Joe Biden has been, in order, a dangerous young politician, a disappointing older politician, a laughable Democratic presidential candidate, a middling vice president, an uninspired Democratic presidential candidate, and now an uninspiring Democratic nominee. The most charitable encapsulation of him is that he’s merely a benevolent anachronism in over his head—an innocuous relic yet to realize how obsolete he currently is. A sentient phone booth. The worst is that he’s a feckless and rudderless opportunist who may also be a sexual predator.
The best-case scenario of a Biden presidency is that he realizes he’s as disinterested in being president as his campaign would suggest he is, and appoints an outstanding cabinet, delegates as much as possible, and resigns from office after his first term. That would be the most presidential thing he could do. But if he decided to be a traditional president and, you know, actually did stuff, I have less and less doubt that he’d be a bad one.
I also have less and less doubt that, if Donald Trump wins again, he’d be our last one.