The Pathetic Biden (2)

Joe Biden’s presidential drive is taking on an air of desperation already. How pathetic is this:

I’m sure this will be a big seller—the Biden equivalent of a MAGA hat. It just screams—”No, really, I’m as cool as Barack! That ‘clean, articulate’ man (and ‘nice looking’ too!), as I put it back in 2oo8.”

Meanwhile, Biden’s abrupt about-face on his 40-year old position on the Hyde Amendment banning taxpayer funding for abortion has become the subject of an article in The Atlantic about how his staff got to him to force his change:

This was a tense two days in Biden’s Washington, D.C., headquarters. The candidate was caught off guard after an NBC News story published Wednesday morning attempted to nail down where he stands on abortion policy—specifically Hyde. Symone Sanders, one of Biden’s senior advisers, confronted him, she confirmed to me Thursday night, telling Biden that he was missing how his position disproportionately affected poor women and women of color without easy access to abortion. Alyssa Milano, the actor who’s become a major online presence on issues of women’s rights as well as a friend of the Biden team, spoke by phone Wednesday with Biden’s campaign manager, Greg Schultz, telling him that the candidate needed to change.

Pause here and reflect for a moment on the highlighted portion. I remember when Jimmy Carter admitted that his 12-year-old daughter Amy was a chief adviser to him on the nuclear arms race. Now a completely air-headed Hollywood actress is “a major presence” in Democratic politics. “OMG! It’s Alyssa Milano on Line One! Tell Kissinger to hold!”

But more startling is the fact that campaign staff think it necessary and appropriate to spill to the media how a staff revolt and external pressure forced this change on Biden. One of his advisers “challenged him”—and then spoke to the media about it? That’s not just “Sloppy Joe,” that is weakness that Trump will exploit to the hilt if Biden is the nominee.

Though I suppose Biden is merely following Obama, and just getting an early start on his World Apology Tour. More from The Atlantic article:

Ilyse Hogue, the president of NARAL Pro-Choice America, who was one of the first and loudest voices to condemn Biden on Wednesday morning for his support of Hyde, told me Thursday night that she was glad to see where he had landed. . .

Like many political observers, Hogue thinks this is probably the first of many times Biden is going to have to deal with his 47-year record running up against 2019 progressive politics.

Pass the popcorn please.

Postscript: I think it is Chris Plante of WMAL radio in Washington who has suggested that Trump’s nickname for Biden should be “Floppy Joe.” I like it.

And our friend Richard Samuelson suggest a Biden slogan: “You can run, but you can’t Hyde.”

Here’s an example of what Biden faces going forward, from one of the minor candidates in the Dem field:

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