“He’s an affectionate person,” Nancy Pelosi says of Joe Biden, but then invites him to “join the straight-arm club.” In a Politico interview this morning, Pelosi says that the allegations against Biden aren’t “disqualifying,” because she doesn’t think that’s the intent of those accusing Biden of sexual harassment. But, Pelosi warns, Biden better figure out the world as it is now and start acting like everyone around him has a cold:
Pelosi said she does not think the recent allegations women have made against Joe Biden are disqualifying for a 2020 run, but added “it’s important for the vice president and others to understand it isn’t what you intended, it was how it was received.” pic.twitter.com/m2yRHlTuDw
— POLITICO (@politico) April 2, 2019
Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Tuesday that she does not think the allegations against Joe Biden of unwelcome contact are disqualifying for a 2020 run, but that the former vice president should be more aware of others’ personal space.
“I don’t think it’s disqualifying,” Pelosi said during a POLITICO Playbook interview, adding, “He has to understand in the world that we’re in now that people’s space is important to them, and what’s important is how they receive it and not necessarily how you intended it.”
Come on, man. It’s not as if we just discovered this about Uncle Joe. His handsiness has been at issue for years, including all the years he served as Barack Obama’s VP in the previous administration. It wasn’t disqualifying then because it would have been inconvenient for Democrats to impose their standards on their second-highest-ranking public official.
Still, it’s tough for Republicans to argue that it should be disqualifying now, too. At least, it should be for all those who stuck with Donald Trump after the Access Hollywood “grab ’em by the [hoo-ha]” tape. Not only did that take the wind out of the sails for GOP critics of Biden, it also made Biden’s transgressions look less bad in comparison, at least slightly. About the best Republicans can suggest is to impose the standard going forward, as Pelosi suggests, although it seems likely that Democratic primary voters will find other reasons to DQ Uncle Joe in the end.
In the meantime, everyone better get used to living in the world as it exists now. Pelosi says she’s a member of the “straight arm club.” I’m more of an adherent to the philosophy of the Georgia Satellites … don’t hand me no lines, and keep your hands to yourself. With Biden, we might get lucky if he bats .500 on that standard.
