Tag Archives: Joe Biden

national news

Sen. Graham finds himself in a difficult place

I want to play out a possible political scenario that involves two close friends who happen to be members of competing political parties.

Democrat Joe Biden, the former vice president and U.S. senator, is facing questions about how he has interacted with women over the years. Some of them have complained about feeling “discomfort” because of Biden’s hands-on manner of greeting individuals.

You know the story by now. Some women have complained that Biden got a little too close for comfort. Biden has explained that he made no sexual advances on them. He said that is the way he is, but added that he recognizes that social norms have changed. “I get it,” he said.

The other fellow is his good friend, Republican Lindsey Graham, with whom Biden served in the Senate before becoming VP in 2009. Graham also is a close political ally of Donald Trump, against whom Biden might run in the 2020 presidential election.

Graham’s friendship with Biden appears — to me at least — to be much more genuine than his alliance with Trump. Indeed, just before he left office in 2017, President Obama awarded Biden the Presidential Medal of Freedom and quoted Sen. Graham as saying about Biden, “If you can’t admireJoe Biden as a person, you’ve got a problem. He is as fine a human being as God ever created.”

Graham just recently talked about his longtime friendship with Biden while giving him the benefit of the doubt over the “too close” allegations that some women have leveled against him.

What will happen if Biden becomes the Democratic nominee for president and runs against Donald Trump? Will the president lean on his ally to savage the former VP? If he does, would Lindsey Graham take the bait?

Do personal friendships get in the way at times of political reality?

Yeah . . . they certainly do.

national security

Trump trashes Biden . . . over this?

Yep. It’s true. Donald Trump probably could “shoot someone on Fifth Avenue and not lose any votes.”

That has to explain how this president, facing the accusations that have been leveled at him by at least a dozen women, could poke fun at a potential 2020 opponent because he’s a bit too touchy-feely.

Trump took dead aim at former Vice President Joe Biden, who’s been accused by four women of getting a bit too close to them. He made them feel “uncomfortable” because he touched them and kissed them on the back of their heads.

Trump? Oh, he’s been accused of sexual molestation, outright sexual assault, sexual harassment — and he’s actually admitted to “grabbing them by their pu***” because he’s a celebrity.

So now he’s poking fun at Joe Biden.

Sheesh! His base loves it. They cheer him on. They think this guy’s the greatest.

Disgusting.

national news

Biden’s actions do not constitute sexual assault/harassment

I’ve been thinking a good bit about the allegations concerning former Vice President Joe Biden’s “inappropriate” kissing and hugging of women.

My initial thought that the allegations could — perhaps should — doom Biden’s expected bid for the presidency in 2020. Now I’m not so sure.

A Nevada politician told New York magazine about an event that occurred in 2014 where Biden kissed her on the back of her head and put his hands on her shoulder. She felt uncomfortable. She said it was not appropriate behavior.

A second woman has made a similar accusation. Then we have seen the viral photo of the ex-VP whispering into the ear of then-Defense Secretary Ashton Carter’s wife.

Does any of this rise to the level of (mis)behavior that Donald Trump has admitted doing? Not by a long shot!

I do not disbelieve the accusations that have come forth. I believe they happened, even though Biden says he doesn’t “recall” the first incident I mentioned here.

He will need to explain himself. Yes, we have entered a new age. Women are standing up to men who actually do abuse them, assault them, harass them.

I just don’t believe Joe Biden’s behavior fits any of those descriptions.

national news

What happens if Trump goes into the gutter against Biden?

I cannot help but wonder about a hypothetical political matchup.

Former Vice President Joe Biden is going to have to answer for a complaint filed publicly by a former Nevada politician who says the ex-VP touched her and kissed her “inappropriately.” He has said he doesn’t “recall” the incident involving Lucy Flores.

Biden also is considering whether to run for the Democratic Party’s presidential nomination in 2020. So . . . suppose Joe Biden jumps into the race.

On the other side of the political chasm sits Donald Trump, the Republican president of the United States.

We all know about Trump’s Twitter fetish and how he likes to use that social medium to say some amazingly crude and inappropriate things — at timed!

What might happen if Trump — who has his own, um, admitted sordid history regarding women — decides to dive into the gutter with intemperate tweets about the allegations regarding Biden’s alleged misbehavior?

Not only do we know about Trump’s (over)use of Twitter, we also know about his utter lack of shame and his absolute lack of self-awareness.

I’m just wondering how ugly this next presidential campaign could get. My hunch, if it’s Biden vs. Trump at the end of the parties’ nominating campaigns, it is going to get hideous beyond measure.

national news

Now it’s Joe Biden who’s under the gun

Here we go. Again.

A woman has come forth to accuse a powerful male politician of “inappropriate touching” and of planting an “unwanted kiss” on her.

The pol in question is former Vice President Joe Biden. The accuser is a former Democratic office seeker, Lucy Flores, who ran for lieutenant governor in Nevada.

Biden, of course, is considering whether to run for president of the United States in 2020. He reportedly has decided to enter the fray. He says his family is all in, according to media reports.

But what in the world do we make of this?

According to an article in New York magazine, Biden has been known to get touchy-feely with women. The media have given him a pass on it. Until now.

The #MeToo movement has changed the equation in the most dramatic fashion possible. If it turns out that Flores’ complaint is credible, that it sounds and looks legit, the former VP needs to scrap his presidential campaign plans. Immediately!

Biden has responded by saying he doesn’t “recall” the alleged incident. Doesn’t recall? What does that mean? Is it a case of, shall we say, selective amnesia?

I’ll be candid. I do no want this story to play out. However, it’s not up to me. Nor is it up to Biden’s fans and supporters who want him elected president next year.

This story needs a full airing. It needs to be examined carefully and thoroughly. If it turns out to be true — and I hate saying this — that’s it for Vice President Biden.

national news

Former VP pondering early running mate decision

Dare I take any credit for this bit of news?

I think not, but I have to share this tidbit anyway. Former Vice President Joe Biden, who’s considering whether to seek the Democratic Party presidential nomination in 2020 is considering whether to select a running mate early, rather than waiting for the nominating convention.

I thought one option might be to name Beto O’Rourke as his running mate; I mentioned it in an earlier blog post. But then O’Rourke, the former Texas congressman, announced his own presidential bid.

Biden reportedly is pondering this decision, which could echo what Ronald Reagan did in 1976 when he challenged President Gerald Ford for the Republican nomination. Reagan selected Sen. Richard Schweiker of Pennsylvania as his running in advance of the GOP convention.

It would be a gutsy move by Biden to do something out of the ordinary. However, as the election of Donald Trump demonstrated in 2016, we have entered an era of many definitions of the “new normal” in politics.

CNN reports that Biden has discussed the possibility of naming a VP candidate early. Well, the former vice president has a huge number of hopefuls who I reckon would like to run with him.

My only advice would be for the 77-year-old candidate to find someone who is willing — and able — to step into the presidency.

If you get my drift.

national news

‘Low-IQ’ Biden goofs up? Hmm, let’s think about this

Donald Trump accused former Vice President Joe Biden of being a “low-IQ individual” because of a slip-of-tongue moment in Delaware. Biden seemed to reveal that he’s decided to run for president next year, then he backed away from his (mis)statement.

That prompted the president to suggest that Biden isn’t very bright because he, um, misspoke.

I can’t stop giggling over that one.

Let me see if I have this correct.

Donald Trump stood next Vladimir Putin in Helsinki this past year and said he didn’t see any reason why the Russians “would” attack our electoral system in 2016. Oops! It took him a day or two, but then he said he meant to say that he didn’t see why they “wouldn’t” interfere as they did in our presidential election.

And then . . .

He recently referred to Apple Inc. CEO Tim Cook as “Tim Apple.” He was heard saying it. Then he backtracked. Trump said he inserted “Cook” quietly before saying “Apple.” OK. Except no one heard him say it.

Low IQ? Is that how one could describe the president because of his own frequently clumsy use of language?

national news, political news

Beto has one distinct advantage over rest of huge field

As I ponder the impact of Beto O’Rourke’s entry into the burgeoning Democratic Party presidential primary field, I keep thinking of a distinct advantage he holds over most of the rest of the thundering herd.

He doesn’t have a job at the moment.

Beto once served in Congress. He represented El Paso in Congress for three terms. Then O’Rourke decided to give up his House seat. He ran for the U.S. Senate against Republican incumbent Ted Cruz. O’Rourke ignited the Texas Democratic Party, which had been in a state of slumber, er . . . stupor for the past three decades.

O’Rourke almost won!

Now he wants to take the fight to an even higher level. He wants to become president of the United States.

He is running against a lot of U.S. senators, some governors and others who are gainfully employed. Beto doesn’t have a job.

One of the points he sought to make while losing narrowly to Cruz was that the junior senator from Texas spent too much time running for president and too little time casting votes in the Senate.

The many folks who are running against him for president in next year’s Democratic primary will be unable to slather him with mud from that particular pit. He’s jobless at the moment and can devote his waking moments full time to the task of running for POTUS.

He’ll be able to parlay that advantage at least for a little while.

Then he well might have to cope with another high-powered politician with no gainful employment.

Joe Biden? Are you out there?

national news

How might Joe Biden channel The Gipper? Here’s how

Joe Biden is the political star of the moment.

Democrats are waiting with bated breath for the former vice president to declare his expected candidacy for the presidency of the United States. He’s dropping hints all over the place that he’s decided to make one final run for the top job.

Oh, and then we have former Texas congressman Beto O’Rourke who’s playing a similar cat-and-mouse game with Democrats and the media. He, too, is sounding and looking like a candidate in the making.

Here’s my thought about all of that.

Biden is in his late 70s; Beto is in his mid-40s. I harken back to 1976 when former California Gov. Ronald Reagan challenged President Ford for the Republican presidential nomination.

Gov. Reagan shook things up a good bit by naming Pennsylvania U.S. Sen. Richard Schweiker as his running mate prior to the GOP nominating convention in Kansas City, Mo.

Is there an avenue for Biden to select O’Rourke as his VP running mate and the two of them could run as a ticket for the Democratic Party’s nomination next year?

Oh, probably not. If they both run for POTUS, they’re going to run against each other. Then one of them will drop out. Maybe they both will, which of course makes this whole notion a moot point.

But suppose Biden’s support among rank-and-file Democratic voters holds up and he secures the nomination next year in Milwaukee. I could see him declare that he would serve just one term and then he could select someone such as Beto as his running mate.

Biden would be the candidate who could clear out the Trump wreckage. Beto would be the candidate of the future who could carry Biden’s message past the president’s single term.

This is not a prediction. It’s merely a scenario that has played out before. Granted, Ronald Reagan didn’t get the GOP nomination in 1976. He laid the groundwork, though, for his 1980 campaign and subsequent landslide victory over President Carter.

I believe that if Biden runs, this will be it. If so, then he could have a ready-made successor waiting in the wings.

national news

Former VP Biden looks like he’s in . . . sigh

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Joe Biden is sounding increasingly like someone who’s decided to make yet another run for the presidency of the United States.

Oh . . . my. This situation fills me with great emotional conflict.

I admire the former vice president greatly. He has served in public life with distinction. He has occupied a large spot on the national stage, starting with his election to the U.S. Senate in 1972.

Have there been missteps, hiccups, embarrassing moments along the way? Yes. He was caught plagiarizing remarks from a British politician; he has been prone to assorted verbal gaffes throughout his public life.

He ran for president in 1988 and again in 2008. The plagiarism rap torpedoed his earlier run. He lost to Sen. Barack Obama two decades later and then ran with the future president to two historic election victories.

Biden also has endured tragedy. His wife and daughter were killed in that horrific traffic accident prior to his taking office in the Senate. His elder son Beau died of brain cancer in 2015. The VP wore his emotions on his sleeve. He endured and has carved out a largely successful public service career.

He’s now 77 years of age. I want a fresher face to run for president and to challenge Donald Trump in 2020.

That all said, if it comes down to a Trump-Biden contest next year, there’s no doubt who would get my support.

I just want someone else to go for the gusto.