(C) Daily Kos This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . MSNBC Blogger Writes Brain-Dead Column About Biden’s Age [1] ['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.'] Date: 2023-11-21 We’ve now reached the stage in election coverage where any columnist looking to phone it in for a day can write up a few paragraphs about Biden’s age and get it published. The latest entry by a columnist who (I’m speculating) had a long night at a DC bar and needed a day to take it easy was MSNBC reporter Clarissa-Jan Lim. The article is instructive because it hits all the lazy beats that people who remember the But Her Emails coverage in 2016. We’re obsessed with this story and we’re going to keep covering it The campaign must respond. The campaign has responded but not in the right way. As is typical of these rote articles, this one has all three. Bullet point one is literally in the title. Concerns about Biden’s age aren’t going anywhere The very next thing you read is, you guessed it, bullet point two: Biden has turned 81, and voters remain uneasy about someone his age being an effective president. Will his campaign address it? (My emphasis) This is where bullet point three comes in. I’m going to spare you much more of the column because it’s stupid and at this point you’ve already read it dozens of times before. But the column makes a claim at the very beginning, then predictably turns around and admits this claim is wrong: The president’s team has often attempted to focus on his accomplishments and his political experience. Biden himself has tried to downplay fears by joking about his age, but the right-wing fixation on his gaffes and occasional tumbles hasn’t helped. (my emphasis) This shit is infuriating. The columnist claims that the campaign (which I assume Biden is part of), hasn’t addressed his age. And then the columnist casually mentions that Biden himself has addressed it. And in a way that I might note famously worked for Ronald Reagan. But that apparently isn’t good enough. Again: The campaign has responded but not in the right way. This is the impossible situation that a Democratic campaign finds itself in. The media is obsessed with something that there is no good answer for, and considers any half-good answer unacceptable. Biden is old. It’s not something he can deny. What other possible response can you imagine the media accepting? This garbage column ends with this: Of course, you barely even need a poll to know that Biden’s age is clearly a significant concern for voters — and his campaign would do well to address it head-on. Good fucking luck! Clarissa-Jan then embeds an NBC Tik-Tok that points out that Biden said “Brittney” when he meant to say “Taylor”. This column is laser- focused on the important stuff. The problem for all of us is that there is no good option. Biden declaring he won’t run again, or someone notable declaring a primary challenge are both paths that have only ended in ruin, and the media should be making this clear. The ridiculous notion that being president involves lighting fast reflexes and ability to make tough decisions at three am is something that the media should be correcting. If the media thinks there is a way to address this, they have a responsibility to all of us to tell us what that is. I don’t want to leave you with no options here, so I have a suggestion. If you agree with this diary and you’re on Twitter, @ her with this. Or DM her. Don’t be mean, she seems young and this is teachable moment. But we need to start taking this on. [END] --- [1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/11/21/2207144/-MSNBC-Blogger-Writes-Brain-Dead-Column-About-Biden-s-Age?pm_campaign=front_page&pm_source=trending&pm_medium=web Published and (C) by Daily Kos Content appears here under this condition or license: Site content may be used for any purpose without permission unless otherwise specified. via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds: gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/dailykos/