Lazy Saturday Reads: It’s All About Me Me Me! –Joe Biden
Posted: October 17, 2015 Filed under: morning reads, U.S. Politics | Tags: Bernie Sanders, Creepy Uncle Joe, Hillary Clinton, Joe Biden 28 Comments
Good Morning!!
I’m sick to death of hearing about Creepy Uncle Joe Biden and his presidential ambitions. If he wanted to run for president in 2016, he should have started long ago. But now he’s doing his very best to overshadow the serious candidates with his months-long dithering about “jumping in” at the last minute.
In the wake of Hillary Clinton’s outstanding debate performance on Tuesday, Washington pundits announced that there was no room for Biden in the race; but one of his top supporters spent Thursday hyping the possibility that Biden could still run and win. He sent out an email to Biden supporters designed to suggest that Biden is running and then leaked the email to the Associated Press. Here’s the whole thing, from CNN: Sen. Ted Kaufman’s email to Biden allies.
Dear friend,
A lot of you are being asked, and have asked me, about the direction and timing of the Vice President’s thinking about a run for President. On the second question – timing – I can’t add much, except I am confident that the Vice President is aware of the practical demands of making a final decision soon. He has been in public and political life a long time and he has a good grip on the mechanics around this decision.
But on the first question, I know him well, and have spoken with him extensively about this issue. It will not surprise you, as it does not surprise me, what he will weigh in the decision and what – being Joe Biden – he will not.
All of you know well that the first and foremost consideration will be the welfare and support of his family. That’s Joe Biden. He has been clear about this and it is as true today as it has been for the past several months. He is determined to take, and to give his family, as much time as possible to work this through.
But then the question is what kind of Presidential campaign he believes he would run, and what kind of President he believes he can be. If he runs, he will run because of his burning conviction that we need to fundamentally change the balance in our economy and the political structure to restore the ability of the middle class to get ahead. And whether we can a political consensus in America to get it done
And what kind of campaign? An optimistic campaign. A campaign from the heart. A campaign consistent with his values, our values, and the values of the American people. And I think it’s fair to say, knowing him as we all do, that it won’t be a scripted affair– after all, it’s Joe.
He believes we must win this election. Everything he and the President have worked for — and care about — is at stake.
I know in the daily ups and down of the political swirl, we all get bombarded with the tactics. So sometimes it’s good to take a step back and get real again. Let’s stay in touch. If he decides to run, we will need each and every one of you — yesterday!
Ted
And so Biden’s dithering dominated yesterday’s news cycle.
Here’s the Wall Street Journal’s take on the Biden non-decision:
Vice President Joe Biden is expected to announce in the coming days whether he will enter the presidential race and, at this point, signs point to him running for the Democratic nomination, people familiar with the matter said.
Mr. Biden has been making a final round of phone calls to political allies this week, locking down their support and talking through his prospects in key states, people with knowledge of the calls said. He has been focusing on Democratic operatives and officials in states holding early contests—Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina—asking about “the way forward,” one person said.
The vice president has been wrestling with the question for months, weighing whether he and his family are emotionally ready for the rigors of the campaign so soon after the death of Mr. Biden’s son Beau. The Biden family, which has long played a central role in his campaigns, has signed off on what would be his third White House bid, people familiar with the matter said.
Mr. Biden could still pull back, however, if he concludes he is too shaken by his son’s death to mount a campaign. Another consideration for Mr. Biden: the fortunes of front-runner Hillary Clinton.
Does anyone really believe that Biden is still “wrestling” with his “emotions” over his son Beau’s death at this point? Frankly, Biden’s behavior is beginning to look like unseemly exploitation of his family’s grief.
I like Gawker’s interpretation of the email best. Breaking News: Joe Biden Still Available, If You’re Interested, by Chris Thompson.
Joe Biden has sent you an email. But, because he’s an addled old man and a politician, he did it in the stupidest possible way.
First, he had this other guy, Ted Kaufman, write it, and instructed Kaufman to talk about him in the third person. Then, instead of sending it directly to you, he had Kaufman send it to a circle of other people, while specifically leaving the intended target of the email (you) off the list. And then, to make extra sure you got it, via this ridiculous, circuitous route, he had Kaufman give the email to another group, the Associated Press, also not on the list, but who he could trust to get it, finally, to you.
So that’s how the Associate Press wound up with this email—ostensibly from Ted Kaufman, seemingly intended for a small circle of people for whom it will have no value—which they are now tasked with presenting to you, the intended recipient of the email, in as breathless a fashion as possible.
But not by email! Instead, by posting the details of the email—but not the email itself! still not the email—in a published story that would be picked up and circulated among other publications, so that you would eventually see it and read it. “APNewsBreak: Top Biden aide lays out potential 2016 platform,” wink wink.
And he did all this with the bizarre intention that you, the intended recipient of the email, would think that the information in the email was not intended for you.
Read the rest at Gawker.
In reaction to yesterday’s Biden push, Howard Fineman wrote at Huffington Post: We’re Watching The Long Whatever Of Joe Biden.
At least one thing has been decided: Joe Biden has retired the trophy for candidate indecision.
A weary Washington has been driven batty by the vice president’s “I’m in, I’m out, I’m in again” agonizing about whether to enter the 2016 presidential contest. He has given us either the longest goodbye since Bogart in “Casablanca” or the longest hello since Castro in Havana.
People were bound to lose patience, even before the boffo performances by both Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders in Tuesday night’s debate, not to mention Martin O’Malley’s debut as a BuzzFeed-certified hunk.
It’s finally dawned on Biden World that they’ve run out of time. A statement is expected any minute, hour or day now….
Biden’s former chief of staff and longtime Sancho Panza, ex-Sen. Ted Kaufman, sent Biden’s friends and allies a letter to calm them as the dramatic moment approached. He assured the troops that, if the vice president indeed were to run, he would do so in the name of the middle class — as well as in memory of his son Beau, who died of cancer in May.
But the decision slog has focused mostly on Joe Biden himself. No talk of an actual agenda. No hint of his assessment of the candidates already in the race. No talk of what the Democrats really need in order to secure a third-straight term in the White House. Instead, we’ve been shown a saga of grief and inspiration, with Biden offering soulful public updates on the condition of his political heart.
Other writers have pointed out some of the practical drawbacks of a Biden run.
James Oliphant at Reuters: Obama’s foreign policy could burden Biden if he runs in 2016.
Leigh Ann Caldwell at NBC News: Joe Biden Bid for White House Would Begin in a $60-Million Hole.
But Nick Gillespie gets to the real nitty-gritty at The Daily Beast: Joe Biden, Narc in Chief. In a country that badly needs a future, Biden is stuck in the past.
Americans may not get along all that well these days, but on this much we should find common cause: Biden would be a terrible president.
Weird Uncle Joe isn’t just a decades-long punchline and perpetual-gaffe machine—his political ideas are even older than his advanced years (he’s 72). Whether it’s plumping for unsustainable old-age entitlements or leading the charge on the drug war, Biden represents the past, not the future.
Gillespie claims Biden is still viable because of supposed shortcomings of Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders,
…even though his odd behavior and logorrhea are legendary. Last year, The Daily Show went to town on “creepy” Joe’s semi-chokehold on Defense Secretary Ash Carter’s wife during a swearing-in ceremony; the veep pulled the same trick on various pre-pubescent daughters of random senators too. Fully half of the internet is taken up with lists of Biden gaffes, which range from the bizarre (“You cannot go to a 7-Eleven or a Dunkin’ Donuts unless you have a slight Indian accent”) to the more-bizarre (Obama, he averred, is “articulate and bright and clean and a good-looking guy…that’s a storybook, man”) to the please-god-make-it-stop (“I’d rather be at home making love to my wife while my children are asleep”).
Beyond the eww factor, his loose talk about “Shylocks,” “Orientals,” and disgraced sexual harasser and former Senator Bob Packwood during a commemoration of the passage of The Violence Against Women Act is difficult to simply laugh off. As is his truly disturbing record of plagiarism and lying.
During his failed presidential campaign in 1988, Biden had to cop not only to getting an F during his law school days for cheating but to having ripped off speeches by John F. Kennedy, Robert Kennedy, and Hubert Humphrey. Even more amazingly, Biden cribbed biographical details from British Labour politician Neil Kinnock, including lines about ancestors who “would come up [from coal mines] after 12 hours and play football.” What kind of politician plagiarizes not simply other people’s word but other people’s lives? That’s not a storybook, man, that’s a nutjob.
There’s more disturbing stuff at the link.
I’ve included photos of some of Creepy Uncle Joe’s cringe-inducing public behavior toward women, girls, men, and boys in this post. Here’s a must-read 2012 article about touchy-feely Joe from The New York Times: What are we going to do about Creepy Uncle Joe Biden? by Alexandra Petrie. It’s satire, but very on-point, IMO.
Finally, if Joe decides to run, Anita Hill is going to be an issue, as Edward Isaac Dovere wrote at Politico in September: Joe Biden’s Anita Hill problem.
If Joe Biden gets into the presidential race, allies and supporters of Hillary Clinton say there are just two words that will make a difference as he seeks support among women and African-Americans: Anita Hill.
Nearly 24 years have passed since the confirmation hearings for Supreme Court nominee Clarence Thomas in which Hill, a respected law professor, was grilled under oath about alleged inappropriate sexual behavior by Thomas, her former boss. The graphic testimony gripped Washington and the country and spurred intense public conversations about sex, harassment and the nominee’s charge of being subjected to a “high-tech lynching for uppity blacks.”
Biden’s done a lot over the past 24 years, including authoring the landmark Violence Against Women Act and leading its four reauthorizations. But that hasn’t erased the memories of how Biden presided over those hearings as chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, blamed for doing little to stop the attacks on Hill and opting not to call three other witnesses who would have echoed Hill’s charges of sexual harassment. Biden almost apologetically gave Thomas the benefit of the doubt, critics say, and that stance helped put Thomas on the Supreme Court.
Ever since, for many women and blacks, Hill’s name conjures an image of a black woman struggling under attack by a dozen powerful white men asking aggressive questions and questioning her character.
peej
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Sky Dancing 
Have a great weekend, Sky Dancers!
You too BB!
Joe, his advisors and possibly his family, are delusional for the reasons you point out. In a way, it’s just JB being JB as usual. Thanks for doing this post – I needed it so I don’t pop a gasket at this farce. He could have retired with a little grace – now, for me, mention of him will always be with a bitter taste. You have a great weekend BB!
Those pictures say it all — creepy Uncle Joe Biden. I look at him handling those poor intimidated girls (and women and boys), and want to smack him where it hurts.
I think most women have known a guy like Biden who just cannot keep his hands off of women and girls. My father had that problem and I confronted him and told him to keep his goddamned hands off of my female family members, including my partner. After that day I never saw it happen again, and no one complained about it again. Men with this problem need to be confronted and told to STOP the behavior.
Agreed, he looks like an ashol in every photo. He needs to get the hell out of the way, and send Hillary some fresh flowers for her desk.
Good post. It does seem more and more as if Biden is running.
By the way, the image of him and the piccolo player is photoshopped. I think all the others are real.
Okay, thanks. I deleted it and replaced it with a cartoon. I can document the others with news stories if necessary.
Thanks. The real ones are disgusting enough. Shudder.
I can’t stand him! That god awful death’s head grin drives me nuts! I would have a hard time supporting him if he were the only candidate running let alone against Hillary Clinton.
Benghazi has been exposed for the political tool of the GOP that it is. No need to panic about the outcome when it is clear they were out to get her from he get go. He has no valid reason to enter this race and I too am sick to death of the “speculation” over whether he will or won’t. Who gives a rat’s ass?
Joe Biden has shown over and over again that he is a fool. The stuff that has come out of his mouth at times has been cringe worthy. His manhandling of women is shown in those photographs. Embarrassing.
Whatever game he is playing is hurtful to those candidates, yes, even Lincoln Chaffee, who have at the least put themselves out there while this moron diddles about and playing out the sympathy card that as of now appears crass.
He should either sh*t now or get off the pot but I have a feeling he is just “lovin'” the attention.
A pain in the @ss.
A real pain in the ass.
This Atlantic piece about the berniebro reminds me of my male acquaintances who are #FeelingtheBern.
http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2015/10/here-comes-the-berniebro-bernie-sanders/411070/
Ha ha! That’s great. The Berniebros are the same kinds of people who were Obamabots in 2008.
Nailed it!
Perfect description!
“Does anyone really believe that Biden is still “wrestling” with his “emotions” over his son Beau’s death at this point? Frankly, Biden’s behavior is beginning to look like unseemly exploitation of his family’s grief.”
No, I don’t believe it. I haven’t believed it for a while. Most of us know grieving at the loss of someone dear to us. Many of us know the grief associated with the loss of someone so important to our life that life without them seems impossible. That’s not something you toss aside in a couple of months. I understand that life moves on, I’ve walked that path, but it doesn’t take you onto the National stage where you play out the grieving process over and over again, on camera, while you decide whether or not you can go on in politics. I think Biden had the goodwill of everyone in America when Beau first passed away, now I think many people are looking at him and saying, WTF!
Good post BB, and I commend you for saying aloud what many of us were thinking about Biden.
I just can’t help but step back and analyze the field with respect to Hillary. It seems each Dem opponent possesses a trait that was previously used to describe and criticize Hillary Clinton. Avuncular Bernie yelling out soundbites negates the criticism that Clinton can be strident. O’Malley looked rehearsed, another trait Clinton has been criticized for, while Webb is way more conservative than Clinton ever dreamed of being and Chafee got his job because it was handed down from his dad, far more egregious than Hillary having been the wife of a former President. Now comes Biden, dithering about running. Anyone remember Jon Stewart and the rest of the dudebros whining, “Why won’t she just declare? What is she waiting for?”
It just strikes me as funny.
Bernie is the guy whose act will run thin quickly. First, every time he opens his mouth he repeats his stump speech. That’s not exactly demonstrating a command of the issues. Second, he’s a finger pointer who sounds more like he’s lecturing you than talking to you or debating against you. Third, he’s attempting to sell a brand that if it makes it to the GE the GOP will tear his Socialist mantra to shreds. He’s attempting to flower it up and put sugar on it during interviews and during the debate, but for many years Bernie belonged to a Party that wasn’t fucking around about Socialism. It was pure, unadulterated, Socialism. I personally am a fan of the programs that Bernie champions, but I’m also a pragmatist and there isn’t a snow balls chance in hell of getting Social Security & Medicare for everyone, free college or $15 an hour wage, or a tax system that redistributes wealth. We’re doing our damnedest to preserve SS, Medicare & Medicaid in it’s current form and Bernie knows that. I really wish there were more than 5 debates remaining because I want people to see that Bernie is a broken record and the tune he’s playing isn’t one that will sell in the GE. I want folks to see the Martin O’Malley is working with a skinny resume and that he’s not prepared to be POTUS. I want folks to see that Jim Webb brings nothing to the table except some bad decisions on Women’s issues. I think more debates benefits Hillary much more than her opponents. And if Joe Biden decides to throw his hat into the ring, Hillary will kick his ass, just like she did in the debates in 2008.
CNN is definately pushing for Biden to enter the race. Just watched a short segment with yet ano other non-blonde “reporter” pointing out Hill’s ‘bad’ Sept. and being soon happy about Joe getting into the race and what a fine candidate he would be. We all know the puppet media – I see a huge opportunaty for giant manipulation. CNN is getting more like Fox everyday. They are even using old Fox contributores such as Bob Bechtel(sp) and Sobotel(sp) – all those old white male alumi’s of the ‘boy’s club’ that they used back in 2008/2008. Shite – same ole same ole. So sick of what passes as news. Can’t wait to see the new movie “Truth” with Redford.
I have a sickness, I admit it, but proofreading is not overrated. So if you are Ted Kaufman farting out an email in order to tamp down comments about Hillary’s stellar debate performance with an, “It’s too early to count out Joe,” on the Sunday shows, wouldn’t you have someone proofread your work?
Really! For Kaufman, who has spent his entire career as an ambulatory roll of two-ply Charmin for Biden, to belch out an email meant to tease and tantalize pudding-headed pundits to include this sentence:
And whether we can a political consensus in America to get it done.
means that the real question is: “And whether we can an email in America to get it done?”
Yes, I noticed that too. Not many people care about grammar anymore. Look at all the news people who say “lay” instead of “lie”–and another of my pet peeves, “I” as the object of a preposition.
“The murder victim was laying on her back.”
“The police talked to Jane and I.”
BB I thought I was the only one noticing that. People constantly mix “it’s” and “its” in serious newspapers like NYTimes and WSJ, or those who say “I still would have did it”.
When did we stop caring about good grammar?
I don’t know, but I don’t remember Huntley and Brinkley making those kinds of mistakes–or Dan Rather or Walter Cronkite.
The misuse of “it’s” for “its” or vice versa gets to me too. Then there’s the plural confused with possessive category, such as “apple’s for sale.” Oy.
My head explodes each time I hear the improper use of objective pronouns. Have you noticed how many news readers do it?
Another common mistake that gets me is “who’s” versus “whose”. “Who’s grammar book is that?” Drives me to distraction.