Saturday Special: An Elder's View of Biden's Press Conference

Jul 13, 2024

He's old, forgets names, and has a senior's perception of time, but reporters and their ratings-obsessed editors need to focus on the vision of world affairs Biden wants to achieve in his second term rather than the ridiculous gaffs.

Listening to the press conference, I hoped to learn more about the issues. This wasn't going to be the State of the Union, but I expected an account of Biden's accomplishments to some degree. What I got were some surprising bits of news that I never saw in any mainstream media. And that's a problem for me.

By all indications, Americans are anticipating, with great fear, a civil war that will bring down our democracy. Our national squabbles, however, are all part of a more global struggle that may go down in history as World War III. I certainly hope this can be avoided, and apparently, Biden does too from what I heard in his conference on Thursday.

He talked about several unification efforts during his hour before the press that not only included successes he saw in the NATO conference, but outlined efforts he has taken to form alliances with Asian and Pacific Rim countries as well. Working daily with China is also part of his agenda to curtail a Putin/Xi partnership that otherwise could lead to authoritarian rule throughout the world.

From what I have seen in the media since the press conference, sadly, is they are blind to Biden's moves toward this global drive toward peace. One word or factoid out of place, and their little brains screech to a halt. Throughout the hour-long Q and A, reporters questioned his "off-days" and would there be more. Was Kamala Harris capable of replacing him or running instead. The fact-checkers, while diving deftly and deeply into the archives, merely showed how they missed the whole point of Biden's responses. They cannot see the proverbial forest for the trees.

At 74, I've learned to weed out the meaning of an old man's ramblings to get to the thread of the story he's trying to tell. Yes, we old people struggle to find the words, to remember details, to put events and dialogues into context. We pause as if locked in space and time. Frankly, we are. We're rolling through our mental Rolodex of experiences, checking our own cognizance of past events. And we get dates and time frames all mixed up. I get it. Listening to dotty old people is a drag … or has that word become as irrelevant as the generation who coined it?

My experience with young people is that, in their quest for perfection in their own performances, they are as quick as wolves to pounce on the first error in recollections.

In worrying so much on the mistakes, they block out the gist of the story. They ballyhoo the bumble as if celebrating the geezer's imperfections.

Now that we're past the Harris/Trump gaff that everyone had everyone so embroiled, this is what I gathered from Biden's responses to questions:

Importance of NATO in preventing Putin's take-over of Europe.

So far, Putin has killed 300K of his own people to take back a country he perceives as a protective barrier between Russia and invaders to the West. Technological talent is leaving Russia as quickly as they can get traveling papers. He's destroyed the infrastructure and function of Ukraine and will undoubtedly lay waste to it before he's finished his war.

Biden stated, though, that if Putin takes Ukraine, he won't stop there. The specter of Hitler's attempt at world domination haunts many in Europe to this day. Strengthening NATO to prevent another authoritarian regime is why Biden works to bring other countries, such as Sweden and Finland, into the NATO circle. United against Putin's onslaught toward total power is why he focuses on NATO and Ukraine. It's not only the future of Europe he's worried about. It will ultimately bring America into the struggle to stop Putin.

Bringing manufacturing and jobs back to the U.S.

When relations opened with China, they enticed American businesses to bring their operations as well as products there to take advantage of a huge market as well as cheap labor. There was a tariff to pay, however. Any business wanting to manufacture goods in China must share with the Chinese government all marketing and technological information. If the company decided to leave, they must leave all their equipment and technology in China. Biden has been encouraging manufacturers to return to the States. He's increased U.S. manufacturing by around 45%. Or is that 47%. (I have a hard time remembering numbers. That's innumeracy, not age-related, though. Sorry.)

Keeping an eye on Xi

Xi and Putin have been growing closer because of the Ukraine war with China providing various means of support. To combat the impact of this alliance, Biden has formed a direct line of communication for daily interactions with Xi. Biden's Chiefs of Staff have a similar hotline to Chinese military leaders as well. Every day, Biden works out issues with Xi as well as keeping a lid on the support activities in Putin's favor.

Building Alliances In Asia and the Pacific Rim

As part of this effort to keep Xi and the Chinese government from supporting Putin as well as expanding territory in the Asian Pacific, Biden has reached out to Japan, South Korea, Australia, New Zealand, and leaders of Pacific Island nations to unite them as allies. Biden hopes to strengthen the defense capacities within these nations in order to hold back China's activities that would threaten regional stability.

What About Israel and Hamas?

When asked about the Israeli/Hamas War, Biden said a two-state solution was the best way to go, but once that is achieved, Israel needs to get out of Gaza. He warned Netanyahu about occupying Gaza. America's attempt to bring the tribal culture of Afghanistan into nationhood was a huge mistake that cost thousands of lives on both sides. He admitted that nobody will ever change Afghanistan. Thus, Netanyahu, whose government Biden said was the most conservative he's seen in Israel, needs to respect the statehood of the Palestinians and withdraw occupying forces as soon as a peaceful solution is achieved. As for Hamas, Biden stated, possibly incorrectly according to a fact-checker, that the majority of Palestinians don't like Hamas. That may have changed after Oct. 7, 2023. Nonetheless, Hamas and other terrorist groups need to be removed from the region is there is to be peace.

There were other issues discussed in Biden's press conference, but these are the positions that impressed me the most. He's building a stabilizing front against what many are now calling the possibility of World War III. He stressed throughout his conference that he needs to hold that second term so he can finish this important work. He currently has the credentials and support of other nations' leaders in these efforts. He's also got the momentum running toward peace and stability in the world under his watch.

Trump has stated a totally different direction if he wins the election. I don't think I need to talk to that at all. We've all read or heard about his platform and plans as well as his alliances with Putin and Xi.

I just wish that the media would spend more time researching the issues that Biden outlined in his hour with them, but instead, they couldn't get past the Harris/Trump debacle.

We are in serious trouble. And our news media is only making WWIII a more eminent possibility. And if they succeed, just think of the ratings!

The Associated Press hour-long video of his press conference

This may not be on the Internet for long, but this is the one I listened to. Verify for yourself if there’s any credence to what I got from this. And of course, there are many other YouTube versions for your gratification if not amusement.

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