I found it strange that he was negotiating his budget resolution package on live TV. Did he say anything about any aspect of it that might have convinced Senator Joe Manchin or Kirsten Cinema to change their opinion and vote in favor of the bill? If he did I certainly didn’t hear it. He was put in the strange position of clarifying the positions of those who are opposed to a much larger part of his plan.
If it meant building a support base so massive that senators from West Virginia and Arizona had to succumb to it, it didn’t.
Did he solve any of these problems on Thursday night? No, he used to jump a lot. He did that weird lean and whisper a few times. He provided inefficient, lengthy answers to most of the audience’s questions (some of which were pointed out and deserved a more direct answer).
He displayed basic human compassion for the late Colin Powell, the former Secretary of State, who passed away this week, something that Donald Trump could not do earlier this week. That moment was a bit of a reminder of how Biden won in first place.
But did any onlooker – other than the most partisan Democrat – walk away from that town hall tonight thinking: “Living man! This man is on top of his game!”
To borrow a phrase: “Come on, man!”
Some things I found interesting:
Biden’s acknowledgment that he used poor judgment to say that the Justice Department should prosecute those who deny congressional subpoenas in relation to the January 6 committee … was something. He clearly said that he would not pick up the phone and would call the DOJ to tell who to prosecute.
Of course, they don’t need it. He can only say out loud what he wants and the DOJ’s leadership will see it, even if Biden walks it back later. They know Biden would like to see this group of people prosecuted. Biden didn’t need a phone call to convey those views.
.