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Jill Biden’s image takes a hit

Jill Biden’s image takes a hit

For three years, Jill Biden was the perfect First Lady.  She was a loving wife and mother.  She devoted her time to soft issues.  And she stayed in the background on the day-to-day business of the President. 

The only criticism of her was modest.  It was the use of “Dr. Jill” as her name.  Folks routinely referred to as “doctor” are generally of the medical variety – not the academic types.  Jill Biden has a PhD in Education.   Bantering about an academic title is considered a bit egotistical.  But … as I said, it is a modest criticism.

Things have changed.  Not only did her husband’s performance on the debate stage drastically change Joe’s image, but it transformed Jill from the ideal First Lady to a bit of a dragon lady … or a Lady MacBeth.  And as with Joe, a lot of the criticism came from Democrats and the hitherto fawning news media.

Part of the altered image of the First Lady was due to her greater participation in the campaign – often speaking on campaign issues more than her husband. That put her in the middle of the controversial campaign subjects.  She became more of a spokesperson for the President than just a spouse.

In the eyes of critics – mainly those wanting Joe to withdraw – Jill is considered to have the greatest influence on her husband.  She is seen – rightly or wrongly – as the principal person behind the decision to remain in the race.  Critics accused her of putting her powerful exalted position ahead of the good of the nation … the good of the Democrat Party … and even the good of her husband.

Retrospectively, Jill was in the group that is being criticized for covering up Joe’s condition for the past year or more.  Their assurances of Joe’s well-being – even a super senior — were lies that the debate and subsequent reporting exposed.

Jill’s appearance next to Joe was a double-edged sword.  While she was assuming a more public role in the campaign – and assuring voters that her husband was in tip-top shape — she appeared to be serving more as a caretaker, physically ushering him off stage after a speech, holding on to him as he descended stairs and helping him as he struggled to put on his coat.  Her actions belied her claims of Joe’s vitality and acuity.

Others criticize Jill for not encouraging her husband to retire.  What kind of wife, they ask, would allow an obviously ailing husband to bear the burdens of the office?  Is she putting her desire to be First Lady ahead of the well-being of her husband?

In an appearance following the debate, Jill warmed up the crowd and then spoke to her husband like a child.  She looked directly at him and said, “You did very good.  You answered all the questions.”

Jill is also getting some backlash for her obvious desire to have Vice President Harris take over the job if Joe has to withdraw.  Elements of the Democrat leadership – and other possible successors — are not pleased to see Jill’s well-manicured thumb on the scale of succession.

With Joe showing serious mental decline, questions have been raised as to who is minding the store.  It would be a mistake to exclude the First Lady from the obvious suspects.  She has gone beyond being seen as a loving supporter of the President to a political operative who is driving the train when it comes to old Joe.

The recasting of the First Lady’s public image was seen in the reaction to her appearance on the cover of Vogue magazine. In normal times, the press would be reporting very favorable puff pieces.  Not this time.  Jill’s appearance in thousand-dollar garments in a magazine that caters to the wealthy social elite was considered a “bad look.”  It certainly was not in keeping with the “lunch bucket Joe” from Scranton image.

Jill Biden is getting slammed from all sides.  Certainly, some of the criticism is petty – but a lot is earned.  She has wandered out of the warm First Lady bubble and into the cold reality of contemporary politics – and there is no way back in.  To move on to Hamlet, “The lady doth protest too much, methinks,”

So, there ‘tis.

About The Author

Larry Horist

So, there ‘tis… The opinions, perspectives and analyses of businessman, conservative writer and political strategist Larry Horist. Larry has an extensive background in economics and public policy. For more than 40 years, he ran his own Chicago based consulting firm. His clients included such conservative icons as Steve Forbes and Milton Friedman. He has served as a consultant to the Nixon White House and travelled the country as a spokesman for President Reagan’s economic reforms. Larry professional emphasis has been on civil rights and education. He was consultant to both the Chicago and the Detroit boards of education, the Educational Choice Foundation, the Chicago Teachers Academy and the Chicago Academy for the Performing Arts. Larry has testified as an expert witness before numerous legislative bodies, including the U. S. Congress, and has lectured at colleges and universities, including Harvard, Northwestern and DePaul. He served as Executive Director of the City Club of Chicago, where he led a successful two-year campaign to save the historic Chicago Theatre from the wrecking ball. Larry has been a guest on hundreds of public affairs talk shows, and hosted his own program, “Chicago In Sight,” on WIND radio. An award-winning debater, his insightful and sometimes controversial commentaries have appeared on the editorial pages of newspapers across the nation. He is praised by audiences for his style, substance and sense of humor. Larry retired from his consulting business to devote his time to writing. His books include a humorous look at collecting, “The Acrapulators’ Guide”, and a more serious history of the Democratic Party’s role in de facto institutional racism, “Who Put Blacks in That PLACE? -- The Long Sad History of the Democratic Party’s Oppression of Black Americans ... to This Day”. Larry currently lives in Boca Raton, Florida.

22 Comments

  1. Frank stetson

    That’s your opinion and a lot of conjecture as to what’s in the mind of Dr.Jill. FYI: for fun, I looked up Dr Neil degrasse Tyson and he swings both ways on the Dr. Just saying.

    Can’t bust opinion and there are scant facts to look at. Can’t wait for the spin score.

    • Jim wampler

      Jill is another commie cunt

      • Frank stetson

        Jim “commie cunt” Wampler is a perfect example why Joe should rise up and create some rules of decorum that don’t affect free speech. Unless Joe feels calling his women cunts is what the founders intended.

        Otherwise, PBP is a cunt of a website allowing cunt and other cunt nicetiesto define his cunty version of free speech known as cunt speak.

  2. jOE S. Bruder

    Funny, the reviews I saw of the press conference said basically that President Biden gave a masters class in policy. I can’t remember felon Trump ever doing that (not because I’m old, because Trump never knew any details about even his own positions, much less about
    You couldn’t criticize President Biden for anything, so you’re picking on Dr. Jill (who is a teacher and probably is called that by her students) for encouraging her husband and hiding his “condition”. What condition would that be, Dr. Horist? The White House has already release complete records showing perfect cognitive health and as good physical health as an 81 year old can have.

    Meanwhile, you stick to the overweight heart-attack-waiting-to-happen, who thinks he publicly “aced” his supposed cognitive test like it was something he could study for, and who not only confuses names and places, but spouts insane shit about sharks and “we had H2O”, and boats with batteries, not to mention drinking bleach and sticking sunlight up his ass to cure COVID. And don’t you have anything to say about Melania?She who has publicly slapped Trump’s hand away, ridden in separate limo’s from him, and apparently doesn’t want to be caught dead in the same state with felon/rapist/multiple-fraud/serial liar/adulterer/traitor/and-now-we-can-add-pedophile Trump.

    • larry Horist

      Joseph S. Bruder … You are among the gullible. With so many of Biden’s team having seen instances of his mental acuity problem — before and after the debate — you are pretty much standing alone with you opinion that Biden is not suffering cognitive issues. The only ones saying otherwise are those with political vested interests or blind partisanship. At least you are not running out of kool aid in you hermit environment.

  3. Frank stetson

    JSB: IMO, A piece was off base and purely biased opinion driven with little factor support. However, Joe has shown great hubris by running again instead of anointing his successor and making sure they won.

    He’s in a pickle now, and every single gaff will be a sign of dementia. And we know he will gaff.

    Yes, it was a masters level degree in international governing. And I’m not sure anyone else could’ve delivered it that intelligently. His answer on China spoke volumes. I agree, wholeheartedly with your peace, but still feel we are really in a pickle, and it’s a pickle that could’ve been avoided.

    I would add to your peace, imagine if you will, Trump answers to those questions. With that in mind, your retrospective becomes hilarious as you imagine the comparison to the two men answering those questions.

    Now, the real question is what will PBP respond with the tell us how bad the press conference really was. No doubt it will be the graft about vice president Trump. I was surprised that we didn’t hear from the crowd…

    • Americafirst

      FS, you are surprised you didn’t hear from the crowd? Why would they? You monopolize every single article and post unless someone is on your side. You are responsible for others not responding. You make them afraid to respond. Are you proud of that? There is so much more in this world to take care of than listening to the likes of you! Go ahead, I am waiting in bated breath for your next nasty, foul-mouthed response! Show who you really are.

      • Frank atetson

        AF; sorry. IPhone dictation, my old eyes proofing, and complete lack of caring introduced so many typos in that one. The crowd was meant to mean the crowd of journalists.

        So you were saying?

      • Joseph S. Bruder

        What a bunch of snowflakes!

    • Joseph S. Bruder

      Here’s a “piece” of my “peace” – Joe Biden is our candidate, he will beat Trump, and even if Kamala Harris takes over at some point the country will be in great shape. Biden is sharp as a tack, and has always had problems with stuttering and his mouth keeping up with his mind.

      Trump on the other hand, doesn’t think, just spews out lies and outrageous crap as entertainment, but has no idea what he’s talking about (re: sharks, wet batteries, “we had H20”, injecting bleach to kill COVID, sticking a sun lamp up his ass, “COVID is not a problem and will die out in a couple of weeks”, “good people on both sides”, he “aced his cognitive test”, just to name a few). The media is finally starting to recognize that Felon Trump is crazy and cognitively impaired and getting worse every day, and that Felon Trump’s future policies (as laid out in the Project 2025 document) are dangerous and destructive.

  4. Jeannette ward

    I hate to enlighten all of those people who are giving Dr Biden a hard time about using the title Dr. But the original use of that title was for PHD’s I.in higher education. It was only later in American society that Dr was used to denote a person in the medical field who treated patients for various medical conditions. Many Physican’s who are the leading experts in their field have both an MD or DO agree and a PHD in their speciality.

    • larry Horist

      Jeannette ward — Any one with a doctorate can be called “doctor.” By custom we routinely refer to those with medical doctorates as doctor in every day conversations. In the hallowed ivy covered walls of colleges and universities, processors with doctorates are often referred to with that title. Folks with other doctorates — such as Jill Biden — do not use that title. Many elementary and high school teaches — such as Jill Biden — have doctorates, but rarely use them. Many folks have doctorates in political science or public communication or language, but do not call themselves doctors as common usage. It is not improper, but considered a bit pompous in our culture..

  5. Darren

    Frank, quite Frankly, you never stop me from posting my opinion ( if time allows me ).
    Its just that some like to argue for the sakes of argument.
    I do not have time for that as work has become harder to make a living with this
    current Ass Hole in office.
    Some will Yell at the Sun for shinning to brightly.
    You remind me of that individual!
    You fight FACTS with made up facts.
    But who knows, maybe all the Dems on this site had Uncles eaten by Cannibals’!

  6. frank stetson

    AF, D, and JSB — never trust dictation and tired old proofer’s eyes.

    AF — the crowd was meant to reference the reporters: still got issues beyond your perceptions of my character flaws? And yet, not a peep to the cuntmaster general, guess that’s skippy for you………

    Darren — you show me the made up facts, better yet, prove they are made up like a man. No, I argue fairly specifically on the issues. I am sorry you have to work so hard, Perhaps what conservatives tell the minimum wage earing adults about getting a better job, education, and initiative. Myself, I just surpassed my all time record established early on with Biden, somewhat based on Trump, but with Trump being such an inconsistent bull in a China closet, I dumped most investments for fixed assets instead. Took awhile to catch up to the Trumpian losses, then inflation slow downs, and now ——– thanks to inflation I am roaring again. Still finishing the Q but with 400+ increase today, as I finish on the weekend, it will be glorious. May have to fork over some more to Joe as a thank you. Best luck as I gather the job market is tightening a bit.

    JSB — good points, but the cat is out of the bag, this train she keeps on rolling, and every stutter, every gaff is seen as mental decline. Still better than Trump’s mental deficiencies and lack of a human soul, much less compassion. I wish Dems could pull on the oars at the same time, that we would not air dirty laundry on cable news, and wonder if these schmucks have been round long enough to realize Joe has, and if he wins, sorry folks —- he still remembers. Though don’t expect either Jeffries or Schumer to help police the mob.

    Good chat readers who Horist says do not exist and God bless all commentators Horist feels are —– well, you know the names, you can look at the passages. Unless you stroke him that is.

    • Americafirst

      Franky, baby, do you know what ID #267327344 is? Go to Arlington National Cemetary, you don’t really live all that far from there. Look for the grave of the above ID number. When you see the name of Joseph Robinette Biden Jr on that grave, please do have your fake heart attack! Now there’s real proof, proof that is real unlike the proof you demand and won’t check out for yourself, lazy crab!

      • Frank stetson

        AF
        Way to stay on point. Where did this come up.

        This is debunked many tims.

        Joe did mot serve

        Joe’s family, including Beau, interred in Delaware.

        Can not search Arlington on id numbers.

        Search by name shows nothing.

        I’m 4.5 hours away, by car.

        BUSTED

        • Americafirst

          FS, here you go again. You just cannot stand it that someone else has the intelligence to show proof. You won’t even go to the cemetery and see for yourself. Because that is what you are – a lazy, good for nothing low IQ, controlling tyrant. What is wrong with you? Why do you act as you do to absolutely hurt EVERYONE’s feelings? Does it make you feel good? Does it make you proud? Would your parents be proud of your asinine attitude? Just be prepared for the shock of your life coming very shortly. Good luck. You are going to need it. No, I am NOT coming after you. You are too dangerous.

          • Frank stetson

            You want me to take a 4.5 hour drive for you? For what?

            Give us the location, row, section, etc.

            You can’t search on on an id number

            You can search by name, Biden does not show up.

            The gravestones are all photographed and are online.

            So, send a picture. Or show us the search. .

    • AC

      Larry, this past week I happened on an article about you written in 1998. The author was at that time Chicago local and a columnist writing for a local paper. The article gave a biographical sketch of your history beginning, as biographies are right to do, with your birth day in 1943. Assuming the facts check out and with math being accurate. You are aged 81. Pres. Biden is aged 81. Do you at depend on your spouse. Jill, for support and encouragement.
      Those of us who follow you and possibly research your background going back to your start may track your own progress and present day mental capacity. Then, compare your to what is known about Biden’s.
      You are fortunate in that continuing as you have been on PBP for four more years can be done in a lessened state of capacity.
      While, Joe Biden is an able president with great capacity to carry on the duties of that high office.
      Your judgements opined about the First Lady speak about you and your perceptions and the depths you are willing to go in print read in public. To smear the First Lady with opinion commentary of no weight or significance in the greater scheme in politics. A string of wrongs added together never have or will sum to what is right. Ironically, that’s exactly the politically right’s issue. Wrong perceptions based on conspiracy theory untruths are the bane of true progress and those want things to be done well.
      No shame in the number 81 in years accumulated, but criticism of another Aged 81 the same when you cannot hold a candle in comparison is sick and pathetic on your part.
      Most who state their opinion and all said is unsupported and with out proof in facts, they are allowed some grace by witnesses hearing or reading about their opinion. Larry, your opinions on which your commentaries originate come with your assumption that these are the same as gospel preaching truth. And, there in is the rub in others opinion and mind. We, too, have a right to our differing opinion. How differing opinion commenters are treated by you, Larry, creates others opinion toward you and your trustworthiness. Meaning, whether, or not, you are found creditable and your commentary believed true.

      At least on PBP your bully pulpit is secure, as long as you can keep it.

  7. Americafirst

    I don’t live anywhere near there. I’m about 2000 miles away. I did NOT say to go there just for me. I meant it for you to go and prove it for your own demented warped mind. Then you can show all the rest of us you CAN prove things instead of being controlling and tell others to do what you refuse to do because you are a lazy, nasty, disgusting piece of work. THAT IS SO VERY TRUE! You are making people hate you and hate is something no one should feel. You do NOT own any of us. Get that through your brain-damaged head! You get the photos. You get the location of the grave. Do something right for a change. You go on the maps and locate it. I refuse to do anything for an idiot. You do show yourself as an idiot because you are a do-nothing piece of work. Must be you don’t have the intelligence to do the right thing because it is the right thing to do. Little baby!

    • Frank stetson

      Your request does not have anything to do with this thread or our subsequent discussion. It is your request, out of the blue, for me to do some research for you that can’t be done with the data provided.

      You’re not the boss of me and I will not so your research for you on a topic not even dealing with this discussion or any discussion on PBP. Calling me names will not further your cause c

      This one is donecc

      • Americafirst

        You are one disgusting bastard. You have nothing to do with life, either. You are nothing. NOTHING. I’d call you an asshole but an asshole serves a purpose. You don’t. You are worse than Satan!