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And then there was Biden, at his home in Wilmington, working the phones. He held a call with a select group of columnists from The Washington Post, The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal.
Thompson meant “old school” in the best sense of the word. Wednesday’s call was in keeping with Biden’s personal media habits – he reads print newspapers and relies on traditional media – and his moderate stance.
The participating journalists were Gerald Seib from the Journal; Karen Tumulty, Jonathan Capehart, Gene Robinson and Jennifer Rubin of the Post; and David Leonhardt and David Brooks of The Times.
“Biden made a strong statement that the political center is alive and well, that he resides there, that he has always been there and that he is going to rule from there.” In addition, Biden “insisted that there are enough Republican lawmakers prepared to meet him in the middle so that he can get things done in an evenly divided Congress where he will not have the kind of Democratic majorities that some of his predecessors enjoyed.”
That’s Biden’s big bet. He told columnists that “Republicans are beginning to realize that there is a center that needs to be answered.”
Really? Is that what a year consumed by an election really showed, an election that has yet to end in some desperate pro-Trump corners? Biden says so, and it’s one of his biggest contrasts to Trump.
Rubin, in his summary of the appeal, put it this way: “For Biden, there is a popular consensus moving to the center, where he has always championed the needs of the workers.”
Journalists are a pretty tough bunch, as Rubin acknowledged. She wrote that “progressives and a good portion of the cynical media world scoff” at some of Biden’s thoughts and call him “naive.”
“But you have no choice, at least in the beginning,” he wrote. “It must start with a total effort to win over enough Republicans to get parts of his agenda done.”
Wednesday’s call could have been part of Biden’s persuasion campaign.
‘I beat up everyone’
Biden’s response in part was, “You guys have been saying that about me since the day I got to the office. You said when I announced it, he was a pretty nice guy but I didn’t understand, I didn’t know what.” was going on. I respectfully suggest that you beat up everyone else. “
Biden argued that he is “ready to fight” if necessary, but nothing is done in “those kinds of blood matches.”
Cleaning
As Biden put it: “One of the reasons veterans are needed is that veterans know where old bodies may be buried.” He also said his team is having silent consultations with “former Republican appointees, former Republican staff telling us what they know and don’t know about how the system is rotten,” as well as Republican senators “concerned that things will be left untethered. ‘. “
So that’s Biden’s approach. Now let’s get back to Trump …
Trump says he’s busy
On Wednesday night, CNN’s Nikki Carvajal pointed to what she called “a very unusual daily guidance advisory” for Trump’s Christmas Eve calendar. “Typically, the Daily Guide says’ THE PRESIDENT has no public events scheduled, ‘when none are on the list. Instead, the White House says the following:’ As the holiday season approaches, President Trump will continue working tirelessly for the American people, the program includes many meetings and calls. ‘ Other journalists said they had never seen a “guide” like that before …
