# Why do people like Joe Biden for President? **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [November 9, 2018, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-like-joe-biden-for-president/824254 "2018-11-09T17:26:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2018, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-like-joe-biden-for-president/824254/61 "2018-11-14T22:06:37Z")
> [@voltaire](#): > > In case anyone’s missed it, I plug Biden on the regular around here, lately with Booker as his running mate. But my own particular preference would be with Biden as VP. As long as he’s ok with playing that role again, since he’s already proven he’d be excellent in the position, it’s a no-brainer. But if he wants the big office, he deserves it and should run for it with the understanding that he and Booker will be swapping roles in 2024, a proposition which shapes the prospects of such a ticket quite nicely, IMO. If Biden agrees to only serve one term then he’s admitting he’s too old. There is a very good reason nobody has ever said they would not run for re-election. ---
**Author:** ![Ulf\_the\_Unwashed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Ulf\_the\_Unwashed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulf_the_Unwashed)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2018, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-like-joe-biden-for-president/824254/62 "2018-11-15T00:31:47Z")
Now, I seem to recall that the immortal James Knox Polk made that exact promise when he ran back in ‘44– and kept it. Am I misremembering? ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2018, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-like-joe-biden-for-president/824254/63 "2018-11-15T00:42:30Z")
> [@Bijou\_Drains](#): > > If Biden agrees to only serve one term then he’s admitting he’s too old. There is a very good reason nobody has ever said they would not run for re-election. I dont want him to say that. But I do want a young vigorous Veep _just in case_ 4 years as Prez makes Joe rethink it. Right now, he is healthy. But sure, Prez does drain your health. ---
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2018, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-like-joe-biden-for-president/824254/64 "2018-11-15T00:56:26Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > No. That leads to defeat. Job1 is to get trump out- with a Democrat in. Put in the man who has the highest chance of beating Trump. Nothing else is important. No it doesnt. We need to put forward the candidate with the **best** chance of unseating Trump, not just **a** chance. Myriad Democrats have the potential to beat Trump. The only reason anyone would think Biden has the best shot at winning, rather than just the generic (D) standard shot, is because its so early and there is no one else to talk about yet. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2018, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-like-joe-biden-for-president/824254/65 "2018-11-15T01:15:26Z")
> [@Ambivalid](#): > > No it doesnt. We need to put forward the candidate with the **best** chance of unseating Trump, not just **a** chance. Myriad Democrats have the potential to beat Trump. … What did I say ? \*Put in the man who has the highest chance of beating Trump. \* ---
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2018, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-like-joe-biden-for-president/824254/66 "2018-11-15T01:31:35Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > What did I say ? > \*Put in the man who has the highest chance of beating Trump. \* _And that man aint Joe Biden_. Is all im saying. ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2018, 4:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-like-joe-biden-for-president/824254/67 "2018-11-15T04:16:12Z")
Biden polls by far better against Trump than anyone else. And that’s not just name recognition. Authenticity is going to be HUGE in this election. Trump will eat a scripted, fake candidate alive. ---
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2018, 4:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-like-joe-biden-for-president/824254/68 "2018-11-15T04:20:33Z")
> [@Ambivalid](#): > > _And that man aint Joe Biden_. Is all im saying. That candidate aint necessarily a man. ---
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2018, 4:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-like-joe-biden-for-president/824254/69 "2018-11-15T04:23:57Z")
> [@DSeid](#): > > That candidate aint necessarily a man. True. Careless oversight on my part. ---
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2018, 4:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-like-joe-biden-for-president/824254/70 "2018-11-15T04:26:50Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > Biden polls by far better against Trump than anyone else. And that’s not just name recognition. Authenticity is going to be HUGE in this election. Trump will eat a scripted, fake candidate alive. This is exactly my point: he polls far better than…_who?_ Lets see how well he polls a year from now when all the candidates are known. Right now, he is a big fish in a small pond. ---
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2018, 4:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-like-joe-biden-for-president/824254/71 "2018-11-15T04:29:13Z")
> [@DSeid](#): > > That candidate aint necessarily a man. Actually, it wasnt exactly an oversight rather than using the same language as the poster to whom I was responding. Point still taken tho. ---
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2018, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-like-joe-biden-for-president/824254/72 "2018-11-15T16:32:08Z")
One suspects that the poster to whom you were responding did mean “man” - some are of the concept that HRC showed a woman by virtue of gender is not as likely to beat Trump as a man would, that sexism is deeper than racism. ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2018, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-like-joe-biden-for-president/824254/73 "2018-11-15T19:58:35Z")
> [@Ambivalid](#): > > This is exactly my point: he polls far better than…_who?_ Lets see how well he polls a year from now when all the candidates are known. Right now, he is a big fish in a small pond. No one is arguing for his coronation. Just that he should run, and if no one younger is better than him, that he should not be denied the nomination solely because of his age. ---
**Author:** ![That\_Don\_Guy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/that_don_guy/32/538_2.png) [@That\_Don\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/That_Don_Guy)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2018, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-like-joe-biden-for-president/824254/74 "2018-11-15T20:19:18Z")
I would assume that Biden fans feel that the only alternatives for the Democratic nomination are of the Bernie Sanders / Elizabeth Warren / Kamala Harris variety. ---
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2018, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-like-joe-biden-for-president/824254/75 "2018-11-15T22:54:37Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > No one is arguing for his coronation. Just that he should run, and if no one younger is better than him, that he should not be denied the nomination solely because of his age. Well, while i dont really agree with your first sentence, I certainly can agree with the rest of your post. ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2018, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-like-joe-biden-for-president/824254/76 "2018-11-16T00:36:29Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > The Republicans don’t have a problem electing a total asshole, either, but that doesn’t mean that the Democrats should too. > > Besides, the Democrats need to be younger than Republicans. It’s their brand as well as their voter base. It’s also a matter of principle: conservatives look to the past, and are therefore old; liberals look to the future, and are therefore young. Being younger than the Republicans is their brand? Since when? Before the election, the average age of Democratic House leadership was 64. For Republicans it was 53. Republicans in the House average about five years younger than Democrats. It’s been this way for quite some time - since the tea party came along in 2010, Republicans in Congress have been an average of about four years younger than Democrats. I think part of the problem is that the Democratic leadership comes from districts that they are an absolute lock to hold. Feinstein, Hoyer and the rest will simply be there until they die or voluntarily retire. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2018, 11:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-like-joe-biden-for-president/824254/77 "2018-11-16T11:53:47Z")
And that’s a major party the Democrat have - its establishment has lost it connection to its base. The party needs new blood, and it needs energetic young insurgents like Clinton and Obama as presidential candidates. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2018, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-like-joe-biden-for-president/824254/78 "2018-11-16T17:03:38Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > Yes it is and yes it is. > > It’s time to end the gerontocracy. The elderly may certainly be able to work, but perishingly few of them can do so at their full capacity. How many people, in any field, have done their best work over the age of 70? Face it: nobody peaks at 78, and America deserves someone at their peak. It’s no coincidence that all of America’s greatest presidents were in their 40s and 50s when they were first elected. The gerontocracy is a bigger issue in American society than just the Presidency. Companies/society have tended to push management responsibility upward- people younger than say… 45 with significant management responsibility (outside the military) seem to be the exception more than the rule these days. And considering that we tend to require major candidates to have significant experience, that means that they have to either be some kind of fast-mover or have the wealth/connections to get involved in politics early (a-la Beto O’Rourke) so that by the time they hit their mid-40s, they’re experienced enough to run. And the problem there is that we get people who wanted politics as a career from an early age, which seems vaguely sketchy and suspicious to me. ---
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2018, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-like-joe-biden-for-president/824254/79 "2018-11-16T17:27:09Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > … America deserves someone at their peak. … Wrong. We deserve the person who is best available to serve, even if they would have been even better 4 or 8 years ago. When was Einstein’s peak? Quite possibly when he was 26 (in 1905) and came up with the Theory of Special relativity. Was he someone to not choose for thinking in physics after that because he was after his peak? Clearly I was no fan of Reagan but few would dispute that his “best work” was his presidency, almost all of which was in his 70s. Now his best work was pushing the country in a direction I disagreed with but that matters naught. Let’s see … in art Grandma Moses didn’t get going until 78. Hell Sanders, who I am also no fan of, clearly hit his peak last election cycle, in his 70s making the biggest impact he has ever made on the national zeitgeist. I strongly endorse the need to develop new talent and grow he bench, and the desirability of having younger voters having representation of their generation or at least close to it at various levels. And I am not leaning to Biden as the very best person for the job. I can’t say that consideration of his age plays _no_ role in that assessment. But being past his peak has nothing to do with it. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2018, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-like-joe-biden-for-president/824254/80 "2018-11-16T18:39:20Z")
> [@DSeid](#): > > One suspects that the poster to whom you were responding did mean “man” -… Not at all. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-like-joe-biden-for-president/824254.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-like-joe-biden-for-president/824254.md?page=5)