August 11, 2020--Biden's Bunker

With friends I was debating Joe Biden's pre-election strategy.

Specifically, if his decision to spend the campaign in his Delaware basement office was wise or misdirected.

For the most part my friends were all right with it.

"He's way ahead in the polls," one put it, "Including in almost all the swing states, so why mess up a good thing with his making controversial comments and gaffs."

Others chimed in, "Look, all that we should care about is getting rid of Trump so if this means Biden remains isolated, we shouldn't care. If he's elected there will be plenty of time for him to be out and about."

"I'm coming to have a different view," I said,"I'm concerned that his remaining in self-imposed  quarantine can be attacked politically. Trump, who is out and about, can say Biden is too old to be in public because he's afraid he'll catch the virus and die. Or, Trump can say Biden doesn't want to be unscripted because he'll say something stupid. I remember Jimmy Carter running for reelection from the confines of the White House. Not wanting to be seen campaigning because the Iranians were holding dozens of Americans hostages. They called it the Rose Garden strategy. How did that workout?"

"Reagan was elected," I said.  "So, I worry about Biden."

"In addition Trump gets to fly around the country claiming he's trying to get money to the unemployed while Biden is holed up." 

"Not a bad point," one of my friends said, "Biden emerged from his bunker the other day for an interview with the Association of Hispanic Journalists and stepped right in it, saying that there's more diversity among Latinos than black people. These kind of gaffs aren't doing him any good."

Another friend summed it up, "So back to the basement he goes."