Former Vice President Joe Biden has appeared, of late, to be grasping at straws. And his repeated gaffes and generally out-to-lunch style have given Democrat primary voters pause as to whether or not to support him for their party’s nomination.
At times — consider the “hairy legs” incident and other odd commentary and behavior — he doesn’t even seem to know where he is, to whom he’s talking, or even what subject he’s talking about.
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Considering all of this, it appears his time may be looking for any gambit, no matter how odd, to keep him afloat as frontrunner.
So it is that Biden told an audience in Exeter, New Hampshire, on Monday that he would consider naming a Republican as his running mate, as several media outlets reported.
He added awkwardly, however, that “I can’t think of one right now.”
Biden adds: "There are some really decent Republicans that are out there still, but here's the problem right now of the well-known ones: They've got to step up."
— Thomas Kaplan (@thomaskaplan) December 30, 2019
This is Biden’s third musing on his potential vice presidential choice (at least publicly), as he’s previously speculated it would have to be somebody “of color and/or a different gender.”
At least he is candid about the racial and gender quota system — as opposed to merit — that Democrats tend to use when choosing candidates and leaders.
But the larger issue is the political viability of such an option. Does Biden really think the Democratic Party, as currently constituted, would accept any Republican, even a Never Trumper, in a position that’s potentially one beat away from the presidency?
As we know, Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) is no fan of President Donald Trump. But he’s also relatively down-the-line conservative on economic and national security matters. Would such a notion ever fly with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), not to mention likely convention kingmaker Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.)?
Any Republican, including Romney, would also know that a spot on a Democrat national ticket would probably deny that person his or her next run as a Republican. Would such a person be willing to commit to such a move to team up with a floundering candidate — one who will very possibly get trounced by Trump in the debates and at the polls?
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That’s considerably unlikely.
So this is just another obtuse attempt by Biden to rescue his gradually sinking campaign, as this analyst sees it.
Whether anything at all can immediately right his effort and save Biden from himself remains to be seen.
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