Biden's distortions

I think these can maybe be explained away somewhat depending on one's perspective but I'm not going to try. They're still probably distortions to some degree, and at the very least embellishments. But suffice it to say he's not quite (or nearly?) as bad as the competition...

There are no saints in politics, just like there are no saints anywhere else, but that doesn't mean some sides aren't better than others. And it doesn't mean the levels of distortion are so meaningless that we can afford to choose on ideological identity alone. Overall regard for facts matters. Competence matters. Judgment matters. Intelligence and education matter.

Tolerance and regard for international law and world opinion as well as being able to communicate and deal effectively with the media also matter.

So does experience, though I'm disinclined to measure it as longevity in Washington or small mayoral and gubernatorial offices. Hocky-momery and Joe-sixpackness do not matter, or if they do are probably a negative.

Life experience matters... being multiracial, multiethnic, having lived in places as varied as Hawaii, Indonesia, Chicago, and Cambridge -- experience with community organizing and as a constitutional and civil rights lawyer -- such things do factor into what I'd like to see in the next leader of the free world.

Vietnamese POW and Navy pilot with a maverick ego do not rank particularly high, if at all.

As for Biden, well... the anti-Cheney who improves foreign relations and is well equipped to take over in a crisis (should the worst happen) really sums things up, no?