Frustrated
Re “Dems give voice to anxiety on Biden” (July 3): I did not want President Joe Biden to run for reelection, nor did I want him to participate in a presidential debate. Thus, I did not watch the first debate’s mayhem, and when news coverage the next morning continually mentioned, “Democrats panicking,” my feelings toward that party included anger and contempt.
The article stated, Rhode Island Democratic Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse asked the administration for assurances about the president’s condition. Seriously? This guy is the chairperson of the Senate Budget Committee and a senior member of several other important committees. Does he want us to believe that he had never been in a meeting with the chief executive when the man’s mental decline made its presence known? All this Democratic Party shock is phony.
People everywhere were questioning Biden’s mental health before the primaries began. But hardly anyone, except a few including Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who said a worm ate part of his brain, challenged the incumbent. Instead, Democrats rallied around him, betting that former President Donald Trump did not have a chance of winning with all his legal baggage. The odds just shifted in Trump’s favor.
The debate and the aftermath also raise questions about the Biden team. What kind of knotheads does Biden have for advisors? There should have been a united, strenuous effort to keep him off the debate floor. The Democrats have a real mess on their hands, and to paraphrase from a Laurel and Hardy movie, that’s their story, and they are stuck in it.
Steve Bailey, Richmond
Stutter
This endless chorus saying that the debate is proof that President Joe Biden cannot serve another term is not at all the case. When he has those moments where he seems to be searching, he’s not. What he is doing is trying to get his debilitating stutter under control. It’s kinda like being an alcoholic; you are one for life. And just because you don’t see him stuttering, doesn’t mean he is not fighting for control over it every time he opens his mouth.
Often he seems to be rushing. Just another tool to stay in charge. What I would ask Biden to do is to give a speech where he actually shows how bad his stutter is so people would understand. Yes, it would be embarrassing to risk the humiliation he felt when he was young. But we Americans are the most empathetic people in the world. I know this has got to be the strangest request ever of a president. But I believe it will put this matter to rest. And not to worry, President Biden, we got your back.
Catherine Leonard, Virginia Beach
‘Black jobs’
During the recent presidential debate, former President Donald Trump stated that “Black jobs” would be lost due to immigration. Jobs were described this way in the late 1950s and 1960s in our country. It was an outrageous description, and it foretells what our society will become if he is elected president.
Democrats don’t describe jobs based on race but rather on competence, commitment and motivation to name just a few. Historically, the Democratic Party has nominated a Black male president twice as well as a Black female vice president.
Instead of focusing on the debate from the standpoint of the president was slightly sick and probably jet-lagged after traveling the world the previous few weeks to support peace and democracy, let’s focus on the fact that his opponent if elected will bring us back to jobs being based on race and the bitter animosity that was created in our country. Reelect Biden for president.
Joe Puglisi, Smithfield
No Trump
To parents reading this: Normally we look up to our president as someone our children should look to emulate. Today, who do you want your children to model their lives after?
One of our presidential candidates is a liar, bully and now a convicted felon. He has used his wealth, much of which originated from his father, to create campaigns against our democracy.
He will do anything to win — lie and create campaigns for followers that will benefit himself. Please do everything you can — within the limits of propriety — to help defeat him.
Henry Coleman, Williamsburg
Step down
When is someone in position of authority going to put politics aside and do the right thing for our country and call for President Joe Biden to step down. Biden’s performance in the first debate was just a culmination of the downward slide of Biden over the past several years.
His aides have tried to keep this from the public, but things have progressed beyond the usual gaffes, stumbles, loss of thought and so forth. Now, all Biden has to do is walk into a room, he doesn’t have to say anything, and the evidence is there. Biden doesn’t need to embarrass himself with a cognitive test; the evidence is there. This is a dangerous position for our country. Is there no one in government or in Biden’s family willing to make the hard decision for our country?
Herb Tatem, Chesapeake
