I simply don't get why anyone who follows politics would think that Biden is a good presidential candidate. Aside from his age (which raises serious questions about the ability to serve out two terms), his two prior presidential campaigns were both disasters. The first (1988) ended with a plagiarism scandal and the second (2008) burned a ton of money and netted exactly zero delegates. Proponents cite his experience, but his long record is littered with positions that are completely unacceptable to the modern Democratic electorate, from his opposition to school desegregation, to his prior opposition to abortion, to his treatment of Anita Hill during the Clarence Thomas confirmation hearings, to his support of harsh sentencing in the 1990s, to his support for the Iraq War, to his continuing support for the war for years even after other Democrats abandoned that position as he advocated splitting Iraq into three countries (a neo-colonial proposal that every faction in Iraq hated), to his support for the Bush-era Bankruptcy bill, to his racially insensitive comments in the 2007-2008 primary (remember when he praised Obama for being an "articulate and clean" black person?), to his campaigning for a Republican congressional candidate just last year when the Democrats were fighting hard to retake Congress.
That is just off the top of my head. No doubt there is more that I can't remember at this moment.
In short, Biden is a disaster of a candidate before you even get to his age or handsiness. This is not a case where you can say "well every candidate has his negatives." I can't think of any Democratic candidate (except maybe Tulsi Gabbard) who has this many disqualifying things in his record. And of course I would vote for him over Trump, but why would anyone want to be in a position to choose between Trump or a candidate with as many liabilities as Biden? That is especially true in this year when we have so many actual good candidates?
I am convinced that the only thing driving Biden-mania is nostalgia for the Obama presidency. For people who don't follow politics closely, all they know about him is his time as Vice President, when he wasn't doing much that made the news, but could suck up some of that Obama shine that looks even better in retrospect.
Related:
UPDATE: Oh look! A corruption scandal too. Just what the Democrats need in their presidential candidate.
That is just off the top of my head. No doubt there is more that I can't remember at this moment.
In short, Biden is a disaster of a candidate before you even get to his age or handsiness. This is not a case where you can say "well every candidate has his negatives." I can't think of any Democratic candidate (except maybe Tulsi Gabbard) who has this many disqualifying things in his record. And of course I would vote for him over Trump, but why would anyone want to be in a position to choose between Trump or a candidate with as many liabilities as Biden? That is especially true in this year when we have so many actual good candidates?
I am convinced that the only thing driving Biden-mania is nostalgia for the Obama presidency. For people who don't follow politics closely, all they know about him is his time as Vice President, when he wasn't doing much that made the news, but could suck up some of that Obama shine that looks even better in retrospect.
Related:
Someone who actually knows and cares about Joe Biden has to see that running will wreck his reputation right?— Matthew Yglesias (@mattyglesias) March 29, 2019
UPDATE: Oh look! A corruption scandal too. Just what the Democrats need in their presidential candidate.
