Without really meaning to, this gets Biden& #39;s appeal basically right. His campaign, despite what some have rather awkwardly argued, isn& #39;t about policy or ideology. Instead he& #39;s a vague cipher onto which a politically exhausted nation can project its hopes for the post Trump era. https://twitter.com/oliverdarcy/status/1313632565438361600">https://twitter.com/oliverdar...

The stuff about compassion and decency, of course, only works in the fanfiction version of Biden. No one who& #39;s seriously appraised him over the past year could reasonably conclude he or his campaign actually embodies these qualities. But they& #39;re what many need to see regardless.

The real Biden is serially dishonest, frequently incoherent, friendly toward segregationists, and has a record attaching him to many of the worst policy decisions made in DC over the past several decades. The trauma of the Trump era has melted all these realities into thin air.

1/2 The radical potential of 2020 was that the Trump era and all that led to it might face not just political defeat but also ideological repudiation.

2/2 This prospect was itself defeated in March/April and all indications are now that Trumpism will be beaten by a conservative restoration rather than a progressive victory