Paul Begala on Trump: 'Nothing unites the people of Earth like a threat from Mars'
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/aug/02/paul-begala-donald-trump-joe-biden-cnn-election-book-interview
In the New York Times in January 2016, David Axelrod, former campaign strategist for Barack Obama, published The Obama Theory of Trump. Voters rarely seek the replica of what they have, he wrote. They almost always seek the remedy, the candidate who has the personal qualities the public finds lacking in the departing executive.
Ten months later, America elected Obamas polar opposite, Donald Trump: Moriarty to his Holmes, Joker to his Batman, antimatter to matter. According to Paul Begala, a doyen of Democratic politics, the theory bodes well for Joe Biden.
Too many Democrats were trying to be just as pugilistic in their way as Trump is, he says, by phone from a farm in Virginias Shenandoah Valley. Ive known Joe a very long time and I think his most dominant character feature is empathy. Hes bright and hes experienced but hes so empathetic. Weve seen him through tragedy. Hes been very good to me and my family.
If there were a time where we needed empathy, its now. He has experience, which used to be a bad thing, he has competence and empathy and thats exactly the opposite of Trump. So if we want the replica, were not going to vote for Joe. But if we want the remedy and I think we do hes very well positioned to win.
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