Joe Biden has done little to tamp down concerns about his age. Combined with the fact that if he wins he almost certainly won’t run for a second term, his vice presidential choice should be subject to the same scrutiny as a presidential nominee. Yet some in the media are claiming any criticism is an identity-based attack.
They are wrong.
Demanding that Biden pick a black woman as his nominee and then claiming the front-runners were being attacked for being black women was entirely predictable. Over a span of three days, three Washington Post opinion pieces by three different authors claimed the criticisms were racist, sexist, or both.
Michele Norris said the selection process “feels like a bunch of high school jocks assessing potential homecoming queens.” Keneshia Grant claims that any questions about whether the candidates can lead are being asked only because they are black women. And Jennifer Rubin, the Resistance algorithm employed by the Washington Post, calculates that “the stench of sexism hangs in the air.”
There are a few reasons for this spate of messaging, aside from giving the Washington Post a wealth of content. One is that it is simply intersectional dogma, as Grant shows by hitting Rep. Cedric Richmond for being a black man questioning if Sen. Kamala Harris is too ambitious. There is also the obvious goal of insulating the eventual selection from criticism from the Right.
Notably, the most immediate purpose this serves is to remind Biden that while he is the nominee and thus the standard-bearer for the party, he is not the one in charge. All three pieces are sure to mention former Sen. Chris Dodd, a friend of Biden and member of his vetting committee. Like Richmond, Dodd committed the crime of questioning Harris’s ambition.
Harris’s ambition seems to be the biggest topic of discussion, meaning she is likely the media favorite. Of course, it was neither racist nor sexist to question Sen. Marco Rubio’s ambition just four years ago. It appears to slip everyone’s mind that in the very first Democratic debate, Harris tried to bury Biden by implying he was a racist, an attack she and her team pre-planned and had merchandise ready to sell afterward.
Rep. Karen Bass has shown she has atrocious judgment, and calling her a communist sympathizer is no different than the allegations to which Sen. Bernie Sanders was subject in his presidential runs. Susan Rice represents the Obama-era foreign policy that left the United States appeasing Russia and Iran; the same criticisms would be levied at John Kerry.
The identity politics shield against criticism has been heavily worn down over the years. It’s a particularly foolish defense against charges of ambition, when in the last few years it has been applied to Rubio, Beto O’Rourke, and Pete Buttigieg, among others. Criticizing and critiquing Biden’s shortlist is necessary, and under the circumstances of his advanced age, it’s more important than it has been for years.
