I’m getting really tired of this false narrative about Joe Biden

| 12:01 pm EST February 27, 2020
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Joe Biden once famously tagged Rudy Giuliani for his political rhetoric which consisted of little more than “a noun and a verb and 9/11.” This was fair criticism, because Rudy only ever wanted to talk about that one specific moment in his career, and he had nothing else to offer about why his political career should advance. Now we’re hearing some folks accusing Biden of relying on little more than “a noun and a verb and Obama.” This is unfair and it should stop.

We all know that one guy who talks way too much about his famous friend, and always ends up overstating the nature of that friendship. But when Joe Biden talks about the accomplishments of the Obama administration, it isn’t just because he and President Obama are buddies. It’s because Biden spent eight years serving as the influential Vice President in the Obama administration. The Obama era was also the Biden era. When Biden talks about it, he’s simply talking about his own record.

If Biden were trying to paint himself as the real mastermind behind Obama’s successes, it would be an entirely different story. But I’ve never once heard Biden try to do this. Instead he points to specific Obama administration matters in which he played a meaningful role. These candidates are all applying to run the Executive Branch, and Biden is the one who has direct experience in running it. Is he supposed to not talk about it?

Vice Presidents rarely end up getting elected President. You have to wonder if it’s partly because they have to walk such a difficult tightrope between spelling out the role they played in the administration, and not being seen as trying to grab too much credit for it. In that regard, Joe Biden is doing fine. We all miss the Obama administration. Biden was a key part of it, and he has as much of a right to talk about his own resume as anyone else does.