Star-Spangled Biden

The president kicks off his reelection campaign with a nod toward patriotism.

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President Joe Biden looks on during a state visit welcoming ceremony for South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol on the South Lawn of the White House on April 26, 2023. (Photo by Brendan Smialowski/AFP/Getty Images)

If a viewer wasn’t paying close attention, they might think the first ad of President Biden’s reelection campaign was for a Republican. 

“As the sun rises, we raise the flag—a symbol of all that we hold most dear as Americans,” the gravel-voiced narrator begins over shots of Old Glory dappled by the dawn’s early light. 

He continues over a montage of flag shots, including over the Marine Corps Memorial: “Courage, opportunity, democracy, freedom: they’re the values and beliefs that built this country and still beat in our hearts.”

If it wasn’t for the euphemised references to abortion, it could almost be a spot from Sen. Tim Scott or any other conservative Republican. 

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  1. Avatar photo
    JohnD

    A couple of random points… Ruy Teixeira is a gift to both Democrats (for his candid pragmatism) and Republicans (for his respectful and inclusive communications skills and his willingness to listen, understand, and collaborate). The Dispatch should try to get him as often as possible as a contributor. Also the Pew Research poll is silly and not worth our time. 30 year predictions are really guesses based on your current level of optimism and/or pessimism.

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      Ben Connelly

      I think Teixeira is pretty happy at Liberal Patriot, especially since he’s one of the main four there and LP is expanding. Between that and AEI he’s probably good. Still, he’s clearly a friend of TD. They could ask him to write a piece a month, or come on the podcast once a month or something.

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    BlackAndWhiteReruns

    Biden isn't leading anything. Biden's apparatchiks are "leading" strategically. Biden is in the basement slowly falling apart.

    I gotta admit that electing an empty husk has its advantages when your party all understand the direction you want to row.

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  3. Crs24

    We really all see so very little of Kamala Harris, it seems Fox "News" has baked in the "fact" that she is a poor VP.
    What has she done wrong to get such a reputation? Or is this an example of her opponents saying the same negative things over and over again that it becomes the accepted norm?

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    1. Jack H Wolf

      To be honest, as a Dem I just didn't like Harris' as did most Dems which explains why she never got any support and was never a contender. I put it on the vagaries of personality which is subjective, but she never seemed genuine to me . Politically I am more conservative, but her politics were no more left than Sanders or Warren who got much more support. So if it were only about the right media demonizing her, that wouldnt account for how poorly she did with Dems.

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      Rlritt

      I voted for her as Senator but I really dislike her now. When she campaigned in the primaries she played the poor, little black girl card. She was not at all poor. Her parents were highly regarded academics, mom is from India and father Jamaican. Very far from the Black American experience. She is also married to a white man. Anyway, I'm annoyed because my son says they have to nominate a black woman because I guess it shows that they are not racist or sexest, like a two for one. I think Gretchen Whitmer would be the best candidate, not only because she is female. But my son says it will never happen because she's not Black. Disappointing.

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      1. Tigersrock

        What is the appeal of a Gretchen Whitmer? Those of us who live in Michigan are not that enthralled with her. She made a mess of the Covid shutdowns, ran off to see her mother in Florida while closing schools, preventing people from attending family events etc. Plus she put covid patients into nursing homes. Her biggest campaign promise: "fix the damn roads" has not materialized. She now has both houses of Congress in Michigan. I know I am biased but too many people are just throwing her name out without really knowing her record. I guess this the what my political science professor called the great mentioner, how politicians become candidates for President.

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      2. Rational

        I have had to live under the rule of Her Royal Majesty Gretchen I. You should reconsider. She is nearly as vapid as Kamala Harris. There are much better Democrats, if you need to limit yourself to that. Gretchen is an authoritarian and very superficial, like Kamala. If the Michigan Republican party were not so focused on suicide, Gorvernor Whitmer would not be waiting for Pete Buttegieg to mess up one more time so she could get a cabinet post in some nondescript corner of the executive branch.

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  4. Jarena

    I think it’s a scandal that we’re 75 comments deep and not one person has thanked Chris for the Arrested Development reference.

    Thank you, sir. That’s one of our favorite lines. I do the grocery shopping in our house and my wife pulls that line out pretty regularly.

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  5. Andrew Holmes

    Is it "coarse" to make a reasonable observation? I read nearly endless discussions of Biden's age, frailties, and declining mental acuity. "Make it" can refer to any of these. You dislike Haley. Please argue with her substantive positions, and not leap to condemn her for not being sufficiently prissy.

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    Rlritt

    "But there’s no doubt that it’s Democrats who feel the greatest discomfort with flag-waving expressions of patriotism. Indeed, that discomfort stems in part from the showy, crass expressions of patriotism by some Republicans."

    Especially since so many Republicans now support Putin, an ex KGB agent over an American who has served this country for 30 years. They also support trying to turn over an election, beating cops who are protecting the Capitol, relieving their bowels on the floor of the Capitol, and voting for a rich spoiled baby that called for a mob to hang the his own Vice President. I think the Republicans now think Patriotism is for suckers.

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    1. Very Old Grumpy Guy

      It appears to me that my former party is now LESS patriotic than those godless, communists, Democrats. At least if one defines patriotism as belief in the peaceful transfer of power, that the president should uphold their oath of office, supporting the individual liberties enshrined in the Constitution, and most of the things they USED to stand for.

      We are in a period where the parties are re-defining themselves. Besides, cultural edge cases, and scapegoating, I am not sure what gets my former party charged up.

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        Rlritt

        It is true what you say. I hope it's a yin and yang kind of thing and it will move back towards the middle eventually. Political equilibrium would be nice.

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    Normb1442

    Re bananas: a great read is The Fish That Ate The Whale, by Rick Cohen, a history of the United Fruit company and its founder, Samuel Zemurray. In addition to being an excellent piece of industrial history, it contains an explanation of the fruit itself that's fascinating. Bananas do not grow from seed -- they are spread from cuttings which is why it's so hard to find the Gros Michel variety. Because all varieties of bananas are identical genetically, when a disease strikes an area there has no way to evolve an immune variety.. An interesting sidelight, BTW, is that the old image of someone slipping on a banana peel has more or less vanished because today's varieties have a peel which is much less slippery.

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    Mudskipper

    "If DeSantis were to win the GOP nomination and the presidency, he would have to give up the final two years of his governorship. He’s term-limited from seeking a third term.”

    How much do you want to bet that they'll try to change the law to allow him a third term if he doesn't win the Presidency? It would require amending the constitution by a 60% vote, but I wouldn't be surprised if they gave it a go.

    After all, they are busy changing other laws just for DeSantis's benefit--for example, Florida's sunshine laws.

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      Rlritt

      I actually read somewhere that they are trying to change the term limit law.

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  9. Jack H Wolf

    A good article Chris. Democrats have traditionally suffered from a reflex anti Americanism that likely peaked in the 60s and it is refreshing to see them atually taking the high ground on preserving our heritage, even as the CRT camp seems rooted in a glass half full picture of America. I tend to feel that the 'America is bad' part of the Dems if not a minority is on the wane, as the 'lets blow it up if we can't get our way' part of the Rs seems on the rise.
    The best of the worlds would be some coalition of moderate Rs and Ds that both supported a love of country and appreciation for our institutions of democracy, civil liberties, and enterprise, but, alas, as we seem to be heading for Trump/Biden 2 we are seeing the limits of our current political strait jacket where both nominees are only similar in their lack of approval and what would help the most, like a Tim Scott/Amy Klobuchar election is more a fantasy than anything. God save our country.

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    Vp

    Joe Biden is a throwback. He's from the Silent Generation, which still took patriotism for granted. Meanwhile, baby boomer Trump keeps bashing America and suggesting--or longing for--moral equivalencies to tyrannies. If I were advising Biden, I'd certainly encourage him to wrap himself in the flag. It comes naturally to him and creates a contrast not only with the extremes of his own party but with the direction of the GOP.

    Also, that's one reason for the all-American aviator shades: https://foreignpolicy.com/2023/03/24/biden-presidential-brand-aviator-sunglasses-americana/

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      Rlritt

      Biden is 79 and Trump is 76. They are in the same generation. It's just that Biden had a good upbringing and Trump was raised to be a spoiled brat who always got everything he wanted. He was a millionaire at 5 years old! What does he know about real hard working Americans?

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      The Stray Goose

      Joe Biden - “silent”. Risible.

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      1. Hikingguy

        Do you not know the usage? The Silents are the parents of the Boomers. Silents include The Beatles, Dylan and Joe Biden. Happy to help.

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