The Cold, Cynical, Corporate DNC
Biden briefly mixed up his wife and sister in a speech this week. It wasn't a good look for the gaffe-prone former VP
W.J. Astore
Is it OK to feel sorry for Joe Biden?
I remember him running for president in 1988. It was a disaster. He plagiarized speeches and lied about his college record. To be specific, he claimed he graduated in the top of his college class, with three degrees, on a full scholarship, while winning an award from the political science department. The truth was he graduated near the bottom of his class, with one degree, on a half-scholarship, while winning no such award. When it comes to talking about his record, Biden's got more than a little of Trump in him.
Biden has never done well running for president -- until these last eight days, when victory in South Carolina led the Democratic National Committee (DNC) to go "all-in" on him. Mayor Pete and Amy Klobuchar conveniently dropped out of the race and endorsed Biden (no collusion here, people!), and other prominent democrats quickly followed suit in singing Biden's praises. Rumor has it Barack Obama was involved behind the scenes, making phone calls, twisting arms, getting the corporate tools to line up behind his former vice president (not that they needed much convincing).
In a way, it worked too well. Biden vaulted ahead on Super Tuesday and is now the front runner and presumptive nominee. The DNC, and Daddy Warbucks Mike Bloomberg, are pledging undying love and lots of money. Even Kamala Harris, the little girl who was so, so hurt by Biden's opposition to school integration, is now a big Biden booster. What happened?
The answer is obvious. A cold, cynical, corporate DNC decided Biden was the best man to stop Bernie Sanders. Stopping Bernie and stomping on the progressive base of the Democratic Party is the paramount goal of the DNC. And they are likely to achieve this goal.
What the DNC doesn't really care about is defeating Donald Trump. Good thing too, since Joe Biden can't do that, and the DNC knows it. Assuming he's the nominee, Biden is going to be humiliated in the general election. His weaknesses, which are legion, play to Trump's strengths.
People are hiding this harsh reality from Joe Biden. And maybe he's hiding it from himself as well. I really don't want to get into signs of Biden's cognitive decline, for even if he were sharper, let's say the Joe Biden of 2012, he'd still lose to Trump, and badly.
I'm sure the DNC is already generating excuses for the post-election press conferences in November. They'll say things like Bernie hurt Biden by staying in the race too long. They'll claim Russian interference again in Trump's favor. Perhaps they'll say the economy was too strong, or they'll blame millennials for not voting, or they'll condemn the electoral college, and so on.
The real reason will be staring back at them. Joe Biden is exactly the wrong candidate to go up against Donald Trump, but no matter. Four more years of Trump is far better than a principled progressive agenda advanced by a man of integrity like Bernie Sanders.
Did I mention the DNC is cold, cynical, and corporate?