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Notes -
I will say, despite my general defense in another adjacent comment, that I DO think you're broadly correct. Circling the wagons around Biden is doing him nor the country any favors. Nor is attempting to rely on big speeches -- which I will say I think is less a tactical, hide-Biden decision, and more Biden's own misunderstanding of the world. I think that he believes just like how certain speeches are famous in history, that people pay attention to them and find them inspiring. That they are the most effective way to spread his message. I think he's wrong. That's not how people communicate effectively in today's world, much less in politics. He should be doing fireside chats, he should be featuring people around him that he will actually be leaning on to help with the more than 1-man task of governing. Sure, the media occasionally covers speeches, but most people rarely read those articles, and if they do, they don't watch clips of the actual speech. It's wasted effort. The campaign is a total disaster.
There's a world where he leans into "I'm pretty sharp, but just in case, I have help" that actually works as a campaign, but it's not this world. I think Jon Stewart rightly and effectively skewered the attitude of "let's not talk about it, and if we do, deny deny deny" as a terrible idea.
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