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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsAs Kavanaugh Storm Rages On, Biden Has To Reckon With Thomas-Hill Hearing
By Kate Riga
October 1, 2018 8:31 am
Former Vice President Joe Biden, who seems to be actively considering a run for the presidency in 2020, has largely stayed in the background during the hearings with Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh and his accuser, professor Christine Blasey Ford, due to his controversial role in the Clarence Thomas-Anita Hill hearings almost 30 years ago.
According to a Monday New York Times report, Biden has publicly apologized for some of his actions as then-Senate Judiciary Committee chairman, though he privately expresses frustration that his words have been taken out of context and the political moment of the early 1990s largely forgotten.
Now, as he mulls a presidential run in two years, he needs to figure out how to deal with that part of his past.
If he handles it right, it could be a plus; if he handles it wrong, itll be a minus, former Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-CA) told the New York Times. And handling it right means stepping up to the plate.
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https://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/biden-anita-hill-clarence-thomas
nycbos
(6,034 posts)He can say something like "No person is perfect. "Every person in public life as done things they later regret. I spend my life in public service and there are several things that if I could do it again I would. The Hill/Thomas hearings is one of the greatest regrets of my career. The question is do you learn from your mistakes going forward. And I have.
EffieBlack
(14,249 posts)It's too late now.
nycbos
(6,034 posts)I was only 4 when the hearings were going on so I don't remember them. I know Barbara Boxer got elected as a result of the hearings so if she thinks "iff he handles it right" it could be a plus, her opinion says a lot.
EffieBlack
(14,249 posts)Expressing regret that he didnt do more to protect her from others is NOT an acknowledgment of his own role in the debacle. Its a dodge.
DonViejo
(60,536 posts)So, I guess this is all fake news, huh?
Joe Biden apologizes again about Anita Hill during the Kavanaugh firestorm
https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2018/9/21/17886484/joe-biden-anita-hill-brett-kavanaugh-christine-blasey-ford
Joe Biden Says He's 'So Sorry' For Anita Hill Treatment And Believes ...
https://www.newsweek.com/joe-biden-says-hes-so-sorry-anita-hill-treatment-and-believes-allegations-710518
Biden says he owes Anita Hill an apology - CNNPolitics - CNN.com
https://www.cnn.com/2017/12/14/politics/biden-anita-hill-teen-vogue/index.html
Joe Biden Apologizes For Anita Hill Situation
I believed Anita Hill,' Joe Biden says of his role in the 1991 Clarence Thomas hearings
Joe Biden Says He Owes Anita Hill An Apology
apnu
(8,756 posts)He wrote the Violence Against Women Act of 1994.
https://www.legalmomentum.org/history-vawa
So not only has he apologized to Anita Hill and taken responsibility on several occasions. He put his apologies into action and got important work done.
EffieBlack
(14,249 posts)Claiming that his "one regret" is that that although he did everything he could, he couldn't stop his friends from dragging Anita Hill through the mud is NOT an apology or an acknowledgment of his own culpability. It is, as I said, a dodge and a copout.
DonViejo
(60,536 posts)EffieBlack
(14,249 posts)We were talking about how he handled the Thomas-Hill hearings and whether he had apologized to Anita Hill for his role in them.
But since I shot down your "Biden apologized to Anita Hill so all is well" claim, I guess huffing and puffing that someone had the NOIVE to suggest that poor Joe Biden is not a perfect human being is all you got . . .
DonViejo
(60,536 posts)EffieBlack
(14,249 posts)Regardless how you try to spin it, the reality is that most Democrats - especially women - have long and distinct memories and aren't as enamoured with Biden and forgiving of his behavior and failure to own up to it as you are. He can probably forget about being the nominee now that this has all been brought up again.
R B Garr
(16,954 posts)and asked him to be his VP. Im sure that came up in Obamas decision process. Biden was a great VP. He is a face of the Obama administration.
EffieBlack
(14,249 posts)Biden's no more the face of the Obama administration that Hillary Clinton or anyone else who served in it was.
Barack Obama is the face of the Obama administration. Period.
If Biden wants to be president, he needs to earn it, just like anyone else. And part of earning it is owning up to his past mistakes. One of his biggest mistakes (and not the only one - I'm also still waiting for him to address his aligning himself with segregationists to fight desegregation efforts in the 1970s, but that's another issue) is his reprehensible handling of the Thomas Hill hearings and his failure to offer more than a mealy-mouthed "I did all I could but the Republicans were just too much for me" excuse.
R B Garr
(16,954 posts)on some level there is a patina of acceptability since Obama vetted him.
EffieBlack
(14,249 posts)mean she just got to be the nominee because of it. In fact, I recall quite a few Democrats trashing her for supposedly thinking the nomination was a "coronation."
But there's something different about Biden - the "face of the Obama administration."
R B Garr
(16,954 posts)He was elected to and served two terms. Biden was his VP and is eligible to run. That is what I meant by Biden being the current face of the Obama administration. Biden was his successor and it has been protocol that a VP is considered as top ticket potential. You keep trying to twist it to that I was saying Biden was better than Obama.
kairos12
(12,862 posts)This is speaking from the perspective of a white, male Army Officer at the time.
Polly Hennessey
(6,798 posts)But I cannot completely forgive him. He made an error in judgment and left us a constant reminder of that error Clarence Thomas.
Baitball Blogger
(46,720 posts)Lieberman on top of that list.
Back then, Dems were reaching across the aisle in order to appease the determined hard right surge that was resorting to dirty tricks. The Dems responded with Centrism.
WhiskeyGrinder
(22,355 posts)chimpymustgo
(12,774 posts)And that one shouldn't have been that difficult.
IluvPitties
(3,181 posts)Nobody's perfect.
R B Garr
(16,954 posts)ran with him. He is a face of the Obama administration.
EffieBlack
(14,249 posts)But interesting that you and another DUer are both pushing that same claim in exactly the same language in this thread.
IluvPitties
(3,181 posts)R B Garr
(16,954 posts)cannot run again. If he could, he would still be President. If anything happened to Obama while in office, Biden would take his place. So in terms of the current election cycle, Biden is the VP who was closest to Obama and who is eligible to run for the top ticket. That is what I meant by Biden bring the CURRENT *eligible* face of the Obama administration. Im certainly not saying that Biden is better than Obama, yikes.
Obama vetted Joe and selected him.
EffieBlack
(14,249 posts)Gotcha.
R B Garr
(16,954 posts)trying to twist what I was saying. Im saying that Obama must have vetted Biden and then chose him.
aeromanKC
(3,322 posts)R B Garr
(16,954 posts)Renew Deal
(81,860 posts)Get serious
Renew Deal
(81,860 posts)Its going to be disappointing when he loses the nomination. I hope it doesnt take away from his legacy.