A contemporary Greek tragedy

This post captures a tricky nuance around the current Joe Biden controversy. From It's not #MeToo, it's just plain creepy. by Margaret Ball.

Biden has been on the national stage for several decades. My first awareness of him as a national figure was in the Democratic primaries for the 1988 presidential nomination when it was revealed he had a history of plagiarism and fabrication. The precipitating event was his plagiarism of aspects of an autobiographical speech by British Labour Party leader Neil Kinnock. That he was plagiarizing aspects of an autobiographical speech was mystifying. That he was plagiarizing a hard left socialist from Britain was mystifying. That he was plagiarizing a socialist politician with a track record of failed leadership was mystifying.

All that would have been bad enough but the incident then resulted in other revelations of plagiarism. Clearly not a candidate ready for prime time.

Since then, I have not seen much to sway me from that view. He strikes me as a fundamentally ethical (compared to many politicians) and genial fellow but with frequent lapses in judgment and behavior.

He has historically been pretty strong on women's issues and, more pertinently, he led the effort to pass the Violence Against Women Act in 1994. Without being certain of the facts, it is my impression that VAWA was a turning point in more effective treatment of domestic violence, and if that impression is correct, then Biden deserves recognition of truly consequential legislation.

The issue of the moment is his handsiness, his inclination to lay hands on women and girls, nuzzle them, be familiar in an inappropriate fashion. Clearly no Bill Clinton but also clearly inappropriate. More than just inappropriateness, the presumption of privilege that his actions would not be sanctioned.

And they were not. On the right, it has been a longstanding source of humor and irritation that Joe Biden could display what the Washington Post is now calling tactile politics and never get called on it by his own party or by the mainstream media. It was inappropriate then, it is inappropriate now. That is Ball's point.

It is not about changing mores. The only relevance of #MeToo is that it highlights the hypocrisy. You cannot be a #MeToo Democrat and also be a Biden supporter. The positions are antithetical to one another.

This is almost a Greek tragedy. Joe Biden seems a basically decent fellow with good skills as a capable retail politician and with the occasional lapses experienced by most people at some time or another. Perhaps more lapses than the normal person but less than the average politician. His life has had a number of tragedies which makes him a sympathetic character. But he has never been ready for prime time. He has always been inappropriately gropey.

And he is in the position he is in because of his own behaviors and choices. Were the Democrats not so desperate for a viable candidate, he probably would not have the opportunity. But they are desperate and he has chosen to position himself as a candidate. Like a Greek tragedy.