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Culture War Roundup for the week of July 1, 2024

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I think a lot of people overestimate how much power the US president has to dictate what happens everywhere else in the world. Trump himself did it during the debate - no, he can't just end the war in Ukraine with a phone call. But yes, a non compos mentis president (which I am not sure Biden is, but clearly he's heading there) is cause for concern. I'm more worried about China and Taiwan than Gaza or Ukraine.

I think removing him under the 25th might happen if he really does become unable to perform his duties to the point that they can't even keep him on task long enough to sign papers. Obviously if (big if) he wins reelection, they just have Harris step in at that point. No more worries about how "electable" she is. I think the Democrats will use every means available to avoid invocation of the 25th before the election. Even if he escaped his handlers and wandered naked into a press conference, they could still probably pass it off as "an episode" and keep him from being formally removed from office.

Keep in mind there's precedent for the president effectively not really being the one running things. It's obviously not how things are supposed to work, Constitutionally, but assuming he doesn't have to, say, manage a war, they can drag it out for a while.