I read both Biden’s books. I found his developing years to be like reading Jack Kerouac if Kerouac had a life plan. Biden traveled and had experiences with women he visited while traveling.  As Biden became an adult, I learned of the deaths of his loved ones. I read about Bork. I learned of his friendship with the last democratic president before him. The things I gathered was that he quietly understood from listening and researching then used subtly to both disarm Bork, and function as a Vice President. 

I was comfortable with the idea of him becoming president from the person I read about who was also VP for 8 years. I wondered if America would elect someone who would politely analyze a situation and methodically aim to solve problems, or if America was addicted to confrontation. 

These things I noticed during the election: Biden let everyone speak, stated his points, and implemented a winning strategy. People feared the Democrats’ Middle Class dad persona vs. Supervillain Republican dad persona was what lost for Dukakis, Gore, Kerry, and Hillary Clinton. 

Biden proved to be as suave as the guy who was the VP for the last triumphant democrat. 

Reading books by myself in random places helped me get to know Biden. 

Sometimes during covering rap, jazz, and reggae events I’m the only white person in the room except for another white guy in the room. There are various archetypes of being the only other white guy in the room 

There is the old reggae guy. Or the other white people you came with.  

Then there is the random normal white dude who is friends with people involved and would seem square if you weren’t noticing that he was friends with everyone without agenda. 

He doesn’t speak in vocal inflictions or Jamaican patois. He is there because he is friends with people organically. 

I grew to like Biden like the random normal white dude I would notice having fun with his friends without dramatics. 

Then the “you ain’t black if you vote for Trump” thing happened. He made a headline grabbing statement that was subtle.  Rap literacy was beyond the  “why are old white dudes trying to define blackness.” 

It was controversial enough to make replays. Safe in content once digested. 

Second subtle maneuver. How to say black lives matter without looking like a cop killer? 

Biden made mistakes with overinflating COVID facts to say black lives matter in a way that old white people would understand without looking like an anarchist. 

After Jim Clyburn mobilized the black vote during the primaries people wondered if Biden would tangibly include black people. Or if he would take their votes for granted. 

Contextually there was 8 years that people seemed to forget.  

Historically, others had made mistakes which Biden didn’t. 

Clyburn is close with former National Security Advisor Susan Rice’s father. Rice worked during Biden’s VP tenure. 

Susan Rice said while she was first involved with government, Biden would meet with her during certain moments during breaks she while was having a confrontation inside somewhere. Rice said Biden never really got involved with Rice’s dramas but knowledge of where she was during periods of question made it clear people couldn’t lie about or bully her. 

She said Biden never was involved in her dramas, but his presence kept her from being lied about. 

Did this effect Jim Clyburn’s opinion of Biden?  

Biden picked Kamala Harris as a running mate. 

While Biden choose Kamala over Rice. I’m sure Biden, Harris, Clyburn, and Rice all know each other. 

Kamala was a Senator from California picked instead of the National Security Advisor from Portland, Maine. 

The end result of the Kamala pick was a VP people were comfortable with from a larger population.  

Kamala destroyed the notion that a woman can’t be elected. Kamala delivered a resounding victory in California winning by almost 6 million votes. 

Remember Trump was constantly threatening California for not voting for him. 

California was a certain victory. This didn’t make electoral college sense initially. The Kamala pick did illustrate a resounding victory once Biden won the electoral college. 

Trump had donated to a Kamala campaign before. Trump really couldn’t make the VP elect divisive. 

The Biden campaign did an advertising buy from FOX News once the former VP took the lead in close states like Wisconsin, Arizona, and Pa.  

Fox News called those states for Biden before MSNBC. 

The result was an electoral college victory, and a larger popular vote than Biden experienced as the victorious VP. 

While Trump is doing recounts, the clear image of Biden as the victor in electoral and popular vote was for everyone to see. 

Free Press editor Bob Fitrakis could take this year off in terms of recounts. 

The Columbus Free Press and wcrsfm.org 92.7 / 98.3 are part of the Pacifica Network which includes Democracy Now and Rising Up With Sonali. 

There is worry regarding Biden’s friendships with Republicans. 

if you are selling the idea of free speech, freedom of the press, the constitution and a functional government, then you must look at everyone as an American Citizen. 

The thing that made Trump frightening was the vengeance mode.  

Divisiveness doesn’t unite the entire country during a plague and human rights violations. 

Many leftist people were curious about Kasich. 

 Well, I can tell you that Kasich was unpopular with some Trump supporters I had spoken.  Some people thought he mishandled his 2016 public response to the Central States saying there was no longer pensions for Teamsters who payed into this for their entire lives. 

Marci Kaptur, Sherrod Brown, Rob Portman, and Joyce Beatty stood up for blue collar workers who were told they were losing their pensions. The Ohio leaders are Democrats and Republicans.  

Bi-Partisan conversation.  

In 2016, Trump appealed to these Teamsters who felt like they were being ignored. This is how Trump found those working-class white people. 

While I have no proof Kasich did anything wrong, Trump made the pension fund response Kasich’s fault. 

Pension fund issue was eventually resolved. The Teamsters received their pensions. 

The frame Trump built hurt Kasich who didn’t deliver working class white people for Biden in the Red States.  

But Kasich did show that Biden wasn’t trying to ruin Republicans lives. 

Biden didn’t want to do a similar thing to Republicans that Trump did to California. 

Some Republicans are just happy Kasich uses diplomacy instead threatening anyone who disagrees with him. 

Biden’s middle-class dad move worked here. 

This translated to voters who also liked McCain. Biden was friends with McCain and can be seen on the View comforting McCain’s daughters, and quietly mentioning economic ideas for our country’s future. 

This helped win Arizona. 

Biden basically let suburbanites know he didn’t plan to put on a toga and burn down their houses with his weird college friends. 

Biden didn’t have to scream defund the police or Medicare for All because our cities will need to restructure their police departments. COVID is will a require a health care response that can’t be ruined by pharma if America wants to survive the plague. 

Columbus passed a civilian review board with a resounding vote. 

Medicare for All would’ve assisted preventative side of Covid.

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Wes Flexner wrote this while eating vegan pizza after binge viewing Washington Post’s election coverage.