No, that’s not too old. Geez, this is 2018.
President Obama explained it best in one of his farewell speeches, when he surprised Biden with the Presidential Medal of Freedom with Distinction.
For those who can’t Youtube (although Biden’s reactions are worth it… so moving!), here’s the public transcript (in spoiler just because it’s lengthy):
[spoiler]OBAMA: Welcome to the White House, everybody. As I have already delivered my farewell address, I will try to be relatively brief. But I just wanted to get some folks together to pay tribute to somebody who has not only been by my side for the duration of this amazing journey, but somebody who has devoted his entire professional life to service to this country, the best Vice President America has ever had, Mr. Joe Biden.
This also gives the Internet one last chance to talk about our bromance. This has been quite a ride. It was eight and a half years ago that I chose Joe to be my Vice President. There has not been a single moment since that time that I’ve doubted the wisdom of that decision. He was the best possible choice, not just for me, but for the American people. This is an extraordinary man with an extraordinary career in public service. This is somebody the people of Delaware sent to the Senate as quickly as they possibly could.
Elected at age 29, for more than a dozen years apiece he served as chair or ranking member of the Judiciary and Foreign Relation Committees. Domestically, he championed landmark legislation to make our communities safer, to protect our women from violence. Internationally, his wisdom and capacity to build relationships that shaped our nation’s response to the fall of the Berlin Wall and the Iron Curtain, to counterterrorism, Iraq, Afghanistan.
And for the past eight years, he could not have been a more devoted or effective partner in the progress that we’ve made. He fought to make college more affordable and revitalize American manufacturing as the head of our Middle Class Task Force. He suited up for our Cancer Moonshot, giving hope to millions of Americans touched by this disease.
He led our efforts to combat gun violence, and he rooted out any possible misappropriations that might have occurred. And as a consequence, the Recovery Act worked as well as just about any largescale stimulus project has ever worked in this country. He visited college after college — and made friends with Lady Gaga — for our “It’s On Us” campaign against campus sexual assault. And when the Pope visited, Joe was even kind enough to let me talk to His Holiness, as well.
Behind the scenes, Joe’s candid, honest counsel has made me a better President and a better Commander-in-Chief. From the Situation Room to our weekly lunches, to our huddles after everybody else has cleared out of the room, he’s been unafraid to give it to me straight, even if we disagree — in fact, especially if we disagree.
And all of this makes him, I believe, the finest Vice President we have ever seen. And I also think he has been a lion of American history. The best part is he’s nowhere close to finished. In the years ahead, as a citizen, he will continue to build on that legacy, internationally and domestically. He’s got a voice of vision and reason and optimism, and a love for people. And we’re going to need that spirit and that vision as we continue to try to make our world safer and to make sure that everybody has got a fair shot in this country.
So, all told, that’s a pretty remarkable legacy. An amazing career in public service. It is, as Joe once said, a big deal. It is.
But we all know that, on its own, his work — this list of accomplishments, the amazing résumé — does not capture the full measure of Joe Biden. I have not mentioned Amtrak yet or aviators. Literally.
Folks don’t just feel like they know Joe the politician, they feel like they know the person — what makes him laugh, what he believes, what he cares about, and where he came from. Pretty much every time he speaks, he treats us to some wisdom from the nuns who taught him in grade school — or from an old Senate colleague.
But, of course, more frequently cited — Catherine and Joseph, Sr., his mom and dad: “No one’s better than you, but you’re better than nobody.” “Bravery resides in every heart, and yours is fierce and clear.” “And when you get knocked down, Joey, get up — get up.” “Get up.”
That’s where he got those broad shoulders. That’s where he got that Biden heart. And through his life, through trial after trial, he has never once forgotten the values and the moral fiber that made him who he is. That’s what steels his faith in God, and in America, and in his friends, and in all of us.
When Joe talks to autoworkers whose livelihoods he helped save, we hear the son of a man who once knew the pain of having to tell his kids that he had lost his job.
When Joe talks about hope and opportunity for our children, we hear the father who rode the rails home every night so that he could be there to tuck his kids into bed.
When Joe sticks up for the little guy, we hear the young boy who used to stand in front of the mirror, reciting Yeats or Emerson, studying the muscles in his face, determined to vanquish a debilitating stutter.
And when Joe talks to Gold Star families who have lost a hero, we hear a kindred spirit; another father of an American veteran; somebody whose faith has been tested, and who has been forced to wander through the darkness himself, and who knows who to lean on to find the light.
So that’s Joe Biden — a resilient, and loyal, and humble servant, and a patriot. But most of all, a family man. Starts with Jill, “Captain of the Vice Squad.” Only the Second Lady in our history to keep her regular day job. Jill says, teaching isn’t what she does, it’s who she is. A few days after Joe and I were inaugurated in 2009, she was back in the classroom teaching. That’s why when our administration worked to strengthen community colleges, we looked to Jill to lead the way.
She’s also traveled the world to boost education and empowerment for women. And as a Blue Star mom, her work with Michelle to honor our military families will go down in history as one of the most lasting and powerful efforts of this administration.
Of course, like Joe, Jill’s work is only part of the story. She just seems to walk this Earth so lightly, spreads her joy so freely. And she reminds us that although we’re in a serious business, we don’t have to take ourselves too seriously. She’s quick with a laugh or a practical joke, disguising herself as a server at a party she once hosted — (laughter) —to liven the mood. She once hid in the overhead compartment of Air Force 2 to scare the senior staff. Because why not? She seems to have a sixth sense of when to send a note of encouragement to a friend or a staffer, a simple thank you or a box of macaroons.
She is one of the best, most genuine people that I’ve met not just in politics, but in my entire life. She is grounded, and caring, and generous, and funny, and that’s why Joe is proud to introduce himself as “Jill Biden’s husband.”
And to see them together is to see what real love looks like — through thick and thin, good times and bad. It’s an all-American love story. Jill once surprised Joe by painting hearts on his office windows for Valentine’s Day.
And then there are these Biden kids and grandkids. They’re everywhere. They’re all good-looking. Hunter and Ashley, who lived out that family creed of raising good families and looking out for the least of our brothers and sisters. Beau, who is watching over us with those broad shoulders and mighty heart himself — a man who left a beautiful legacy and inspired an entire nation. Naomi, and Finn, and Maisy, and Natalie, and little Hunter — grandchildren who are the light of Joe’s eyes, and gives him an excuse to bust out the squirt gun around the pool. This is the kind of family that built this country.
That’s why my family is so proud to call ourselves honorary Bidens. As Yeats put it — because I had to quote an Irish poet, and Seamus Heaney was taken — “Think where man’s glory most begins and ends, and say my glory was I had such friends.”
Away from the camera, Jill and Michelle have each other’s backs just as much as when they’re out championing our troops. Our girls are close, best friends at school, inviting each other for vacations and sleepovers. Even though our terms are nearly over, one of the greatest gifts of these past eight years is that we’re forever bonded as a family.
But, of course, I know that the Obamas are not the only ones who feel like they’re part of the Biden clan because Joe’s heart has radiated around this room. You see it in the enduring friendships he’s forged with folks of every stripe and background up on Capitol Hill. You see it in the way that his eyes light up when he finds somebody in a rope line from Scranton. Or just the tiniest towns in Delaware. You see it in the incredible loyalty of his staff, the team who knows that family always comes before work because Joe tells them so every day, the team that reflects their boss’s humble service. Here in this building where there have been no turf wars between our staffs because everybody here has understood that we were all on the same mission and shared the same values, there has just been cooperation and camaraderie. And that is rare. It’s a testament to Joe and the tone that he’s set.
And finally, you see Joe’s heart in the way he consoles families, dealing with cancer, backstage after an event; when he meets kids fighting through a stutter of their own, he gives them his private phone number and keeps in touch with them long after. To know Joe Biden is to know love without pretense, service without self-regard, and to live life fully.
As one of his long-time colleagues in the Senate, who happened to be a Republican, once said, “If you can’t admire Joe Biden as a person, you got a problem. He’s as good a man as God ever created.”
So, Joe, for your faith in your fellow Americans, for your love of country, and for your lifetime of service that will endure through the generations, I’d like to ask the military aide to join us on stage.
For the final time as President, I am pleased to award our nation’s highest civilian honor — the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
And for the first and only time in my presidency, I will bestow this medal with an additional level of veneration, an honor my three most recent successors reserved for only three others: Pope John Paul II, President Ronald Reagan, and General Colin Powell.
Ladies and gentlemen, I am proud to award the Presidential Medal of Freedom with Distinction to my brother, Joseph Robinette Biden, Jr.[/spoiler]
He’s a good man who is down-to-earth, experienced, extremely smart, experienced and compassionate. The plagiarism b.s. and so-called touchy-feely stuff is intensely lame when compared to the corruption, lies, tax fraud, sexual improprieties and so on of Trump.
Part of the love for Biden, as already mentioned, is the idea that he would probably have been able to beat Trump in 2016 had he been the Democratic nominee. I also don’t see the relevance of his having lost in previous primaries. Reagan, for example, lost to Nixon in 1968, but nobody was telling him not to run in 1980 just because of that previous loss (or because of his age).
I think what it really comes down to is that he’s the biggest name the Democrats have right now. I could be convinced to support someone else, and I will support the eventual nominee, but in the primary my vote will be based on whoever looks like they have the best shot at beating Trump, not their position on taxes, immigration, the minimum wage, or any other issue. Can you beat Trump or not? That’s the most important question in 2020, and right now Biden seems like one of the best positioned Democrats to do so.
In the previous runs, he barely got started, and he didnt have 8 years as a beloved Veep behind him.
I’m not a Biden backer, but I’ll support him if he gets the nomination.
I think his appeal is he doesn’t scare away whites w/o a college education. He is a white man who doesn’t talk down to people or propose radical solutions to the country’s problems. Plus he has name recognition and Obama nostalgia.
From what I recall of polls looking at 2020 matchups, Biden did best of all the democrats listed in a fight against Trump.
The Democrats could run Jesus Christ and Trump would be saying that “Jesus” is a Mexican name and calling him “Drunk Hey-zeus” after that time he made water into wine.
Making the election about “Oh no, Trump will call him names” is a fool’s errand.
I prefer Messiahs that don’t get crucified!
Anyway, I agree with Richard Parker, above. Biden is solid. He may not be the best, but he’s very good. And solid.
- Experience
- Authenticity
- Likeability
- Honesty-too honest, even
- Has made almost no money while his colleagues got very wealthy off their “service”
- Appeals to white working class voters
ISTM it’s not so much that they like him for President per se, but that because of all of the above mentioned reasons, people just *like *him, and at least they know who he is. So he becomes the sort of default value. Right now the Democrat would-be presidentiabiles either don’t look good or are not that well known but by mid 2019 this will begin taking better shape.
Had he thrown his hat in for 2016, I’d have supported him from among that field. But 2020 though? I’d need to see who’s in THAT field.
Yeah, I gotta admit. One of the problems seen in the 2016 Republican primary field was Trump’s ability to mock and generate outrage in his opponents. He called them names and they got mad or did some variation on ‘how sad it is that we’re at this point’ sort of thing.
Biden might not mock back, but he’d laugh at Trump’s antics to disarm him. Trump likes to get people mad. Remember how ‘malarkey’ took off when Biden hit Ryan with it in the VP debates in 2012? That’s the way to get under Trump’s skin and look like a guy who can take it.
I wouldn’t say he’s the only one who can beat Trump. I’d like to see someone younger as the nominee, but if he is the nominee, I’ll enthusiastically vote for him. I’d enthusiastically vote for almost anyone over Trump.
As others have said, Biden seems to be a genuinely decent and likable person. He’s spent 50 years in government, apparently without acquiring massive wealth, which suggests that he’s honest and really does prioritize governing over personal enrichment. He seems to be more in tune with the concerns of middle class Americans than are most politicians. Yeah, he wears his heart on his sleeve, and he’s slightly goofy. But I think he’s a patriotic guy and he seems to honestly care about middle and lower class people.
And if you can watch this clip of Biden being interviewed by a 5th grader, and not smile, you have a heart of stone: 5th Grade Reporter Interviews Vice-President Joe Biden - YouTube (go to 3:45 for the best part).
Oh, and he was a key player in getting the ACA passed, and he got ahead of Obama on same sex marriage, so he’s alright in my book.
Biden would be fine and I like him fine. He is a known entity. That’s highly attractive to many because his brand is a good fit for the time.
But I don’t yet have a first choice as there are several others trying out for the part who really haven’t yet had their screen tests and one or two who have some real potential. Biden is not too old but a change of the guard to a newer generation has its appeal.
Too soon to say that he’s the one even though he’d definitely be a fine choice. Maybe someone else will be better!
“Multiple others”? Who, exactly? Mitch Landrieu, whose claim to fame is as ex-mayor of New Orleans? Kirsten Gillibrand, famous as defense attorney for Philip Morris and now a Junior Senator? I didn’t pick those names by “scraping the bottom of the barrel” — they are among the most promising possibilities the D’s have right now!
I’d jump on the Biden bandwagon in a flash — just by process of elimination — if I didn’t think 78 years old was* too* old to begin a first term as President.
He can be seen as a white Obama and a man, so he can hopefully pull in some of red states’ racists and sexists.
In Gillibrand’s case, why is “Junior Senator” a pejorative? Bernie Sanders is the junior senator from Vermont, and I don’t think I’ve ever seen or heard someone slam him for not being the senior senator. For that matter, Biden was the junior senator from DE for most of his time in Congress (William Roth), and again I don’t believe people ever carped about that. Obama was the junior senator from Illinois, but most of the criticism around that came not for being junior senator but for being a first-termer. What difference does it make whether Gillibrand is senior or junior?
The junior part isn’t necessarily an issue, but she hasn’t been a Senator long and she has a history of being a major league flip flopper, like Mitt Romney scale. There’s really no compelling argument for her other than that she really, genuinely seems to care about womens’ issues. But what most people seem to cite about her is that she’s a staunch progressive. Sure, for a few years she’s been there. She started out as a pretty solid Blue Dog.
Thanks. septimus highlighted the “junior” part, so I assume s/he thinks it’s an issue, and I’m curious why.
Gillibrand did start off fairly moderate when she first entered electoral politics, and has indeed become more liberal over time. Think of that what you will, but it’s worth pointing out that she was originally elected to the House from a Republican, rural, conservative district (a district that at the time included a chunk of my county, though not the city where I live). It’s true that she had help in that the then-office holder was mired in scandal, but most people around here didn’t give her much of a shot at winning–and less of a shot at keeping the seat–and she did both. It’s very arguable that her current political persona would not have won in that district at that time.
Is that shamelss flip-floppery? Maybe–but it’s also a recognition that we have a House of Representatives, in which candidates represent the interests of their constituents. The issue that always stood out for me in her early career was guns; this wasn’t the kind of district where strong gun controls were going to be a winning stance, and she reflected that early on.
This is common enough behavior–Bernie Sanders, to name one other possible candidate, talked about guns during the primary season in 2016 in a way that didn’t much match the way he’d voted as representative and then senator from a largely pro-gun state.
Anyway–not trying to present a case for Gillibrand, and her flip-flopping may be a turnoff to a lot of voters, who knows–just that there’s precedent for at least some of what she’s done.
Exactly this. Biden didnt just lose, he lost badly. His schtick doesn’t stand up to the scrutiny and hostility of Presidential campaigning. And it is a schtick.
Also this. Its two years before the election, there is not a single declared candidacy yet, so people have no one to think of to point to and say “Him!” Or “Her!” So they set their (very temporary) sights on the most recognizable face.
I also don’t think considering Biden a good candidate based on nothing more than he’d beat Trump is a very healthy mindset to have. The bar needs to be higher than that. And the ole ‘straight-talkin’, common sense blue collar everyman’ schtick has grown exceedingly see-through. He is a man of a bygone era, our time is not his time. He’s a comfortable relic of the past. Who would perform in similar fashion the 3rd time running for President as he did in his first two times: not well.
His campaign did even get off the ground, which is different.
Actually, that’s exactly what we need. We HAVE to get Trump out of the White House. Have to. Period.
Well of course. But getting Trump out of office is a basic, fundamental goal that many would succeed in. Selecting a candidate based solely on the factor of the candidate’s likely success against Trump is bad mindset for our country. The list of characteristics we need in who we most want to be the Leader of the Free World needs to be a list with many entries, the generic quality of being able to beat Trump is but prologue to that list.