What Kamala Harris and AOC can't make Joe Biden do

[ucrdem]

By Joe Lockhart | Fri July 5, 2019

Joe Lockhart was White House press secretary from 1998-2000 in President Bill Clinton's administration.

(CNN) Anyone expecting to see a major reboot in the Biden campaign or a Joe Biden 2.0 just doesn't know the former vice president. He knows what he knows, which isn't everything, and is not likely to refashion his image based on a poll or a debate performance.

But the fact that he sat down for an extended interview with CNN's Chris Cuomo does indicate that Biden and his team recognize they need to do some things differently. First, Biden has to get out on the campaign trail more, something he accomplished over the past few days in Iowa. Second, he needs to be more accessible to the media, which help shape the view of many Democratic voters in the early voting states. In short, he needs to not look like the nomination is his to lose, but instead his to win.

Finally, he needs a better pushback to the kinds of charges directed at him in the Democratic presidential debate by Sen. Kamala Harris. Here was one of the more interesting parts of the Cuomo interview. Biden made clear he was surprised not by the attack, but by the way Harris delivered it, in such a personal way. He implicitly charged Harris with a bit of demagoguery — that she criticized his position while holding essentially the same position herself. But he visibly pulled back from elaborating, saying he is determined to stay above what he calls the scrum.

Is this a good strategy? Can he survive in a modern campaign while not going personally after other Democrats? That remains to be seen. What's not in doubt is he's not likely to change his views.

https://www.cnn.com/2019/07/05/opinions/joe-biden-lockhart/index.html
..........

This was before Biden's apology speech yesterday, but that would fit in with Lockhart's "Biden 2.0" argument, i.e., that Biden is making adjustments to stay competitive. This seems like the right approach to me ... what do you think?

[InAbLuEsTaTe]

1. Not sure a Biden 2.0 reboot is going to work... I understand the desperation though.

Bernie & Elizabeth 2020!!!
Welcome to the revolution!!!

[ucrdem]

4. He still leads in every single RCP poll.

Every damn one.

[bluewater]

7. But what happens when he isn't leading in every poll?

The field is getting closer every week, and we have only had one debate.

Don't get me wrong, I am not saying that Biden CAN'T keep his lead, but it seems that the "lead" is the main thing people are hanging their hats on.

[ucrdem]

8. Then it's back to the campaign trail.

And that's where he is now. Maybe more firepower on the campaign staff would help too, though I imagine the really expensive guys like Axelrod are holding off signing anything until the picture is a little clearer.

[bluewater]

10. I think Axelrod likes being a pundit

It's less work and I bet pays more.

[ucrdem]

13. I think he likes winning more.

Pays better too!

[bluewater]

16. Well, winning pays better. lol

That is true.

Axelrod is an interesting personality.

[NYMinute]

9. He is going to continue leading till he is nominated.

No one else stands a chance. There is no Barack Obama caliber opponent to him.

[ucrdem]

12. It sure looks that way.

Harris didn't take him out but she tried to. And now she's back to 3rd-place also-ran selling t-shirts to raise money.

[treestar]

32. But how can the one in the lead experience desperation ?

[onetexan]

24. K&R

[NYMinute]

18. Desperation is in the Bernie camp nt

[emmaverybo]

30. He is not desperate. First of all because it isn't in his nature, Second, he's been a heartbeat from

the presidency, been one of the most powerful VPs in decades. Joe has more good to do. But he’s
not going to go about getting power in a desperate way. Others? I can smell it from here.

[marylandblue]

2. That's the best assessment I've yet seen of Biden and what he needs to do.

Instead of blaming other politicians, the media and even ordinary people for daring to believe Biden might not be the right nominee, why can't we let Biden himself prove he is the nominee?

I can wholeheartedly support any candidate who wins on merit, but I am going to be bit more doubtful of one who thinks his only problem is that he has too many critics.

[ucrdem]

3. Well, this was before the apology speech

So I think he's taking blame for an accusation that many see as a political stunt. And the busing gotcha was definitely a stunt. So some mild criticism from Joe seems understandable.

[marylandblue]

14. I don't think he should have apologized.

I know he likes to be nice, and maybe he's responding to his hit in the polls, but at this point, he should just move on and be himself, sort of like the article says. One of the keys to modern media, whether you apologize or not, is to deal with it fast and then change the topic to something else. Give them some other shiny toy to play with.

[ucrdem]

17. I think he took a page from the Obama playbook on that one.

Barack apologized for anything and everything, and it didn't seem to hurt him. It didn't shut up his critics of course, but at least it gave him a chance to put his spin on the controversy du jour. And it kills it as a future debate gotcha. So all told, I think it was probably a net plus.

JMHO of course!

[Skya Rhen]

23. I think this places Harris in a spot. She wanted an apology and she got it so it would be a bad look

for her to bring this up again.

However, if she decides to repeat this in future debates, she would receive a definite backlash for not letting go of something that has been put to bed.

I believe that Biden's tactic was to deter any future attacks, on this specific topic, by the candidates.

Cory did the right thing by "thanking" Joe for his apology - I'm still waiting to hear from Kamala...

[trueblue2007]

19. I have had it up to here with HARRIS demanding more & more & more.

VP Biden has apologized already !!!!

Enough Said and it's time to move on. Biden can not go back and CHANGE what he did ,,,,, no more can she !! She has problems in her background also. Harris should remember the saying :::


"Those who live in glass houses should not throw stones" is a proverb and it means that one should not criticize others, because everybody has faults of one kind or another.

[marylandblue]

21. Nothing to get upset about really. It's just a political tactic.

And it's all too common. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't.

In this case, Harris attacked Biden to prove she can be an attack dog against Trump. She proved she can do that. I don't that's enough to win her the nomination, so I am not that worried about it.

Biden is more likely to be the nominee. In his case, I am worried about his ability to defend against such attacks. So I like the more vigorous Biden of the last few days. He's changing the conversation. He needs to keep it up.

[treestar]

33. The media refuses to move on

They haven’t found the next Big Deal yet

[marylandblue]

36. The candidate has to know how to manipulate the media,

not be manipulated by it. Trump knows how. It's the only thing he knows how to do. We better learn. Fast.

[treestar]

37. Does not sound good

Manipulate the media then maybe the voters.

[marylandblue]

38. Manipulate sounds more sinister than I mean it to be. I usually call it "media-savvy."

Whatever you call it, Biden needs ways to get the media's attention on stories he wants them to cover and to stay away from stories he doesn't want covered. Obama was very good at this. So good, he made it seem effortless. Trump works at it 24/7. We can't afford to be naive about this.

[RelativelyJones]

5. Biden's implication is right. Harris did engage in a bit demagoguery.

[ucrdem]

6. And she expected Joe to cave.

There was a story the next day about how she'd rehearsed the whole thing in advance, with a stand-in for Joe giving different responses. But not the one she got, which is causing her problems on the campaign trail. Welp, now she know better.

[NYMinute]

11. She wounded herself far more than she wounded Biden. nt

[ucrdem]

15. It was a really strange tactic.

What's the payoff? South Carolina maybe. But if she washes out of Iowa she won't get there. And this is not the Kamala Californians thought they knew, most of us anyway. To be honest, we didn't know much more than that she was endorsed by top Dems and had a dynamite backstory.

[onetexan]

25. +1 K&R

[treestar]

34. All that planning you'd think

It could have been on an issue relevant to this year.

[ucrdem]

35. Oh that was part of the plan.

He was supposed to disintegrate on live TV. "Oh Kamala, I never meant, I didn't know!" Well he did know and he called her on it. Tough breaks for the rookie but she shortened her political shelf-life considerably.

[Gothmog]

20. Joe Biden Is The Only Democrat With A Clear Advantage Over Trump In New Poll

Link to tweet

[Cha]

22. Looks like sound advice from Joe Lockhart, ucr..

That's what many were saying on here.. when the ".. he should have been prepared.. " charge was levied. "Biden made clear he was surprised not by the attack, but by the way Harris delivered it, in such a personal way" She was the prosecutor!

Finally, he needs a better pushback to the kinds of charges directed at him in the Democratic presidential debate by Sen. Kamala Harris. Here was one of the more interesting parts of the Cuomo interview. Biden made clear he was surprised not by the attack, but by the way Harris delivered it, in such a personal way. He implicitly charged Harris with a bit of demagoguery — that she criticized his position while holding essentially the same position herself. But he visibly pulled back from elaborating, saying he is determined to stay above what he calls the scrum

.
I hope Biden's doesn't go after other Dems.. and just makes the case for himself with excellent pushback on their attacks!

Thank You!

[True Blue American]

27. Joe said

He was not going to attack anyone for their past.

We have heard the attacks, childish name calling for over 3 years now. I am sick of it. Shut up and tell us how you are going to fix the huge problems we face, not pie in the sky ideas.

[Buzz cook]

26. News flash Biden apologized

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/06/us/politics/joe-biden-barack-obama-south-carolina.html

“Now, was I wrong a few weeks ago to somehow give the impression to people that I was praising those men who I successfully opposed time and again?” he said. “Yes, I was. I regret it. I’m sorry for any of the pain and misconception I may have caused anybody.”

So Joe 2.0 is on the road. And I say its a good thing.

[InAbLuEsTaTe]

31. A half-hearted apology, but better than no apology...smart move by Joe, tho he shoud've gone further

Bernie & Elizabeth 2020!!!
Welcome to the revolution!!!

[FloridaBlues]

28. Yes I think that was the correct move for him but unfortunately that won't stop attacks

[Voltaire2]

29. Ocasio-Cortez Gratuitous Hit.

Lockhart is a diehard third way democrat. Harris is fair game because she did in fact toss Biden on the mat in the debate. But Ocasio-Cortez didn’t. She isn’t running against Biden nor has she had much of anything to do with Biden’s recent stumble.
So I guess as long as you are punching candidates to Biden’s left, well you might as well punch Ocasio-Cortez too.

[ucrdem]

39. Sauce for the goose.

AOC has been taking pot shots at Biden for weeks.