Imagine you're a muckety-muck editor at the once-vaunted New York Times, and the following results of a spanking-new Times focus group show up on your computer screen.
Independent voters from around the country had scathing remarks to describe President Biden in a focus group published Tuesday, with most admitting they are leaning toward former President Trump in 2024 despite their own derisive assessments of him.
What would you think? That I could put in writing, I mean.
After the initial horror gave way to semi-rational thinking, I suppose I, as a Times muckety-muck, would wonder "What the hell happened?" Like, how were the questions worded, or how the focus group voters were selected, because surely— surely these results can't be right.
So the Times spoke at length with 13 undecided, independent voters about the two leading candidates and the issues most important to them. The voters, ranging from 22-64 years old, were most concerned about the state of the economy, with the majority citing the rising costs of groceries and their other bills. Of the 13, 12 said they would base their vote on the issue, with 11 saying they were leaning toward Trump in November.
"Oh, the humanity!" must think muckety-mucks.
It gets even worse. For the muckety-mucks, that is.
When asked what they thought about Biden, the voters were blunt as hell in their assessments of the besieged president. Here are several of their responses:
"He’s a little bit senile, and I do think if you can’t do the job, it’s time to step down."
"I think he’s unfit for the presidency. A president should be the commander in chief. And he does not appear to be a capable commander in chief."
"[He's a] puppet. That’s because I feel like he really tap-dances. I don’t know what he’s done. It just seems like he’s just throwing things out there to please almost anyone."
"[He's] disingenuous. Nothing that is said really connects with me. I don’t feel like I’m being told the truth. I don’t feel like I’m being told anything upfront. I was just so disappointed — with the ounce of hope I had left — when we just started pouring money into the Israel conflict."
Tough stuff for Joe, which is only going to get tougher as the groundswell continues to grow around the "sympathetic, well-meaning, elderly man with the poor memory."
Here are several responses from the voters when asked how they felt about Trump:
"Donald Trump did a better job. Joe Biden, I mean, I feel like I don’t have a president."
"Sure, [he] was divisive, and sure, it really wasn’t the most productive, but [he] really highlighted problems and the divisiveness that was already hidden inside of our country."
"To me, it doesn’t affect anything. His life, he puts it right out there. I’m sick of hearing it, but it’s him. So if I’m going to vote for him, that’s part of what I accept."
The last comment was key, which I'll hit in "The Bottom Line."
One voter expressed his opinion this way:
"Like no matter who gets voted into office, I think our options suck either way, and I don’t really see any progress."
When asked to describe their feelings about the upcoming election in one word, here were the responses:
"Lost"
"Disaster"
"Necessary"
"Stressed"
"Anxious"
"Are we allowed to curse, or no? Bullsh*t."
"Anxiety"
"Worried"
"Indifferent."
"Ugh"
"Abyss"
"Concerned"
"Disaster"
Pretty much sums it up, but here's the thing: In less than ten months, we must choose the 47th president of the United States — and it will be arguably the most important election choice in modern history, so let's not screw it up.
The Bottom Line
To be fair, several of the voters also had negative things to say about Trump that were largely centered on their perceptions of his personality, calling the former president "egotistical," a "narcissist" and "disastrous."
Then again, when I vote for president I'm not necessarily looking for a role model or even a man or woman with impeccable moral credentials. What I am looking for is the candidate that I believe will best deliver on the issues that are most important to me — from protecting the border and the security of this country to picking Supreme Court nominees who will adhere to the U.S. Constitution rather than try to legislate from the bench.
As the voter said, above:
"To me, it doesn’t affect anything. His life, he puts it right out there. I’m sick of hearing it, but it’s him. So if I’m going to vote for him, that’s part of what I accept."
Amen.