The pretzeled defense of Joe Biden

SAN DIEGO -- Let's cool it with the criticism of Joe Biden.

But let's turn up the heat on his defenders with their doubletalk and double standards about how men treat women.

The 76-year-old former vice president may simply be a throwback to a bygone era in politics when voter outreach meant literally reaching out to touch voters. The Washington Post has generously described Biden as having an "affectionate, physical style."

Often, the touching is meant to comfort. One of Biden's best qualities is something that Donald Trump lacks: empathy. The Democrat knows suffering. He lost his first wife and a young daughter in a tragic car accident and his adult son to brain cancer. Life has tried -- more than once -- to break this man. Yet he's still standing. That is admirable.

But there is not much to admire with Biden's defenders. The way they're bending over backward, and frontward, to justify behavior that they, not long ago, told us was unjustifiable has been sloppy and transparent. They're fueling public cynicism and hurting their cause. Why should anyone believe them ever again?

On MSNBC's "Morning Joe," columnist Mike Barnicle criticized the "media feeding frenzy" now that at least a half-dozen women are complaining that Biden acted improperly toward them.

Really? Pull the tape from last fall's confirmation hearings for Brett Kavanaugh, and you'll see how pundits on that same show fed off the frenzy of accusations of sexual impropriety by the Republican Supreme Court nominee.

Some will point out that Kavanaugh was accused of sexual assault, and that this makes a big difference. But the national conversation sparked by the hearings went in all directions and included behavior that fell short of outright assault but was still inappropriate.

Former Sen. Claire McCaskill of Missouri -- who is now an MSNBC contributor -- also gave Biden a pass. She claimed that his actions were "not sexual" and insisted that he "never did this from a bad place, always from a good place." McCaskill even took a swipe at Biden's accusers, implying that they were a tad sensitive about their personal space.

The women of ABC's "The View" also vouched for Biden last week. They said that the timing was suspicious, that his accusers should have spoken up long ago, that his behavior "doesn't rise to the level" of #MeToo allegations, and that Biden shouldn't stop being himself.

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.