Biden folk, tell me what you love about your candidate

[Hekate]

111. I love his sheer decency. Not a saint, but learns from his mistakes. I love it that he likes people

Liking people is not a universal characteristic of public figures who say they love humanity -- they often remind me of a "Peanuts" cartoon where Linus grumbles, "I love humanity. It's people I can't stand." Yeah, if only those fractious individuals would just do what I tell them is good for them, everything would be grand.

To a great extent he embodies core Democratic principles, and respects the Party he belongs to. Like him, it's not perfect, but it sure as hell is not the GOP. He doesn't need to tear it down continually for not being some Platonic ideal.

I like it that he's a politician -- the good kind. He knows how to make friends, make alliances, form coalitions, and compromise. Compromise done right is an art, not a cop-out or a defeat. He knows when to fight, too. As a consequence, Joe has a record of getting things done that ultimately benefit all those fractious citizens.

Although he was not my first choice (Kamala Harris, my Senator, nominally was) I was glad he entered the race. Win, lose, or draw, I said -- his presence will benefit us.

His opening tv ad brought me to tears and won my heart. The Soul of America. Video of Nazis marching thru towns in Germany in the 1930s, terrorizing all they encountered. American Nazis marching in the streets of Charlottesville right fckng now, murdering peaceful protestors and terrorizing the town -- after we lost tens upon tens of thousands of our military fighting them in Europe in WWII.

The next day I read quite the op-ed in the LA Times by Virginia Heffernan, sneering up one side and down the other about how out of touch that ad was, how dated the imagery and sentiment were. Who cares about Nazis in WWII in Europe? How does Biden expect to reach younger voters with a message like that? Geezer, just retire already.

Personally, I think if the majority of younger voters find no resonance at all in that imagery (regardless of who they end up voting for) we are truly lost. Because history is truly repeating itself, and we have an honest-to-gods fascist in the White House. And it was Biden who was willing to point that out.

Let it be said that I very much admire most of our prior candidates, and hope they go far in the future -- including to the White House. But at the moment, Joe's the last one standing, and I am fine with that.