Joe Biden's Dignity: EJ Dionne on Joe Biden

[MBS]

Dionne really understands Biden, I think. They have similar sensibilities -- which is why I like them both!

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/joe-biden-a-fighter-even-when-he-abstains-from-the-battle/2015/10/21/c8a8d750-7834-11e5-a958-d889faf561dc_story.html

It was a withdrawal speech that sounded like an announcement speech, and it perfectly captured the aching ambivalence of Joe Biden. He wanted to run for president. He had his favored issues. He had President Obama’s record and was proud to defend it. And the man who noted he’s often called “Middle-Class Joe” felt he had never been a better match for the historical moment. Democrats are more comfortable than ever with Obama’s legacy. And many people, inside the party and out, longed for someone who could campaign with credibility on the theme Biden sounded: “It all starts with giving the middle class a fighting chance.”

. ..
In any event, there is a problem with all of these purely political explanations for Biden’s choice: None tells us why he delayed and delayed and delayed, providing Clinton the openings she seized. There was just one reason: his bottomless grief over the death of his son Beau at age 46 in May.
What Biden told Stephen Colbert last month is what he was telling his friends, and it rang entirely true about a man for whom family is not a word trotted out for political consumption but a commitment that goes to the core of who he is — and what makes him such an attractive human being.

“I don’t think any man or woman should run for president,” Biden said then, “unless, number one, they know exactly why they would want to be president and, two, they can look at folks out there and say, ‘I promise you, you have my whole heart, my whole soul, my energy and my passion to do this.’ And, and, I’d be lying if I said that I knew I was there.” But he wanted to be there, which is why this choice was so painful and so hard.

Biden’s passion for faith and family has been his moral compass throughout his life. In explaining his worldview Wednesday, he turned, as he often has, to his father’s insistence upon “affording every single person dignity.” This is the obligation that should animate public life. Biden may not be running for president, but he owes it to his dad to keep his promise never to be silent. Fortunately, silence is something he’ll never be good at.

[MBS]

1. also in WaPo, from Greg Sargent:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/plum-line/wp/2015/10/21/joe-biden-bows-out-long-live-joe-biden/

In a heartfelt statement to reporters moments ago, Joe Biden confirmed that he won’t run for president. Various news accounts indicate that Biden is still struggling with the grief he has been enduring since losing his son to brain cancer. Biden had repeatedly vowed not to run if he and his family did not have the emotional energy to commit to an intense, grueling, and protracted campaign.
. . .
Biden enjoys, and will continue to enjoy, a tremendous amount of good will among Democratic voters. And rightfully so. As I’ve written before, Biden’s “goofy ol’ fun-loving Uncle Joe” persona is mostly a product of the camera, which is unfair to him — it never did justice to how serious a public servant and policy thinker he has been over the decades. Biden’s public mourning — he lost a wife and daughter many decades ago, and his son only a few months ago — has inspired his friends and ideological foes alike. The depths of grief he has known are unfathomable to those of us who have not lost children, yet he has somehow managed to come to the surface to teach us a lesson in how to publicly cope with searing, unimaginable tragedy.

Even Biden’s more colorful and ad-libbed moments have masked something more serious beneath the surface. . . .Biden also deserves a quick shout out for the impact he had on the gay marriage debate. It’s not clear that Obama would have become the first president to declare his support for gay marriage if Biden had not “accidentally” gone off message and broken with the president on the issue. Biden had a hand in writing the history of one of this country’s major social and civil rights transformations.

Anyone who has been fortunate enough to talk to the Vice President can report that he brought a striking level of seriousness to his ruminations about the difficult moral conundrums that often lie at the heart of policy dilemmas. Liberals have had major differences with Biden over the years, but this is a man who has devoted a good deal of his life to the idea that government can be a force of good in improving people’s lives. As those who have discussed these matters with Biden can attest, Biden deeply grasps that a crucial part of the challenge of governing and enlightened policy-making is that this idea is often a tough sell in this country — and will continue to be a tough sell going forward. But it’s a challenge that Biden will undoubtedly remain committed to — and make great contributions towards meeting — for many years to come.

[gateley]

6. And thanks again!

[PatSeg]

2. EJ Dionne

has been an admirer of Joe's for many years and has shown him great respect.

Thank you posting this.

Rachel did an excellent segment on Joe last night. Very touching.

[MBS]

3. Thanks for pointing this out.

Is this the segment?

http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow/watch/respect-for-biden-adds-weight-to-his-decision-549111363716

[PatSeg]

4. Oh yes, that's it!

Thanks for posting it. Definitely worth watching more than once.

[gateley]

7. Eric Cantor! While he was in office! I was speechless when I saw that!

[PatSeg]

8. Me too!

I could have never imagined that.

I suppose people know decency even if they are incapable of it themselves.

[gateley]

9. WELL SAID, Pat!!!!!

[gateley]

5. What a touching piece -- thank you!