Everyone says that “grief” or “empathy” are Joe Biden’s superpower. And yes, it’s a very meaningful characteristic, especially at a time like this. But last night in the zoom call with presidential primary candidates, Andrew Yang put it differently and I think he’s right. He said that Joe Biden has a particular superpower: “whatever Biden endorses suddenly becomes the reasonable position.”
Progressives should recognize this and use it to their advantage. Biden has a gift for seeming to be a middle-of-the-road regular guy no matter what he’s saying. Think back to when he endorsed gay marriage. Pressuring him to take progressive positions may very well have the effect of mainstreaming them even more than they already are. He just doesn’t read as being extreme in any way.
This could be a potent advantage in selling the big ideas that are going to be necessary to save the country.