Joe Biden appears to be a patient man. You don’t see him on the campaign trail lamenting all the negative aspects of the incumbent. While the pandemic is a significant part of the rationale behind his strategy, there’s another reason for not campaigning: The incumbent is doing it for him.
Just a few weeks ago, Biden was under some intense scrutiny. The media was eagerly waiting to jump on the next gaffe that was almost guaranteed to happen. It didn’t. Like a magician’s redirection of a rapt audience’s attention, our collective dismay at the current spate of ramblings and vitriol from the person who currently occupies the White House is effectively making Biden’s past bumblings disappear.
Maybe it’s not so surprising that Biden’s potential running mate doesn’t appear to be a factor to many voters, according to a recent Politico poll. Biden is showing impressive leads in polls everywhere. Something to keep in mind: Polls mean nothing. They’re a gauge of voter sentiment at that particular moment, and are no indicator of what will happen in November. We have the evidence of our last election to remind us of that.
Despite Trump’s efforts, his current attacks at Biden don’t seem to register much at all. They’re rather bland and uninteresting compared to what he’s spewed at other opponents in the past. Biden is far from bullet-proof, but Trump seems to be running out of ammo. He’s more focused on discrediting the scientific community for going against his blatantly uneducated and dangerous claims about our current healthcare crisis than he is on taking full measure of his opponent and addressing his base’s faltering blind faith. As Trump is fond of saying, if someone punches him, he punches right back. Forget the fact that the punches laid on Trump are richly deserved. Any schoolyard bully will cry foul when someone retaliates after constant abuse. It’s high time that the nation wake up to see the bully-in-chief for what he really is.
This distraction of Trump’s own making is serving Biden’s campaign well and is taking smart advantage of the situation. By keeping a low profile, Biden is showing a particular level of cunning that comes only from decades in politics. He knows that voters are becoming wise to Trump’s deadly refusal to acknowledge what the nation is facing, and is allowing the fallout to go its natural course.
Biden is under increasing pressure to show his hand, however. We still don’t know how many VP hopefuls are on the short list, and the self-imposed August 1 deadline to make a choice is fast approaching. What we do know is that odds are favoring a woman of color. That said, I think Biden is looking for a running mate that is happy to stay in the background – much like he was during Obama’s tenure. Will any of his potential picks be satisfied to do so? Hard to say, but women in politics are a tough and vocal bunch. And people of color who have spent years serving the public are equally tough and vocal. Biden will need to choose carefully.
The relationship between Biden and his running mate will need to be strongly based on trust, professionally and personally. This is critical if he is to have a successful campaign – and presidency. The friendship between Obama and Biden seemed genuine, and Biden’s quiet support during those two terms never seemed to waver. Can the same be said of our current democratic hopeful? The relationship between Trump and Pence is a different story, however. One needs only to scratch the surface to see what’s really going on there. But, that’s another story for another time.
This relative silence will soon come to an end, and Biden will have to show his cards. One can be assured, however, that his pick is unlikely to cause too much backlash. As long as Biden chooses well and can keep his unscripted and potentially damaging comments to a minimum, he just may make it to the White House.
The old saying goes, “better the devil you know than the devil you don’t.” In this particular case, we’ve come to know both devils. To grab from another idiom, I would say that there is definitely a lesser evil here.
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