All Purpose News and Politics Thread Part IV: The Center Cannot Hold

[WestPhillyPunisher]

Barr praised 2017 book that claims colleges unfairly went after male students accused of sexual assault

Can't say I'm surprised at this revelation about Droopy Dog Barr. This makes me wonder: if Barr had a daughter in college and, god forbid, she had been assaulted, would he have sided with the university over his flesh and blood?

[Tami]

Jimmy Carter wants an age limit for the presidency -- and he may have a point

(CNN)Former President Jimmy Carter took a shot at presidential candidates Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders when he said on Tuesday that he couldn't have handled the presidency at the age of 80. Speaking at the Carter Center, the former President said he hopes "there's an age limit" to the job.

"If I were just 80 years old, if I was 15 years younger, I don't believe I could undertake the duties I experienced when I was President," Carter said.

Though Democratic candidates in the 2020 primary have sometimes tiptoed around discussing age, it becomes a legitimate question when Biden, 76, seems to struggle for his words, or makes outdated references like suggesting that black parents should turn on their record players to help improve their children's education. "Is Joe Biden 'Too Old?'" ran an Atlantic headline this July. The question has come up with President Donald Trump as well; the President's frequent verbal salads are often linked to concerns about his mental fitness.

Should old age matter in a president? After all, there is reason to be skeptical of the critics, especially if we think that 80 is the new 60. We have had presidents who were considered old at the time but nonetheless found success in the job. Ronald Reagan, who was 69 when he took office, was in his seventies when he negotiated a historic agreement with the Soviet Union and a series of bipartisan agreements, including on immigration and tax reform.

[WestPhillyPunisher]

Jimmy Carter wants an age limit for the presidency -- and he may have a point

I would agree. I've been called to task in this forum for having suggested that Biden, Sanders, and to an extent, Warren might be too old for perhaps THE most stress laden job on the planet. It's no secret that the pressures and the grind associated with being president takes an enormous toll, both emotionally and physically, so I'm glad that Carter, as someone who sat in the big chair and experienced life as POTUS stepped up to voice the concerns that most people have tap danced around.

[Tami]

I would agree. I've been called to task in this forum for having suggested that Biden, Sanders, and to an extent, Warren might be too old for perhaps THE most stress laden job on the planet. It's no secret that the pressures and the grind associated with being president takes an enormous toll, both emotionally and physically, so I'm glad that Carter, as someone who sat in the big chair and experienced life as POTUS stepped up to voice the concerns that most people have tap danced around.

I'm willing to give Warren a pass. She's not as old and she still seems as sharp as a tack.

Biden and Sanders? Maybe they are too old. The Presidency can age a person, imagine what it might do to them.


Before-and-after photos show how dramatically presidents aged in office

[KNIGHT OF THE LAKE]

I would agree. I've been called to task in this forum for having suggested that Biden, Sanders, and to an extent, Warren might be too old for perhaps THE most stress laden job on the planet. It's no secret that the pressures and the grind associated with being president takes an enormous toll, both emotionally and physically, so I'm glad that Carter, as someone who sat in the big chair and experienced life as POTUS stepped up to voice the concerns that most people have tap danced around.

It’s worth pointing out that a lot of the people on this board who were advocating for the age thing were also propping up
Beto who has been a disaster with no shot to win and Buttegieg is also struggling. Harris is plummeting and it’s converining how far a perceived star has fallen. Castro has no chance. Really Booker (polarizing with progressives) and Yang (kind of an outsider Democrats) are the only younger candidates with real shots anymore and even they are clearly several tiers below the big 3.

The reality is the field would be dramatically weaker with an age limit and the candidates that are proving the ability to build the most effective coalitions, wouldn’t be there. It would hurt the party.

Also just historically it is unfounded. Churchill was at the forefront of the biggest war ever at an advanced age. These aren’t physical jobs

[WestPhillyPunisher]

I'm willing to give Warren a pass. She's not as old and she still seems as sharp as a tack.

Biden and Sanders? Maybe they are too old. The Presidency can age a person, imagine what it might do to them.


Before-and-after photos show how dramatically presidents aged in office

I still think about Barack Obama who, at 58, is two years younger than me, but looked ten years older when he left office. The job of president drains the life out of you like a succubus.

[Tendrin]

They are certainly mentally taxing and I think it's fair to say that a bunch of people pushing 80 are going to face questions about their mental fitness and flexibility and, most importantly, whether or not they actually get the challenges of the day. Would I prefer a younger person for the job? Certainly, but it is not THE biggest question.

Buit Warren, Sanders, and Biden have pretty strong constituencies in the democratic party, that's undeniable.

[Tami]

The older you get, the more you have to prove that you are still able to handle to handle the work. Everyone is different, some people are sharp and capable at age 100, others start to falter at age 70. Despite what I said, I won't rule anyone out simply based on age (young or old). But it will be a consideration.

[SquirrelMan]

When it comes to this subject and affiliation...

The only reason we even know about the images on Folmer's phone or Buck is because they slipped up.

While I don't disagree about that there's a slant, I'd imagine that a magic spell where we could see a skull and crossbones on the shirt of every person that has the sort of thing Folmer had on his phone might net quite a few folks from every corner of political affiliation.

Probably be enough to make you just want to walk out into traffic.

Then how come the vast majority of the ones that are caught are Republicans, Mr "Both Sides!!!"?

[WestPhillyPunisher]

Mike Pence targeted by GOP group over Trump alleged business conflicts

A GOP group critical of President Donald Trump is now targeting Vice President Mike Pence to call out what it considers corruption in the administration.

An ad that will air on MSNBC's “Morning Joe” Thursday accuses Pence of hypocrisy for not objecting to foreign governments’ spending at Trump hotels after having criticized the Clinton Foundation for accepting donations from foreign governments when Hillary Clinton was secretary of state.

The group, Republicans for the Rule of Law, is directed by Bill Kristol, a conservative commentator who worked for Vice President Dan Quayle but is a vocal critic of Trump and Pence.

One of the group's board members is Peter Rusthoven, a Republican from Pence's home state of Indiana who has known and liked the vice president for decades. Pence officiated at his remarriage.

"I do think it's a legitimate point to be made," said Rusthoven, an Indianapolis lawyer who worked in the Reagan administration. "This is the kind of thing that, as the vice president's own video clips from the campaign show, Republicans were outspoken about during the Clinton years."

Pence's top aide dismissed the group, saying the only constituency for the "Never Trump" Republicans is the liberal media.

"Without free promotion by anti-Trump press, no one would even know they still existed," chief of staff Marc Short said in a statement.

[SquirrelMan]

That whistleblowergate scandal has me a little more optimistic we'll see impeachment before the elections.

Treason is a hard thing to defend for Senate republicans (other than Mitch "O'Donnel").

[Kirby101]

You know what is funny about Met's insistence that there must be a complete, perfect immigration policy from the Dems before we can decry Trump's disastrous policies. His party has been trying to overturn Obamacare for 10 years now, without the hint of a plan on their own. And Mets fully supports this.

[WestPhillyPunisher]

That whistleblowergate scandal has me a little more optimistic we'll see impeachment before the elections.

Treason is a hard thing to defend for Senato republicans (other than Mitch "O'Donnel").

Well, he's not called "Moscow Mitch" for nothing. The idea that he's practicing treason doesn't affect him one bit, nor how history will perceive him in the future. So the chances of this whistleblower business upsetting the apple cart are minimal at best because Turtle Boy will continue throwing up roadblocks to protect Trump.

[Tendrin]

You know what is funny about Met's insistence that there must be a complete, perfect immigration policy from the Dems before we can decry Trump's disastrous policies. His party has been trying to overturn Obamacare for 10 years now, without the hint of a plan on their own. And Mets fully supports this.

Hell, he wants it from /us/ so that he can talk about that instead of the fact that the party is ruled by an administration that wants to send sick children to their certain deaths. But I guess that's just 'not our problem'.

[SquirrelMan]

A Fox News polls has Weld 2, Sanford 2, Walsh 2 and Trump at 86% in the Republican primaries.

That's pretty much all you need to do about the party Mets is loyal to.