After half a century in public life and three presidential runs, Joe Biden has finally secured the Democratic nomination and a polling lead far greater and more stable than the last two runs of his predecessors.
But while Biden may view his commanding victory over Bernie Sanders and dozens of his left-wing wannabes as a definitive party victory, top Democrats seem a little more eager to turn Biden’s presidency into Weekend at Bernie’s, preferring running mate Kamala Harris as a shadow leader. Don’t trust me! Just see how Barack Obama reordered the third night of the Democratic National Convention:
Tonight’s preview from @jeffzeleny:
Initially, the convention had Obama speaking AFTER the VP pick tonight. But once Kamala Harris was selected, Obama suggested switching & speaking first. “It felt like an opportunity to symbolically pass the torch,” source close to him said.— Sarah Boxer (@Sarah_Boxer) August 20, 2020
It’s no secret that Obama has repeatedly undercut Biden’s presidential odds, first by coronating Hillary Clinton as his successor in the hopes of following his historic win with that of another: a woman. Then, in the 2020 primary, Obama remained silent even as Harris herself smeared Biden as a racist for having working relationships out of necessity with segregationists early in his Senate career and not backing federally forced busing. Only in the days before Super Tuesday did reports of Obama talking to long shot liberals such as Pete Buttigieg to consider who they would endorse after they dropped out of the race. In other words, Obama only gave a semblance of backing Biden until it was the semi-moderate septuagenarian white guy against the flaming socialist septuagenarian white guy.
But luckily, Team Biden saved Obama’s legacy of building dreams in picking Harris, not just the first black woman to earn a major-party nomination to the vice presidency but also the first Asian American one. And so, as expected, Obama wants to coronate her as his de facto heir, not Biden.
Biden may think himself the 46th president, but it’s clear that Biden and the rest of the party are ready to have the tail wag the dog. It’s safe to say that Joe ought to watch his back.
