Can anyone cite examples from Joe Biden’s Senate and vice presidential career of his demonstrating material leadership? I think the greatest likelihood is that as president Joe Biden will continue being who he has been over the last half century, to the greatest degree to which he remains able. That will mean that he will be a centrist relative to the Democratic Party but not that he will be its leader.
Biden presided over the Robert Bork and Thomas Clarence hearings. So he played a leading role in the “judicial wars”. And he lead drafting of the 1994 crime bill.
Amusingly, this exchange is probably going to be a theme for a Biden Presidency.
Chris Wallace: (39:04)
And I want to get to another subject, which is the issue of protests in many cities that have turned violent in Portland, Oregon, especially we had more than a 100 straight days of protests, which I think you would agree, you talk about peaceful protests. Many of those turned into riots. Mr. Vice-president you say that people who commit crimes should be held accountable. The question I have though is as the democratic nominee, and earlier tonight, you said that you are the Democratic Party right now, have you ever called the Democratic Mayor of Portland or the Democratic Governor of Oregon and said, “Hey, you got to stop this, bring in the National Guard, do whatever it takes, but you’d stop the days and months of violence in Portland.â€
Vice President Joe Biden: (39:50)
I don’t hold public office. Now I am a former vice president. I’ve made it clear. I’ve made it clear in my public statements that the violence should be prosecuted. It should be prosecuted and anyone who committed it should be prosecuted.
i.e. Restoring the usage of the phrase, “leading from behind”.
‘i.e. Restoring the usage of the phrase, “leading from behindâ€.’
I’d call it more leading from the basement. Or from a bunker. Soon IMO to become an alzheimer’s wing room or a closed casket.
We have a**hole running against senile. We can count on a**hole being in charge. Not so for senile. I wouldn’t even count on Calamity running a Biden administration, IMO Obama intends to run America again from his compound like the old Japanese retired emperors used to.
I don’t think that assessment of the man comports with actual experience. Was he really that interested in day-to-day operations when he was the person sitting in the Oval Office? If so why was he as little involved in drafting legislation as has been universally reported? Why did he do so little in getting Democrats elected to the House or Senate? Quite to the contrary I think he wanted to be emperor and leave being shogun to somebody else. “Retired emperors” rarely ran things. It was the hidden shogun who actually did..
I don’t fault Biden for the part that Curious quotes.
My view is that local officials need to sleep in the bed they made and if they want help from the feds or the state government then they can ask for it.
Having a candidate for President who doesn’t hold any office call mayors and tell them what to do is not “leadership” – quite the opposite. Biden may be the titular head of the party by virtue of winning the primary for the highest office, but that doesn’t give him any actual authority and inserting himself into local concerns is not something he should do.
As for the topic of the post, I don’t think Biden is much of a leader and I don’t expect much from him should he be elected.
I have a pretty cynical view of things.
If Biden had picked up the phone or (better had one of this underlings) called the Mayor / DA / Gov of Portland back in July to share “focus groups seem very concerned” — my bet is the would have run a tighter ship the day after.
i.e. is it a coincidence that after Biden took some public poll damage over the violence at the beginning of Sept that the Governor of Oregon “deputized” Portland cops as federal officers so they could arrest rioters and hold them in jail (over the objections of the DA)?
Anyway, Biden said he is the Democratic party; not just the leader. I expect the Democratic party to exercise responsibility for the elected offices it controls.
‘“Retired emperors†rarely ran things. It was the hidden shogun who actually did.’
I think you may be conflating two different periods in Japanese history. The era of the Joko, the retired emperors pulling strings behind the scene if not actually ruling (Heian period ending in 1192, when the Kamakura clan took over the office of the shogun), was much earlier than the era of the Tokugawa shogunate (c. 1600-1868). The institution lingered on fitfully until the early Tokugawas, but except for the occasional feisty ex-emperor like Go-Daigo the retired monarchs never regained the power they had in Heian times.
‘Quite to the contrary I think he wanted to be emperor and leave being shogun to somebody else.’
I fully agree with that assessment, except there was no one person who played shogun. His dereliction of duty is why we had people like Vindman thinking they ran foreign policy.
“If Biden had picked up the phone or (better had one of this underlings) called the Mayor / DA / Gov of Portland back in July…”
As a matter of political and electoral tactics, I can see the argument for what you suggest. But I think that is something quite different from leadership, at least as I understand leadership. And in July Biden hadn’t been formally nominated yet.
“Anyway, Biden said he is the Democratic party; not just the leader. I expect the Democratic party to exercise responsibility for the elected offices it controls.”
Except the reality is that parties have no real power. The party is little more than a brand and there is no hierarchical control of members or any elected official. The most the party can do is not give some candidate funds and use the bully pulpit. The party isn’t even able to prevent primarying elected Democrats by other Democrats and couldn’t prevent Bernie Sanders – a Democratic Socialist larping as an independent – from competing for the Presidency.
Yeah, Biden IS the party in terms of setting a national agenda, but even that is mostly talking points. He’s a figurehead at best.
Biden supposedly was key in working with McConnell in resolving some budget deadlocks.
https://www.politico.com/story/2011/08/biden-mcconnell-and-the-making-of-a-deal-060463