[davidjay]

They might want to be closer to God. I just wish they weren't so keen to take the rest of us with them.

[Abernathy]

.

[Abernathy]

JD Vance : Intriguingly, Ron Howard filmed an adaptation of Vance's popular memoir, Hillbilly Elegy, about 5 years ago. Judging by the trailer, it looks bloody awful. Glenn Close as Vance's hillbilly granny looks to be chewing the scenery at every opportunity.

I'm almost tempted to have a watch.

[Andy McDandy]

Amy "Enchanted" Adams? Blimey.

[kreuzberger]

Another yawning gap in my education becomes evident, but what the fuck is an elegy? Is it the collective noun for a shouty morass of redneck deplorables?

[Youngian]

Didn’t recognise Glen Close there, assumed it was Brendan O’Carroll.

There’s controversy that Vance’s back story is somewhat embellished and grew up in a rundown Ohio suburb rather than deepest Appalachia. He stands accused of cosplaying the hillbilly persona at college to distinguish himself from the posh frat boys. Not unlike Bill Clinton.
https://x.com/pixelpreaching/status/181 ... 86988?s=46

[Malcolm Armsteen]

Another yawning gap in my education becomes evident, but what the fuck is an elegy? Is it the collective noun for a shouty morass of redneck deplorables?

Well, an elegy is a serious poem, often in contemplation of one lost, or on the human condition. Check out Gray's Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard.
I suppose the film almost counts as an elegy, but it's a bit of a stretch.

[Malcolm Armsteen]

Biden has withdrawn.

[Abernathy]

Biden has withdrawn.

You sure? The news bulletin I've just seen said only that he plans to address the nation later in the week, adding "it has been a privilege to serve"'

That does sound as if he is planning to announce the withdrawal of his candidacy, but it isn't confirmed yet.

[Rosvanian]

Headlines on the BBC and elsewhere

[davidjay]

He's going.

[Tubby Isaacs]

And he's endorsed Kamala Harris.

[Abernathy]

Seeing it confirmed now. His candidacy had become completely unviable.

[Malcolm Armsteen]

Trust your uncle Malky, Abers. Have I ever set you wrong?

[Rosvanian]

Unsurprisingly, Trump hasn't held back and well and truly put the boot in. No, grace, no empathy, no kindness, just abuse and insults and oceans of unpleasantness and whiny victimhood. The United States is an absolute basket case.

[Abernathy]

Interesting that Joe hasn’t really given a reason for his decision, other than to say that his withdrawal would be in the best interests of his party and his country.

I dare say that reflects what a tricky decision this was. He couldn’t really come out and say he was pulling out because he really does have significant cognitive deterioration and increasing frailty. We’ve seen Trump’s reaction even without Biden acknowledging this, saying that if Biden isn’t fit to run for re-election then he isn’t fit to remain president, and never was (according to Trump).

I had previously thought that Biden pulling out due to an official medical diagnosis would have been the best and most dignified way out for him, but I can see that that would have handed Trump even more ammunition to fire at Joe.

[Arrowhead]

Thank goodness for that. He's done the right thing, I think.

A good man, and probably the most consequential U.S. president of my lifetime simply by virtue of his defeating Trump in 2020. But he should never have committed to a second term at such an advanced age.

Presumably Harris will be the front-runner now, although I'd like to think the Democrats will consider a few other options too.

[Arrowhead]

I had previously thought that Biden pulling out due to an official medical diagnosis would have been the best and most dignified way out for him, but I can see that that would have handed Trump even more ammunition to fire at Joe.

Unfortunately, if they win in November the MAGA-era Republican Party are probably going to use his withdrawal as a pretext to undo a lot of Biden things anyway.

"All these judicial appointments were clearly the work of a COVID/Dementia-addled mind, and are therefore invalid. Shucks, looks like we need to replace them with hundreds of our own judges now, what a shame....."

[The Weeping Angel]

[Andy McDandy]

They now have 4 months to campaign hard, Trump no longer has the Bidens as targets, and I don't think even he can milk his "assassination attempt" for that long.

Probably a good thing happened today.