Don't underestimate feelings/perceptions, no matter how false or distorted they appear.
Facts matter less. Even if economy is growing, unemployment is low, inflation is falling, and Trump is convicted, purchasing power of the average household, due to the inflation/greedflation of the last 4 years, will *feel* like it has decreased; particularly for the large segment making less than 100-200k. Biden has consistently low approval ratings, barely manages to tie Trump in national head-to-head polls, and is weaker in swing states. The age issue and his being a Washington Insider for so long is also problematic as he appears like an apologist for dysfunction, when Trump gets to play insurrectionist against all the systemic issues the US faces for years: a questionable response to the deadliest pandemic in a century, rising prices and interest rates, growing levels of public and private debt, rising rates of homelessness and the spread of tent encampments in US cities, migrants on the southern border, gun violence, mental illness, depression, addiction, suicide, chronic illness and obesity, coupled with a decline in life expectancy. I'm not arguing facts here, but this is the perception and tone of the media I see being over-consumed in the US. And then the stupidity of the folks running PR and strategy for Biden's campaign to ignore all of it and try to reframe everything in terms of legislative successes, student loan forgiveness, how well the economy is ACTUALLY doing etc. All irrelevant when most citizens walk into a store and find nothing under 5$ anymore... remembering very well that it wasn't like this not too long ago. Why should/would they care about actual macroeconomic growth or whatever? The chipper "Everything is fine" way in which the voter is supposed to feel that Biden is their energetic, great choice, in face of the lunacy of the other guy... It's disingenuous as it doesn't remotely feel like it addresses anything folks seem to care about. It's as if the whole Biden PR Team is happy to earn their salary and pop anti-anxiety meds until after the election. This way, Dems are handing it to Trump. Aside from actually choosing a more charismatic candidate, the tone should shift to reflect the actual mood of the US. According to one of the recent Gallup surveys on the "Are you satisfied the way things are going in the U.S.?" question: 3 out of 4 Americans aren't. Plus, we live in a time in which incumbents rarely recover initial popularity. This narrative has to be turned on its head: Biden shouldn't be stuck with the out-of-touch defender of status quo card. He should listen to the national mood, take a step back from being an insider, and go for/announce effective reforms based on the real perceptions of the most relevant demographics. Stage listening and talking to them non-stop. Admit that shit is broken when it is, instead of trying to sell voters a Ferrari that looks like the old chevy. It's not about truth, but perception for most people. And in this department, barring something huge happening in between, Biden is leading democracy into the darkness he is condemning. Authoritarians around the world cannot wait for the count to come in after 5th November. On Friday, May 31, 2024 at 2:00:58 AM UTC+2 Brent Meeker wrote: > I don't see how his sentence can be less than that of Michael Cohen who > was sentenced to 2yrs for what he did *on behalf *of Trump. The problem > is that is that Trump will appeal any sentence which will then take at > least a year to get up to his "supremes". If he's elected in Nov. they wll > rule he can't be removed from office and so put off his incarceration at > least till Jan 2028. > > The only path of avoiding a crisis is reelection of Biden. Even that will > result in some violence by MAGAts in some locales. > > Brent > > > On 5/30/2024 4:09 PM, John Clark wrote: > > I guess Republicans are now planning to move the oval office from the > White House to a penitentiary. > > John K Clark See what's on my new list at Extropolis > <https://groups.google.com/g/extropolis> > wxx > > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "Everything List" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to everything-li...@googlegroups.com. > To view this discussion on the web visit > https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/everything-list/CAJPayv3evLpfjDBjfaH%2BLFOXjd9RmezcmPqPOha1iT2%2BqVLfpg%40mail.gmail.com > > <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/everything-list/CAJPayv3evLpfjDBjfaH%2BLFOXjd9RmezcmPqPOha1iT2%2BqVLfpg%40mail.gmail.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer> > . > > > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Everything List" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to everything-list+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/everything-list/aab62e60-8c65-439b-93e5-bbec9831b956n%40googlegroups.com.