On Nov. 20, 2017, before a sold-out crowd at Proctors Theatre in Schenectady, N.Y., I conducted a one-on-one conversation with Joe Biden about his new book Promise Me, Dad. You could feel the Run, Joe, Run! energy in the theater.
I asked Biden what he thought after we went backstage. It was there that our close-talking former vice president stepped deep into my personal space, rested his hands on my shoulders, touched his head to mine and said, "You got it, man! You got it, man!"
Was I uncomfortable? Sure. Not many people get in my personal space or do so with such gusto. Did I mind? Truth be told, no.
But I'm not a woman.
Memories of my close encounter with Biden have come back now that former Nevada state legislator Lucy Flores has written how "an awkward kiss changed how I saw Joe Biden."
"Just before the speeches, we were ushered to the side of the stage where we were lined up by order of introduction," Flores wrote for New York Magazine's "The Cut."
"As I was taking deep breaths and preparing myself to make my case to the crowd, I felt two hands on my shoulders. I froze. 'Why is the vice-president of the United States touching me?'
"I felt him get closer to me from behind," she continued. "He leaned further in and inhaled my hair. I was mortified. I thought to myself, 'I didn't wash my hair today and the vice-president of the United States is smelling it ... . Why is the vice-president of the United States smelling my hair?' He proceeded to plant a big slow kiss on the back of my head. My brain couldn't process what was happening. I was embarrassed. I was shocked. I was confused."
Biden responded in a statement: "In many years on the campaign trail and in public life, I have offered countless handshakes, hugs, expressions of affection, support and comfort. And not once--never--did I believe I acted inappropriately. If it is suggested I did so, I will listen respectfully. But it was never my intention. I may not recall these moments the same way, and I may be surprised at what I hear. But we have arrived at an important time when women feel they can and should relate their experiences, and men should pay attention. And I will."
One of the welcome changes ushered in by the #MeToo era is that accusations such as those leveled by Flores are taken seriously, not summarily dismissed. And the accused must respond. But the movement that toppled Harvey Weinstein and knocked Bill Cosby off his pedestal has marched into a gray area where the action is not in question, but the perception of it is. Where the very real perception of the person offended clashes with the perception and intention of the person accused.
Said clash is seen in the opposing reminiscences of Stephanie Carter and Amy Lappos. And they highlight why our national conversation has to get a point where we can talk about perceptions and intentions with as much care and concern as we are so quick to knee-jerk reactions to allegations of bad behavior.
The Post reported that during an interview on Saturday, Flores noted "she did not feel a sexual overtone in Biden's alleged behavior toward her." But the story also points out that she believes this should not lead people to discount its seriousness. Agreed.
Where I part company with so many criticizing the front-runner of a presidential field he has yet to join is that the accusations should preclude him from running at all. Such a demand--in Biden's case and in the accusation by Flores--seems several steps too far. As The Post's Karen Tumulty writes, "To lose that sense of proportion is to dishonor the victims of the worst kinds of sexual abuse, and to abandon any hope that there can be a path to redemption for those who commit lesser ones and grow to understand the hurt they have caused."
Let Biden get into the race for the Democratic nomination for president. Let the primary voters decide whether decades of "Biden being Biden" are disqualifying.
Editorial on 04/03/2019