Joe Biden’s front-runner status has earned him some much-needed attention, but I worry all that attention might wind up hurting his campaign. As I am now being compelled to think more deeply about Joe’s candidacy, I begin to wonder what Joe thinks about regarding healthcare, education, poverty, or foreign policy. If you were to ask me what Bernie Sanders believes in, I could probably give you a few bullet points detailing his key policy positions. But if you were to ask me about Biden, I’m afraid I’d leave you hanging. Yes, he was a senator for a long time. Yes, he was Obama’s VP. But what has he really accomplished for the American people? What is his signature policy proposal? The man is a mystery. I have watched every debate this campaign season and I still can’t tell where Joe Biden stands on the issues. Maybe the media is to blame for failing (perhaps intentionally) to scrutinize Joe’s candidacy, but that’s a different matter.
Those of you familiar with what I write know that I support Bernie Sanders. He may not have been an ideal candidate twenty years ago, but he is exactly who we need in the White House in 2020. The race for the democratic nomination is an uphill battle, however, and there is a chance Sanders may not pull through. As of right now the party seems to be betting it all on Joe, a candidate whose campaign was crumbling less than a week ago. So, I decided to learn more about Joe to see if he has what it takes to defeat Trump.
Campaigning for the highest office in the land exposes you to all kinds of nasty attacks, so whoever wins the democratic nomination will be wise to ready up for an ongoing stream of negative ads and media scrutiny. I needed to know if Joe, the front-runner, could overcome such pressures, so I went online to look for answers, and oh boy we are in trouble.
It only took me five minutes to understand how weak a candidate Joe Biden really is. Five minutes online and this is what I found:
- Biden was accused of plagiarism during his first year at Syracuse University School of Law, and later claimed that he was not aware of proper citation rules.
- Biden also claimed to have graduated “top half” of his class when in reality he was closer to the bottom of the bottom half.
- While running for president in 1987, Biden duplicated parts of a speech by British politician Neil Kinnock. The speech was meant to be a heartfelt account of Biden’s upbringing, but how heartfelt could it be when he didn’t even bother to come up with his own words.
- Biden once talked about being an active participant during the Civil Rights marches of the 1960s, even though his advisers were aware of this falsehood and warned him against making false claims.
- More recently Biden claimed to have been arrested while trying to get to see Nelson Mandela during a 1990 visit to South Africa. He later admitted that arrest never took place.
This is what I found by literally spending five minutes online getting to know Joe. Imagine what Donald Trump’s political machine and media allies could dig up if only they tried. At a time when voters crave for authenticity above all else, running a candidate who has a long history of struggling with the truth is an incredibly risky move.
Donald Trump lies all of the time, but somehow comes across as genuine and authentic. That is his gift. That is why he continues to dominate the political landscape. Joe Biden doesn’t have that gift. He can’t play the media the way Trump does, and the Democratic Party must acknowledge this.
We cannot wait for Trump to take down Joe Biden. It is up to Sanders to expose Biden for what he really is. Now, I know how Sanders feels about negative ads, and I admire him for that. But negative ads work, and if we are going to win this thing, we are going to need to play by the same rules everyone else is playing. Let’s worry about changing the rules when Sanders is president.
Politics Unraveled 
Joe Biden Is exactly who Trump was hoping for. Biden has also had awkward moments of touching women.
Sanders has a much better chance of dethroning Trump.
Great post.
Have a good weekend.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Yes, he certainly carries a lot of baggage. But he is a loyalist, and the party likes that. Dems would be better off if they were willing to accept honest criticism coming from the progressive wing of the party. Unfortunately we aren’t there yet.
Thanks for reading!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Biden seems to like to smell people’s hair …He definitely appears to me to be a very touchy-feely kind of guy … which cannot be too bad in this era when everybody is so uptight about interactions. As to politicians lying all the time … are they really lying or do they have dreams that get crushed by reality once they expose themselves to the cutthroat nature of Washington, D.C? — An honest politician is going to be the one who makes the campaign promises and then when he or she cannot keep them, apologizes publicly to the American People for their failure and gives us the reasons they could not get the things done they promised that the would do.
LikeLiked by 1 person
He can be weird sometimes, I’ll give you that. And as for politicians lying all the time, what I mean is some of them lie about their past to get ahead and to create a distorted image of themselves. I cannot accept that. Making promises that later go unfulfilled is not something I hold against them though, because you are right: Washington is a tough place for business.
Thanks for reading, John!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I will be reading your blog a lot and, in fact, have added it to my linked list of favorites.
LikeLiked by 1 person
why, thank you! I will be sure to return the favor.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I am honored but be aware that I am not a family friendly blog
LikeLiked by 1 person
haha nothing with that! I find your style refreshing.
LikeLike
well bless your heart! Thank you.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Reblogged this on Scotties Toy Box and commented:
Hello Politics Unraveled. I have the same fears about Biden you seem to. I have also been posting about the gaffs and issues with Biden including what appears to be a big difference between his cognitive abilities during the day and loss of those abilities at night. He seems to be sundowning. He also seems less the happy warrior he loves to portray and more the angry old man frustrated the world has moved past him. He tells people asking him questions to vote for someone else, or worse vote for tRump. He gets angry with interviewers and lashes out at them. He gets so easily confused and on the debate stage he was intimidated. Joe Biden is the candidate chosen by fear according to the exit polls. Biden is the candidate of the people needing reassurance their world won’t change, mostly older people. Bernie Sanders is the candidate of change, of inclusion, of a better but changing future, also Bernie is the candidate of excitement. However the fact is clear that Bernie is fighting both the Republican political machine and mainstream corporate media cooperating with corporate Democratic leadership. Bernie’s attempt to bring the lower incomes into having a say about the way things are done in the country is terrifying for the corporate world.
Thanks again for a thought provoking post. I will be reading more of your stuff. Hugs
LikeLiked by 1 person
I loved everything you said here. And there is some hope in your words. If you think about it, even if Bernie doesn’t make it, his message is here to stay. His ideas resonate with an entire new generation, a generation that owns the future. They will carry Bernie’s message forward, no matter what happens in 2020.
Thanks for reading and also thanks for re-blogging! 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Hello Politics Unraveled. It seems the corporate Democrats would rather lose to the Republicans in this election than risk that their donors might have to pay a bit higher taxes that won’t change their lifestyles at all. Hugs
LikeLiked by 1 person
That is a huge mystery to me. With nearly 20% of the population living under the poverty line and a Gini coefficient comparable to that of Russia and China, this country (with a healthy economy) could be doing so much more to help close that gap. Washington’s complete unwillingness to do so baffles me.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Great post. Dems are giving Trump four more years in the White House if they choose to run Biden. He is too vulnerable.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yes, yes. Like you, I am a Bernie supporter, and I really like your observation about Sanders: “He may not have been an ideal candidate twenty years ago, but he is exactly who we need in the White House in 2020.” But we’d best prepare ourselves for Biden winning the Democratic nomination. Sigh.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Even if Biden wins, I think the party is obligated to adopt some of Bernie’s policy positions. Failing to do so wouldn’t be wise. We’ll wait and see.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yes. Oh, my! So much that needs doing.
LikeLike
All these things aside for a moment, I am wondering if and when somebody will get the bright idea of cancelling the conventions because of the threat posed by coronavirus … and I am wondering when all the petty political bickering between the parties will take a back seat to concerns about national survival in the face of this new plague rampaging across the world.?
LikeLiked by 1 person
You are right that people have become so consumed by politics that we often forget to reflect on the things that matter. However I am optimistic. I’m currently working in Hong Kong and the situation here has improved considerably. I’m hoping that by the time the conventions are here this whole coronavirus madness will be a distant memory.
LikeLiked by 1 person