Originally Posted by
Yppej
Today I heard Joe Biden speak. This was the biggest campaign event I have been to yet, but it was very old school. There were lots of staffers around with clipboards asking people to sign in. Warren, Castro and Booker all had people sign in via text. I had signed up online in advance, but that did not guarantee me a seat. Everyone had to wait outdoors for a half hour or so, first come first served in a line that snaked a few blocks. We were only let in a few at a time, but not because there was any rhyme or reason to the seating. There were empty skipped seats but people were directed to the stage or balconies. Several of us turned down Biden stickers, only to be told we could not get in without them and had to take them. That was a lie.
The audience was the whitest of the 11 events I have been to, so I am surprised that Biden is seen as a candidate for minorities. He had all the politically correct speech down, including that slavery is the "original sin" in America, yet opposed reparations. He said government must help the middle class but it was unclear how since he said like his father he "doesn't want a handout."
Biden was generally vague and used lots of anecdotes. He took a half dozen or so questions and droned on and on in his replies. There was a large press corps there and I imagined they must he so bored following him around and hearing the same thing all the time. I had a good question prepared that would have shaken things up but I was not called on. People asked things already covered on the news, like who he would pick as vice president. This led to long anecdotes about when he was selected as vice president as well as identity politics pandering, talking about how he has many females and African-Americans in mind. My bet is Stacey Abrams so he can be doubly politically correct.
One man held a sign about climate change. Biden kept looking at him. Finally he told him, "Ask me about climate change. I want a question on that." He then claimed credit for the Paris climate accords and said he would reinstate them with some sort of indexing to changes in scientific assessments. Hey Joe, how about not killing trees by pushing unwanted campaign stickers on people?
He kept saying, "For real" and "no joke" again and again. I wouldn't want to be stuck listening to him for four years, one hour was more than enough for me.
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