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Unleash the Biden (Mark Alderman, Politico)
http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2017/01/joe-biden-democrats-trump-214644But there is one prominent Democrat who can match Trump blow for blow. Someone who speaks candidly and honestly. Someone with media savvy, policy expertise that his plain-spokenness makes accessible. Someone who, if my party is smart, they will find a way to deploy in a quasi-official role: It’s time to unleash Joe Biden.
The outgoing vice president is like Donald Trump, but only in the best ways. Biden instinctively knows how to connect with hardworking white Americans, especially those struggling in so-called “forgotten” blue-collar towns. Unlike Trump, though, Biden was born and raised in the middle class—he is, famously, a son of Scranton, Pennsylvania, a man who still feels pain as he recalls when, as a boy, his father told him he had lost his job.
-snip-
As the Democratic Party scrambles for a figurehead—a spokesperson who can articulate a vision for the party and win back supporters in the “blue wall” states that Trump breached in 2016—Democrats have a much-needed second chance to pit these two pull-no-punches scrappers against each other. Somehow, Joe Biden needs to be in a position where he can take on Trump personally.
It’s a task he’s already embraced with vigor. Recently, after the president-elect took to Twitter to complain about “the many inflammatory President O[bama] statements and roadblocks” during the transition, Biden promptly responded on TV. “Grow up, Donald,” he growled, a brushoff worthy of Trump’s own Twitter account.
A good next step for Biden would be embracing Twitter, taking to the medium that Trump has made his de facto platform for all public statements. The Vice President is already one of the most recognizable presences on Twitter—having spawned a cottage industry of memes that play on his friendship with President Obama, his mischievous personality, and his fondness for aviator sunglasses. Come Januuary 21, free from the burdens of social-media consultants and layers of bureaucratic approval that can make Twitter accounts go stale, the former vice president himself should make @JoeBiden a destination for spontaneous, quick, caustic (and occasionally good-humored) parrying with Donald Trump and his surrogates.
-snip-
At this moment, as Democrats face down a new president unlike any other in American history, Joe Biden is the party’s best asset to articulate the concerns and needs of hardworking Americans. He is known in Washington for lending a friendly ear to Republicans and Democrats alike. His family’s personal tragedies have given him an important sense of perspective. His folksy, and sometimes off-color, remarks endear him to many. Almost unique among those in public life, he has a reservoir of goodwill with the American people. And, unlike sitting Democratic officeholders, he has little to lose by going after Trump directly and repeatedly, with strength and grace, for the next four years. He can be Trump’s biggest headache—because he actually is the champion of Middle America that Trump cynically pretends to be.
The outgoing vice president is like Donald Trump, but only in the best ways. Biden instinctively knows how to connect with hardworking white Americans, especially those struggling in so-called “forgotten” blue-collar towns. Unlike Trump, though, Biden was born and raised in the middle class—he is, famously, a son of Scranton, Pennsylvania, a man who still feels pain as he recalls when, as a boy, his father told him he had lost his job.
-snip-
As the Democratic Party scrambles for a figurehead—a spokesperson who can articulate a vision for the party and win back supporters in the “blue wall” states that Trump breached in 2016—Democrats have a much-needed second chance to pit these two pull-no-punches scrappers against each other. Somehow, Joe Biden needs to be in a position where he can take on Trump personally.
It’s a task he’s already embraced with vigor. Recently, after the president-elect took to Twitter to complain about “the many inflammatory President O[bama] statements and roadblocks” during the transition, Biden promptly responded on TV. “Grow up, Donald,” he growled, a brushoff worthy of Trump’s own Twitter account.
A good next step for Biden would be embracing Twitter, taking to the medium that Trump has made his de facto platform for all public statements. The Vice President is already one of the most recognizable presences on Twitter—having spawned a cottage industry of memes that play on his friendship with President Obama, his mischievous personality, and his fondness for aviator sunglasses. Come Januuary 21, free from the burdens of social-media consultants and layers of bureaucratic approval that can make Twitter accounts go stale, the former vice president himself should make @JoeBiden a destination for spontaneous, quick, caustic (and occasionally good-humored) parrying with Donald Trump and his surrogates.
-snip-
At this moment, as Democrats face down a new president unlike any other in American history, Joe Biden is the party’s best asset to articulate the concerns and needs of hardworking Americans. He is known in Washington for lending a friendly ear to Republicans and Democrats alike. His family’s personal tragedies have given him an important sense of perspective. His folksy, and sometimes off-color, remarks endear him to many. Almost unique among those in public life, he has a reservoir of goodwill with the American people. And, unlike sitting Democratic officeholders, he has little to lose by going after Trump directly and repeatedly, with strength and grace, for the next four years. He can be Trump’s biggest headache—because he actually is the champion of Middle America that Trump cynically pretends to be.
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