With his presidency ending in a few weeks, Joe Biden’s legacy is only getting messier. For many Democrats, he’s the man to blame for returning Donald Trump to the White House. If only Biden hadn’t selfishly run for reelection, the story goes, Kamala Harris would have had time to mount a better campaign—or maybe the party could have had a proper primary contest to find somebody, anybody stronger than Biden or Harris. The trouble with that theory is that Democrats haven’t won a presidential election without Biden on the ticket since 1996. Perhaps Barack Obama didn’t really need Biden as his running mate in 2008 and 2012; yet he needed someone for the No. 2 slot, and he evidently thought Biden the best thing available. Democrats at the time should have pondered what that said about their talent pool. If they’d done so, they might have avoided the mistake that really set them up to lose this year—a mistake named Kamala Harris. Elite Democrats knew perfectly well Biden was already showing his age, then 77, when he won the 2020 nomination, but at the height of COVID-19 lockdowns, his lack of cogency and energy wouldn’t be noticed on the campaign trail—because there wouldn’t be a campaign trail. If Biden was the best the party could field at the ticket’s top, though, what was left below him? By making Biden his veep, Obama had missed the chance to elevate a leader from his own generation. And Hillary Clinton, hell-bent on having the White House for herself, sucked all the air out of the 2016 primaries, leaving only enough oxygen for Bernie Sanders to challenge her from the Left—which the then-75-year-old Vermont democratic socialist did surprisingly well. Senior Democrats in effect prevented the next generation of leadership from being born—perhaps a fitting thing for a party so fiercely dedicated to abortion. What they had in lieu of fresh presidential material was identity politics. So, fully aware Biden wasn’t fit to be a two-term president, Democrats accepted Harris as his running mate. Her qualification as Biden’s heir apparent wasn’t that she was popular with voters: On the contrary, she never made it to the first primary in her bid for the 2020 nomination, so pathetic were her polls. Nor did Harris represent, like Sanders, an ideological force within the party; her opportunism was already transparent long before she turned repudiating her own words and past policies into the hallmark of her ’24 campaign. What argued for making her Biden’s running mate was simply her race and sex. After all, the central message of Clinton’s campaign four years earlier had been that a woman deserved to be president. How could a party that ran on that not put any woman on its ticket next time? Yet it was also the year of George Floyd, and the party of Black Lives Matter couldn’t afford not to take color into consideration as well. Harris wasn’t popular, she wasn’t principled, but she was ambitious—and she ticked the right boxes. Yet when a party selects candidates this way, it can’t be surprised that it loses, especially after Clinton had already proved identity politics wouldn’t beat Trump. Elite Democrats may blame Biden now, but the truth is they knew all about his condition and still preferred to have him run again rather than risk the party’s fortunes on Harris. There was no one else: The choice was Biden or Harris, and until his debate meltdown—and for some time afterward, in fact—Democratic insiders saw Biden as obviously the stronger candidate. The party sealed its fate in 2020 when it elevated Harris for reasons having nothing to do with electability. Yet Democrats put their philosophy to the test: If race and gender preferences are needed in higher education and corporate America to right the wrongs of racism and sexism, isn’t it all the more important those wrongs be righted with preferences at the highest level, that of presidential politics? But trying to do that landed Democrats with a substitute for Biden who couldn’t win, even with the media branding her opponent an outright fascist. Harris’ campaign has revealed its internal polling never showed her ahead. Biden, Harris, Clinton, and Obama led Democrats to a dead end. To escape, the party will have to rethink its identity politics—but given Trump’s gains with black men and Latinos, Democrats may fear any retreat from affirmative action will unravel their already fraying coalition. By rejecting Harris and electing Trump, however, the nation’s voters—of both sexes and all colors—sent Democrats a clear message. The question is whether they’re willing to hear it. COPYRIGHT 2024 CREATORS.COM We publish a variety of perspectives. Nothing written here is to be construed as representing the views of The Daily Signal. The post Identity Politics, Not Biden, Cost Democrats the Election appeared first on The Daily Signal.

Trump to Trudeau: If You Don't Like Tariffs, Canada Can Become 51st State...

Love him or loathe him – and there are plenty of reasons for both – Genghis Khan was undeniably one of the most impressive figures in world history, yet he’s somehow most famous today for his sex life.

"They were on the tree branches and then they just started running."

The men of late night comedy struggled on their Monday shows to reconcile their support for President Joe Biden and his decision to pardon his son, Hunter. Some hosts decided to make the story about Republicans, while others made more “Biden is old” quips, while others welcomed the news, but hoped Democrats would apply the logic behind it to ordinary people too. CBS’s Stephen Colbert declared on The Late Show, “I don't know if that was the right thing to do, but you certainly earned that ‘World's Greatest Dad’ mug.” Colbert also theorized that “this pardon proves that with less than two months to go, Joe is officially out of malarkeys. And by 'malarkys,' I mean “[bleep].” I say he should go full bucket list. Just pardon everybody. Just load up those pardons to a nerf machine gun and go pop, pop, pop. Just hit 'em all. Pardon all the Jan 6 people before Trump can do it. That would really burn him up.”      Alluding to the idea Trump may target him, Colbert suggested, “You know what would really be funny, this would be really funny, if Joe pardoned, like, every late night host! And, just because I think it would be a funny bit, I would accept the pardon.” As for the pardon itself, Colbert came close to crossing the line of criticizing Biden, but ultimately stopped just short, "The language is so broad that experts say we haven't seen a pardon as sweeping as Hunter Biden's in generations. So, it's less of a blanket pardon and more of a tarp. Now, one reason some people are upset is that Biden reversed his long-standing pledge not to use his presidential powers to protect his son and I get why they'd be angry. Does Biden's word mean nothing? Can we trust anything he says? When he goes, ‘I'm serious, folks, I'm not kiddin' around. No joke.’ Was he, in fact, kiddin' around, yes joke?" Colbert left it there, but over at ABC, Jimmy Kimmel declared, “In other words, the Biden presidency has now entered the ‘Grandpa doesn't give a damn about what you think’ phase. Biden said he arrived at the decision to pardon Hunter over the weekend. The Bidens went to church in Nantucket on Saturday. At one point during the mass, Hunter turned to his father, he said, 'Dad, did you hear what the priest said about forgiveness?'"  Turning to conservative reaction to the news, Kimmel introduced a montage of various conservative media personalities and GOP politicians, “And of course, the right-wing media is going so nuts over this, you'd almost think they got a tape of Biden calling Georgia asking for 11,000 votes.”     Kimmel also struggled to reconcile his apparent belief Hunter should not have been pardoned with his party loyalties, “Everyone who voted to let a 34-time convicted felon off the hook is very mad about Joe Biden letting his son off the hook. And, by the way, I don't necessarily disagree. The guy committed crimes, but let's take a stroll through reality here. Not only did Trump pardon his son-in-law Jared's dad, who went to prison for hiring a hooker to frame his own brother-in-law, this weekend he named that same man U.S. ambassador to France. And yes, Joe Biden did say he wasn't going to pardon Hunter. But to be fair, there's a very good chance he doesn't remember saying that. Of course, Trump moved on this news like a bitch.” Over at The Daily Show on Comedy Central, Monday host Jon Stewart acknowledged the hypocrisy, but sought to downplay it, “But you know what, ladies and gentlemen, hypocrisy isn't illegal, nor is it particularly unusual in politics. It's not like he's ever going to run again. So why not take care of your kid, even if you said you weren't gonna? I respect it. I don't have a problem with it. The problem is, the rest of the Democrats made Biden's pledge to not pardon Hunter the foundation of their defense of America, this grand experiment.     Part of the problem with people like Stewart and Kimmel is they think history began with Donald Trump, “Look, man, the Democrats made this case an example of why Americans should believe in our system. And it is hard. Democrats have the tougher road of defending our institutions and systems as being flawed but still valuable. Republicans just run on blowing this shit up. But at every turn, Democrats keep getting caught creating a purity test they can't seem to pass themselves.” Stewart concluded by urging Democrats to expand on the reasoning behind the Hunter pardon, “The distance between the systems Democrats say they are revering, and the one that they're using when they need to is why people think it's rigged. Use the rules, use the loopholes, [bleep] the norms, but also use it to help the people! Not just those people related to you! All of us are somebody's son or somebody's daughter! And we all need that break too.”     Finally, over at NBC and The Tonight Show, Jimmy Fallon quipped, “Yeah, Biden went back on his long-standing pledge to not use his presidential powers to protect his son. In Biden's defense, there's a 99 percent chance that he forgot he said that.” Fallon’s NBC colleague, Late Night's Seth Meyers, has the week off.  Here are transcripts for the December 2 shows: CBS The Late Show with Stephen Colbert 12/2/2024 11:37 PM ET STEPHEN COLBERT: With Thanksgiving behind us, we are now strapped to a runaway sleigh, careening toward Christmas Junction, and one family opened their gifts a little early this year, because yesterday, Joe Biden gave a full pardon to his son Hunter. You go, Joe. You go! I don't know if that was the right thing to do, but you certainly earned that "World's Greatest Dad" mug. Now, Biden announced it last night, right, he announced it last night, but technically, he snuck Hunter's pardon in last week while he was doing the turkeys.  I think this pardon proves that with less than two months to go, Joe is officially out of malarkeys. And by 'malarkys,' I mean “[bleep].” I say he should go full bucket list. Just pardon everybody. Just load up those pardons to a nerf machine gun and go pop, pop, pop. Just hit 'em all. Pardon all the Jan 6 people before Trump can do it. That would really burn him up.  Or, you know what would really be funny, this would be really funny, if Joe pardoned, like, every late night host! And, just because I think it would be a funny bit, I would accept the pardon.  Now, this pardon doesn't just cover the charges Hunter is currently facing but also "Offenses against the United States which he has committed or may have committed or taken part in during the period from January 1, 2014 through December 1, 2024."  Coincidentally, that's also the window of time for the Comcast guy to arrive. The language is so broad that experts say we haven't seen a pardon as sweeping as Hunter Biden's in generations. So, it's less of a blanket pardon and more of a tarp.  Now, one reason some people are upset is that Biden reversed his long-standing pledge not to use his presidential powers to protect his son and I get why they'd be angry. Does Biden's word mean nothing? Can we trust anything he says? When he goes, "I'm serious, folks, I'm not kiddin' around. No joke." Was he, in fact, kiddin' around, yes joke?" *** ABC Jimmy Kimmel Live! 12/2/2024 11:41 PM ET JIMMY KIMMEL: Now, I am not a presidential historian, but I believe this is the first time a U.S. president has pardoned both his son and a turkey in the same week. Biden released a statement saying that the charges in Hunter's case were politically motivated and that his son was "selectively and unfairly prosecuted." In other words, the Biden presidency has now entered the "Grandpa doesn't give a damn about what you think" phase. Biden said he arrived at the decision to pardon Hunter over the weekend. The Bidens went to church in Nantucket on Saturday. At one point during the mass, Hunter turned to his father, he said, "Dad, did you hear what the priest said about forgiveness?"  And it was done. I wonder if Joe now has to get Hunter anything for Christmas? This is good enough, right? And of course, the right-wing media is going so nuts over this, you'd almost think they got a tape of Biden calling Georgia asking for 11,000 votes. JEANINE PIRRO: Joe Biden has lied to us from the get-go. AINSLEY EARHARDT: You lied to us. KAT CAMMACK: He has now graduated to the liar-in-chief. CHARLES PAYNE: It's a true travesty against everybody in this country. THOMAS DUPREE: This is just total disrespect for the rule of law. KISA MCCLAIN: Hypocrisy at its best and a threat to democracy. KAYLEIGH MCENANY: Melania Trump has her closet raided by Merrick Garland's DOJ and then Biden's White House pardons his son. People see the disparity. CHARLES MARINO: This whole thing stinks. CHRIS ALONZO: I woke up today, I am absolutely furious with this. MARK ALFORD: He and his family are so full of slime that Nickelodeon is going to sue for trademark infringement. KIMMEL: Good one. I bet you haven't used that joke 55,000 times. This is-- they have to be kidding, right? Everyone who voted to let a 34-time convicted felon off the hook is very mad about Joe Biden letting his son off the hook. And, by the way, I don't necessarily disagree. The guy committed crimes, but let's take a stroll through reality here. Not only did Trump pardon his son-in-law Jared's dad, who went to prison for hiring a hooker to frame his own brother-in-law, this weekend he named that same man U.S. ambassador to France.  And yes, Joe Biden did say he wasn't going to pardon Hunter. But to be fair, there's a very good chance he doesn't remember saying that.  Of course, Trump moved on this news like a bitch. He wrote, "Does the pardon given by Joe to Hunter include the J-6 hostages, who have now been imprisoned for years?" No, it doesn't. But it'd be pretty funny if it did, right? "I hereby pardon my son, Hunter, and what the hell, the Q-Anon Shaman too!" *** Comedy Central The Daily Show 12/2/2024 11:08 PM ET JON STEWART: But you know what, ladies and gentlemen, hypocrisy isn't illegal, nor is it particularly unusual in politics. It's not like he's ever going to run again. So why not take care of your kid, even if you said you weren't gonna? I respect it. I don't have a problem with it. The problem is, the rest of the Democrats made Biden's pledge to not pardon Hunter the foundation of their defense of America, this grand experiment. … Look, man, the Democrats made this case an example of why Americans should believe in our system. And it is hard. Democrats have the tougher road of defending our institutions and systems as being flawed but still valuable. Republicans just run on blowing this shit up. But at every turn, Democrats keep getting caught creating a purity test they can't seem to pass themselves. … Rules, loopholes, and norms! The distance between the systems Democrats say they are revering, and the one that they're using when they need to is why people think it's rigged. Use the rules, use the loopholes, [bleep] the norms, but also use it to help the people! Not just those people related to you! All of us are somebody's son or somebody's daughter! And we all need that break too. *** NBC The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon 12/2/2024 11:37 PM ET JIMMY FALLON: Yeah, it was a big shopping weekend and millions of people got great deals, but nobody got a better deal than Hunter Biden. That's right. Last night, president Biden announced that he's pardoning his son, Hunter. Democrats are divided. Some of them are upset, while others are Hunter Biden.Yeah, both Republicans and Democrats are upset. It's kind of nice. It's like for his last act as president, Biden united the country. Isn't that nice? Yeah, Biden went back on his long-standing pledge to not use his presidential powers to protect his son. In Biden's defense, there's a 99 percent chance that he forgot he said that.

Last year, images began leaking out of a rumored Nvidia GeForce RTX 4090 Ti prototype that sported a colossal four-slot-wide cooler. At first, the images just showed the cooler but now, all this time later, fresh images of the mystery card have appeared online and it has now been shown actually working. The original four-slot RTX 4090 leak suggested it could have been either a prototype for the eventual RTX 4090 or for an even more powerful variant that might have come to market as the RTX 4090 Ti. That would've made it the best graphics card around, but for whatever reason, Nvidia decided not to release this variant of the card. Today's benchmark leak, though, suggests that whatever the original plans for this strange card, the prototype here was more likely a variant of the RTX 4090, but a wild and wonderful one we'd have love to see come to market. Continue reading That huge rumored Nvidia GeForce RTX 4090 Ti graphics card just got tested MORE FROM PCGAMESN: GeForce RTX 4070 Super review, DLSS explained, Best graphics cards

It's been far too long since the last, proper new Commandos game. The WW2 tactics experience has long been a stalwart of the strategy genre, and Commandos Origins is finally about to carve out a new place for the series. With titans like XCOM and Command and Conquer largely quiet these days, now's the perfect time for Commandos to come back. The bad news is a fresh delay means we'll have to wait a little longer, but the good news is that Commandos Origins will be even better because of it. Oh, and you can still take the demo for a spin. Continue reading Classic RTS revival Commandos Origins is delayed, but you can still try it now MORE FROM PCGAMESN: Best RTS games, Best strategy games, Best grand strategy games

If you’ve ever wanted a limited edition PC case built from curved glass, looking a lot like a shoe, and costing thousands of dollars, then outlandish case specialist, InWin, has just the product for you. The InWin Infinite is a unique new case from the company that along with looking quite extraordinary, has a quite unbelieveable price too. At $7,100, it's one of the most expensive PC cases we've ever seen. If money guaranteed quality, then this would immediately be one of the best PC cases that you could buy. It wouldn’t be the first unusual case we’ve seen from InWin, either. A few years ago it release an Alice-in-Wonderland-themed, fabric-covered PC case, and a few years before that it created a fully mirrored glass covered case too. That said, this Infinite case, which is the 11th “signature” case from InWin, might be the strangest one of the lot. Continue reading This outlandish new gaming PC case costs more than four Nvidia GeForce RTX 4090s MORE FROM PCGAMESN: Best graphics card, Best gaming PC, Best SSD for gaming

When can I preload Path of Exile 2? If you’re anything like us, you’ve spent the last decade calling Wraeclast your second home. We may be sad to leave the past behind, and of course Path of Exile continues to run alongside PoE 2, but we can’t wait to get started on a new PoE adventure. As the early access PoE 2 release date approaches, we wouldn’t be surprised if you’re eager to get into the game as soon as possible. It’s a vast and challenging ARPG after all, and you need every moment you can as you get to grips with the Path of Exile 2 classes and its huge new skill tree. Luckily, we now know you can pre-download Path of Exile 2 so it’s ready to go at launch. Continue reading Path of Exile 2 preload times explained MORE FROM PCGAMESN: Path of Exile 2 Witch class guide, Path of Exile 2 preview, Path of Exile 2 release date

What are Path of Exile 2 support gems? A lot of your power in PoE 2 will come from the passive tree and your chosen skills; these are your bread and butter and will enable you to take on many of the challenges in the game. You can take your build further by utilizing another helpful system mechanic: support gems. Here's what they are, and a list of every one we’ve found so far. With the Path of Exile 2 release date around the corner, players are already theory-crafting how they’re going to become all-powerful in the RPG game. We have Path of Exile 2 class builds for the different PoE 2 classes, including the Sorceress, the Monk, and even the Warrior, which goes into skills and Ascendancies. However, there's another aspect you’ll need to pay attention to if you want to be the best you can be, and that is PoE 2 support gems. Continue reading Path of Exile 2 support gems explained MORE FROM PCGAMESN: Path of Exile 2 Witch class guide, Path of Exile 2 preview, Path of Exile 2 release date