Ezra Klein: Joe Biden is not Barack Obama

[babylonsister]

Joe Biden is not Barack Obama
It’s time for the former vice president to make the case for his presidency, not Obama’s.
By Ezra Klein@ezraklein Sep 16, 2019, 9:00am EDT


On Thursday, just hours before the third Democratic presidential debate, Joe Biden’s campaign released a new online ad. It was an unusual spot in that it wasn’t about Joe Biden at all. It was about Barack Obama.

Link to tweet

“Barack Obama was a great president,” could be the slogan of Biden’s 2020 presidential campaign. In the first answer Biden gave at the debate, he turned to Sen. Elizabeth Warren and said, “the senator says she’s for Bernie. Well, I’m for Barack.”

To twist Biden’s 2007 line about Rudy Giuliani, it often seems that, for Biden, there are three parts to a sentence: a noun, a verb, and Barack Obama.

Biden served loyally and effectively as Obama’s vice president. When Obama wanted to make sure stimulus money didn’t disappear to fraud, he turned to Biden — “nobody messes with Joe,” he said — and Biden came through. When the White House wanted to avoid the fiscal cliff, it was Biden who closed the deal with Mitch McConnell, then the Senate minority leader. When Obama flubbed the first debate against Mitt Romney, it was Biden who restored the ticket’s mojo by bullying his way past Rep. Paul Ryan. When the Democrats held their 2012 convention, it was Biden’s speech that pulled the highest ratings — beating both Bill Clinton and Obama.

But Joe Biden is not Barack Obama. Some vice presidents are picked for emphasis; Bill Clinton chose Al Gore to drive home his youth and moderation. Others are picked for balance; they’re chosen not for their similarity to the nominee but for their difference. Biden was a balance pick. “I want somebody with gray in his hair,” Obama said. Biden’s presence on the ticket showed that Obama knew what he didn’t know. But that’s why, by definition, Biden doesn’t mirror Obama’s political appeal or personal style and will not mirror Obama’s approach to governance.

Biden is not neatly to the right or left of Obama on foreign or domestic policy, and he diverges dramatically in how he makes decisions, how he understands the basic material of politics, and how he’d run an administration. So in campaigning so explicitly as the inheritor of Obama’s mantle, he obscures both his distinct strengths and his weaknesses, and confuses voters about the kind of president he would be.

It is time for Joe Biden to stop campaigning for Obama’s third term and focus on the case for his first.

more...

https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2019/9/16/20863343/joe-biden-barack-obama-2020-democratic-presidential-primary

[SCVDem]

1. Vice Presidents have historically run as the third term.

Al Gore being the notable exception I can recall.

People need a reference point and comparing to Obama makes a great start.

Most of us like what we know.

We know Obama and Biden and most of us like them.

[MichMan]

3. I dont recall a VP that ran a term removed in recent memory

[StarfishSaver]

6. Mondale and Nixon.

[MichMan]

13. Nixon was 2 terms removed

I wasnt that old then. Did Nixon run on the accomplishments of the Eisenhower administration?

Mondale was expecting Carter to be re elected, so he had no intention of running in 1980.

[StarfishSaver]

14. Not much

[StarfishSaver]

11. There's a difference between touting accomplishments as Obama's vice president

and even sharing the credit for Obama's accomplishments as president, on one hand, and claiming, as many of his supporters do, that being chosen as Obama's vice president inoculates Biden from criticism for his pre-2009 record.

When she ran in 2016, Hillary Clinton proudly pointed to her performance as Obama's secretary of state and also correctly shared credit for Obama's foreign policy successes. But I don't recall her ever claiming that Obama choosing her for his cabinet somehow absolved her from any scrutiny or criticism for her Iraq war vote, support for the 1994 crime bill or any other position or action she took prior to her service in the Obama administration. She took responsibility for them and explained herself and didn't seem exasperated or flustered when asked about them. She dealt with them as part of her record.


That's all many people are asking Biden to do and I, at least, don't have much patience for anyone telling me that being Obama's vice president means Biden's previous record is no longer open to examination and anyone who thinks otherwise is somehow demeaning Obama and, even more ridiculously, gets asked "so are you saying Obama is a racist?"

[Docreed2003]

37. +1

Somehow there is an undercurrent of opinion here since last week that equates any criticism of Biden's record or criticism of his debate responses with calling him a racist.

[StarfishSaver]

38. Yes.

Some of it may be a genuine misunderstanding of and lack of experience with dealing with race on the part of some people here. But among some others, it's an apparent attempt to sow dissension and also discredit and silence black and brown voices.

[Docreed2003]

40. It's an extremely hard issue, no doubt

The thing is no one is asking for perfection from Biden, or any of the other candidates, because it's not possible to be "perfect". What people are asking for is some sign that the candidates are really listening, taking in the concerns, and willing to work towards doing more.

I truly hope those sowing dissension here in our ranks take a step back and look inward at why they are responding the way they are.

[Faux pas]

2. Thank you

Ezra!

[LanternWaste]

4. Thankfully, the only ones making that argument are the ones getting paid to do so.

Between his fallacies of the antecedent and his unsupported, implicit premise, he's kinda made a mess of any original thought he may have been trying to make.

But at least he'll have the fans of logical fallacies supporting his allegations.

[BlueMississippi]

5. The pain of the ultra left is amusing

Now they want Biden to not use his strongest suit ... why? because it is hurting the socialist inclining crowd.

[DrFunkenstein]

7. You Don't See Anything Remotely Homophobic in That Remark?

You are embarrassing yourself by revealing your anxieties, and insulting others in the process.

[BlueMississippi]

9. It was not meant that way

I edited it

[Act_of_Reparation]

10. "Ultra left"

Just wanna verify I'm not at Free Republic by mistake....

[treestar]

24. Aren't there degrees of left-ness?

It is a FR that thought is so simplistic that you are a "communist" if you are slightly to the left of Reagan.

[Act_of_Reparation]

42. Kind of a disingenuous question when you consider to whom the term has been applied.

"Ultra-leftists" want to nationalize the spark plug industry and throw molotov cocktails at fat men in stovepipe hats.

People demanding a nordic-style social safety net are not "ultra-leftists".

[BlueMississippi]

31. Free Republic is "Ultra-right"

No need to confuse them.

[bluewater]

12. Ultra left? Isn't that a right wing talking point...

[BlueMississippi]

19. It is like "far East" vs "middle East"

"Ultra" to differentiate from the center-left progressives.

However, you knew that

[YOHABLO]

33. So what's YOUR definition of ''ultra left'' bluemississippi?

[Kurt V.]

30. omg. lol.

[Gothmog]

36. Yep

[cwydro]

8. Rec.

This is very true.

[stopbush]

15. Why do the Biden supporters on DU feel obliged to chime in on every thread

that points out a Biden weakness and say it ain’t so? It makes them and their candidate sound desperate.

Look, every candidate has shortcomings. Pundits and opponents are going to point them out. Sticking ones fingers in ones ears while yelling “make it stop!” isn’t helping the candidate.

[LincolnRossiter]

16. If Kamala were still enough of a factor to be under the constant glare of superfluous scrutiny, I'm

Last edited Mon Sep 16, 2019, 06:39 PM - Edit history (1)

pretty sure you’d be weighing in.

Fortunately that’s not really going to be an issue for her supporters going forward.

[cwydro]

27. You really didn't answer that poster's question.

Did you?

[LincolnRossiter]

28. You'll have to ask him or her. That answer works for me.

NT.

[cwydro]

29. Nah, you didn't.

[stopbush]

39. Aw, I saw what you did there. Trying to put a hurt on supporters by being dismissive

of their candidate.

And why not? Worked on tRump supporters in 2016.

[StarfishSaver]

18. You forgot to mention the propensity to attack other candidates and their supporters

whenever Biden is criticized, as aptly demonstrated by the response to your post.

[treestar]

23. LOL

Really? You want them to shut up? This is a discussion board.

[cwydro]

26. Lots of defensiveness lately.

Does make one wonder.

[Hekate]

17. Here's a thing: Obama gave Biden real work to do for 8 years iirc. That deserves attention.

It used to the position of VP in terms of influence was pretty much as John Nance Garner described it: Not worth a bucket of warm spit.

Dick Cheney forced a change, to our detriment because Cheney is evil.

But whatever deal Obama and Biden came to reflected who they are. So we should listen.

[Otto Lidenbrock]

20. The VP became a powerjob long before Dick Cheney

Hubert Humphrey was vitally important towards the end of Lyndon Johnson's presidency when Johnson hit a sunken place with Vietnam.

Walter Mondale was the first real VP of the modern kind who was Jimmy Carter's equal.

George HW Bush by all accounts was running a lot of things in Reagan's second term as Reagan was declining (some say that Reagan's second term was Bush's first). Al Gore was Bill Clinton's partner too and a pioneer on environmental policy.

Only really Dan Quayle in that sequence post Mondale was more of the old fashioned seatwarmer which is precisely why he was teased.

[Hekate]

21. In that case I stand coreected. My point about Biden's activities still stands...

...especially since detractors at DU have taken to sneering at that 8 years of his life as though he was just hangin' around.

[Otto Lidenbrock]

34. I'm with you on that

My post was less to correct you but more to apply a bit of context to the widespread public opinion that Dick Cheney changed it. Cheney when he was Vice President certainly ramped it up to a point where he was the one wearing the pants in the relationship. However other vice presidents were influential too in a good way.

There's an old book I read chronicling this and basically the conclusion was once the Cold War was underway the days of the vice president being an electoral tool to win a state or two and then sit on the sidelines was over. Because the presidency became too big for one person. Herbert Hoover outlived JFK but the country Hoover led was a part of a different world to what JFK led.

It's why Joe's selection will be very interesting. People have said, and he himself has said ideally it would be a female and a female of colour would be best. But he also needs somebody who voters can rest assured has something to offer on day one rather than learn on the job because (God forbid) the VP might have to assume the presidency and have the weight of the world on their shoulders.

[treestar]

22. Why wouldn't it be considerably similar?

At least as far as what happens then will be handled. Different things will happen, but the approach may well be similar.

[Tarheel_Dem]

25. I find this really amusing, and I'll bet President Obama does as well.

[myohmy2]

32. Joe Biden's...

...not Lesley Gore either...

…think Bernie...believe Bernie...it's our Party...

https://berniesanders.com/issues/

...

[Gothmog]

35. I trust President Obama's judgment

Link to tweet

[StarfishSaver]

41. Why doesn't Obama endorse Biden?

https://www.democraticunderground.com/1287282931

[TCJ70]

43. That line "she's for Bernie, I'm for Barack" can go straight to hell.

Obama was a good President. Best one of my lifetime.

I won’t get to vote for him again and lines like that don’t serve to tell me anything about Bidens plans and goals for the country. It only serves as some attempt to paint others as, for lack of a better word, disloyal to someone viewed positively by voters and is just so fucking condescending and belittling.

I’m fairly certain Obama wouldn’t mind seeing universal access to healthcare, in whatever form that takes, as an outgrowth if his work on the ACA. This weird attachment a certain segment of our electorate has to ONLY expanding the ACA as the only viable option has never made sense to me.

Also, how do the people who want to expand it plan on getting that done? The centrists never get asked those questions but expanding the ACA is just as likely as passing a Medicare buy-in option or M4A. It just seems that only the people who want to go furthest get asked the “but how ya gonna do it?” question.

[highplainsdem]

44. Klein misses the point, which many others got, that the ad about Obama was released right before the

third debate as a signal that attacks on Obama like the misguided ones in the second debate would be countered strongly.

It was a shot across the bow.