Joseph Robinette Biden's Schmooze-fu

Now I realize that Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. is a politician and schmoozing is part of the job. But this:

Joe Biden, informed by a firefighter that on his last visit he had promised to bring beer, pulls out a six-pack of Iron City and starts handing them out pic.twitter.com/v53udHi0Sy

— Timothy Burke (@bubbaprog) September 11, 2020

His last visit was eight years ago, too. Then there's this:

Anderson Cooper: "Do you see ways that you've benefited from white privilege?"

Joe Biden: "Sure, I’ve benefited just because I don’t have to go through what my Black brothers and sisters have had to go through." https://t.co/Kq9dEuaeSe pic.twitter.com/PQVyxLCQia

— The Hill (@thehill) September 18, 2020

And this:

For all the attacks against Biden's mental fitness, I met a guy today (not a big donor) who says he met Biden for 90 seconds at a fundraiser 2 years ago and when Biden visited Flint earlier this year he immediately recognized him, remembered his name and exactly where they'd met

— Charlotte Alter (@CharlotteAlter) September 16, 2020

 This goes above and beyond basic "shake hands and kiss babies" politics.

Biden, it seems, is not merely a schmoozer. He is a schmooze-master. This, I think, is how he has survived for so long. Biden is a master of getting people to feel he is one of them and, since group identity is the basis for the votes for a plurality of the electorate, it may just win him the Presidency.

People just don't vote on policy or, rather, only a minority votes on policy. Running on personality rather than policy also has the enormous advantage that, unless one is a complete jerk, there are not five million people all ready to pounce on the slightest error, argue over whether or not your health care plan or foreign policy or teddy bear protection plan is quite perfect.

Me, I'd prefer to know what he will do in office. But even he doesn't know. So, all right, then. He is at least no malignant narcissist like Trump.

I'll take it.