Hanaguma

Yes, absolutely. Also that it is not that important, and also that it is dropping like a stone. Now, why would that be? Please try to answerwithout a NABAT if possible.

Trump's first 3 years saw terrorists get killed, their leaders get bumped off, the end of the Caliphate, and peace accords in the Middle East. Also saw Trump extract promises from slacker NATO countries to increase their defense spending. So, just a coincidence that Putin put his expansion plans on hold from 2016-20 then? Biden takes over, makes a hash of Afghanistan, stupidly blurts out that a "minor incursion" into Ukraine would be acceptable...

Yep, becuase if one thing is important, it is for the American President to be liked by foreigners /s And like I said, even Biden's 'great' numbers in that category faded substantially over time. Kind of the same way the American people see him, come to think of it...

Good question. I will just let the facts speak for themselves and let you decide the reasons. Putin invaded Ukraine twice, while the Democrats held the White House. He didn't under Trump. Guess it puts paid to the leftie shibboleth that Trump was in Putin's pocket though, doesn't it?

So, many friendly countries see Biden as a squish, an affable old doofus. Proves nothing. Even so, the polls showed that confidence in Biden dropped across the board as time went by. To quote the survery: The share of adults who have confidence in Biden on the world stage has decreased by double digits in 13 of the 14 countries surveyed in both years. In Italy, Greece, Spain and Singapore, half or more now have little or no confidence in the U.S. president. Guess once they got to know him, their confidence waned. I also notice that any adversarial nations were not counted in the polling as well.

Well, Putin didn't start any wars under the previous POTUS, as he did under this one AND the one before the Bad Orange Man.

Again, a little dose of NABAT to justify the current President's obvious declining skills. I would have been a lot more comfortable with 2008 Joe Biden than 2022. He has been getting pushed around by the progressive wing of his party far too much, seems unable to concentrate or understand things happening around him, and just looks, well, old. I can't see Putin or Xi quaking in their boots over anything Biden says or does.

Here we are, NABAT (Not As Bad As Trump) territory again. I don't want ANY president getting confused about important matters, such as who is alive or dead. I don't think Biden is senile yet, but it is obvious he is on the road to that sad place. Worse, it projects an image of weakness and instability to the world.

I like the way you so very carefully worded that response. Nothing about his mental or cognitive fitness? There is nothing unusual or wrong with an 80 year old man starting to deteriorate. But not when he is President.

...for obvious reasons. The only thing keeping Democrats "off the record" about replacing Biden is the looming and disastrous presence of VP Harris. If Biden gets dumped, the natural choice for nominee is Harris. Yet she is even less popular than Biden! Plus she has a Magical Melanin Forcefield (with the Double X Chromosone option) that shields her from any attempt to defenestrate her. So Democrats are in a real bind.

Like most cable news channels, Fox has the "hard news" side and the "pundit" side. This story focuses on the pundtry side exclusively. Nobody would call Hannity, Carlson, or Ingraham journalists. On the news side, Brett Baer is a good, classic type of journalist.

"The Right Wing Press"? Outside of Fox News, there is almost no right wing press in the United States. Every other major tv/cable outlet leans left to one extend or another, with the possible exception of CNBC. Ditto all the major newspapers, with the exception of the Wall Street Journal editorial page and the New York Post. The media today is singing a very different tune than during the campaign, that's for sure.

I am sure the President was far too busy to bother with the 10 minutes the Montreal Cognitive Assessment takes.... Did his doctor advise him not to take it? Physically he is in very good shape for an 80 year old man, but that is not the issue. Presidents have been effective even when wheelchair bound. His cognitive abilities are the problem.

Takes all of two replies before "but Trump..." arrives. Might be a record! But seriously, Biden's issues are more to do with his mental health than physical. That is why a majority of Democrats want to dump him in 2024.

C'mon, man! Let's try to stay on topic without the inevitable drift into NABAT territory please. The act of hiding Fetterman's true condition from the public was reprehensible.

What we DO know is that the Fetterman campaign played a brilliant game of "Hide the Candidate", taking pages from the successful Biden 2020 effort. Add in a few "...ism" accusations and all was well.

Nice deflection attempt. Do try to stay on topic.

Never said otherwise, of course it is Fetterman's decision. But the machinations and manipulations were disgusting. Not sure why you are trying to insert the various abortion related euphemisms into the discussion, unless that is all you have to use.

That seems to be a rather.......fascist.......attitude. "The ends justify the means" and all that. What import is one man's health in comparison to the bigger prize of political power? You didn't know whether Fetterman could recover because the truth of his condition was hidden from the public, with the active and enthusiastic participation of the media. Remember the reporter who dared question Fetterman's condition after an interview? She was ridiculed and accused for her troubles. Wonder when she can expect an apology from her attackers?

Perhaps, and also perhaps he was not getting good advice from his team. Sound medical advice would have been to quit running and take the time to recover as fully as was possible. It is certain that the truth about the severity of both his stroke and his condition afterwards were hidden from the public. For some reason, I think a GOP candidate who suffered a "nearly fatal stroke" (to quote the New York Times) would have faced much more pressure to drop out of the race.

No doubt. It says a lot about both the doctor and his campaign that he couldn't get the job done. Always is a gamble when you go for "celebrity" candidates.

...which seems like it was the plan all along. Control of the Senate was hanging in the balance and the Dems couldn't take the chance of switching candidates in mid campaign. So they used the sympathy vote and a remarkably compliant media to help Fetterman stagger across the finish line. Now he has done his job, he can be jettisoned for a new senator, chosen by the Democratic governor. I only hope he hasn't permanently damaged his health in the process. A remarkably craven and effective political strategy.

The thing is, we were not told any of this during the election. The media message was "move on, nothing to see". Reporters who dared to notice his obvious cognitive impairment were excoriated and labelled as able-ist. The tune has changed. Not even the New York Times admits it. They term his original stroke as "near fatal"- wow, never heard that before! And also write that. But his adjustment to serving in the Senate has been made vastly more difficult by the strains of his recovery, which left him with a physical impairment and serious mental health challenges that have rendered the transition extraordinarily challenging — even with the accommodations that have been made to help him adapt... https://www.nytimes.com/2023/02/10/us/politics/john-fetterman-senate-stroke.html I wish him nothing but the best on a human level, but he should NEVER have been allowed to continue his campaign. Shame on those around him who are putting his life and health at risk.

This is a good thing. Wean Europe off Putin's blood oil and get them instead to import their energy from friendly nations. Nothing wrong with that.

I am kind of torn on this one. Part of me wishes that New York still had capital punishment. A fitting end for this kind of crime. Plus, he wouldn't stay in the public eye and get undeserved publicity for the rest of his life. Just die unwanted and be forgotten. Another part wishes for a long and unpleasant stretch of prison time. With inmates who are less than impressed with him. But realistically, once in prison he will probably be protected by OTHER idiot neo-nazis and be a hero to them. That feeds his ego and makes him a figure of admiration. Tough call.