Chuck Todd: Democrats' salute to Biden papers over a complicated place in history
Analysis: Biden's ultimate legacy will depend on whether Harris wins and what happens next. History has typically not been kind to other one-term presidents.
President Joe Biden bids farewell to his party Monday night. And whatever he says, he will get a rousing reception for one simple and deeply unusual reason: He’s no longer Democrats’ standard-bearer, and they are relieved he saw the political writing on the wall and passed the baton to someone who might have a better chance to defeat former President Donald Trump.
Despite the cheers, let’s not pretend this isn’t an awkward and bittersweet moment for Biden. I’ve spent my entire professional life (over 30 years now) tracking, reporting on and watching Biden find a path to the Oval Office. I saw him try and fail … a lot. It was clearly his Holy Grail. No matter how many ways his ambition for the presidency went sideways, he always wanted to come back and try again.
And despite all the failures, his candidacies always were compelling. He was always a candidate worth gravitating toward for many reporters for one simple reason: He told you everything he was thinking, even stuff you’d never expect him to say. Before Trump showed up and completely transformed the world of political etiquette and rhetoric, Biden was seen as unfiltered in a mostly net-positive way.
There’s a reason no other Democrat has appeared on “Meet the Press” more than Joe Biden, and it’s not just his longevity in politics — he was a guest worth booking since he might actually express his actual thoughts, rather than come armed with just predictable talking points.
There’s no greater example of this than his appearance in 2012, when he leaned forward on same-sex marriage before his running mate, the sitting president, was ready to do the same.
Rating: 5