{"id":81732,"date":"2022-06-01T17:44:55","date_gmt":"2022-06-01T22:44:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/milesfortis.com\/?p=81732"},"modified":"2022-06-01T23:22:09","modified_gmt":"2022-06-02T04:22:09","slug":"81732","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/milesfortis.com\/?p=81732","title":{"rendered":""},"content":{"rendered":"

When you’ve lost NBC<\/em><\/strong>……………<\/p>\n

\n

I love this part:<\/p>\n

Beyond policy, Biden is unhappy about a pattern that has developed inside the West Wing. He makes a clear and succinct <\/em>[yeah, sure baby] statement \u2014 only to have aides rush to explain that he actually meant something else. The so-called clean-up campaign, he has told advisers, undermines him and smothers the authenticity that fueled his rise. Worse, it feeds a Republican talking point that he\u2019s not fully in command.<\/em><\/p>\n

Well, when you have apparently have senile dementia, making stupid off the cuff remarks that constantly get corrected by your<\/del> staff<\/del><\/span> the lackeys of your puppet masters, and also sound like a broken record repeating utter crap-for-brains nonsense, it sure does appear that he isn’t in command of anything.\u00a0<\/em>
\nJust me, but the question arises about SloJoe\u00ad\u2122 feeling his staff ‘undermines him’. If he feels that way, why weren’t those people fired the second time it happened? (figuring you’d warn them after the first time to stop it) One obvious answer is that he can’t<\/em>, because he’s been told who is really running the show, and it ain’t him<\/em>. He’s nothing more than a figurehead who gets ordered about like an actor.<\/p>\n

\n

BLUF
\n\u201cWe\u2019re on a track \u2014 a losing track,\u201d Faiz Shakir, a senior adviser to Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, said of the Democrats.<\/p>\n

Inside a Biden White House adrift<\/a>
\nAmid a rolling series of calamities and sinking approval ratings, the president\u2019s feeling lately is that he just can\u2019t catch a break \u2014 and that angst is rippling through his party.<\/em><\/p>\n

\n

WASHINGTON \u2014 Faced with a worsening\u00a0<\/span>political predicament<\/span><\/a>, President\u00a0<\/span>Joe Biden\u00a0<\/span><\/a>is pressing aides for a more compelling message and a sharper strategy while bristling at how they\u2019ve tried to stifle the plain-speaking persona that has long been one of his most potent assets.<\/span><\/p>\n

Biden is rattled by his sinking approval ratings and is looking to regain voters\u2019 confidence that he can provide the sure-handed leadership he promised during the campaign, <\/span>people close to the president say.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Crises have piled up in ways that have at times made the Biden White House look flat-footed: record\u00a0<\/span>inflation<\/span><\/a>, high\u00a0<\/span>gas prices<\/span><\/a>, a rise in\u00a0<\/span>Covid case numbers<\/span><\/a>\u00a0\u2014 and now a\u00a0<\/span>Texas school massacre<\/span><\/a>\u00a0that is one more horrific reminder that he has been unable to get Congress to pass legislation to curb\u00a0<\/span>gun violence<\/span><\/a>. Democratic leaders are at a loss about how he can revive his prospects by November, when\u00a0<\/span>midterm elections<\/span><\/a>\u00a0may cost his party control of Congress.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know what\u2019s required here,\u201d said Rep. James Clyburn, D-S.C., whose endorsement in the 2020 Democratic primaries helped rescue Biden\u2019s struggling candidacy. \u201cBut I do know the poll numbers have been stuck where they are for far too long.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

\n

A West Wing shakeup?<\/span><\/strong><\/h2>\n

Speculation is churning that Biden could shake up the West Wing staff, although that\u2019s not about to happen right away. Multiple people close to the White House said they\u2019ve heard that chief of staff Ron Klain will depart at some point after the midterms, and one has heard him discuss leaving.<\/span><\/p>\n

Should Klain<\/span>go, a potential successor is Anita Dunn, a White House adviser and Biden confidant whom he often turns to when his fortunes look bleak. Dunn began working at the White House at the start of the term, then left and returned in early May at Biden\u2019s specific request. No woman or person of color has ever been the White House chief of staff since the position was created<\/span>after World War II.<\/span><\/p>\n

Other possible replacements include Steve Ricchetti, a longtime Biden aide who is a counselor to the president, and Susan Rice, the domestic policy chief. After he lost the Virginia governor\u2019s race last year, Terry McAuliffe spoke to the White House about taking a senior role as an adviser to the president, Cabinet secretary or chief of staff, people familiar with the matter said.<\/span><\/p>\n

The White House didn\u2019t make Klain or Dunn available for comment. Remi Yamamoto, a senior White House communications adviser, said: \u201cAs Ron has said publicly, he has not set a time frame, and this is not a discussion on the top of anyone\u2019s mind here.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

This article is based on interviews with more than two dozen current and former administration officials, lawmakers, congressional aides and other Democrats close to the White House who spoke on the condition of anonymity to freely discuss the president\u2019s private conversations.<\/span><\/p>\n

Any assessment of Biden\u2019s performance needs to take into account the epic challenges he faced from the start.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThey came in with the most daunting set of challenges arguably since Franklin D. Roosevelt, only to then be hit by a perfect storm of crises, from Ukraine to inflation to the supply chain to baby formula,\u201d said Chris Whipple, the author of a book about White House chiefs of staff who is now writing a book about the Biden presidency. \u201cWhat\u2019s next? Locusts?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Biden wonders the same thing.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve heard him say recently that he used to say about President Obama\u2019s tenure that everything landed on his desk but locusts, and now he understands how that feels,\u201d a White House official said.<\/span><\/p>\n

Managerial breakdowns<\/span><\/strong><\/h2>\n

Amid a rolling series of calamities, Biden\u2019s feeling lately is that he just can\u2019t catch a break. \u201cBiden is frustrated. If it\u2019s not one thing, it\u2019s another,\u201d said a person close to the president.<\/span><\/p>\n

An assumption baked into Biden\u2019s candidacy was that he would preside over a smoothly running administration by dint of his decades of experience in public office. Yet there are signs of managerial breakdowns that have angered both him and his party.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Biden is annoyed that he wasn\u2019t alerted sooner about the baby formula shortage and that he got his first briefing in the past month, even though the crisis had long been in the making. (The White House didn\u2019t specify when Biden got his first briefing on the formula shortage.) His nominee to head the Food and Drug Administration, Dr. Robert Califf, told Congress last week that the agency was sluggish and that it had made \u201c<\/span>suboptimal<\/span><\/a>\u201d decisions as parents hunted for formula on empty store shelves.<\/span><\/p>\n

Beyond policy, Biden is unhappy about a pattern that has developed inside the West Wing. He makes a clear and succinct statement \u2014 only to have aides rush to explain that he actually meant something else. The so-called clean-up campaign, he has told advisers, undermines him and smothers the authenticity that fueled his rise. Worse, it feeds a Republican talking point that he\u2019s not fully in command.<\/span><\/p>\n

The issue came to a head when Biden ad-libbed during a speech in Poland that Russian President Vladimir Putin \u201ccannot remain in power.\u201d Within minutes, Biden\u2019s aides tried to walk back his comments, saying he hadn\u2019t called for Putin\u2019s removal and that U.S. policy was unchanged. Biden was furious that his remarks were being seen as unreliable, arguing that he speaks genuinely and reminding his staff that he\u2019s the one who is president.<\/span><\/p>\n

Asked about the staff\u2019s practice of clarifying Biden\u2019s remarks, the official said: \u201cWe don\u2019t say anything that the president doesn\u2019t want us to say.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Democrats unnerved<\/span><\/strong><\/h2>\n

Biden\u2019s angst is rippling through the party. Democratic lawmakers are sparring among themselves and blaming the White House for their dim prospects in November.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Rep. Stephanie Murphy, D-Fla., said the White House has failed to put forward what she called an \u201cintellectually honest\u201d plan to combat inflation \u2014 a burden that ranks first among Americans\u2019 economic concerns,\u00a0<\/span>polling indicates<\/span><\/a>. A bill the House passed to crack down on alleged\u00a0<\/span>gas price gouging<\/span><\/a>\u00a0isn\u2019t an answer, she said.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIf I sound frustrated, it\u2019s because I hear from my constituents,\u201d Murphy said. \u201cThey\u2019re struggling. This is not a time for political games. It\u2019s not the time for finding bogeymen.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

A spokeswoman for her office said she hasn\u2019t talked about policy with a senior White House official in six months. The White House official countered that Murphy has been in \u201cvery regular contact with our staff here.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Biden\u2019s frustrations<\/span><\/strong><\/h2>\n

Biden has vented to aides about not getting credit from Americans or the news media for actions he believes have helped the country, particularly on the economy. Unemployment rates have dropped to below 4 percent \u2014 pre-pandemic levels \u2014 but polling indicates most Americans believe the economy is in\u00a0<\/span>bad shape<\/span><\/a>. Biden grouses that Republicans aren\u2019t getting their share of the blame for legislative gridlock in Congress, while he\u2019s repeatedly faulted for not getting his agenda passed.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The president has also told aides he doesn\u2019t think enough Democrats go on television to defend him. A particular sore spot is his slumping poll numbers; he\u2019s mystified that his approval rating has dropped to a level approaching that of his predecessor, Donald Trump, ranked by historians as one of the\u00a0<\/span>worst presidents<\/span><\/a>\u00a0in history.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s now lower than Trump, and he\u2019s really twisted about it,\u201d another person close to the White House said.<\/span><\/p>\n

At a meeting with advisers about a month ago, Biden was surprised to see polling that indicated he had dropped among suburban women, according to two people familiar with the meeting. An adviser said Biden gets weekly polling briefings that delve into \u201ckey demographics\u201d and that, because he is kept apprised regularly, he didn\u2019t have that reaction. (At a news conference in September, Biden said flatly, \u201cI don\u2019t look at the polls \u2014 not a joke.\u201d)<\/span><\/p>\n

The White House official denied that Biden is feeling frustrated. \u201cWhat he\u2019s pushing for is to make a sharper case for all that we have accomplished thus far,\u201d this person said.<\/span><\/p>\n

A few weeks ago, Biden started employing a midterm election tactic that has been a go-to for sitting presidents: villainize the opposition. He has sought to tether Republicans to Trump\u2019s Make America Great Again agenda. But Biden has been leaning on White House aides to come up with a message that captures the stark choice voters face. Biden himself thought up the phrase \u201cUltra MAGA,\u201d which he and other Democrats have started using in hope of drawing a clear contrast with Trump\u2019s movement.<\/span><\/p>\n

The phrase tested well in polling reviewed by the White House, but it also had the unintended effect of firing up the Trump faithful. Merchandisers have found a\u00a0<\/span>hot market<\/span><\/a>\u00a0for \u201cUltra MAGA\u201d T-shirts.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cHe shares the view that we haven\u2019t landed on a winning midterm message,\u201d a third person close to the White House said of the president. \u201cAnd he\u2019s putting a lot of pressure on people to figure out what that is.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

No reprieve ahead<\/span><\/strong><\/h2>\n

One of Biden\u2019s prescriptions for his political troubles at the start of the new year was to travel outside Washington more. As he has gotten out in the country, he has also gotten an earful from Democrats about what his administration is \u2014 or isn\u2019t \u2014 doing.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cPeople confront him,\u201d said a top Democratic donor who has witnessed such conversations at fundraisers. \u201cAll he\u2019s hearing is \u2018Why can\u2019t you get anything done?\u2019\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

It\u2019s no wonder. About three-quarters of Americans believe the country is on the wrong track, a recent NBC News poll found \u2014 only the fifth time in the last 34 years that so many Americans have been dissatisfied with the nation\u2019s direction.<\/span><\/p>\n

There is no respite after the midterms. The 2024 presidential election season begins in earnest once the last races are called. No sitting president wants to be challenged for the party\u2019s nomination; Biden can\u2019t count on a free ride.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re on a track \u2014 a losing track,\u201d Faiz Shakir, a senior adviser to Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, said of the Democrats.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

When you’ve lost NBC…………… I love this part: Beyond policy, Biden is unhappy about a pattern that has developed inside the West Wing. He makes a clear and succinct [yeah, sure baby] statement \u2014 only to have aides rush to explain that he actually meant something else. The so-called clean-up campaign, he has told advisers, … Continue reading “”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11,79],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-81732","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-crap-for-brains","category-government"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/milesfortis.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/81732","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/milesfortis.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/milesfortis.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/milesfortis.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/milesfortis.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=81732"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/milesfortis.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/81732\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":81755,"href":"https:\/\/milesfortis.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/81732\/revisions\/81755"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/milesfortis.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=81732"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/milesfortis.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=81732"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/milesfortis.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=81732"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}