The story of a Nevada state legislator who says that former Vice President Joe Biden touched her and kissed her inappropriately at a Las Vegas campaign rally may well have legs. It is presently being repeated by the New York Times, the Washington Post, the Wall Street Journal and is a prime topic on the Sunday morning talking heads programs of all four broadcast networks.
It is not news that Joe Biden is, to put the nicest possible coloring on it, an affectionate guy. The word “handsy” is frequently encountered in descriptions. That has been the case for decades. It hasn’t seemed to have made much difference until now. He was elected to the U. S. Senate six times and elected vice president twice, most recently just six years ago.
The story has so many angles one doesn’t know where to start. There’s #MeToo, generational differences, and political infighting. As might be expected the Trump White House is jumping on the story with both feet. The Washington Post reports:
White House counselor Kellyanne Conway is criticizing former Vice President Joe Biden after a former Nevada state legislator alleged he inappropriately kissed her on the back of her head in 2014.
Conway described the woman, Lucy Flores, as “quite bold†to “go against the highest levels of her political party†with the allegations and said Biden now has a “big problem.†Biden, a Democrat, is considering running for president in 2020.
Conway tells “Fox News Sunday†that quote, “He calls it affection and handshakes. His party calls it completely inappropriate.â€
Conway suggested that Biden should consider apologizing to Flores.
Flores, who was Nevada’s Democratic nominee for lieutenant governor in 2014, wrote in New York Magazine that she felt uncomfortable with her interactions with Biden.
And what is one to make of people who remain silent when it’s to their advantage but speak up when that’s to their advantage? Ms. Flores is a Sanders supporter. I realize those last sentences will be condemned by some as sexist, racist, and just plain heinous. If we are to make sense of the world around us we must look at events unflinchingly, considering people as they are and not just as we would wish them to be.
Joe Biden is or at least was the presumed Democratic presidential candidate with the brightest prospects in the general election. As I’ve said previously I would vote for him in 2020.
I return to the question I implicitly asked yesterday. Is any candidate capable of winning the Democratic primaries also capable of winning in the general election?
I would be the first person to suggest that I’m out of touch. I don’t see how anyone could support some of the candidates stepping forward but, then, I don’t understand how people voted for Trump, either.
I have seen the “Creepy Uncle Joe” videos for several years, and they are creepy. They are created by partisans on the right, and I do not know how out of context they are. Some of the charges seem over the top, but again, they are still creepy.
One example is his “feeling up” little girls. He puts his hand on their chest when they are in front of him. I am not sure how pedophiles think, but a 6 year old girls chest is the same as a six year old boys chest.
Additionally, some of what he does is from a different era, and it was not inappropriate at that time. In any case, he will never be President of the United States.
Hence the title of the post.
However, if the Democratic Party insists on judging candidates’ past actions on the basis of present day standards which will be evolving ever more rapidly and candidates without blemish pretty soon they will be limited to saints or newborns for candidates.
There is another aspect of this I didn’t get into. Biden was Obama’s VP for eight years. I don’t see how you pronounce Biden unfit without throwing Obama under the bus.
Biden is simply too old.
I think he should beg out for reasons related to that sooner rather than later for actual reasons I’ve suggested above.
However, that would in fact put the party in a bind. He and Bernie Sanders have the highest favorability ratings among the candidates by considerable margins. Yes, Biden’s departure might create some space.
But it might not. Of the remaining candidates Kamala Harris has the highest favorability but her favorability is a third Biden’s and not a lot better than the remainder of the pack. And can she win the general election? Can she stand up to the scrutiny she’d receive as the frontrunner? All hard to say.
“I would be the first person to suggest that I’m out of touch…….I don’t understand how people voted for Trump, either….”
Yes, I agree. You are out of touch.
I have to take exception to the “different era†excuses. And I admit my personal history affects my view. But only parents and grandparents should be touching young kids in anything other than the most innocent way. Period, full stop.
Now with Uncle Joe you get into how young is too young, age differential, and friend vs coworker vs family. Joe is over the line. It’s really not debatable. If Joe wants to get jiggy with a willing 55-60 yr old it’s none of my business. But haven’t we had enough of a Bill Clinton proclivity and doing the intern pool. That’s evidence of a serious mental malignancy.
People looked past all of Trumps personality, character and managerial faults. There is no need to rehash them. We all know. They saw a disruptor, a plain speaking, if crude, person with a shared policy worldview on a handful of important issues, and someone they believed would execute and not betray his promises. (Isn’t it amusing that a primary criticism of Trump is that he’s “just trying to fulfill a campaign promiseâ€. It speaks volumes).
In Hillary Clinton they saw the same tired old shit from a grotesque shitbag. So far, they haven’t been disappointed; the world hasn’t ended as predicted, and he’s just getting started. Yes, its ugly. But the alternative was more of the same and was the road to hell.
This scares the living hell out of the establishment elites. Their cushy, self interested world is under attack like never before.
Good.
Trump is in the White House and we are going to make a big deal about Biden’s, in comparison, very minor transgressions? Meh. Anyway, he is too old and he has repeatedly shown that he is not a very good campaigner.
Steve
Dave,
I think Biden only appears competitive now because of name recognition. His early lead doesn’t mean he can really compete.
I could be wrong, but I doubt Democrats will go with a “centrist” old white dude this cycle no matter his policy views or qualifications.
But I’m biased, I just don’t think Biden would make a good President. Too much time in politics and way too much time in the Senate and…too old.
@steve
Help me out. It is a Democrat who is accusing Joe Biden of violating the Democrat rules. What does President Trump have to do with this?
Joe Biden’s problem is not Trump voters. His problem is your party.
Looked at the “creepy Joe”pictures several times myself. My best analysis is that I wouldn’t have touched them that way, or felt comfortable doing it, unless they were my own kids or grandkids.
I don’t know what’s in his mind.
TB- The White House spokespeople jumped into the issue over the weekend, and it was a favorite topic on a number of right wing sites. Even if the folks on the right could suppress their hypocrite gene, I think that we still need some perspective here.
Steve