally, US politics has always been extremely dirty and corrupt.

[Skeptic Ginger]

Originally Posted by Safe-Keeper

UnAmerican - the Lincoln Project

I understand that they are hammering this message now (gotta forge while the iron is hot), but I think their main weapon leading up to the election should be how Trump decided fighting covid "didn't make sense politically" (to quote Kushner), because the virus was hitting blue states the hardest.

It's the strongest argument against Trump that I can think of.

The Biden campaign needs to go after whatever the Trump du jour argument is.

Trump talks about how much he loves soldiers [gag] hit him with all of his own clips denigrating the military.

He's claiming now that wars are perpetuated by the military industrial complex. That's actually true. So Biden needs to show the evidence Trump is in support of any and every large corporation including the military producers.

That expose on the Kushner COVID response is important to put out there in campaign ads.

[The Don]

If Biden simply runs on "Not Trump" then I fear that this will not turn out well

If this is the sole message then I anticipate a large number of voters will simply stay at home because they don't like either candidate (and fail to grasp that one candidate is about a billion times worse than the other) and President Trump's base will swing it in his favour.

I've said it many, many, times: Democratic Presidential candidates who have been elected since 1980 have been "rock stars" with charisma and an intoxicating, positive, message.

Bland candidates have been unsuccessful every time. Joe Biden is bland IMO

[Roger Ramjets]

Originally Posted by The Don

If Biden simply runs on "Not Trump" then I fear that this will not turn out well

If this is the sole message...

Who says it's the sole message?

Quote:

...then I anticipate a large number of voters will simply stay at home because they don't like either candidate

That's not what polls are indicating. People don't dislike Biden like they did Hillary.

Of course republicans will vote for Trump anyway, no matter how much they dislike him or how much they like Biden. So it's up to democrats (and left-leaning 'independents') to not just like Biden, but get off their backsides and vote. I don't think many will make the same mistake they did last time.

But please do keep up the doom and gloom. The less certain it is that Biden will win, the more people will be scared into making it happen.

Quote:

I've said it many, many, times: Democratic Presidential candidates who have been elected since 1980 have been "rock stars" with charisma and an intoxicating, positive, message.

So democrats don't vote unless their candidate is a 'rock star'? I don't believe that is the case. We have seen what a "rock star" with charisma and an intoxicating positive message gets you today - Trump.

[The Don]

Originally Posted by Roger Ramjets

So democrats don't vote unless their candidate is a 'rock star'? I don't believe that is the case. We have seen what a "rock star" with charisma and an intoxicating positive message gets you today - Trump.

In Presidential Elections since 1980 that seems to be the case - and with Democratic voters.

Bill Clinton and Barack Obama - rock stars

Hillary, Gore, Carter, Mondale, Kerry, Dukakis, doubtless lovely people, many, most or all of whom would have made perfectly satisfactory presidents, but IMO they lacked the wow factor that would have turned out the vote.

OTOH, Republicans seem to like personable dopes.

Reagan, Dubya, Trump all managed to convince Republican voters that they were the kind of person they would like to spend time with - George HW was an outlier. OTOH Dole, HW (second time), McCain and Romney all came across as smart but somewhat unapproachable.

[JoeMorgue]

I think it's paradoxically both more complex and simpler than that.

The Democrats (and at times the Republicans as well) tend to foster in their strategy this mentality that most voters are sitting down and actually putting deep thought into who they vote for, that voters across the country are sitting down and actually listing out pros and cons, run cost benefit analysis, and

Real talk with some unpleasant truth. Most voters in America choose who they are going to vote for based on a more more vague, much more gut feeling.

It's a term I've expressed my issues with in the past, but "Electibility" is a very real thing, regardless of how hard it is to define a metric for.

[Delvo]

Originally Posted by Skeptic Ginger

The Biden campaign needs to go after whatever the Trump du jour argument is.

Trump talks about how much he loves soldiers [gag] hit him with all of his own clips denigrating the military.

He's claiming now that wars are perpetuated by the military industrial complex. That's actually true. So Biden needs to show the evidence Trump is in support of any and every large corporation including the military producers.

Originally Posted by The Don

If Biden simply runs on "Not Trump" then I fear that this will not turn out well

Especially if he undermines that message by taking SG-like advice and ends up highlighting similarities between Trump and himself, or between Trump and the Democrats in general, instead of the differences.

Originally Posted by Roger Ramjets

That's not what polls are indicating. People don't dislike Biden like they did Hillary.

Biden's only advantage is that Trump is Trump instead of any previous Republican Presidential candidate.

Originally Posted by Roger Ramjets

So democrats don't vote unless their candidate is a 'rock star'? I don't believe that is the case. We have seen what a "rock star" with charisma and an intoxicating positive message gets you today - Trump.

The latter point does not contradict the former. Both points can be true and are: that Democrat voters vote more for someone who gives them something exciting to vote for, and that Trump is an example of Republican voters doing the same.

Originally Posted by JoeMorgue

Most voters in America choose who they are going to vote for based on a more more vague, much more gut feeling.

It's a term I've expressed my issues with in the past, but "Electibility" is a very real thing, regardless of how hard it is to define a metric for.

And Democrat strategy has usually been to apply the concept exactly backward from reality, claiming that the type that always loses for them is the winning type and the only type that's won for them is the losing type.

I dread what's about to become of the party if this election finally gives them their very first example ever that finally goes the way they've been claiming it would.

[Distracted1]

Originally Posted by The Don

If Biden simply runs on "Not Trump" then I fear that this will not turn out well

If this is the sole message then I anticipate a large number of voters will simply stay at home because they don't like either candidate (and fail to grasp that one candidate is about a billion times worse than the other) and President Trump's base will swing it in his favour.

I've said it many, many, times: Democratic Presidential candidates who have been elected since 1980 have been "rock stars" with charisma and an intoxicating, positive, message.

Bland candidates have been unsuccessful every time. Joe Biden is bland IMO

I have forgotten where I heard it (perhaps it was James Carville), but I remember a pundit pointing out after Gores' loss that "The Democrats keep thinking it's Jeopardy, while the Republicans have figured out that it's American Idol."

[angrysoba]

Originally Posted by Distracted1

I have forgotten where I heard it (perhaps it was James Carville), but I remember a pundit pointing out after Gores' loss that "The Democrats keep thinking it's Jeopardy, while the Republicans have figured out that it's American Idol."

They'd have better luck playing pick-up sticks with their butt cheeks.

[Stacyhs]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Distracted1 View Post
I have forgotten where I heard it (perhaps it was James Carville), but I remember a pundit pointing out after Gores' loss that "The Democrats keep thinking it's Jeopardy, while the Republicans have figured out that it's American Idol."

At least a Jeopardy watcher would know it's "Gore's".

[Skeptic Ginger]

Originally Posted by Delvo

Especially if he undermines that message by taking SG-like advice and ends up highlighting similarities between Trump and himself, or between Trump and the Democrats in general, instead of the differences.

Let's unpack this crap. GOP candidates since the Karl Rove Playbook was implemented have been using the tactic of throwing back at their opponents anything whatsoever the GOP candidate is accused of regardless of how valid it is when applied to the Democrat.

[angrysoba]

Originally Posted by The Don

If Biden simply runs on "Not Trump" then I fear that this will not turn out well

If this is the sole message then I anticipate a large number of voters will simply stay at home because they don't like either candidate (and fail to grasp that one candidate is about a billion times worse than the other) and President Trump's base will swing it in his favour.

Originally Posted by Roger Ramjets

Who says it's the sole message?

That's not what polls are indicating. People don't dislike Biden like they did Hillary.

Of course republicans will vote for Trump anyway, no matter how much they dislike him or how much they like Biden. So it's up to democrats (and left-leaning 'independents') to not just like Biden, but get off their backsides and vote. I don't think many will make the same mistake they did last time.

Yes, it is up to the voters to do that, but it is also up to the Democratic Party to inspire them to do that.

Trump will repeat the whole "America First, MAGA, Keep America Great, China Virus, Law and Order, Let's protect the nice* suburbs from the urban* decay" narrative, but Biden needs one of his own. I would say it is nowhere near as clear and obvious what that is.

[angrysoba]

Originally Posted by The Don

In Presidential Elections since 1980 that seems to be the case - and with Democratic voters.

Bill Clinton and Barack Obama - rock stars

Hillary, Gore, Carter, Mondale, Kerry, Dukakis, doubtless lovely people, many, most or all of whom would have made perfectly satisfactory presidents, but IMO they lacked the wow factor that would have turned out the vote.

OTOH, Republicans seem to like personable dopes.

Reagan, Dubya, Trump all managed to convince Republican voters that they were the kind of person they would like to spend time with - George HW was an outlier. OTOH Dole, HW (second time), McCain and Romney all came across as smart but somewhat unapproachable.

I think this is a case of "over-fitting" the data. Al Gore and Hillary Clinton received more votes than their Republican rivals so it can't simply be a case of voters being turned off by "non-rock stars". You also have to factor in other variables such as the electoral college, or party strategy.

Besides, is Trump "personable"?

[The Don]

Originally Posted by angrysoba

I think this is a case of "over-fitting" the data. Al Gore and Hillary Clinton received more votes than their Republican rivals so it can't simply be a case of voters being turned off by "non-rock stars". You also have to factor in other variables such as the electoral college, or party strategy.

You're right, but a proper "rock star" candidate can blow through all of that so that it doesn't matter any more whereas a "worthy" candidate fails to inspire enough support and leaves themselves susceptible to the vagaries of the Electoral College and/or party strategy.

Originally Posted by angrysoba

Besides, is Trump "personable"?

Republicans and Republican-leaning independents overwhelmingly seem to think so.

[Firestone]

Interesting titbit from Nate Silver about the polling of Registered Voters versus Likely Voters

Quote:

Other good news for Biden: Marist's poll showed him doing 1 point *better* among likely voters than registered voters. Same was true in their FL poll. Pollsters often switch from RV to LV after Labor Day, which sometimes helps Republicans, but doesn't seem to be helping Trump.

https://twitter.com/NateSilver538/st...77332822134787

(bolding mine)

[Safe-Keeper]

Wow, Lincoln Project's latest is... dark.

May even be NSFW.

[Craig4]

Originally Posted by Safe-Keeper

Wow, Lincoln Project's latest is... dark.

May even be NSFW.

Yeah, the fox may have been a bit over the top. I do like the way it dehumanizes Graham though.

[Safe-Keeper]

I saw the Fox timelapse and a thought hit me that I was watching America under four (or more!) more years under Trump. Which was probably LP's intent.

[Solitaire]

Odd campaign sign.

Reminds me of the Noli Food Truck sign which had the letters N and O in
squares above the letters L and I in squares. I had to think about that one
for a while. I eventually I came up with the word, Cannoli, because the letters
look like they're in a can.

In this case you have the words, Person, Woman, and Man, which logically
flow around a common theme of gender. Now we have a puzzle. Obviously
the words, Camera and TV, must logically have a theme as well, and we must
choose the next word. I think I'll go with Radio.

Maybe now I can fall asleep.

[Tolls]

Why is it odd?
You do know where that list comes from I assume?

[Delvo]

The "parasites" ad against Graham isn't good. For one thing, a lot of what it shows aren't parasites; they're decomposers. But also, for a lot of its running time, it isn't clear which person it's calling a parasite. It's making almost equal cases for both.

Still, though, at least they're giving us examples of what it would look like if the Republicans had any real opposition from people who act like they want to actually defeat them. Until the Lincoln Project came along, most Americans had forgotten how to even imagine such a thing, after so many years of watching the only other party around define itself as the party of not even trying.

[Safe-Keeper]

Originally Posted by Solitaire

Odd campaign sign.

Reminds me of the Noli Food Truck sign which had the letters N and O in
squares above the letters L and I in squares. I had to think about that one
for a while. I eventually I came up with the word, Cannoli, because the letters
look like they're in a can.

In this case you have the words, Person, Woman, and Man, which logically
flow around a common theme of gender. Now we have a puzzle. Obviously
the words, Camera and TV, must logically have a theme as well, and we must
choose the next word. I think I'll go with Radio.

Maybe now I can fall asleep.

Did you somehow miss Trump's interview with Wallace? The Lincoln Project has an abbreviated version. For the full experience, search "Trump wallace interview" on YouTube .

[Joe Random]

Originally Posted by Safe-Keeper

Did you somehow miss Trump's interview with Wallace? The Lincoln Project has an abbreviated version. For the full experience, search "Trump wallace interview" on YouTube .

Personally I prefer this take :

YouTube Video This video is not hosted by the ISF. The ISF can not be held responsible for the suitability or legality of this material. By clicking the link below you agree to view content from an external website.

I AGREE

[Solitaire]

Originally Posted by Tolls

Why is it odd?

It’s not like all the others. I’ve seen one for Bloomberg, two for Biden,
and one for Bernie among the signs for local candidates in people yards.

Come to think of it, I have not seen any advertising from the major campaigns
on television nor have I heard anything on the radio, no billboard ads either.
Just a smattering of bumperstickers. If you want campaign ads, you’ve got
to use your imagination.

I guess I’ll build that phased array I’ve been planning and try to get WATE
in Knoxville.

Originally Posted by Tolls

You do know where that list comes from I assume?

No, I didn’t.

I type it into google and the next word was Hat. I didn’t expect that.
Sounds a little like someone going on a fishing vacation.

I just read the wikipedia article Montreal Cognitive Assessment test.

Oh, I hate those tests. Around here the doctors ask those questions
of old folks just a few years before they become interesting.

Hm.

I ought make my list of interesting things Trump will do in his second term.

Originally Posted by Safe-Keeper

Did you somehow miss Trump's interview with Wallace?

Yes. Around here if you want to see Fox News you drive over
to the restaurants on the highway, or get a satellite dish.

[Safe-Keeper]

Interestingly, Biden keeps climbing over at FiveThirtyEight's forecast.

Used to be that Trump had a whole row, six possible outcomes (of the 22 displayed on the screen) where he would win the election, now it's just five out of six.

On a mobile screen, I believe there's far fewer maps, but I noticed a change there, too.

https://projects.fivethirtyeight.com...tion-forecast/

[The Great Zaganza]

Originally Posted by Safe-Keeper

Interestingly, Biden keeps climbing over at FiveThirtyEight's forecast.

Used to be that Trump had a whole row, six possible outcomes (of the 22 displayed on the screen) where he would win the election, now it's just five out of six.

On a mobile screen, I believe there's far fewer maps, but I noticed a change there, too.

https://projects.fivethirtyeight.com...tion-forecast/

in short, if Trump doesn't get Florida he's ******.

[Safe-Keeper]

Originally Posted by The Great Zaganza

in short, if Trump doesn't get Florida he's ******.

He has an about 36% chance of winning Florida, still according to FiveThirtyEight.

[Minoosh]

I'm thrilled. The Democrats are sending me mail, even though I'm a registered Republican. Both are funded by the state parties, and target a senatorial race, but down-ticket races matter a lot to the presidential race so I think it's OK to post that here.

I also get to hang up on Trump multiple times each day, which I do to avoid hearing his voice on the answering machine.

Mom's gotten mail too, this one re: the presidential race. It's about registering to vote online, though I'm not sure she's ever been purged. She has dementia, but even so I don't think she'd vote for Trump. Joe Biden was once slightly rude to my father, but I don't think she remembers.

The issue on the Democratic mail was health care. I don't think it's lost on previous Trump voters that Dems want people to have health insurance and Republican's don't. It's an issue where Dems poll well, and Trump is perceived as weak.

Is it normal to have been exposed to so little advertising? I haven't been watching much TV, but direct mailings seems to be lax.

And also: Please tell me Dems are supporting voter registration drives and offering rides to polling places - and telling people where their polling place IS (if that's known yet). Such simple info can really help turnout. I expect Barack and Michelle to be personally knocking on doors and holding rallies! Even virtual ones. Offering free masks saying, VOTE! Postcards sent to every household. I want all the gimmicks they can think of! Is this happening? We're approaching the deadline to register; people need to hear that date and maybe a countdown. A drive to PROTECT YOUR HEALTH - VOTE EARLY!!

[Minoosh]

Also:

I think someone is right that Trump may be using campaign funds to bribe places like Bahrain and the Gulf States to declare peace with Israel. Though the fundies want Armageddon; peace might not be high on their list. Is it true Trump's campaign is in financial straits? I hesitate to believe it because I want to believe it so much. I would not doubt personal kickbacks to come up with dirt agains Dems, true or false.

If there's a way to pare 40 percent support down to 39, it's worth trying, IMO.

Shoot, if their own seats weren't imperiled in the process, I'm not sure a few more GOP senators would be coming out against Trump. It might actually help their campaigns.

[Bob001]

Originally Posted by Safe-Keeper

Wow, Lincoln Project's latest is... dark.

May even be NSFW.

One of the links that Youtube offers after that is a speech by Gen. Mattis. Too bad he can't be President.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g_sG7N7pJ6g

[Minoosh]

Originally Posted by The Don

If Biden simply runs on "Not Trump" then I fear that this will not turn out well

If this is the sole message then I anticipate a large number of voters will simply stay at home because they don't like either candidate (and fail to grasp that one candidate is about a billion times worse than the other) and President Trump's base will swing it in his favour.

I've said it many, many, times: Democratic Presidential candidates who have been elected since 1980 have been "rock stars" with charisma and an intoxicating, positive, message.

Bland candidates have been unsuccessful every time. Joe Biden is bland IMO

I think Biden has charisma. Almost all politicians do, to some extent. He was cuter back in the day, but then, weren't we all? He has empathy, which may turn out to be the new charisma.

Something I just read in Politico caught my eye: The writer thinks Biden needs to admit he still struggles with stuttering. I would not have put that high on the list but it was a fairly cogent argument.

I Observed Joe Biden at Close Range for 20 Years. Here’s How He Wins—and Loses

It's dated, and I don't usually pay much attention to opinions on Politico, just putting it out there since I alluded to it. Among other things he urges Biden to select Mitt Romney as secretary of state.

[Bob001]

Originally Posted by Minoosh

.....
Something I just read in Politico caught my eye: The writer thinks Biden needs to admit he still struggles with stuttering. I would not have put that high on the list but it was a fairly cogent argument.
....

One of the basic strategies to deal with stuttering is to pause before speaking and think through what you're going to say. But that can look like ignorance or confusion. Biden doesn't seem to have any trouble having conversations with people face-to-face. That's a different environment from standing at a podium giving a speech.