Joe Biden should mind his ‘jokes’

I like former Vice President Joe Biden, but I find it unacceptable that he made light of allegations of touching women and making them uncomfortable. I’m amazed that a person as politically experienced as Biden is so challenged rhetorically.

You can’t say you “understand” and will be “mindful” of this matter in a video one day and several days later joke about it in a speech. This shows he lacks message discipline.

Making a few women feel uncomfortable didn’t have to be an issue for Biden, but his latest response now may make it an issue. As a communication scholar, I believe there is a rhetorical lesson here for Biden and all politicians. When accused of wrongdoing, think through the appropriate way to handle it, offering one and only one response. Don’t let a 24-hour news cycle get you. Every time you try to clean up a prior response simply garners additional media scrutiny. Richard Cherwitz

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