The pretzeled defense of Joe Biden

The timing is suspicious. While some Democrats like to think that this smear campaign is being choreographed by Republicans, they should look closer to home. These types of stories resurface whenever Biden is poised to challenge fellow Democrats -- like in the summer of 2015, when Hillary Clinton supporters thought he might enter the 2016 presidential race.

Finally, we have actress Alyssa Milano. A vocal critic of Kavanaugh, she tweeted from the Senate committee room during the hearings: "I believe Dr. Christine Blasey Ford" and later said that she felt the court nominee's "anger and rage."

Milano is more forgiving of Biden, whom she calls "a friend." She recently tweeted: "We cannot assume all women's experiences are the same" and "I believe that Joe Biden's intent has never been to make anyone uncomfortable."

Again, I give Biden the benefit of the doubt. It's his defenders who are a hot mess.

While Biden has sometimes approached young girls and women in a manner that some would probably describe as creepy, he doesn't fit the role of the manipulative predator who abuses his power to degrade women for his own sexual gratification.

Still, that is a low bar. You don't have to be all that to still be disqualified from running for president in the #MeToo era -- especially if you want to represent a party that considers itself "woke."

Going forward, Biden has promised to be "more mindful of people's personal space."

Swell. Now if only his defenders were more mindful of their own inconsistency.

Because I'm confused. When did we start focusing on a man's intent? What I took away from the #MeToo movement was that what a man intends isn't all that relevant and it's the woman who decides whether his behavior is, or isn't, appropriate. I also learned that how a man intended to make a woman feel with a gesture isn't nearly as important as how the woman felt.

As the father of two girls, ages 9 and 14, I'm really good with that. These are the lessons that I imparted to my two daughters the last time this topic was in the news.

What am I supposed to tell them now?

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Ruben Navarrette's email address is ruben@rubennavarrette.com. His daily podcast, "Navarrette Nation," is available through every podcast app.