Or he legitimately forgot because his mental state is in decline. The simplest explanation is usually correct.
That's a straw man argument. I'm not even disputing that a person's memory is in decline at Joes age.
Sure. Because the obvious explanation that an elderly man is experiencing mental decline right in front of our very eyes can't be correct.
That's a contradiction from what you said here:
"Or he legitimately forgot because his mental state is in decline".
By being facetious you're projecting your own misunderstanding of my position; that you're entertaining a straw man argument.
I can't believe you're trying to pretend like Biden didn't know Walorski was dead. Not even the the White House tried to make that ridiculous argument.
I'm not pretending. It makes perfect sense that Biden thinks she's alive if he's asking where she is. It makes more sense than believing Biden misspoke or that Biden knows perfectly well she's dead, and he's seen here pretending that he's wondering why she's not there.
Knowledge can only be counted as known when it is retained. My articulation does not discount that Biden forgot she had died. Obviously, if I forgot being told my friend died, I'd still think they were alive and didn't know they were dead.
In reality, these "episodes" are quite frequent.
Especially during campaign season.
You are not the President of the United States. Perhaps the standard for the leader of the free world should be different than it is for the every day aging citizen.
If you're suggesting an age limit for the Presidency, that's a reasonable suggestion.
If you have to make up stories pretending Biden didn't know someone was dead to find that grace when he clearly did, I would suggest that you've gone far beyond "finding grace" and moved on to "alternate reality".
Well consider the semantics at play here: I said:
"In my view it's entirely possible
Biden did not misspeak. It looks to me as if he really didn't know that the late Representative, Jackie Walorski had died."
The record shows I'm not making up a story, I'm explaining to you why I think it's possible that Biden did not misspeak.
If you think that, in my statement, I was excluding the possibility he was informed and forgot, then you're mistaken.
The reason I articulated it as "it looked to me as if he really didn't know" is because I was putting myself in his shoes.
To be clear, knowledge can only be counted as known when it is retained, wherefore
my articulation does not discount that Biden was at some point informed and later had forgotten she had died. Obviously, if I forgot being told my friend died,
I'd still think they were alive and
wouldn't know/realize they were dead at that moment I was asking where they were.
So there is no confusion, here is the statement from President Biden dated August 3, 2022 addressing the passing of Congresswoman Jackie Walorski. It begins:
Jill and I are shocked and saddened by the death of Congresswoman Jackie Walorski of Indiana along with two members of her staff in a car accident today in Indiana.
Jill and I are shocked and saddened by the death of Congresswoman Jackie Walorski of Indiana along with two members of her staff in a car accident today in Indiana. Born in her beloved South Bend as the daughter of a meat-cutter and firefighter, she spent a lifetime serving the community that...
www.whitehouse.gov
Where's the proof that a staff member didn't write this statement and Joe signed it? How many cards and condolences and things of that sort does Joe sign every day? Isn't it possible someone else wrote it, Biden signed it and then forgot about it?
Watch the video again. He struggles to come up with the word Hamas, says the word "opposition" instead, and then says, "Yes, I'm sorry" to the person who reminded him that it was Hamas. Again, you are not "finding grace" here. You are ignoring the most obvious explanation.
I did watch it. While the article implies, that he's struggling to think and talk right, I see it as Biden being careful to find the right words. Biden wants to choose his words carefully when talking about expectations of hostages being released. I don't see him stumbling to remember the term Hamas, I think he's saying he's trying not to raise expectations.
“There is some movement, and I don’t want to, I don’t want to ... well, maybe choose my words. There is some movement, there’s been a response from the- there’s been a response from the opposition but..." he continued.
“Hamas?” a reporter then chimed in.
“Yes, I’m sorry — from Hamas,” said Biden. “But it seems to be a little over the top. We’re not sure where it is. There’s a continuing negotiation right now.”
I note that Biden says,
"there's been a response from the- there's been a response from the opposition". I therefore also note that once Biden commits to,
".... a response from the-....", it's going to be more fluid to finish the thought with, ....
"the opposition" rather than
"the hamas". Had Biden said
the hamas, I'd imagine he'd be ridiculed for saying
the hamas.
I then note that, Biden says,
"Yes, I'm sorry" after the reporter asks if he's referring to
"Hamas?". The articulation of the writer of the article asserts that the reporter was giving Biden the right that Biden can't remember, and that subsequently Biden is apologizing for not remembering the word "hamas". But it's also just as plausible that if Biden was looking for the right word and someone gave it to him, he would have said, "Yes. thank you". So instead, Biden could just be apologizing for not being clearer.
Those are two plausible explanations. You may think I'm ignoring the most obvious explanation, but I'm choosing the gracious one over the ungracious one, because the gracious spirit will not be able to harbor any hypocritical judgment in a negative prejudice towards others.
In reality, it's clear to anyone watching that Biden's mental acuity is declining. It is painful to watch press conferences where he looks like he just woke up, or watch him wander aimlessly on the platform until someone directs him where to go.
People often take video snippets for the purpose of painting others in a bad light. God sees it all.
