I have developed a genuine affection for Joe Biden during this election that differs from my affection for him during his vice presidency. It's also different from stanship or agreeing w/ him all the time. I'm noting this now b/c I think a lot of Democrats feel similarly.

Of course I recognize this makes me biased & I try to be aware of that. But I don't think I've ever felt this particular way towards a politician. Not that I haven't had affection before. Just, not in this way. Like it really feels like an "Uncle Joe" thing.

Biden just seems so thoughtful. Empathetic. And, at times, vulnerable. It seems like he truly cares about people. I am sure I appreciated these qualities in people before, but maybe part of it is that they are particularly highlighted by the monstrosity that is Trump.

To be clear: I'm glad that Biden is all of these things. When I talk about how Democrats *feel* about him, though, I'm not assigning a normative value to this. I think we should be careful w/ bias. I *am* trying to describe a phenomenon--a partisan one--that I see occurring.