This Is Who Joe Biden Has Always Been
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
There have been many highly irritating features of Joe Biden’s hapless presidency, but chief among them, undoubtedly, has been his apologists’ deep-seated need to turn the man into something that he is manifestly not.
The nature of partisan politics guarantees that flawed political candidates will be transmuted by their champions into saintly men of destiny. But the arrival of Donald Trump has pushed that tendency beyond its limits. Just as Trump’s many serious flaws have been exaggerated into cliché — Trump is not Hitler, and does not come close to being so — so his opponents’ virtues have been extrapolated into heaven. To the honest eye, Joe Biden was a midwit career politician from Delaware who had the chance to appear normal enough to unseat Trump from office. To the authors of our roiling morality play, he was Earth’s Last Honest Man. After he won the White House, this second characterization was foisted upon us with abandon.
It was never true. Worse still, it was the opposite of true. Yesterday, Joe Biden announced that he would be pardoning his wayward son, Hunter, for both the federal crimes of which he had been convicted, and the many other crimes whose prosecution remained pending. In much of the commentariat, this development elicited surprise — not least because, on a whole host of occasions, President Biden and his team had stated flatly that no pardon would be forthcoming. Some of this surprise was performative. But much of it was not. Once again, the press and its brothers in the Democratic Party had been undone by their own credulity. If one repeats a lie often enough, the old saw goes, one eventually comes to believe it. And Joe Biden is an honorable man.
He’s not, of course. He never has been. He’s a liar, a blowhard, a partisan, an asshole . He’s not decent. He’s not straight-talking. His election did not represent a return to normalcy — or anything like it. That the ultimate defense of Biden has always been “but Trump” is — or, at least, ought to have been — rather telling. Donald Trump is a bad man; that Biden’s Praetorian guard has been obliged to triangulate around him is devastating. Nobody praises George Washington by comparing him to someone else. One does not establish Mother Teresa’s piety with sordid references to others. Their merits are merely announced — as one might announce one’s arrival at a fixed point in space. Joe Biden’s merits cannot be treated like this, because Joe Biden’s merits do not exist. They are projected, contrived, fantastical. When one examines the proposition even briefly, one sees that Biden is to Rectitude as Kamala Harris was to Joy.
At its highpoint, the Biden Delusion brought with it some truly preposterous claims, which culminated in the insistence by a collection of self-serious historians that Joe Biden had been the 14th-best president in the history of the United States — ahead of Ronald Reagan and Ulysses S. Grant, no less. In a series of encomia over the summer, Biden was relentlessly described as “ consequential ,” as a paragon of “ uncommon decency ,” and even as “the man America needed.” His flaws were explained away as myths . His imperfections were attributed to a childhood stutter . His corruption and indulgence were recast as a father’s love for his son. When he lied — and boy did he lie — his words were simply ignored. The logic undergirding this process was circular but seductive: Biden had to be good, because he had to win, and he had to win because the other guy was bad, so, clearly, he couldn’t be bad himself, because if he were bad then he might not win, and he had to win because the other guy was bad. Capiche ?
It didn’t work. Now, as before, Americans do not much like Joe Biden, because they can see that there isn’t much to like. Now, as before, Americans do not much admire Joe Biden, because they can detect that Joe Biden isn’t admirable. Now, as before, Americans have resisted the urge to collapse ecstatically into paeans about his integrity, because they can sense that this claim is a façade. Yesterday, Biden rewarded their skepticism. Having lied incessantly about his desire to pardon his son, Biden not only issued the pardon anyway, he had the gall to adorn his decision with the assertion , “For my entire career I have followed a simple principle: Just tell the American people the truth.” Evidently, he hasn’t kept up with the times. Nobody believes any of that these days.
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What sums up Biden best? His refusal to recognize an inconvenient grandchild? Destroying his 1988 campaign when he was caught on camera trying to bully a voter a by telling the most outlandish lies about his background? Personally, I think it's Biden lying about his family getting killed by a drunk driver for added sympathy.
Obviously, the death of his wife and child that occurred when Ms. Biden pulled out in front of a tractor trailer would generate sympathy in the hardest of hearts. But that wasn't enough for Joe Biden. Once the campaign against drunk driving gained steam, Joe decided to hop on and began claiming his wife was killed a drunk driver who "drank his lunch." He completely made it up. The driver was horrified and went to his grave hounded by Biden's fale lies. His family begged him for years to stop slandering their departed family member. Biden kept on slandering an innocent man until the national media picked up the story and detailed how there was literally zero evidence the other driver had anything to drink. Only when it looked like it might hurt him did Biden stop torturing an innocent family with lies about their father.
That's Joe Biden.
you really didn't think some life long indoctrinated mackerel snapper would keep their word, did you?
That the ultimate defense of Biden has always been “but Trump” is — or, at least, ought to have been — rather telling. Donald Trump is a bad man; that Biden’s Praetorian guard has been obliged to triangulate around him is devastating. Nobody praises George Washington by comparing him to someone else. One does not establish Mother Teresa’s piety with sordid references to others. Their merits are merely announced — as one might announce one’s arrival at a fixed point in space. Joe Biden’s merits cannot be treated like this, because Joe Biden’s merits do not exist. They are projected, contrived, fantastical
from the seeded articles comment section
1. Why isn't the National Review disdainful of Trump? What is wrong with them?
2. Why isn't Trump the "real" enemy?
NR is a joke.
This article literally calls him a bad man.
But you've made the author's point when your only defense of Biden is "But Trump".
Sounds like you are complaining that they article doesn't share your views.
Not everybody shares that delusion.
Did you the comments to that article? Pretty telling and accurate if you ask me.
"Once again, the press and its brothers in the Democratic Party had been undone by their own credulity. If one repeats a lie often enough, the old saw goes, one eventually comes to believe it. And Joe Biden is an honorable man. He’s not, of course. He never has been. He’s a liar, a blowhard, a partisan, an asshole . He’s not decent. He’s not straight-talking. His election did not represent a return to normalcy — or anything like it. That the ultimate defense of Biden has always been “but Trump” is — or, at least, ought to have been — rather telling."
National Review has shown its disdain for Trump since 2016 (if not before). Trump wasn't coronated, like Hillary Clinton.
Donald Trump has been a referendum on the Democratic Party. Donald Trump has been a referendum on bipartisanship that doesn't serve the United States very well.
Joe Biden really has been the President for nearly 4 years. Joe Biden will be wielding Presidential power until 1/20/25. So, Joe Biden is the clear and present danger. It's too late to deny the 2020 election now.
That's an understatement.
THAT is hilarious. I'd say he's the 48th best POTUS the country has seen.
Who said that? Biden has been full of shit - or just plain foolish - as long he’s been in public life. That has never been a mystery. In spite of that, he still comes off better than the alternative. You can whine til you’re blue in the face about another “but Trump” argument, but that’s just too bad. It’s time for those who make this defense to grow up and acknowledge that elections are a choice between two people. They are not a choice between an individual and several million other people, or an imagined ideal candidate.
By whom? I missed all the “Biden is perfectly honest all the time, you should trust him” stories. Maybe I don’t watch enough cable news.
Biden could lie once an hour every day and still wouldn’t be 1/100 as full of shit as Trump. More importantly, the differences between them when it comes to basic morality or simply following the law is like the distances between galaxies. The human mind can’t fully comprehend such a cosmic gap.
And I don’t even like Joe Biden.
Biden's pardon of his son sacrifices the "moral high ground" that the Democrats could have pontificated from when Trump starts pardoning felons, just like Joe did.
I can't wait to hear the rationalization why it was OK for Biden to pardon one while it is not OK for Trump to pardon another.
A father and husband first. When the incoming Trump administration has directly threatened his son for accusations with no factual merit, the father steps in to protect his son.