If Biden wanted to ‘earn’ the nomination without Obama’s endorsement, he wouldn’t be using Obama as a shield

Joe Biden made the absurd claim in a Sunday 60 Minutes interview that he told Barack Obama not to endorse him in the 2020 Democratic presidential primary because he wanted to “earn” the nomination on his own.

It is, of course, impossible to believe that Biden wouldn’t want the official endorsement of a former president who is tremendously popular among Democrats. But Biden’s claim is made even more ridiculous by the fact that he has been constantly deploying his relationship with Obama as a shield whenever he comes under fire from opponents.

When Norah O’Donnell asked Biden why Obama hadn’t endorsed him, he responded, “Because I have to own — I wanna earn this on my own.” Asked if Obama ever offered an endorsement, Biden asserted, “No, we didn’t even get there. I asked him not to. He said, ‘Okay.’”

Back on planet Earth, where Biden is running as an elderly white man who has taken many positions over his nearly half-century-long political career that are at odds with a vocal segment of the modern Democratic Party, he has gone out of his way to associate himself with Obama at every opportunity.

Weeks before he ran for president, he declared, “I’m an Obama-Biden Democrat, man, and I’m proud of it.”

In the first debate, he repeatedly deflected questions by praising the Obama administration. On healthcare, he said, “I am against any Democrat who opposes and tries to take down Obamacare.”

In the second debate, when he came under fire for his record on civil rights, Biden responded, “Barack Obama knew exactly who I was. He had ten lawyers do a background check on everything about me on civil rights and civil liberties, and he chose me, and he said it was the best decision he made. I’ll take his judgment.”

During the September debate, Biden threw a jab at Sen. Elizabeth Warren’s healthcare position by stating, “I know that the senator says she’s for Bernie. Well, I’m for Barack.”

He once tweeted out, “Barack Obama was a great president. We don’t say that enough.” The accompanying video was a web ad in which Biden touts Obama’s accomplishments and his role in helping achieve them. The video ends with the words: “The Obama-Biden record. Joe Biden is proud of it. Will defend it. Protect it. Build on it.”

His desperation reached comic heights when he sent the following tweet on best friend’s day:

Biden has also used an old Obama campaign email list to raise money.

Let’s face it: Without his association with Obama, Biden would be running in the low single digits as a has-been senator or former senator. We know this because that’s exactly what happened in 2008, when he was forced to drop out after a distant fifth-place finish in Iowa. He is not trying to “earn” the nomination on his own, he’s basking in his connection to Obama and would be jumping for joy if Obama actually wanted to endorse him.

The more believable stance Biden could have taken would be to say that he understands Obama doesn’t want to take sides in a contentious primary, which is at least is somewhat plausible. But his claim on 60 Minutes was ridiculous.