Obama Finally Endorses Biden

 

Of the many things I don’t miss about Barack Obama, chief among them is his gassy, platitudinous speechification. If asked whether he prefers cats or dogs, Obama would open with ten minutes on the “promise of the vision of hope to inspire Americans of all ages and identities to dream of greater heights, bending the moral arc of justice toward” something or other. Well, Barack is back and boldly endorsing the only Democratic candidate left.

The video opens with a long stretch of backseat presidenting, demonstrating that Obama would solve the COVID-19 pandemic by talking it to death. A few minutes in, he gets around to Joe Biden, the ostensible reason for the video. But it’s quickly on to praising Bernie Sanders at length along with the Brooklyn Bolshevik’s, er, passionate supporters.

Much like Bernie’s odd two-shot endorsement with Biden Monday, never has a loser been treated so much like a winner. The DNC’s worried about the socialists staying home in November but tacking to the far-left base is a terrible idea for the general election. Both events treat Biden as “Generic Democratic Candidate” instead of a guy who defeated 20-plus candidates in a long primary.

As I wrote last week for the Arizona Republic, the tepid response to Joe makes him feel like a placeholder for Team Donkey instead of a leader.

Despite COVID-19 dominating the coverage, Biden’s trying to make news. On Twitter, he’s offered tepid criticisms of Trump’s response to the virus. He’s held a couple of anemic Facebook town halls.

He even launched a podcast. “What do Fig Newtons and peanut butter and jelly sandwiches have in common?” Biden promoted on Twitter. “Listen to this preview of this week’s podcast to find out.”

You can’t blame Democrats for questioning if this guy can beat Donald Trump. Yes, Biden won the primaries fair and square, but the convention’s still months away. Originally scheduled for July, the pandemic has pushed it to mid-August. And talk of a big switcheroo is brewing.

One Democrat making news in the quarantine era is New York Governor Andrew Cuomo. With daily pressers carried live across the country, he doesn’t need a Fig Newton podcast to create buzz.

New York State Democratic Party chairman Jay Jacobs noted the groundswell. “I keep hearing, ‘Cuomo for President,” he said. “Whether it’s political people that talk to me; or neighbors on the street; or friends I haven’t heard from in a long time; my brother down in Marietta, Ga., texting me; my sister-in-law — it’s off the charts.”

Cuomo’s crisis leadership has been praised across the board. That includes President Trump, who said the obvious: “I think he’d be a better candidate than Sleepy Joe.”

Then you have Hillary Clinton, who’s swanning about her Chappaqua mansion like a latter-day Norma Desmond, muttering, “I am big. It’s the politics that got small.” She celebrated Bernie’s defeat but has yet to endorse Joe.

Does anyone else see Biden stepping aside before the August convention (health reasons an obvious excuse) or will we see Trump eviscerate the former VP in a pair of brutal debates?

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  1. drlorentz Member
    drlorentz
    @drlorentz

    Jon Gabriel, Ed.: Well, Barack is back and boldly endorsing the only Democratic candidate left.

    Stunning and brave!

    • #1
  2. Stad Coolidge
    Stad
    @Stad

    Jon Gabriel, Ed.: or will we see Trump eviscerate the former VP in a pair of brutal debates?

    I can picture the Democrat Party and Team Biden advising Good Ol’ Joe against debates for the reason you cite.  They’ll say something like, “Joe won’t lower himself to Trump’s level” or something like that.

    I still wonder if engineering a substitute candidate is a possibility.  Good Ol’ Joe could catch the “Fort Marcy Virus” and bow out of the race for health reasons, opening up a Hillary/Cuomo 2020 ticket.  Hmmmmm . . .

    • #2
  3. E. Kent Golding Moderator
    E. Kent Golding
    @EKentGolding

    Biden has to pick a VP candidate who is a scarier loser than Biden,  otherwise there is a real risk that he pulls an  Epstein.

    • #3
  4. Hang On Member
    Hang On
    @HangOn

    I wonder if Chris Matthews’ leg is tingling.

    • #4
  5. Eustace C. Scrubb Member
    Eustace C. Scrubb
    @EustaceCScrubb

    Democrat constitutional lawyers are, I’m sure, frantically researching the possibility of putting “Candidate to Be Named Later” on the ballot.

    • #5
  6. Stad Coolidge
    Stad
    @Stad

    E. Kent Golding (View Comment):
    Biden has to pick a VP candidate who is a scarier loser than Biden

    Hillary . . .

    • #6
  7. The (apathetic) King Prawn Inactive
    The (apathetic) King Prawn
    @TheKingPrawn

    • #7
  8. E. Kent Golding Moderator
    E. Kent Golding
    @EKentGolding

    Stad (View Comment):

    E. Kent Golding (View Comment):
    Biden has to pick a VP candidate who is a scarier loser than Biden

    Hillary . . .

    Um,  you found the weakness in my idea.    If Hillary were the VP,  something unfortunate would definitely occur.

    • #8
  9. Hang On Member
    Hang On
    @HangOn

    E. Kent Golding (View Comment):

    Stad (View Comment):

    E. Kent Golding (View Comment):
    Biden has to pick a VP candidate who is a scarier loser than Biden

    Hillary . . .

    Um, you found the weakness in my idea. If Hillary were the VP, something unfortunate would definitely occur.

    I think it would be a race to who did the unfortunate thing to whom first.

    • #9
  10. Jon1979 Inactive
    Jon1979
    @Jon1979

    You got the feeling during the primary season that there were at least 2-3 other candidates that Obama would have preferred to see as the nominee than his wacky-but-lovable former VP, but he knew that he’d endanger his current status as being the untouchable icon of the Democratic Party.

    The Bernie Bros could barely conceal their disdain for Obama over the past few years because they truly believed he had been lying about his temperament, and was going to become the Alpha male socialist authoritarian they had been waiting for after his 2009 inauguration. But they knew they couldn’t trash him as long as he was remaining neutral, because to do so would risk alienating the bulk of the Democrats’ African-American voting block from Sanders for the entire election cycle. So even when it was a tw0-man race between Biden and Bernie, Obama withheld his endorsement and the Sanders crowd withheld their return fire. Waiting until there’s zero risk to endorse Biden simply follows the pattern Obama had as president, which was he never did anything controversial unless he had virtually every Democrat and the media supporting him, and he never got into a situation where he was going to be held personally responsible — there was always someone for Obama to throw under the bus, if a scapegoat was needed (usually right after Obama first learned of the problem by reading the newspaper).

    • #10
  11. Stad Coolidge
    Stad
    @Stad

    Hang On (View Comment):

    E. Kent Golding (View Comment):

    Stad (View Comment):

    E. Kent Golding (View Comment):
    Biden has to pick a VP candidate who is a scarier loser than Biden

    Hillary . . .

    Um, you found the weakness in my idea. If Hillary were the VP, something unfortunate would definitely occur.

    I think it would be a race to who did the unfortunate thing to whom first.

    Hillary would win that race.  Biden couldn’t even find the starting line (“I’m supposed to shoot who?”) . . .

    • #11
  12. Charles Mark Member
    Charles Mark
    @CharlesMark

    What about Michelle Obama as running mate?

    • #12
  13. Jim McConnell Member
    Jim McConnell
    @JimMcConnell

    Obama in his favorite position, leading from behind.

    He has taken the very bold step of announcing his endorsement after the contest has been decided.

    • #13
  14. Hang On Member
    Hang On
    @HangOn

    Stad (View Comment):

    Hang On (View Comment):

    E. Kent Golding (View Comment):

    Stad (View Comment):

    E. Kent Golding (View Comment):
    Biden has to pick a VP candidate who is a scarier loser than Biden

    Hillary . . .

    Um, you found the weakness in my idea. If Hillary were the VP, something unfortunate would definitely occur.

    I think it would be a race to who did the unfortunate thing to whom first.

    Hillary would win that race. Biden couldn’t even find the starting line (“I’m supposed to shoot who?”) . . .

    Hillary isn’t all that steady either these days. It may be Bill and Jill.

    • #14
  15. Western Chauvinist Member
    Western Chauvinist
    @WesternChauvinist

    I just can’t. . . watch that video. It’s been a major blessing to have made it through the Obama years, despite nearly breaking my neck making a dive for the remote control mute button every time he appeared on TV. I’m not going back.

    Andrew Klavan speculates Cuomo can’t run because his corruption would almost surely be exposed by another NY insider. . . He’s been bribing corporations to stay in New York, despite his mismanagement, using tax dollars. And, somehow, it’s always “friends” who get the payouts. He’s not going anywhere. 

    I would think they’d have to pick from the also-ran candidates. Except Bernie. Too white. Too male. Too old. Too Bolshevik. 

    • #15
  16. James Lileks Contributor
    James Lileks
    @jameslileks

    Cuomo’s little civics lesson on the states vs. the Federal government produced the expected intellectual tumescence in the reportorial class – wow! Civics! YAASS FOUNDERS! Yet you suspect these ideals will be thrown overboard  like a barrel of rotten meat the moment it becomes necessary for the Federal government to impose its wisdom on the states. Cuomo’s approach boils down to “we are sovereign, and have enumerated powers, and also the Federal government should nationalize whatever to give us the ventilators we need, because it’s the right thing to do. Also, we can form compacts with other states despite what the Constitution says, because people are dying, and that suspends whatever part of the Constitution is momentarily inconvenient.”

     

     

    • #16
  17. Suspira Member
    Suspira
    @Suspira

    Eustace C. Scrubb (View Comment):

    Democrat constitutional lawyers are, I’m sure, frantically researching the possibility of putting “Candidate to Be Named Later” on the ballot.

    Anyone else reminded of the scene in Death of Stalin as all the prospective successors of Papa Joe hop in their cars and start on a literal race for the top spot?

    • #17
  18. Cosmik Phred Member
    Cosmik Phred
    @CosmikPhred

    A profile in political courage.  It’s…sniff, sniff…inspiring.  

    • #18
  19. Stad Coolidge
    Stad
    @Stad

    Charles Mark (View Comment):

    What about Michelle Obama as running mate?

    I don’t think she wants it.

    I have this scenario:

    Governor “Retchin’ ” Gretchen Whitmer resigns after an online recall petition exceeds one million signatures.  She cites the reason for bowing out to be “I’ve lost the confidence of the citizens, so I must take this action to restore their faith in government.”

    A sympathetic Joe Biden (itching to get his hands on her shoulders and smell her hair) picks Whitmer to be his running mate:

    “Just wear that blue dress when I make the announcement, okay?”

    Hmmmm . . . another infamous blue dress . . .

    • #19
  20. Randy Weivoda Moderator
    Randy Weivoda
    @RandyWeivoda

    Jim McConnell (View Comment):

    Obama in his favorite position, leading from behind.

    He has taken the very bold step of announcing his endorsement after the contest has been decided.

    It’s got to make Joe Biden feel good about how supportive he has been of Obama, when Obama only endorses Biden after there is no one else left.  I plan to make an endorsement for the general election right around Thanksgiving.

    • #20
  21. Charlotte Member
    Charlotte
    @Charlotte

    A tad out of date now, but I still love this

    • #21
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