A Prelude to Clinton vs. Biden?

Ruben Navarrett Jr. on Aug 9, 2015

Why is such a story relevant at a moment like this? If the Times reporters were so resourceful as to be able to find a slew of Biden friends who don't want him to run, then why couldn't they have put those skills to use and find another bunch of Biden friends who do want him to run? Where is that article?

And yet, that story was tame compared with how Politico polluted the presidential waters with a recent article that all but called Biden a racist for a vote he cast 40 years ago when, as the junior senator from Delaware, the Democrat "sided with conservatives and sponsored a major anti-busing amendment." The way the story was framed, Biden was an outspoken critic of integration.

Really, Politico? You went there? This isn't hardball. It's sleaze ball.

The way I see it, this story has the Clinton camp's fingerprints all over it. They tend to go on the attack early, and they can't resist the catnip of racial politics. Just look at what they tried to do to Obama in 2008, painting him as a radical after the Illinois senator staged a political insurgency of his own.

You can bet that Biden will also be suspicious of the timing of the stories. It might even help push him into the race. Then we can expect return fire at the Clinton camp, and there is plenty of ammunition to work with. And you thought the ugly mud-slinging and backstabbing was going, in the 2016 campaign, to be limited to Republicans? No way. The Democrats could be about to tear each other apart.

With the GOP squabbles, you get the sense that when they attack each other, it's just business. But with the Democrats, it's personal.

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Ruben Navarrette's email address is ruben@rubennavarrette.com.