YSDA Special: Biden’s Press Conference

Pres. Joe Biden held his first news conference in a very long time this evening. Here are some thoughts.

• He looked and sounded better. If he had come off like this during the debate he wouldn’t be where he is now.

• In addition to how he looked and sounded, he was a lot more coherent. His answers weren’t much more meandering than they might have been thirty years ago — he has never been a great public speaker.

• It’s not likely to be enough. Every stumble (in an early answer he referred to his Vice President as “Trump”) will be amplified and that’s not unfair. The questions about Biden’s fitness are fair and, in fact, vital. One decent night isn’t enough. Aging isn’t a straight line, but it does trend inevitably downward.
• He did well enough that it makes you wonder why his staff kept him away from these exchanges. (He’s had fewer press conferences than any President since Reagan.) Had he been conducting himself this way with the press for the past three years, while there may still have been doubts, he wouldn’t be in danger of being forced from the nomination and his party would be in much better shape.
• He probably shouldn’t have mentioned his staff adding events to his calendar. He probably meant it as gentle chiding, but the press may jump on this as scapegoating. It was a relatively minor comment that might get blown out of proportion.
• I found myself sitting on edge, worrying about his next sentence. That uneasiness won’t go away among Democrats.
• Bottom line: He did well, but it won’t be enough to end the bleeding. The big problem for the Democrats is that he remains insistent that he will not step down. So while the bleeding may continue, the question becomes will Democratic leaders now tighten the tourniquet and save his candidacy simply because there is no real choice?