Because I actually like the guy if he didn’t do random “creepy” things or speak so off the cuff. It’s like Im seeing myself as VP - knows the policy pretty well and is principled but a little too off the cuff…Which is cool but it makes me not want to consider him for higher office.
That said, do you think he has the capacity to control himself? If so, could he just rack up points as a third way between Sanders and Clinton?
What’s wrong with a gaffe or two every now and again? Biden is his own type of guy, and is VERY likable. I doubt he’s going to change, but I don’t see his alleged gaffes as any stumbling block to the WH.
His gaffeness is overrated. He speaks his mind freely and doesn’t run everything through his mind six times to weigh all the possible drawbacks before saying a word. At times he may wish he hadn’t said something, but he’s honest to a fault and he’s like everybody’s favorite uncle.
There are gaffes that (fairly or not) call into question one’s fitness for office (e.g. “oops,” “there is no Soviet domination of Eastern Europe,” “Macaca,” “you can see Russia from Alaska”) and then there are those that are dopey but basically anodyne (e.g. every gaffe ever attributed to Joe Biden*).
No, his gaffability is well known and probably exaggerated, which means he can only surprise to the upside. If the biggest knock on a candidate is he tends to say dopey things from time to time, that tells you it’s very likely that both his policy positions and personal character are totally unobjectionable.
Biden’s gaffes aren’t relevant. They’ve been blown way out of proportion by the media because there’s not much else to report on regarding him. Biden’s never been a great public speaker but could have run a George H W Bush 1988 campaign had there not been the overwhelming force of Hillary Clinton. Speaking of the 1st Bush, he declared ‘Today is Pearl Harbor Day’ on Sept. 7 1988. Didn’t hurt him in the election and wasn’t a huge media deal
Are we talking about gaffes, outright lies, or misleading half-truths like “I don’t have any stocks or bonds” (because they are in his wife’s name) or “I don’t have a savings account” (although he does have a savings account)?
“Gaffes” of the kind attributed to Biden are a feature, not a bug. Consider the opposite – the typical slimy politician whose every utterance is carefully and skillfully scripted. Who would you rather trust?
Biden has been tarred with a giant scarlet “G” on his chest. Every utterance is going to be scrutinized through that filter. He could stop speaking entirely, or only quote Shakespeare, from here on out and there is still going to be media figures and online commenters picking apart his words looking for anything that remotely resembles a “gaffe”. Just like Al Gore was “wooden”, George W was “someone you wanted to have beer with”, the media had defined “gaffe prone” as the narrative regarding Biden.
There ain’t nothing he can do about it now.
And frankly, coming in here and perpetuating that crap is kinda lame, yah?
I’ll back up this. Having seen both of them up close and personal a few times I’ll say that the only person more instantly likable on the stump is Bill Clinton.
It’s astonishing how good Biden is at playing the game, too.
Not that he’ll ever be President - I don’t think he’ll run - but he’d probably be a good one. Not a lot of actual Nixonian evil in the man.