Loved that Muscovite analyst's comment, "You don't take this kind of VP candidate to get more votes."

The Ukrainians don't like Vance for telling them to give in to Russia, and the Russians don't like Vance, cause he's just bad news. (Maybe Vance will bow out so Trump can get a do-over?)

I love that the world is creating more and more imaginative names to insult Trump with. Before the boorish narcissist ran for president, childish insults against political opponents was considered unseemly. Trump made it his trademark practice. Now Karma's chasing after him. Karma's a wonderful answer to tyrants and jerks. Once Team Trump is defeated maybe proper discourse in Western polities will become civil again. Until then, creative insults against "Lord Marmalade" & ilk should just get funnier and funnier.

That would be some trick for conservatives to pull off: convincing an always cranky cantankerous ill-mannered narcissist to bow out so that a younger successor can lead the contest he is not morally or psychologically fit to be in.

JD Vance is a one-pony joke. Mr. Crypto with his homespun tale that will fool some, while his favoritism of anti-consumer protections and big leveraged fund tech investors like himself screws the little folk. He & his now blond haired boorish idol will be petty and insulting and slanderous against all opponents, while imagining that they are Jesus and Moses incarnate. Give us a break!

It's a good start. Now let's see the Democrats make progress in places like Wisconsin, Michigan, Nevada & Arizona.

Democracy & unity vs. Chaos and autocracy? I choose the first option.

Yes!! The Democratic Party's focus on identity politics misses the mark so much that it gave room for Trump's con game to pull wealth & achievement aspiring parts of certain identity blocks away from the Dems. For example a huge segment of Miami's hispanic population is anti-Castro & anti-Maduro (Venezuela) conservative. Longer resident hispanics are often in the region's Chamber of Commerce class, running profitable businesses and wary of government interference, and demotivated by identity politics that lump all hispanics into a stereotype caricature. In the same vein, other stereotyped ethnic groups are insulted by pollsters snd politicians who take them for granted as a bloc.

Nikki Haley's post-primary rhetoric is hollow and abominable, but her in-primary rhetoric was spot on.

The more Vance speaks, the stupider he sounds!

How could Nikki Haley endorse a ticket that takes its directions from Moscow? Putin loves this Party's neo-isolationism and its backstabbing of freedom seeking allies.

So all Republicans would rather spend money to create a military that will be partisan on internal differences but that will turn a blind eye to autocracies that swuelch democracy and that commit war crimes & atrocities against freedom seeking allies around the world??

How Repugnant of them!

I could see Mark Kellly mopping up the floor with the Tchump after every one of the "great narcissist's" childish jibes or unfounded comments about America's reputation around the globe or election integrity.

Options:

If Biden were truly concerned about the Democratic Party's chances in November, and the impact is continuing to run might have all the country, he would publicly release his delegates and say that he is going to retire at the end of this term and will figure support whoever the Democratic Party chooses to nominate.

It's time to take the car keys away from the aging relative. Guardianship of an aging relative would require a family court to allow it. For a physically declining President, the 25th Amdt might be needed but that would probably provoke a constitutional crisis. And making the vice president the president before the convention will throw everything into disarray.

If Biden were truly concerned about the Democratic parties chances in November, and the impact is continuing to run might have all the country, he would publicly release his delegates and say that he is going to retire at the end of this term and will figure support whoever the Democratic Party chooses to run.

The winning Dem ticket 2024: Senator Mark Kelly from Arizona, and Governor Andy Beshear of Kentucky. Charismatic, qualified, youthful, energetic, and definitely able to beat Tchump.

Or John Kerry & Colin Powell ... Or: Colin Powell and John Kerry.

I would vote for a John Kerry & Michelle Obama ticket.

When starting to answer the first question, Biden should have made a quick introductory statement that included a brief notice that he was fighting off a case of laryngitis and his Voice seem a little raspy. That would've given everyone time to adapt to his impaired voice. The second thing his coaches should've told him to do, would've been to warn him that if he loses train of thought regarding a question he was in the middle of answering, he should simply be honest and admit it this way, "Pardon me I just lost train of thought, could you repeat the question?"

He's also got to remember to NOT to leave his mouth a gape when his opponent responds to questions.

Political communications experts always remember a prime lesson of the Kennedy-Nixon debates: "When on television the visual nessage means more than the verbal message."

A congressperson has a responsibility to his or her constituents and to the Constitution. Voters have a duty to practice good citizenship, which entails voting as a member of a polity, weighing what's in the nation's interest and in a way that promotes the "general welfare". Some extreme politicians disregard their duty to the Constitution and to promoting America's polity. A lot of the "Squad" rhetoric is as hard for opponents to accept as is the rhetoric of Boebert, MTG, or Jordan. Perhaps, trimming the extremes in Congress means the voters are looking to collaboration in government rather than all or nothing polarization?

About time!

If Democrats want to catch up with the general public on immigration, they should urgently create groups of unofficial policy advisors consisting of successful recent legal migrants to help them develop strategies to handle the unprecedented burden on US Border Patrol. While legal and orderly immigration is good for national security and the economy, the situation on the southern border is boosting the GOP's election chances. This is a political crisis that the Biden-Harris administration and Dem politicians need to become visibly proactive about. In a sense, it's a PR opportunity if the party & administration can do right in the general public's eyes. Having successful recent immigrants (as found in Florida Nd parts of Texas & elsewhere) endorsing Dem & Biden initiatives would go far to counter the constant images of an out-of-control border shown on right wing media.

Mussolini had his "black shirt" thugs enforcing his will against anyone opposed to Mussolini's fascist ideology. A few years later, Hitler had his "brown shirt" thugs who were even better organized to promote Hitler's hateful fascist Nazi ideology. Today, Trump has the "proud boys", thugs, who like Mussolini' and Hitler's, are driven by a right-wing nationalistic ideology and a charismatic narcissist who will lie, cheat and steal and invoke strength through violent intolerance.

And yes, I worked at a company with up and coming billionaires like Jon Corzine, who eventually became a Democratic US Senator. The premise here, and Robert Reich's too, isn't, "billionaires are bad". It's that Trumper-billionaires are supporting political things that run counter to what's in the financial and health interests of the average lower middle income Trump supporters. And from what seems true of many Trump supporting mega-donors their ideals are not the ideals of a Corzine or Buffett or Bloomberg. They aren't ideals to keep America great, their ideals are to help themselves stay rich and to become even richer.

Plus, there are billionaires like Warren Buffett (the "oracle of Omaha") and like Michael Bloomberg, who are not like Trumper-billionaires. They're great and they see America as stronger under democratic policies and they generally show genuine care for the greater mass of employees and workers. These billionaires are the model of respect for the country and system that enabled their talents to turn into wealth and who see virtue in keeping the country one of fair opportunity for all.

Bell ... I know for a fact that those billionaires I named are "great" to some employees, but they give millions to conservative causes that fight unions, fight consumer protection laws, and do everything to make government serve them and their wealth. And if, like the Kochs, they don't particularly like Trump, they love how he's "on their side" in fighting unions, fighting for tax loopholes for billionaires, for courts that side with them 99% of the time, and for keeping the low and low-middle income populations in general happy with bread and circuses, but staying in their place to do the work the billionaires are too good to do for themselves.