Obama Really Didn't Like Biden?
Maybe he'll like this recipe for dark chocolate brownies, though.
Barack Obama is very careful about some things. He makes sure his political allies know that his legacy has to be protected. As a result, the bits of information we get about the Obamas and their post-White House adventures are limited and usually cast in a very respectable-elder-statesman fashion.
People who worked for the former president do not go out and create any sort of drama related to what happened while they were in power. They defend him and his accomplishments, and they attack anyone who questions it — and their behavior is often endorsed by friendly reporters and pundits throughout the media.
So, when a POLITICO Magazine piece comes along and attacks his Vice President, Joe Biden, as incompetent and a joke, and the quotes are all coming from former Obama staff and aides, you know that this is deliberate. There is a reason this piece and these attacks see the light of day: Because Obama wants them to.
As my colleague Mike Miller put it, the team-up of Biden and Obama in 2008 was clearly a case of “strange bedfellows,” and it becomes clear that Obama wasn’t so much a fan of Biden as he needed someone who would be both an experienced Washington veteran and a sycophant. Based on how the relationship worked out, it’s clear he couldn’t have made a better choice.
So, what gives with this piece, which includes such gems as “Young White House aides frequently mocked Biden’s gaffes and lack of discipline in comparison to the almost clerical Obama” and “Obama had begun embracing Clinton as a possible successor years before Biden lost his son, while the vice president was laying the groundwork for his own campaign”? Why would all this come out right now? The story dropped on August 14 — three days before the DNC digital convention started, when Biden would be coronated as the next de facto head of his party.
Biden was chosen to be his running mate as a way to negotiate the political chaos caused by his challenge to (and, ultimately, victory against) Hillary Clinton. By picking an established member of the party’s elite, Obama brought to his side a party that was unsure of young, risky upstarts (this same party, which sees him as an elder statesman and not an upstart, casts the same doubt on politicians like Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, and now he appears to have snubbed her when he released his list of endorsements weeks ago).
That spurred his own political revolution, where he went from upstart to establishment. He is the gold standard Democrat to whom progressives and journalists compare Trump and other Republicans. His legacy as a president and as a statesman is now fully established, and that legacy is very important to him.
But, if he and his allies felt this way about Biden, why wait until now to speak out about it? Kamala Harris.
It’s clear the Obama faction of the Democratic Party wanted Susan Rice to be Biden’s running mate. That would allow her to run as Biden’s successor and continue to ensure that Obama’s legacy as a president stays intact. Harris is, basically, an unknown quantity because she has no core beliefs of her own. Karen Bass would have been Pelosi’s puppet in the Biden administration. The other candidates did not have a record of loyalty to Obama, and at a time when Trump has worked to undo as much of Obama’s record as possible, the Obama camp needed someone in the next Democratic administration to be his legacy’s savior.
Prior to this, the Obama camp had been solidly in Biden’s corner, because none of the other presidential candidates were people who could be relied on to protect that legacy. Bernie Sanders’ wing of the primary wanted to erase it all and start over. Other candidates were various shades of progressivism but were set on doing their own thing, rather than building on his record. Biden, who ran as Obama’s guy and won the primary thanks, in large part. to attacks on him being seen as attacks on Obama, was the only choice.
But now, because Biden is trying to be his own man, that puts the legacy at risk. Because Biden did not do what Obama’s allies were wanting him to do, they are now free to go out and establish this divide between Biden and Obama so that the latter can wash his hands of whatever Biden ends up doing.
Barack and Michelle themselves will naturally have nothing but praise for Biden, but it’s fairly obvious by now that they always saw Clinton as their heir and not Biden.
And Nobody Really Seems To Like Kamala Harris
Since Harris was officially named to the Biden ticket, I have watched on several social media feeds as friends who are of a different race and different political alignment have reacted. I want to divide those reactions into a few different categories and explain to you why Kamala Harris is trouble for Biden.
White, Progressive
Black/Hispanic Progressive
White, Very Progressive
Black/Hispanic, Very Progressive
The first category, “White, Progressive”, have almost universally had the same reaction. These are white progressives who are excited to watch history being made with the first black female vice presidential candidate on a major party’s ticket. They have filled their social media with inspirational pictures and quotes, hailing this as a fine moment in American History. Some of them appear to be assuaging their white guilt just as much as they are genuinely excited about the ticket.
For progressives who are black (or, in many cases, Hispanic), our second category, the response is generally pretty tepid. They are more interested in beating Donald Trump than excited about Harris. Their feelings on her appear to be mixed, and they are not overly thrilled to see her on the ticket. To them, it’s all about beating Trump.
The third category, the very progressive white voters, are livid that the “Democratic Establishment” has won again, giving them a ticket that is far more moderate than progressive. Regardless of what she currently supports, they fully realize that Harris has no guiding principles, and they believe that Biden and Harris together are just another attempt to keep the true progressive movement out of power.
The very progressive black and Hispanic voters out there also really dislike Harris, but their anger is focused far more on her time as a prosecutor. Her treatment of black defendants and prisoners within a system they understand to be truly racist and morally bankrupt is just a sign that she truly is more cop than black, and they want nothing to do with her.
Harris herself was not a very charismatic person on the campaign trail during the primary. She was unable to hold many positions for long, with her campaign twisting itself around the demands of the loudest voices on social media. She came across as cold and robotic at times, and found herself completely unprepared for Tulsi Gabbard. She had support, but couldn’t hold onto it as people started listening to her more and more.
Her prosecutorial style plays well to supporters and Democrats when she is in a Senate hearing. But on the campaign trail, she was lifeless. Rumor has it she has gotten better, but she still has to find a way to inspire people. So far, it’s been pretty hit or miss.
The caveat to all of this, though, is that 2020 is less about who is running for the Democrats and more about whether or not Trump can be beaten. All four of the categories I referenced all believe the same thing: Donald Trump has to go. They will still turn out in November in order to vote him out of office. The question, though, is just how successful they’ll be if they are not motivated.
That is where the Trump campaign should be focused, and I think that they will be. The coronavirus will not be a factor forever, and there are already a couple signs that the economy might yet rebound. The Trump campaign, then, can focus on depressing the Democratic enthusiasm by continuing their assault on Biden’s decades of unproductive work in Washington D.C. and Kamala Harris’ past and her lack of consistency. These are the angles that the Trump team should take (assuming the President can stay on message, which seems to be a continuing problem for him), and it is very likely that a lot of the more progressive voters could be so depressed by the election that they simply stay home.
Democrat voters are motivated, though. The question is how unwavering that dedication to beating Trump really is.
Homestyle: Hobby Goals!
On this week’s episode of Homestyle, my co-host Leigh Guidry and I recount the things we've actually gotten accomplished while we've been working from home this quarantine.
For her, it's been loads of new crafts and projects, and for me it's been about the writing and working on different recipes. What have y'all gotten done, and what are some things you'd still like to accomplish this year?
If you want to hear more, you can always go back and listen to previous episodes, and we’d love to hear your feedback. Subscribe, rate, and review the podcast here, and if you have cooking, crafting, or family activity ideas, you can find us on Facebook and on Instagram (@Homestylepod).
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The Homestyle Podcast is a joint venture between myself and one of my best friends, education reporter Leigh Guidry. Throughout each episode, we discuss cooking, crafting, and other hobbies as well as how we make sure to spend time with our families despite how insanely busy life can be. The goal of the podcast has always been to take a moment to focus on what’s really important because, at the end of the day, family and life is more important than whatever distractions are going on in the world around us.
Recipe Of The Week: Dark Chocolate Brownies
Have you ever eaten the last brownie in the house and felt so guilty that you had to bake more brownies?
We had some that weren’t homemade (but were still very good), but I was home alone and ate the last two. I felt bad about it, so I looked up a quick recipe, made a couple of modifications and went with it. They were really good, and so I must share that recipe with you all now.
2 sticks butter, unsalted
1 1/2 cup dark chocolate chips
1 1/2 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 tbsp. vanilla extract
1 tsp. salt
3 large eggs
1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup cocoa powder
Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees.
Put the two sticks of butter and one cup of the dark chocolate chips in a microwave-safe bowl for 90 seconds and then let sit for a couple of minutes before stirring together.
In a separate bowl, add the granulated sugar, brown sugar, vanilla, and salt. Whisk them to combine.
Whisk in the three eggs until fully combined, then add in the melted butter and dark chocolate.
Sift the flour and cocoa powder into the bowl, using a spatula to fold it all in and incorporate.
Add the remaining chocolate chips.
Grease a pan (and line with parchment paper if you want) and spread the brownie batter in.
Bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour. Use a toothpick to check and see if it’s ready (if it comes out clean, you’re good to go).
Let it cool completely, then cut.
Final Thoughts
I wish I could say I was paying a lot of attention to the Democratic National Convention. I watched Monday night and decided that was enough. These things are just big pep rallies, and nothing of any real importance happens. Because of COVID-19, this one is like a giant Zoom call, and it’s the most miserable one I’ve ever seen.