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comment by galen




mk  ·  1486 days ago  ·  link  ·  

I don't think it is excusable behavior, and I don't consider it was just "Joe being Joe". However, I don't consider it a clear sign of perversion either. It's something in the middle. Biden was too touchy. I had old aunts and uncles that were the very same. Posing for a photo, it felt like you were a prop they were holding. Kisses from old aunts on the mouth.

It's no longer tolerable, and that's a good thing. I don't take it to mean that Joe isn't a good person. I don't take the fact that Bernie told Warren that a woman can't win the presidency to mean that he isn't a good person either. These are character flaws. They do harm to others. We all have them, and we should all work to correct them. The degrees of harm really do matter.

galen  ·  1486 days ago  ·  link  ·  

    I don't take the fact that Bernie told Warren that a woman can't win the presidency to mean that he isn't a good person either. These are character flaws.

Even if you believe that Bernie said a woman can't win, that's not a character flaw, it's at worst a misguided political judgment. There's a huge difference between "a woman cannot win this election" and "a woman should not be able to win this election." Do I agree that a woman can't win the election? No. Do I think it would be more difficult for a woman than for a man? Absolutely. Equivocating numerous sexual harassment allegations with a single alleged misguided political judgment is laughable. The degrees of harm really do matter.

mk  ·  1486 days ago  ·  link  ·  

I'm inclined to believe Warren didn't make it up. But, I could be wrong. Only they know. That said, given that 50% of the people in the country are women, I do think that believing that a woman cannot win the Presidency is both a character flaw and misguided political judgement. If he told Warren as much, that is a character flaw, IMO.

Does Biden have numerous sexual harassment allegations against him?

galen  ·  1485 days ago  ·  link  ·  

    I do think that believing that a woman cannot win the Presidency is both a character flaw and misguided political judgement.

Genuine question: what's the difference between Bernie theoretically saying "a woman can't win in 2020" and my sister, a Warren supporter, saying "it's much more difficult for a woman to get elected than a man"? Take the latter statement, add the fact that winning in 2020 will be difficult for any Democrat, and the logical conclusion is "it would be incredibly difficult (impossible?) for a woman to win in 2020."

    Does Biden have numerous sexual harassment allegations against him?

See the Vox article I linked above.

mk  ·  1485 days ago  ·  link  ·  

I'd say that the main difference is between 'difficult' and 'cannot'. Hillary won the popular vote, and lost the electoral vote by narrow margins (10k in MI).

There's also the difference between a man or a woman speaking to the issue. Finally, the man Bernie telling the woman candidate Warren is different.

    See the Vox article I linked above.

Not to diminish the complaints, or excuse his actions, but I don't think a journalist would say that Biden has numerous sexual harassment allegations against him. One can say that Trump has numerous sexual harassment allegations against him. How do we draw a difference?

galen  ·  1485 days ago  ·  link  ·  

    I'd say that the main difference is between 'difficult' and 'cannot'. Hillary won the popular vote, and lost the electoral vote by narrow margins (10k in MI).

And the electoral landscape has changed dramatically in 4 years. The claim "a woman cannot win in 2020" is a misguided political judgement. It's not a statement of value.

    Not to diminish the complaints, or excuse his actions, but I don't think a journalist would say that Biden has numerous sexual harassment allegations against him. One can say that Trump has numerous sexual harassment allegations against him. How do we draw a difference?

Some journalists already have