Opinion Even more radical than Supreme Court conservatives: The 5th Circuit: The MAGA-friendly Supreme Court is hardly the only problem with the post-Trump federal judiciary.
Opinion President Biden, be like LBJ, whose choice to bow out was hugely popular: The chaos of 1968 had nothing to do with Lyndon Johnson’s late decision not to run for reelection.
Opinion What Biden owes his country if he stays in: He needs to show he has clear strategy for undoing the damage of his debate performance.
Opinion Why Biden didn’t accept the truth that was there for all to see: If he has the strength and wisdom to step aside, the Democrats will have two months to choose another candidate. - "Biden might have considered withdrawing if Vice President Harris was more popular than he was — running 10 points ahead of him in polls, say. But Harris hasn’t gained traction as vice president, and Biden knows it. Some say Biden deliberately sidelined Harris; I think her shortcomings reflect her own political weakness. But the fact is that Biden had no obvious heir.
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"What’s especially painful about the Biden story is that he has been in most ways a very good president. The biggest lie Trump told Thursday was his portrait of the country as a ruined mess. The economy is strong, the United States is working seamlessly with an ever-closer set of allies in Europe and Asia, and our global financial, military and intelligence dominance has rarely been clearer. Biden has been effective despite the obvious signs of stress. He has also remained a decent man.
"That’s his valedictory, if he could accept it. I noted in September that Biden should understand that he has achieved what he described in his 2021 inaugural speech: 'When our days are through, our children and our children’s children will say of us: They gave their best, they did their duty, they healed a broken land.' Biden did just that."
Biden team works furiously to quell any Democratic revolt after debate: The president’s aides have so far prevented any prominent Democratic officeholder from publicly calling on him to step aside. But their tactics have bred some resentment.
How an aging Biden and his advisers locked in a decision to run again: In late 2022, Biden’s team signaled he’d seek reelection and quashed discussions of an alternative. Now that decision hangs over the political landscape.
Biden aides plotted debate strategy for months. Then it all collapsed.: The Biden team gambled on an early debate and prepared intensively at Camp David, but advisers could not prevent the candidate’s stumbles onstage.
Biden rallies boisterous crowd as he tries to tamp down debate concerns: “I don’t debate as well as I used to,” Biden said, his voice rising. “But ... I know how to tell the truth. I know right from wrong. I know how to do this job.”
The deep, generational skepticism that’s influencing the 2024 race: Young Americans aren’t overly pessimistic about the future — but they do perceive how the system is stacked against them.
Black men helped power Biden’s 2020 Georgia win. Some are wavering.: Trump and his allies are courting onetime Biden voters, aware that even a small shift among Black men in a state like Georgia could mean the difference between winning and losing. - "The economy is doing well by many traditional measures. The Biden campaign has pointed to record-low Black unemployment during his administration, as well as policies intended to ease household costs, like ensuring more Black Americans are covered by health insurance and capping the price of insulin at $35 a month for seniors. But pessimistic views of the economy, like those expressed by Williams and James, are widespread even as inflation has cooled — confounding economists and frustrating the Biden campaign because it appears to be a major factor in his softening support."
‘Hello from my Black job’: Dems strike back after Trump debate remark: Democratic politicians took to social media to condemn and question former president Donald Trump’s remark that undocumented immigrants are “taking Black jobs.” - "Economic data shows that Black workers have been faring exceptionally well: The Black unemployment rate remains near historic lows and wage gains are at all-time highs."
In France’s rebranded far right, flashes of antisemitism and racism persist: Ahead of French elections, vitriol and innuendo from National Rally candidates amplify doubts about how much the party of Marine Le Pen has truly evolved. - "National Rally has sought to woo voters by pledging to reduce fuel taxes and energy bills and protect French farmers. But its populist promises are targeted toward French citizens — in some cases even excluding dual nationals and 'French people of foreign origin.'
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"There are more extreme voices in France than Le Pen’s. Yet, like Trumpism, LePénisme remains a safe harbor for anti-vaccine advocates, climate-change skeptics and Putin admirers. And as seen through social media posts and telling asides — as well as through homophobic attacks and racist tirades allegedly committed by Le Pen supporters — National Rally still provides a welcome home for vitriolic thought.
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"While that summit was ongoing, Italy was rocked by the emergence of secret footage taken by a journalist who had infiltrated a Rome branch of the youth wing of Meloni’s party. 'We’re Mussolini’s legionaries, and we’re not scared of death,' the group was filmed chanting. The footage contained other fascist songs and slogans, with members at one point shown giving the Roman salute while yelling 'Sieg Heil!'"
Can a civics teacher persuade her students to believe in democracy?: Shannon Salter aimed to turn all the seniors in her high school civics class into voters. Her task has never been harder. - "Vanessa, 17, lived with her parents, grandparents and four siblings in a modest two-story house a short distance from downtown. Her mother and father — a nurse and long-haul truck driver — emigrated from Haiti more than two decades earlier and spoke often of moving back home." [ed. note: GOOD FUCKING LUCK]
