Hey, how was everyone’s Thursday night? Things didn’t go so well for President Joe Biden or the Democratic Party, something you can read about in Every News Article Published This Morning but also here and here. And with Democrats avoiding questions about whether Biden should be replaced on the ticket—or giving answers that kind of suggest he should without saying it— the president made a scheduled appearance (with first lady Jill Biden) in Raleigh, North Carolina, on Friday afternoon.

How’d it go? Well, with the eyes of the nation suddenly upon Raleigh, it was difficult not to notice that the very first speaker at the event—“North Carolina coordinated campaign regional organizing director” Harry Davis Jr.; watch out for that guy!—was a big improvement over Debate Biden in terms of energy level and coherence. So were the subsequent speakers, as well as rappers E-40 and Fat Joe, who gave what were, under the circumstances, very professional performances.

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