I suspect it will end up being to Biden's advantage that this "issue" came up now

[Tom Rinaldo]

Nothing that has come up so far can't be handled by Biden and his team. Or let's put it this way. If they can't handle it now when the first primary votes are still almost a year away, then they are in way bigger trouble than I ever would have imagined.

I have always liked Joe Biden, he was briefly my choice for President in 2008, after Clark didn't run but before it was clear he was going nowhere in the polls. But part of Joe's charm is that he has permeable personal boundaries. That makes him accessible and genuine. Biden spontaneously says what's on his mind and on occasion puts his foot in his mouth as a result. Biden is also extremely gregarious, which can lead him to spontaneously cross into another person's space, usually welcomed but maybe not always. Biden no doubt knows this about himself. On quick reflection he realizes when he has misspoken, and I bet he knows when he has perhaps not been as respectful of another person's physical space, in retrospect, as he should have been. My guess is that there were other times besides the two now being reported on when this or that woman would have preferred Biden kept a little bit more formal distance from them than he did. But, to quote an old Rolling Stones song "that ain't no hanging matter, that ain't no capital crime." With a few reassuring words of respect, and a hint of contrition and "regret" if he has ever not been sensitive enough to the potential of any woman's discomfort with some physical contact, Biden can even come out of this stronger.

I am sure most of the women who Joe Biden has physically reached out to have taken it positively, but a relative few have not. Now is the best time for Joe Biden to address that dynamic, which he has been doing quite well so far. This "issue" will fade with time as the daily news cycle invariably moves on. It will be very old news before the Iowa caucus. It will be ancient news by the time Biden wins the Democratic nomination, if in fact he does. And with it being ancient news by that time the Republicans will be denied any chance to use "Biden's inappropriate behavior" as a bombshell revelation in a sneak attack on him during a General Election campaign.

That is how I think this plays out from here, and if I am right I am glad this is happening now, not later. And if I'm wrong, and Biden really bungles how he deals with all of this, or if, in an improbable worst case, there is more to these isolated allegations than it now seems, well than I am even more glad that this is coming up now. Either way we need this far in the rear view mirror long before our nominee faces Trump in the General. And that means dealing with it now and putting it firmly to rest one way or another.

[qazplm135]

1. It's time for a woman

so not voting for Joe (or Bernie or any male candidate), but the way he's being dragged through the mud is ridiculous.

[Tom Rinaldo]

2. Above written Tuesday morning. Still seems about right now.

There were in fact more women who were discomforted, but Joe has now made an appropriate open and sincere statement about it. Now he can begin to put this behind him. He'll be asked about it for a week or two in person. There will likely be one debate question about it. And then it can sink to being "old news well" before the primaries.