Different professions seem to entail different levels of dishonesty. Used car salesman have historically been at the top of the list. They range from puffers—those who exaggerate the quality of the vehicles they sell—to less benign frauds who fill carburetors with sawdust. Politicians fall into the category of the former more often than the latter. There is always a range of exaggerations and while they may tell you the upside of their viewpoint, they leave out the downside, say, taxes you pay for a great sounding social program, etc. There are a few politicians whose prevarications rise to the level of Hall of Fame status. The nominal Commander in Chief of the United States, Joe Biden, has successfully reached the pinnacle of his profession and deserves special recognition for a host of lies perpetrated over the course of his 50-year career. Sadly, it must be said, that the lies have paid off handsomely with professional success.
Glib commenters might say, “Well, all politicians lie.” And leave it at that. But that is like saying all tennis players hit balls outside the line. That is true, but there is a difference between Serena Williams and your local soccer mom who plays tennis with hubby a few times a year. You might even say Conservatism Bittersweet has its own bias and that this critical review is a matter of political differences. Biden’s current approval rating currently at 33% suggests that the observations have been noted by all sorts of Americans.
What truly marks the occasion is the usually obsequious Washington Post[1] which has awarded Biden their highest derogatory liars award, the Pinocchio. In fact, they have given the maximum possible, four Pinocchio’s to Biden for a host of virtue signaling stories made out of whole cloth. Although his stories have long been derided in conservative circles, Biden’s low rating has allowed a crack of honesty to shine through the edges of the Post’s blinders. Biden’s claim in a story he has told for years, that he was arrested as a teenager while attending a civil rights rally can’t be supported by any known facts. The Post’s fact-checker pointed out, “too many elements of his claim didn’t add up.”
Biden also claims an arrest at the age of 21 for trespassing at the Capitol and another arrest in South Africa while supporting Nelson Mandela. Biden now has admitted that the latter story is untrue. He has also made claims of exceptional scholastic performance. Among his claims, is finishing in the top half of his law school class. A lie. He graduated from the University of Delaware with a “C” average and 506th out of a class of 688 while majoring in history and political science. He claimed he earned three degrees, but has only the two. He also claimed to be on full scholarship at Syracuse Law School. Again, false. He was given a half scholarship based on need and graduated 76 out of a class of 85. His claim that he was awarded the Outstanding Student of the Political Science Department Award, is also a lie. During his campaign, he admitted that he lied on these points of his academic record.
Lest you think he is a one-dimensional liar, Biden’s academic record also shows that he was disciplined for plagiarism, having borrowed liberally from Robert F. Kennedy, Hubert H. Humphrey, and Neil Kinnock in a law school paper.
Some other Biden claims are more difficult to assess due to the passage of time. He claims to have given a welcoming speech to his graduating class, which the valedictorian of the class could not remember. Biden also claimed to have left a lunch counter when a Black friend was denied service. Again, the witness had no recollection of the event.
Biden has told these stories for years so they cannot be attributed to the cognitive decline he is currently experiencing. The stories have been a mainstay of his persona as a public figure for years. The trouble for Biden is that as a presidential candidate he received a level of scrutiny that far surpassed what he received from the Delaware press as a senator. He projects an affable demeanor in public and the attitude of many people is, well, that is just old Joe. But that makes them enablers as Biden rose in the political ranks. To paraphrase a quote attributed to Abraham Lincoln “You can fool some of the people some of the time, all of the people some of the time, but you cannot fool all the people all the time.”
For some people, the end justifies the means. Justice Clarence Thomas in his 2007 memoir, My Grandfather’s Son, recounts the telephone call he received from Joe Biden the head of the Judiciary Committee that confirmed him for the Supreme Court:
He [Biden] had decided to oppose me . . .
“That’s fine,” I said. “It doesn’t matter to me whether I ‘m confirmed or not. But I entered this process with a good name. and I want to have it at the end.”
“Judge, I know you don’t believe me,” he [Biden] replied, “but if any of these last two matters come up, I will be your biggest defender.” (The other matter to which he was referring was the leak of my draft opinion.) [And the Anita Hill allegations.]
He was right about one thing: I didn’t believe him. Neither did Virginia [Thomas’s wife]. As he reassured me of his goodwill, she grabbed a spoon from the silverware drawer, opened her mouth wide, stuck out her tongue as far as she could, and pretended to gag herself.
[1] https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1987/09/22/biden-academic-claims-inaccurate/932eaeed-9071-47a1-aeac-c94a51b668e1/