This blog was originally published on Forbes as Joe Biden Sings His Farewell Aria on Thursday, October 22, 2015.
The first commandment in sports is “there is no ‘I’ in ‘team.’” For Vice President Joe Biden, there is no “team” in his “I.”
Although politics is a highly individual game—witness Donald Trump’s personality-driven campaign—the team, the political party, is an indispensable element in the process. Yet, when Mr. Biden stood in the White House Rose Garden yesterday to announce that he would not seek the nomination to be the Democratic candidate for president, his speech was all about him and not about his party—and certainly not about his party’s leading candidate, Hillary Clinton or her closest challenger, Senator Bernie Sanders. Not once in his 1,944-word statement did the Vice President mention their names.
In fact, his statement sounded more like a campaign speech than a withdrawal. It was all about “Middle-Class Joe,” as he referred to himself: his past achievements, his future goals, his personal qualifications, his parents, his family, and his career.
At the very least, he could have passed the baton and wished the remaining candidates well. May the best man/woman win. This courtesy is even practiced between opposing parties. In 2008, one of the most contentious presidential campaigns in memory, Senator John McCain offered that courtesy in his concession speech:
I had the honor of calling Senator Barack Obama—to congratulate him on being elected the next president of the country that we both love.
In a contest as long and difficult as this campaign has been, his success alone commands my respect for his ability and perseverance.
No such courtesy from Mr. Biden for his fellow Democrats. Smack in the middle of his statement, he actually underscored his separation from his own party by seeking cooperation with the opposing party:
I don’t believe, like some do, that it’s naïve to talk to Republicans. I don’t think we should look at Republicans as our enemies. They are our opposition; they’re not our enemies. And for the sake of the country, we have to work together.
All well and good, but it will have to be Ms. Clinton or Mr. Sanders who do the working together. May the best man/woman work it out.
There’s an old joke about the opera diva who receives an adoring fan in her dressing room after a performance. The diva goes on and on about how magnificently she sang every one of her arias, about her dramatic acting, her expressive gestures, and her fabulous costumes. After about half an hour, the diva says to the fan, “But enough about me, what did you think of my performance?”
It’s not all about you, Joe.
This blog was originally published on Forbes as Joe Biden Sings His Farewell Aria on Thursday, October 22, 2015.