The Exciting Possibility of Joe Biden

There is a very different bar for "would you marry this man?" and "I do!" The list of people we might consider as spouses is much longer than the list of people we actually do marry. Dating often puts an end to exciting possibilities. Going to the polls is different than having someone query you for a poll.

Which brings me to this odd clamor for Joe Biden to run. He's at the stage of candidacy akin to your aunt telling you that you should date this guy because he's really nice. You're open to this possibility but given we're talking about meeting for coffee, it's hard to say "no." Later, before you actually begin shopping for a wedding dress, it'll be harder to say "yes." 

There are real issues in this campaign. By far the biggest and most urgent is 24/7 news agencies' need to run stories that drive ratings and click-throughs. As it turns out, we're less interested in politics than politicians, and it doesn't take us long to go through the entire cycle of intrigue, approval, skepticism, and dismissal with a candidate. The process from intrigue to dismissal has never been quicker and the period of serious campaigning has never been longer. So, there is a lot of demand for shiny new objects in the form of candidates. And while we aren't really sure that we want Joe for president, we are sure that we want him in that candidate parade. "We need you to run, Joe, if only for ratings bump."