Tuesday Talk*: At Least It’s Honestly Unprincipled

The patron saint of the woke, Senator Elizabeth Warren, has proffered a new rule worthy of consideration.

Elizabeth Warren on the Hill today said Joe Biden gave a “credible and convincing” denial to the Tara Reade allegations, and says she’s proud to have endorsed him.

It’s not that I take issue with her reasoning, per se, as an accused’s denial is tantamount to pleading not guilty. That pretty much covers the accused’s side of the equation until the accuser proves her claim. Some might argue that Warren is being just a wee bit disingenuous, saying this only for the sake of Biden and with utterly no sincerity toward any other man. Oh, you cynical wags.

But the New York Times contains a letter from Martin Tolchin, a former member of The Times’s Washington bureau and a founder of Politico, that must be admired for its straightforward, no bullshit approach.

To the Editor:

I totally disagree with this editorial. I don’t want an investigation. I want a coronation of Joe Biden. Would he make a great president? Unlikely. Would he make a good president? Good enough. Would he make a better president than the present occupant? Absolutely. I don’t want justice, whatever that may be. I want a win, the removal of Donald Trump from office, and Mr. Biden is our best chance.

Suppose an investigation reveals damaging information concerning his relationship with Tara Reade or something else, and Mr. Biden loses the nomination to Senator Bernie Sanders or someone else with a minimal chance of defeating Mr. Trump. Should we really risk the possibility?

Martin Tolchin
Alexandria, Va.

Rarely does anyone speak out publicly, particularly when their voice is integrally connected with a media outlet that would hold itself out as a modestly credible voice, without trying to wrap up their goals in the sweet words of sophistry and rationalization. Tolchin doesn’t bother. He says it out loud, clear as could be, that Biden is the lesser of two evils and nothing should stand in his way.

While there is a strong argument, made here from time to time, that it would still behoove Biden to come to the realization that some of the policy positions he’s held and promoted, which have now come back to bite him in the butt, should “evolve” in light of his learning that he was wrong, foolish and, dangerous. Of course, the same could be said for a number of efforts to water down constitutional rights to appease the soft pain of the perpetually oppressed, but that might be too much to ask.

Is Tolchin’s argument admirable, for its honesty if not its woeful lack of principle? Is he right, that no matter Biden’s flaws, which are far too many to list, he remains better than the vulgar, amoral ignoramus, Darth Cheeto, whose only motivations are self-aggrandizement and self-enrichment? Is it better to end all the nonsensical noise of trying to rationalize away the hypocrisy of the woke, the untenability of their absurd schemes, their self-serving lies, in order to come to grips with the only hard reason at stake: To end Trump’s presidency?

*Tuesday Talk rules apply.