The former vice-president will have to show he has changed with it
Bruce Springsteen’s “We Take Care of Our Own”, as his friend Barack Obama used to, Joe Biden performed a dress rehearsal for his long-awaited entry to the Democratic primary in Washington,, earlier this month. His audience, burly delegates of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, were the sort of working-class voters the 76-year-old former vice-president is counting on to nullify the hard-left.
As things stand, he owes his lead status to propitious circumstances, including the apparent lack of an outstanding alternative and his association with the revered Mr Obama. There is an obvious risk that he will fizzle as he did during two previous presidential runs, when he was an outsider and much less of a target to his opponents than he is now. Mr Biden is knowledgeable, likeable, right-minded, hugely experienced and polished in the way of an old-style variety show host.
Hence the early attention to the many ways Mr Biden—over the course of a career in Democratic politics that began when the party still contained segregationists—has offended against contemporary liberal standards.
Certain kinds of past transgression are now straightforwardly disqualifying among Democrats. In light of #MeToo, Mr Clinton has become an embarrassment. The more interesting thing about Mr Biden’s case is that he does not appear guilty of anything that was considered inappropriate at the time. His mistreatment of Ms Hill reflected the usual 1980s male chauvinism. It was also intended to help a black man reach the Supreme Court bench.
American politics has a strong redemption tradition. Yet Mr Biden’s career is not merely defined by a relentless and contrite movement towards more liberal positions. Rather, he has always been broadly liberal, but with a propensity to lapse. He started work on the Violence Against Women Act, one of his big achievements, a year before his mishandling of Ms Hill. This makes him, warts and all, as contradictory as most voters, and in that sense a cautionary lesson for the purist left.
Malaysia Latest News, Malaysia Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Joe Biden’s Toughest 2020 Opponent Is Joe BidenHow he runs against his past—on crime, on integration, on Anita Hill—will determine whether he is a strong front-runner or a weak one.
Read more »
Ann Coulter slams Joe Biden and says Democrats 'don't have a single sane person running'Coulter's criticism of Biden and the 2020 Democratic field stemmed from a five-year-old comment made by the former vice president, who once said illegal immigrants are “already Americans.”
Read more »
Opinion | Joe Biden gets ready to take the plungeHe's an entirely different type of candidate than every other Democrat in the race.
Read more »
Joe Biden tells key supporters he is running for president as he lines up fundraising helpBiden will announce his candidacy through an online video Thursday and he will hold his first public event as a candidate Monday in Pittsburgh, according to a Biden aide who declined to be named.
Read more »
Polls show Joe Biden entering the Democratic primary with a significant leadPolls show Biden leading Sen. Bernie Sanders by significant margins before ever uttering a word as an official candidate.
Read more »
Former Vice President Joe Biden launches 2020 presidential campaignThe 76-year-old Biden joins a large and diverse field of more than a dozen Democrats hoping to become president in 2020.
Read more »
Joe Biden announces he is running for president in 2020After months of deliberation, former Vice President Joe Biden on Thursday announced his decision to run for president for a third time, answering one of the biggest outstanding questions about the makeup of the 2020 race.
Read more »
After rocky start, Joe Biden launches his presidential campaignWhile the former vice president is immediately one of the frontrunners in the 2020 race, Biden has stumbled on his way to the head of the pack.
Read more »
Former Vice President Joe Biden tells striking Stop & Shop workers 'don't give up'Former Vice President Joe Biden tells striking Stop & Shop workers: 'Don't give up.'
Read more »
Former Vice President Joe Biden to announce he’s entering the 2020 race Thursday morningABC News has confirmed that former Vice President Joe Biden will announce he's entering the 2020 race Thursday morning in a video. It will mark Biden's third run for the presidency, and though he will enter this crowded Democratic field at the top of several polls, he's going to have a fundraising
Read more »