Monday, January 7, 2019

Biden's Time has Come - and Gone

by Pa Rock
Citizen Journalist

I like Joe Biden.  Hell, I even love Joe Biden.  He is, hands down, the closest thing that the Democratic Party has had to a happy warrior since FDR left the stage in 1945.  Joe Biden, in his prime, would have undoubtedly made a great President, but that did not happen.  Now, a decade or two past his prime, Biden is once again sniffing at the political breeze and making noises about jumping into the 2020 presidential race.

The former Vice President as has crafted a crafty rationale to justify his third shot at the presidency - a declaration that he has the best chance of winning against the wily Donald John Trump.  Journalists Jonathan Martin and Alexander Burns have a political piece currently running in the New York Times, in fact, which is entitled "Biden sees Himself as Democrats' Best Hope in 2020, Allies Say."

The primary "ally" cited in the article is Tom Carper, a Democratic senator from Biden's home state of Delaware.  Part of Carper's rationale for his enthusiastic support of Biden is that he gets along with Mitch McConnell - a sentiment that probably wouldn't make it onto campaign buttons and bumper stickers:  "Vote Joe - He gets along with Mitch!"

According to the article, Joe Biden believes that he is the candidate with the surest ability to bring midwestern blue collar workers back into the Democratic fold at a time when other Democratic candidates see the party's future strength as residing with better educated voters in the suburbs, particularly in the suburbs of some of the larger cities on the northern edge of the American South.

Biden has a long history in American politics - nearly half a century - and all of those years of service contain a few moments in which he took regrettable positions - such as voting to support the invasion of Iraq in 2002 - and his active role in the interrogation of Anita Hill in the Senate hearings that ultimately led to the seating of misogynist Clarence Thomas on the Supreme Court.

But, political strategies aside, Joe Biden has fewer hours left on his clock than almost all of the other Democratic hopefuls, and that has to factor in - whether it is politically correct or not.  Joe Biden is seventy-six-years-old, and he will be seventy-nine just two weeks after the 2020 election. And even if he was to be elected, he would be eighty-three at the end of just one term.

A white male would be a tough sell for Democrats in 2020, and a geriatric white male would be an especially tough sell.  Joe Biden is a great guy, but his time has passed.

It's time to give it a rest, Joe.  If you want to take an active role in driving Donald Trump from the White House, use your vast experience and knowledge to help one of the next generation of Democrats fight that battle.  It's their time now.

1 comment:

Xobekim said...

I'd vote for Joe Biden to be Vice President again.