Real leaders take full responsibility and make amends when they recognize their faults. Biden so far won’t do so when it comes to these matters that have soured my perception of him: the bankruptcy law he championed, his treatment of Anita Hill, his inappropriate touching and his reaction to it, and his record on busing.
When it comes to the 2005 bankruptcy law that made it more difficult for individuals and families to file for bankruptcy, Biden’s team continues to defend his stewardship of the legislation. Biden’s experience as President Obama’s right-hand man in implementing credit card and consumer protection reforms apparently hasn’t taught him better. The intervening financial crisis and spike in income inequality we’ve seen since that law’s passage hasn’t changed his mind either.
Instead, Biden tells donors nothing would “fundamentally change,” a far cry from his friend and former boss’ 2008 pledge to “fundamentally transform this country.” It is not like Biden is incapable of change on economic policy. He has expressed regret for his 1999 vote to repeal Glass-Stegall and has proposed regulatory policies that demonstrate change. That he won’t show the same contrition and growth here is incredibly disappointing.
When it comes to Anita Hill and the Clarence Thomas hearings, Biden allowed Thomas to testify both before and after Hill and didn’t call three other women who would’ve corroborated accounts of Thomas’ sexual harassment. He has expressed varying forms of regret but has dragged his feet on directly apologizing to Hill – and even then he didn’t take full ownership of his role as Judiciary Committee chair in apologizing for his decisions.
It is true Biden voted against Thomas in committee and on the floor and didn’t impugn Hill in the way Orrin Hatch and Arlen Specter did but he also didn’t intervene to counter his colleagues’ attacks. That he won’t expressly say “I was wrong, I apologize for how I handled the hearings” is a real failing. A genuine leader would have taken such actions.
With regard to Biden’s inappropriate touching, Lucy Flores’ account of their encounter, again, worsened my perception of Biden. It isn’t “hugging”; it’s unwelcome physical contact that is unacceptable. Biden had an opportunity to show contrition and show how he’d change. He produced a video that claimed he listened and would change.
Since then, Biden has repeatedly joked about the allegations and has failed to show true reflection. It is all so upsetting especially given Biden’s advocacy for sexual assault survivors. I expected better from him. Our party leader shouldn’t be this way.
Finally, Biden’s poor defense of his record on busing and his defensiveness about nostalgic memories of working with segregationists senators was disheartening. He could’ve simply said he was wrong in the 1970s, that the intervening decades changed his mind, that he listened to others’ experiences and reevaluated his perspective. He did none of these things and went in an unwelcome direction of defending states’ rights.
There are models in Biden’s own career for how he can better handle issues like these. Look no further than his famous endorsement of marriage equality in May 2012 where he got out ahead of President Obama. He essentially acknowledged he was wrong to oppose it previously, discussed his experiences that informed a changed perspective and showed leadership in taking the right stance.
On Iraq too, Biden has said quite clearly he made a mistake in voting to authorize the invasion in 2002. He adjusted his posture to be a dovish voice inside the Obama administration’s foreign policy debates. Though it was clunky, Biden’s reversal on the Hyde Amendment provides guidance on the aforementioned controversies too: admit you were wrong, listen to advisers and others who have concerns, and show you’ll be better in the future.
Biden could learn from Pete Buttigieg who owned up to his shortcomings as mayor and showed remarkable candor in the debate last week. He could learn from Obama, who earned the admiration of voters for his self-reflection. On some level, this is all so sad. Biden has the real potential to utilize his privilege in a constructive way to show courage and evolution on these important issues.
He could have then been a true public role model. Contrary to his campaign team's fear, Biden's supporters would not abandon him for this and his street cred on authenticity would not be undercut. Instead, Biden has lost former supporters, including me.
