I don’t know if Joe Biden is still planning to run for president or not, and I don’t give him a snowball’s chance in hell of winning more Democratic delegates than Hillary Clinton, but at least he now has the best slogan in the game.
TIME: How did you try to square the Vice President’s public image with his negotiating record?
ERIC CANTOR: Joe Biden is what you see. You know, he’s genuine. Yes, he’s prone to gaffes publicly, and he’ll admit that. He’s very self-deprecating like that. And I’m certainly not one who agrees with Joe Biden on all things—we probably disagree more than we agree—but from a human and relationship standpoint, the guy’s awesome.
It’s really a perfect slogan because it taps right into the key thing about Joe Biden. He’s smart, but he isn’t the smartest. He has all the knowledge he needs, but not always the best judgment. He’s a very good politician, but he’s known to go off the reservation. He’s next in line, but maybe a bit too old. He’s a solid liberal, except on these three key things.
When it comes to Biden as a presidential candidate it is always, “yes, but…”
And the voters sense that and he’s always the second or third choice.
What actually sells Biden is Biden. Don’t look at the external stuff like his worst votes or his biggest gaffes or his age or some stupid thing he advocated. Just look at the man. You can’t help but like him. He’s a good dude, and even a viper like Eric Cantor can’t help but recognize that fact. Cantor knows he’s awesome, and he’s awesome enough that Cantor doesn’t even mind admitting it in print. Cantor gets nothing out of making such an admission but its the debt he owes Biden and he’s willing to pay it.
Vote for Joe. He’s Awesome.
It’s such much better and truer than “Joementum.”
Yes, of course I am being tongue-in-cheek here. The reality is that having a great slogan isn’t enough. There are good reasons why Biden is always the second or third choice. But if you want to highlight his strongest point against a behemoth like Team Clinton, it’s who he is.
With Joe, what you see is what you get, and what you get is pretty great. With an electorate that is used to chameleons like Mitt Romney and Al Gore, that’s a pretty strong point.
