Ten worst and best things about Joe Biden

A number of readers asked me to do a ten best and worst things about Joe Biden also. So here they are. In one post, as time is running out.

The worst

1. He seems to stand for nothing. He drifts to wherever the middle of the Democratic Party is. It is hard to know what he really believes or would fight for. In 1974 he opposed Roe vs Wade and in 1981 voted for a constitutional amendment to overturn it. Today he treats it as holy writ.
2. His record on race is patchy. He delivered a eulogy for former segregationist presidential candidate Strom Thurmond and opposed school integration.
3. Biden will hike taxes by $3.3 trillion over a decade
4. He has a history of not just gaffes, but massive exaggerations and plagiarism
5. He turned a blind eye to his son Hunter obviously trading on his family name to get a $600,000 a year board appointment
6. He has not ruled out packing the Supreme Court with additional Justices
7. He’s institutionalised in Washington. He has been there 48 years.
8. There are real doubts over his mental agility as he would be the oldest person ever elected President
9. He has a history of being too handsy with women
10. He is highly likely to increase spending, driving the US debt even higher

The best

1. His history of personal tragedy has made him someone of huge empathy, who genuinely cares for others.
2. He is kind and decent, as seen by what he did for Brayden Harrington
3. He is not one of those politicians that encourages people to hate the other side. In fact he has a long record of working with Republicans, and if anyone can work across party lines, it is Biden.
4. He is instinctively far removed from the woke activists who are pushing cancel culture etc.
5. He is vastly experienced in Government, both as a Senator and VP. He may not inspire, but he will be competent.
6. He is down to earth. For 36 years he spent three hours on the train every day just so he could be at home with his boys. Even as a presidential candidate he was often on the train.
7. He believes in a rules based international system, and will have the US join the TPP and stop trying to destroy the WTO.
8. He will stand up to Russian aggression in Europe, and elsewhere
9. He is a good negotiator, skilled at the art of compromise
10. He will show the Democrats the best route to success is not extremism, but moderation.

That’s my ten worst and best. Feel free to add more in comments.

Both the best and the worst are pretty mild. For me there’s nothing particularly exciting or repelling. He’s a typical Democratic politician of his age and era.

But the one thing that does stand out is how his personal tragedies have shaped him. As the father of an almost four year old and almost one year old, I can’t even fathom how you recover from losing a one year old in a car accident. Add to that losing your wife and suddenly at age 30 being a widower and the sole parent to two young boys. And if that isn’t enough having you eldest son die of brain cancer at age 46. That is more suffering than anyone should have to endure, but it has helped shape who he is. This article today shows that.