We like to talk about context and perspective and the recent misstatements by former Vice President Joe Biden seem like the perfect opportunity to explore our new political reality and what seems like an outdated media mentality.
There is collective nervousness among Democratic Party heads and serious head-shaking in the press over Biden’s latest remark that he met with Parkland survivors in the White House, when in fact he was long gone from government when Parkland happened. He did talk to Sandy Hook survivors years earlier, but a gaffe is a gaffe.
The there’s the remark earlier last week that “poor kids are just as bright as white kids.” Yikes, not good!
Donald Trump seized on the slips saying on Friday “something’s gone wrong is Biden,” also saying Biden is “not playing with a full deck.”
Wow, really? Pot meet kettle. And the bottom line is yes, Biden may be too old and he might be a little slower on the uptake. We’re not here to make excuses for Joe Biden. But here’s the message of the morning to all Democrats:
Nominate who you wish. Make it the most qualified Democrat, the one with the highest probability to oust Trump. Make it the one with the policies you agree with. Find the one who can restore our standing in the world. But folks, the rules have changed. This isn’t 1996. These missteps by Joe Biden are a tempest in the tiniest teapot compared to Trump. But now a media narrative has been formed. Biden is once again”gaffe-prone.”
Meanwhile, we have a president who is a serial liar. At last count, Trump has made, according to the Washington Post, more than 10,700 false statements in his presidency. And that number is two months old. No one should lose sight of that. And oftentimes, the lies are the least of it.
Former Obama adviser Dan Pfeiffer put it best on Twitter when he wrote: “Democratic voters should closely scrutinize the abilities and positions of every candidate but the media should not hold Biden or any other Democrat to one standard and Trump to another, much lower standard.”
This post contains analysis and opinion.
