Joe Biden takes the prudent path
Joe Biden did the right thing for Joe Biden and probably for the Democratic Party. It would have been fun to have his lively, what-you-see-is-what-you-get panache at the Democrats’ debates and on the campaign trail. That very frankness might have been his
Bernie Sanders is a lively debater with a strong political philosophy. At 74, ironically, he’s capturing the imagination of politically awakening Millennials. But only a moderate can pull America together, countering the extremes that dominate the Republican Party. If Biden would be an outlier among viable candidates, Sanders is on Mars.
To unseat Clinton as the heir apparent for Democrats, Biden would have had to attack her. That’s how politicians gain ground on a front-runner. Clinton would have had ample ammo to fight back, so it would have been ugly, and no help to the party in the general election.
The death of Biden’s son Beau from cancer last spring shone a different kind of spotlight on the man. America was moved by the dignity and eloquence with which he handled the tragedy. He has had more than his share of personal loss over the years, but friends and even political boosters have wondered if he had the heart for a pitched primary battle.
The strain of a late campaign would have been extraordinary, given the organizational base Clinton has built and her strong performance in the first candidates’ debate.
Biden’s announcement Wednesday strengthens Clinton as she prepares to testify before Congress in the Benghazi hearings (which House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy has told us are politically motivated).
But in his speech Wednesday, Biden was no cheerleader for Clinton. He took her on for saying Republicans are her enemies. Known for working across the aisle as a senator, Biden said divisive partisan politics are “ripping this country apart.”
“It’s mean spirited, it’s petty, and it’s gone on for much too long. I don’t believe, like some do, that it’s naive to talk to Republicans. I don’t think we should look at Republicans as our enemies. They are our opposition. They’re not our enemies.”
This did not sound like a man resigned to obscurity. If Clinton self-destructs over her errant emails or untold accusations yet to come, nothing precludes Joe Biden from jumping in from the wings as the party’s savior.
That very frankness might have been his undoing — particularly in its speak-first, think-second moments — but Biden is a respected leader who would have given Democrats a practical alternative to the besieged Hillary Clinton.