(C) Daily Kos This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . What President Biden needs to do to reassure us... is this right? [1] ['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.'] Date: 2024-07-02 So... let me understand here: A number of people have started to say that Biden's post-debate speeches "didn't count" as far as reassuring us he has the ability to win in November. From what I'm gleaning from people's responses here, it looks like this is what he must do to reassure us: 1. Take questions from reporters 2. Avoid using a teleprompter in any speech. Off-the-cuff only. 3. Be seen after 6 pm (or 4 pm or whatever time is shown to display "vigor") 4. Walk briskly, like a middle-aged man (or, apparently, Bernie Sanders... I haven't paid much attention to how Sanders walks) 5. Always speak in a loud, clear voice. He will never again be permitted to have a cold publicly. Not till after November 5, anyway. Anything other than these five essential tasks will "not count" and will do nothing to counter the bad impression he made last week. Is that correct? (Other than perhaps a #6... use some of the kinglike powers recently conferred on presidents by the Extreme Court. I know the more militaristic and violent actions he could take would be illegal/unconstitutional. I wonder if he could do some of the administrative things beneficial for the common good, though, like a blanket forgiveness of all student loans?) This to-do list of five (six) essential tasks sounds like a good place to start. But will we accept it when President Biden does them? Or will we move the goalposts? Will we find a way to see how his latest efforts still "don't count"? Because that's what the media is probably going to do anyway, no matter what. Just be prepared for that. They'll find another thing to nitpick, another hoop Biden has to jump through to be considered "energetic enough". I'm looking for the day when they say Biden's got to jump out of a plane to show his vigor. Think back to middle and high school and trying to impress the popular crowd. One day you come to school wearing designer clothes or makeup like they do, or listening to the music they do. Do you remember how they most often responded? That's right. Not with accepting you at last. With some dismissive comment about how those weren't really designer clothes. Or it was Tinkerbell makeup, not grown-up makeup. Or they'd moved on to the next band. They were never going to accept you, no matter what, because they liked the way they were and had no interest in adding to their social circles. The media people like their narrative. It makes them feel nice and comfortable and cozy, and it probably pays the bills. They have found their niche, and they won't give it up unless they are forced to (probably by job loss, by their superiors saying THEY weren't young and hip anymore and it was time to replace them). What did most of us, as grown adults, decide was the best course of action when dealing with carrot-danglers and goalpost shifters? We moved on. We decided life was too short, and trying to impress someone who will not be impressed was a waste of our time and energy. We quit that Machiavellian boss. We broke up with that perpetually unsatisfied partner. So, I guess I have two questions here: 1. Will Biden implementing the five or six things on this to-do list, actually convince us he can win the election? I'm talking about us, his base... not a media that will never be satisfied. 2. Is reinforcing the media's ageism, ableism, and other isms really the best thing for us to do? Don't you hate being put in a position where your social survival demands you reinforce toxic social norms? Wouldn't it be great to just blow those norms up instead of being yet another sad group of people who "have no choice" but to keep perpetuating them? Because looking vigorous and confident is also about privilege. And money. The media has been saying for years, the only people who are worthy of public-facing jobs are those who can afford to purchase a smooth, polished, corporate-friendly appearance and demeanor. The message is as clear as it was from the popular kids or our bad bosses: only those who uphold our system of haves being on top are allowed into our good graces. But I thought we Kossacks were different. We have the capacity to be convinced when someone else makes an effort to meet us halfway. We aren't goalpost movers. We have good faith. So, this diary is about what Biden needs to do to convince US he's up to the task. Not the media. Not some random group of unforgiving "other people". Us right here. Will we be satisfied when he does those things? 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