What They’re Saying in DC’s Bars

For what? Maybe forty years? My impression has been that Seymour Hersh gets his scoops from barflies in the watering holes of Washington, DC. This one may be no different but at the Post Millenial Libby Emmons is reporting that Sy Hersh’s most recent claim is that what we’ve been hearing from the White House and major media outlets has been baloney:

A new Substack out from Seymour Hersch indicates that former President Barack Obama and VP Kamala Harris, now presumptive Democrat nominee for president, threatened sitting President Joe Biden with the potential invocation of the 25th Amendment if he didn’t drop out the presidential race and cede that spot to the veep. This would mean that not only did they force Biden out of the race, but that the Democrats know full well that Biden isn’t fit to serve out the rest of his term, but are comfortable letting him continued as a figure head if it serves their efforts to retain power for the party.

Biden engaged in a debate with former President and GOP nominee for president Donald Trump on June 27. It was so bad that almost instantly Democrat leaders and pundits were looking for a way to get Biden off the ticket. They could see that there was very little chance that Biden, in his diminished state, coudl beat Trump at the ballot box. The party elite were aghast and worked hard both in public and private to oust Biden. While much of that played out in leaked rumor, speculation, it turns out, per Hersch, that what was going on behind the scenes was a kind of coup, complete with threats from the Obama Kamala team.

It’s a sad commentary when a presidential address to the nation carried on multiple networks has about the same level of credibility as the scuttlebutt in DC bars. Mister, we could use a man like Walter Cronkite again. Maybe he was no more credible than the present crop. He just didn’t have anybody fact-checking him.

7 comments… add one
  • steve Link

    Not really sure what the point is here. Over my time running my corporation, a bit less than 20 years, I had to fire 2 older guys who just didnt have the insight to see that they were not performing well. Both ended up thanking me much later, admitting that with time to reflect they were not responding well to crises or rapid changes. Given the level of ego among most politicians I suspect it took some pretty strong convincing. I think what’s important is that it was the right thing to do.

    Steve

  • Grey Shambler Link

    Steve’s right, he’s slipping and it needed to be done, fixed.
    Democrats were smart and kept their selection legal and in-house. No worries about a possible non team player slipping in.
    Harris is not perfect but she’s being professionally marketed. Keep her smiling, waving, laughing, dancing and never impromptu. They’ll use the double prompter and write her thoughts out for her.
    Maybe it takes a few drinks at the bar to clear the head of the imagery and remember that the Dem leadership didn’t like her at all not long ago and see behind the curtain.

  • Drew Link

    I have no idea if Hersh and his sources are correct or not. I do know that this narrative is not exclusive to Hersh. It’s all over the place.

    But separately, no one seems to want to address the real issue. If Biden is as impaired as seems clear, he should resign immediately. Harris becomes Pres. If he simply thinks he cannot win, how does anyone justify the appointment of Harris? What about his voters. Why not open the nomination up?

    Talk about smoke filled rooms.

  • steve Link

    It would be to Harris’ advantage if he stepped down now but it’s possible he wasn’t willing to do that. His wife and staff may want him to have the dignity of not being forced out and no one has ever done a 25th (?) amendment thing. It’s possible, even probable that he is pretty functional during large parts of the daytime and then sundowns.

    Steve

  • Zachriel Link

    steve: It’s possible, even probable that he is pretty functional during large parts of the daytime and then sundowns.

    Aging is typically a continuum. Biden just seems old, getting tired and confused more easily as he continues to age. Even in the debate, after the first half hour or so, he was cogent in his responses. But, let’s face it. Feeble truth stands little chance against confident lies.

  • Zachriel Link

    Speaking of Biden, he just negotiated the release of American hostages held by Russia, which took months and required the cooperation of multiple countries. The negotiations were completed just an hour before he announced his withdrawal from the presidential race. Biden just gave a press conference, saying he had called the families of the released hostages.

    “[Trump] said repeatedly that he could have gotten the hostages out without giving anything. What do you say to that? What do you say to President Trump — now former president?”

    “Why didn’t he do it when he was president?” Then Dark Brandon dropped the mic and left the room.

  • Zachriel Link

    Rep. Nancy Mace: Biden is MIA. Why is no one talking about it?

    White House: He’s been busy.

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