DES MOINES, Iowa — Joe Biden’s road trip buddy around Iowa is a guy who won an upset here last decade on his way to winning the Democratic nomination.
But it’s not Barack Obama.
“My mom used to say you’re defined by your courage,” Biden said in Cedar Rapids Saturday, “and you’re redeemed by your loyalty.”
You’ve got to wonder, then, whether Obama is redeemed in Joe Biden’s eyes?
For eight years, Joe Biden was Obama’s vice president. For two elections, Biden was Obama’s running mate. And now that Biden is running for president, where is Obama?
Obama is sitting it out.
Where’s the loyalty?
Without Obama by his side, Biden is campaigning with John Kerry by his side. Kerry, like Obama, served with Biden in the Senate. Kerry, like Obama, won Iowa last decade, on his way to winning the Democratic nomination. But Kerry, unlike Obama, is willing to endorse Joe Biden and appear onstage with him.
Biden is doing plenty to play up his Obama connections. His campaign video includes him hugging Obama along with the line establishing that character is defined by “who you stand with.”
When Biden defends his support for the Libya War, and even the Iraq War, Biden points to Obama. When Biden opposes the left-wing base on “Medicare for all,” he does so by pointing to his work to pass Obamacare.
But in these Iowa high school gymnasiums and community centers, when Biden appears with Kerry by his side, you have to wonder what sort of arenas he could be filling if Biden had Obama by his side.
