Letters to the Editor: Not even George Clooney can get consensus on Biden

George Clooney with his hands in his pockets.

July 15, 2024 3 AM PT

To the editor: George Clooney and Michael Douglas, among others, recently stated what so many Democrats are thinking. We need a new nominee.

President Biden has been a breath of fresh air after Trump, and many love him as a principled person, but it’s time for someone younger and more vibrant to lead the country. Most importantly, we need someone who can beat Trump, as that is the bottom line.

President Biden would still be effective, but perceptions eclipse reality in presidential races, and his fragility is too much to overcome, especially among young, minority and undecided voters.

I support flipping the ticket with Kamala Harris running as president and Biden as vice president/special advisor.

It’s unconventional but that’s the time we live in! What’s more unconventional than having a convicted felon candidate on the other side? The Democratic ticket would get the benefit of Biden’s wisdom and experience, but he wouldn’t have to take center stage where his limitations are exposed.

As the same presidential team they are able to tap into the money already raised for the Biden-Harris campaign, and certainly Kamala Harris knows what the job demands, as she has been part of the presidency for three and a half years.

But it needs to happen quickly so the rest of the country can get to know her and see how capable she is.

Biden is a hero to many of us, for what he has personally faced and how deftly he righted the ship after COVID and Trump. Now he needs to do the most heroic thing of all: Park his ego and morph into the most valuable, sagest advisor that a president could ever have.

Christine Tempesta, Carlsbad

To the editor: On Wednesday evening we watched “The Last Word With Lawrence O’Donnell” on MSNBC. Before President Biden attended the NATO conference, he stopped by and spoke to the staff at the headquarters of the AFL-CIO thanking them for their support. O’Donnell showed the complete seven-minute talk that the president gave to the office staff. The seven minute talk that none of the other news outlets covered. The president spoke without notes, aids or teleprompter. He was engaging, complete, concise and comprehensive. I recommend that every Democrat that is thinking that Biden should drop out of the race watch this seven-minute talk. From what I observed, I concluded that there is nothing wrong with Joe Biden either physically or mentally. Shame on George Clooney.

Joseph Petrotta, Altadena

To the editor: Like Mary McNamara, I also believe that the New York Times seriously stumbled when they published George Clooney’s letter. Clooney’s opinion on Biden has no weight with me or 99% of the country.

He lacks the political credibility to be presented as a pundit on this pivotal political story.

The New York Times simply jettisoned their normal journalistic rigor and standards in a desperate attempt to appeal to a larger audience.

The Los Angeles Times, however, has reported on what the Hollywood elite are thinking during this presidential campaign. But this only fosters the notion that the readership actually cares about what the entertainment elite think on a range of political issues.

It’s time for the New York Times and the L.A. Times to draw a better line in the sand between news and entertainment — particularly when it comes to a presidential election.

Steven Lutzer, Los Angeles

To the editor: Did you see Biden’s very sharp NATO speech and the standing ovation that followed? Did that seem like the work of someone who has lost their mind? Did you notice the economic numbers? 15-plus million jobs created? The best economic recovery in the world from COVID? The IRA, the infrastructure bill, the CHIPS Act?

Don’t the actual results of Biden’s governing determine whether he’s good at the job, far more so than one awkward debate? The media frenzy and breathless speculation around the debate seems overwrought in the extreme and very damaging.

George Clooney spent part of one evening with Biden — how does that make him an authority on the president’s fitness? Yeah the guy is old — but the other guy is old and insane.

Professor Allan Lichtman, who has been right about almost every election of the last 40 years, says the Democratic Party is needlessly destroying their enormously successful president when he has been on track to a second term. He says polls and debates are not what determine electoral outcomes — things like party unity, economic conditions, not having a contested race, etc. do.

I agree with Lichtman. Trump’s party will rally around a felon, fraudster and traitor out of lust for power but spineless Democrats (and the media) bail on an enormously successful presidency after one bad debate. What is the issue here? Do we think the president is going to start lying and making crazy decisions because he’s slowing down?

We know who lies and makes crazy decisions — the other guy. He does it every day.

James Combs, Los Angeles