Analyzing the pros and cons behind the "nice guy"
If we give Donald Trump eight years in the White House, he will forever and fundamentally alter the character of this nation, who we are and I cannot stand by and watch that happen.
Joe Biden’s goal, closely intertwined with the Democratic Party’s stance on the current presidency, is to remove president Donald Trump from office. Biden, so far, has consistently been the frontrunner of the Democratic candidates for the 2020 presidential election. According to the New York Times, he is currently nationally polling at 26% and ranking #1 on news coverage. It seems likely, then, that Biden will indeed receive a shot at the presidency, yet there remain intricacies to explore within his politics and beliefs.
The close friendship forged between former President Barack Obama and Biden, who served as his vice president for eight years (2009-2017), has given the presidential candidate a sturdy election platform. While critics say Biden’s campaign seems characterized by the Obama administration, citing this as a flaw that deters him from forming a more individualized platform, this strong affiliation can be seen as a clear indication of an extensive resume. A resume, that quite obviously, is essential for a potential president to possess.
At the start of his career, Biden briefly worked as an attorney, and then went on to become Delaware’s longest serving senator. In 2008, he became Barack Obama’s running mate and as aforementioned, went on to serve as Vice President. He even received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2017 — Obama cited him as "the best vice president America's ever had" — as the Obama administration ended and passed the torch to the Trump administration. Although an extensive resume does not always equal a good candidate, in the case of a president, it is a relevant and crucial factor. A president not only needs to understand policies, but also have a solid understanding of the complex intricacies of the American political system, one that Biden has undoubtedly honed over the years.
Biden’s long resume, unsurprisingly, has corresponded with a long life. This long life, unfortunately, has been marked with tragedies, with his first wife and daughter dying in a car accident, and his oldest son, Beau, dying of a butterfly brain tumor. He furthers details these experiences in his critically acclaimed book, Promise Me Dad, that he wrote after serving as Vice President. The book talks about balancing his heavy influence in foreign policies during the Obama administration while simultaneously having to deal with his son’s tumor — a sad, yet significant indication of his resilience and ability to persevere through his duties even in the midst of tragic circumstances. The personal tragedies he has faced renders him to hold healthcare as a top priority, one that aligns with many Americans.
Biden first constructed a healthcare plan with Obama — the Affordable Care Act — and currently, he wants to preserve his previous work and modify it by adding a new, government-run insurance option.
Critics of Biden’s healthcare plan, specifically another strong frontrunner Senator Bernie Sanders, believe that his act is merely “tinkering around the edges of a broken healthcare system.” In retrospect, however, policies that are less radical will elicit more bipartisan support, and consequently, will be more effective. Similarly, political health strategist Chris Jennings — whose experience includes working with former President Bill Clinton, Obama and several of the current democratic candidates — calls Biden’s plan “radically incremental.”
Policies aside, perhaps the most advantageous benefit of Biden’s presidential endeavours has been inadvertent: his direct involvement with Trump’s ongoing impeachment inquiry. The basic premise for the impeachment inquiries that Congress is currently investigating are linked to Biden. Trump allegedly broke the law by attempting to coerce the Ukraine government officials to dig up information about Biden and his son. This phone call has been cited by an anonymous whistle-blower to be an instance of “the President of the United States using the power of his office to solicit interference from a foreign country in the 2020 U.S. election.”
Regardless of whether or not the impeachment will go through, it will hurt Trump’s publicity and how he fares in the 2020 presidential election. Trump’s view of Biden as a very real threat to his position in office led Trump to make this choice. The Democratic party professes that their main goal at the moment is beating Trump, and Biden has managed, to some extent, to secure this goal.
Biden’s critics across the board point to two main aspects of him as major detriments: his viewpoints on economic policy are too moderate, and his long, extensive record on criminal justice and race is complex and not always liberal-leaning. For instance, “his role in negotiating a punitive criminal-justice law in the 1990s with Senator Strom Thurmond of South Carolina, a former segregationist,” have raised red flags for some. Many have declared him “unelectable.”
Biden is also old. If he were to win the presidency, he would do so at age 78, becoming the oldest president to date. Although this may seem like an irrelevant detail, in his case, it seems as if his age is catching up to him. In fact, according to a Gallup poll, approximately 4 in 10 people say they wouldn’t cast their vote for a candidate over 70, and this question of age also ranked third when considering factors that would negatively affect voter decisions.
However, aside from his policies and age, Biden’s main downside, as demonstrated through several instances throughout the campaign trail, is his lack of assertion and confidence.
Although Biden is likable — an Insider Poll indicates that he is the lead Democrat in a likability ranking determined by probable primary voters — his shaky record on the trail has yet to elicit excitement, and in a run for presidency, excitement can trump affection.
He seems unable to counter comments of critics with quick, surefire answers, a flaw that makes him appear as if he is not ready to hold a position of prestige and immense power. For instance, during a Planned Parenthood conference, he was asked how he would respond to pro-choice voters who worry about his mixed record on abortion, to which he responded: “‘The fact of the matter is that we’re in a situation where mortality rate for poor women and black women, here in this state, 26.5 percent of the, 24, 25.6 people, who of 100,000 who need, who end up dying as a consequence of birth, it’s absolutely absurd.’ (He was referring to South Carolina’s maternal mortality rate, which is 26.5 maternal deaths per 100,000 births).” Not only does his answer tangentially address the question, but it also indicates his shaky demeanor — a demeanor that asserts that he is the opposite of a confident leader.
He seems uncertain of his words, his stances, and his popularity throughout the campaign has been in decline. A survey conducted by the Wall Street Journal Poll indicated that in April 2019, 30% of Americans had a “very positive” view of him, versus in August 2019, when he dropped to 11% in this category.
Biden lacks leadership qualities — essential to have, considering his aim to be the leader of the free world — and this, coupled with his heavy reliance on the Obama administration for credibility, depletes him of his individuality. Voters want to see fresh faces, faces that kindle excitement.
Biden’s a nice guy, but it is clear that in the state our country is in now, we need more than just a nice guy.
Ultimately, Biden’s beliefs appear to align closely with the Democratic Party’s objective. His moderate leanings as a candidate, however, puts Biden at the forefront of the Democratic Party’s divide among moderates, such as himself, and progressives such as Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren. In many ways, it is as though Biden is a microcosm of the party’s divide — and his election campaign, an attempt to sway moderate and Right-leaning voters to ultimately remove Trump from office.