Joe Biden leads the polls primarily, I assume, because of name recognition and the fact that Democratic voters liked Obama and associate Biden with him. That’s fine. There are a lot of reasons people like candidates, especially if they’re not hyper-connected with the day-to-day of the campaign like obsessives can be. Biden, on the whole, has been likable for most of his career and everyone knows who he is. It’d be surprising if he wasn’t leading.  

In recent weeks he’s been increasingly attacked by those pursuing him, however. It was especially  noticeable in last night’s debate, when the other candidates went after him with gusto. Which is also fine. It’s part of the deal when you’re the frontrunner. 

Biden is not handling the attacks well. His responses to anything but the most basic questions have been rambling and at times nonsensical. He gets lost in his own answers. He’s simply not performing well under even the slightest bit of pressure. It’s not a good sign. 

Biden, however, has a lot of friends in the media, and today we see the sorts of dividends that pays via a New York Times op-ed framed thusly: 

This is complete bullshit. 

Bernie Sanders is older than Biden. Elizabeth Warren is 70. They have their detractors, obviously, but hardly anyone is attacking them for their age in and of itself. The reason for that is because, unlike Biden, they are coherent, rhetorically nimble and are championing policies that are forward-looking while he stammers, talks in circles, references “record players” and literally dropped his dentures when trying to mount an argument.  

Biden is being criticized because his brain doesn’t seem to be working. Because he cannot articulate compelling arguments and cannot defend himself in anything approaching a competent manner when attacked. The problem with Joe Biden is not that he’s old. It’s that he’s totally overwhelmed, out of his depth and, worst of all, almost wholly disinterested in advancing policies beyond “I want to be president because it’s my turn.” It’d be just as disqualifying if a 45-year-old did this. 

Biden’s inability to argue and defend himself with even a modicum of energy will allow Trump to carve him up when they go toe-to-toe. His unwillingness to advance a forward-looking agenda will sap the enthusiasm of the energetic base of the Democratic party. Both of those things risk making an election that should be an easy win against an unpopular incumbent anything but.

​It’s why I can’t support Biden in the Democratic party, even if I’d support him in the general.