# Joe Biden's in **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [April 25, 2019, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/joe-bidens-in/833042 "2019-04-25T16:13:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Larry\_Borgia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/larry_borgia/32/156_2.png) [@Larry\_Borgia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Borgia)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2019, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/joe-bidens-in/833042/41 "2019-04-25T19:29:59Z")
> [@Whack-a-Mole](#): > > Do you think Politico is an ultra-far-left news source? > > And you do realize that article is from 2015 right? Pretty sure\*\* Richard Parker\*\* is being ironic there. ---
**Author:** ![Richard\_Parker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/35a633/32.png) [@Richard\_Parker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Parker)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2019, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/joe-bidens-in/833042/42 "2019-04-25T19:31:16Z")
> [@Larry\_Borgia](#): > > Pretty sure\*\* Richard Parker\*\* is being ironic there. Yes. Just to be clear, I think Joe Biden is a bad candidate because he is very old and has taken very conservative positions on a number of important issues, not least of all racial equity (which is of course a big part of why he was selected as Obama’s VP). ---
**Author:** ![Thing\_Fish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecb155/32.png) [@Thing\_Fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thing_Fish)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2019, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/joe-bidens-in/833042/43 "2019-04-25T19:32:22Z")
[Nate Silver](https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/how-joe-biden-could-win-the-2020-democratic-nomination/) thinks that Biden is in an interesting position in that he’s _sort of_ the frontrunner, but not really. He’s leading in the polls and endorsements, but not by the massive margins that Gore or Hillary had at this point in their campaigns. He’s quite popular with older voters and moderates, but much less so with younger voters and progressives. He’s averaging 25-30% currently, so to win without a brokered convention, he’d need to almost double that. So does he run like the frontrunner, not aggressively attacking other candidates, taking the high road and focusing on attacking Trump? That strategy worked for Hillary, even though she constantly lost support to Sanders throughout the primary season. But her lead at the start of the campaign was so large that she could afford to do that; Biden’s current lead is nowhere near that large. Or should he be the guy aceplace wants him to be and rally his army of grumpy old white guys to do battle against the evil forces of identity politics and socialism? Would that increase his support much, or are most of the voters who would respond to that already on his side? Silver also makes a point that I have been making for a while, that a large part of Biden’s support is based on the perception that he is the most “electable” candidate (the linked article links to recent surveys confirming that Dems do view Biden that way). But this may be largely a function of name recognition; Hillary had massive leads in perceived electability early in both her campaigns, but those largely evaporated as voters became more familiar with the other guys. IOW, Biden’s position at the top of the polls could be self-reinforcing; many of his supporters might be quick to bail if his numbers start to slip, or if he underperforms in early primaries. ---
**Author:** ![Thing\_Fish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecb155/32.png) [@Thing\_Fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thing_Fish)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2019, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/joe-bidens-in/833042/44 "2019-04-25T19:37:14Z")
Also, I wonder to what extent Biden (and Sanders) might be vulnerable to opponents who make their age a major issue. Sanders didn’t really have to deal with that last time, because Hillary was keeping the gloves on and was no spring chicken herself. I could see that line of attack potentially knocking both of them down a few notches if it were aggressively pursued. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2019, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/joe-bidens-in/833042/45 "2019-04-25T19:39:57Z")
I have no problem with Biden or most of the other candidates, but he’ll need to shift from “Trump evil” to “country good” very quickly. Trump thrives on hate, so the Dem candidates need to take their sails out of his wind. ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Borgia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/larry_borgia/32/156_2.png) [@Larry\_Borgia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Borgia)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2019, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/joe-bidens-in/833042/46 "2019-04-25T19:41:16Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > I’m falling in love already. This is the straight taking attitude the country needs right now. It feels good hearing someone speak for me and my values. [Maybe he’ll be able to give Elvira that government post.](https://politics.theonion.com/biden-offers-government-post-to-elvira-mistress-of-the-1819578126) [But I don’t think Worm will be able to fill in for him, like when he was VP.](https://politics.theonion.com/biden-has-guy-named-worm-sit-in-for-him-at-cabinet-meet-1819575323) ---
**Author:** ![Thing\_Fish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecb155/32.png) [@Thing\_Fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thing_Fish)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2019, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/joe-bidens-in/833042/47 "2019-04-25T19:55:33Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > I have no problem with Biden or most of the other candidates, but he’ll need to shift from “Trump evil” to “country good” very quickly. Trump thrives on hate, so the Dem candidates need to take their sails out of his wind. But he’s not currently running against Trump. In the context of a Democratic primary, lambasting Trump is an uplifting, unifying, noncontroversial message. ---
**Author:** ![CaptMurdock](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/captmurdock/32/11736_2.png) [@CaptMurdock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CaptMurdock)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2019, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/joe-bidens-in/833042/48 "2019-04-25T20:01:01Z")
> [@Richard\_Parker](#): > > A candidate who [opposed](https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2015/08/joe-biden-integration-school-busing-120968)school integration. > [snip] …forty years ago (as it says in the first words of the cite). Nothing personal, RP, but wake me when they have something from _this_ century. Disclaimer: not in the tank for Joe. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2019, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/joe-bidens-in/833042/49 "2019-04-25T20:12:53Z")
> [@HurricaneDitka](#): > > I think the far-left wing of the party has taken over more than Joe realizes, and he’s positioned himself as too much of a moderate to win the nomination. > [@aceplace57](#): > > Awesome, fantastic news. 😉 > > We FINALLY! have a centrist candidate that has a chance of winning. > > Hot damn, finally a Democrat that isn’t uktra left wing. 😃 > [@aceplace57](#): > > That’s assuming the ultra left doesn’t force Biden to shift from the center. He’s already backpedaling on the Anita Hill hearings 25 years ago. I’m curious as to what makes the “far left” or “ultra left” so awful, but I don’t want to hijack this thread. [So I’ve started another](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=874588). ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2019, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/joe-bidens-in/833042/50 "2019-04-25T20:17:27Z")
> [@CaptMurdock](#): > > Nothing personal, RP, but wake me when they have something from _this_ century. [2005 Bankruptcy Law](https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2019/3/18/1843073/-Elizabeth-Warren-v-the-Banks-The-2005-Bankruptcy-Act) ---
**Author:** ![Thing\_Fish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecb155/32.png) [@Thing\_Fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thing_Fish)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2019, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/joe-bidens-in/833042/51 "2019-04-25T20:18:21Z")
I’m a hard pass on Joe, and I agree that’s a stupid line of attack. Nobody is going to decide that Obama’s VP is a closet racist because he said some bad stuff forty years ago, nor should they. Biden’s base of support is older moderates, and I’m guessing most of that demographic also hold more enlightened views on racial issues today than they did forty years ago, so they’re unlikely to hold it against him. ---
**Author:** ![Ryan\_Liam](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ryan_liam/32/3965_2.png) [@Ryan\_Liam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ryan_Liam)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2019, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/joe-bidens-in/833042/52 "2019-04-25T21:24:51Z")
> [@Happy\_Lendervedder](#): > > [Biden pulls off duty tarp covering old campaign motorcycle.](https://politics.theonion.com/biden-pulls-off-dusty-tarp-covering-old-campaign-motorc-1833442728) > > “You hear that baby purring into third gear, your vote isn’t the only thing Uncle Joe’s gonna get.” > > Will be interesting now that he’s finally in. Half of the pundits are saying his candidacy will pull all the energy and money from the middle candidates like Booker and Klobuchar. Others are saying he’s gonna have a real hard time keeping up with everyone else as far as fundraising goes. > > But as far as endorsements go, [he leapfrogs the entire field in a matter of hours.](https://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/2020-endorsements/democratic-primary/?ex_cid=rrpromo) Here’s one What’s his stance on medicare? Free at point of use? If not, why should anyone waste their time on him. They tried ‘Not Trump’ In 2016, and they lost. ---
**Author:** ![Thing\_Fish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecb155/32.png) [@Thing\_Fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thing_Fish)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2019, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/joe-bidens-in/833042/53 "2019-04-25T21:29:12Z")
nm ---
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2019, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/joe-bidens-in/833042/54 "2019-04-25T21:30:15Z")
You may have not read the first link. It lays out a pretty compelling case. ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Lendervedder](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_lendervedder/32/8488_2.png) [@Happy\_Lendervedder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Lendervedder)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2019, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/joe-bidens-in/833042/55 "2019-04-25T21:37:59Z")
> [@choie](#): > > TBH I wish you hadn’t linked to satire in the opening post, **Happy**. I mean, the article’s funny, but people like **aceplace57** might think this was a legit quote. TBH I’m not going to cater my posts to accommodate aceplace. ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2019, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/joe-bidens-in/833042/56 "2019-04-25T21:39:51Z")
> [@Ryan\_Liam](#): > > Here’s one > > What’s his stance on medicare? Free at point of use? If not, why should anyone waste their time on him. > > They tried ‘Not Trump’ In 2016, and they lost. You could also ask, why should anyone waste their time on Bernie, who proposes single-payer universal health care? I mean, it’s a great idea, but in the current American political landscape it makes him unelectable. That guy you mention above who beat Hillary? He proposed going in the opposite direction, and repealing Obamacare. And he won, despite having no actual ideas at all. Does that make “free health care at point of use” sound like a winning proposition in today’s right-wing America? ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2019, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/joe-bidens-in/833042/57 "2019-04-25T21:55:36Z")
> [@wolfpup](#): > > Does that make “free health care at point of use” sound like a winning proposition in today’s right-wing America? Yeah, it does. A [majority of people in the US](https://news.gallup.com/poll/4708/healthcare-system.aspx) want it. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2019, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/joe-bidens-in/833042/58 "2019-04-25T22:05:08Z")
> [@RTFirefly](#): > > [2005 Bankruptcy Law](https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2019/3/18/1843073/-Elizabeth-Warren-v-the-Banks-The-2005-Bankruptcy-Act) Now THIS really pisses me off. ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2019, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/joe-bidens-in/833042/59 "2019-04-25T22:26:24Z")
> [@Whack-a-Mole](#): > > Yeah, it does. A [majority of people in the US](https://news.gallup.com/poll/4708/healthcare-system.aspx) want it. A few observations about that, which I’ve seen before and which is obviously encouraging as far as it goes. But … 1. This must be the famous “silent majority” who apparently don’t bother voting. 2. The support for public UHC was even higher between 2000 and 2008. So this is not new. Yet Obama could only pass a highly watered-down version of it, notably _ **without** _ the public option. 3. The polling prior to 2000 isn’t shown. But only six years prior, Hillary’s health care initiative during the Clinton administration failed completely. 4. If Bernie (or anyone else supporting public UHC) becomes the nominee, you can expect both Republicans and the omnipotent health insurance lobby to come out swinging and attacking like they’ve never attacked before. It will make the “Harry and Louise” ad blitz that helped kill the Clinton reform initiative seem like an afternoon in daycare. There will be horror stories, scare tactics, dire warnings about death panels, anti-socialist tirades. They will destroy Bernie, totally and completely. They know how to do it. These people have been able to turn war heroes into putative criminals when it served their purposes. I would, of course, love to be proven wrong about all of this. But I think it accurately reflects the current political landscape – the one that elected Trump. ---
**Author:** ![choie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/choie/32/7829_2.png) [@choie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/choie)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2019, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/joe-bidens-in/833042/60 "2019-04-25T22:32:06Z")
I’m glad we have a year to let things settle and learn more about the vast panoply of would-be nominees. Personal favorites are Swalwell (he’s fucking awesome), Buttigieg, Booker, Biden, Warren, Harris… basically, anyone but Gillibrand. In November 2020? I will vote for the Democratic nominee. Literally anyone. A balloon on a stick, SpongeBob Squarepants, Toonces the cat, even (holding my nose) Kristen Gilibrand. Why am I sticking Biden up in my top four? He’s made votes I most definitely do not approve of. But I think he’s a smart, inquisitive, thoughtful, compassionate and (at least when I’ve seen him interviewed recently) sharp and well-informed person. Also, humble and funny, two things that are less important but much missed in our current narcissistic, venal, shitheaded president. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/joe-bidens-in/833042.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/joe-bidens-in/833042.md?page=4)