By Dave Andrusko

An interesting story, a very interesting story, written by Reid J. Epstein of the New York Times who “interviewed every living Republican who ran for the Senate against Joe Biden and reviewed hours of debate footage and television and radio advertisements from Biden’s campaigns.”

In a nutshell, Reid tells us, “In 30 years of Senate bids, Mr. Biden was such a formidable incumbent that he did not face a serious threat to his return to office. His last re-election is shaping up to be something different: a fight.”

In 1972, Biden defeated Senator Caleb Boggs, “a two-term Republican and former governor who had been in office in Delaware for 30 years.” How? For starters it was a great year Democrats, according to Reid.

And “Mr. Biden’s radio ads coyly suggested Mr. Boggs was pro-heroin and said he was stuck in a generation worried about Joseph Stalin. The ads ended with an upbeat slogan — ‘Joe Biden: He understands what’s happening today.’”

After Biden defeated Boggs, he faced a series of  opponents who “were underfunded, little-known, inexperienced or some combination of the three. None of them took more than 41 percent of the vote against him.”

Adding to that huge advantage

In Delaware, Mr. Biden was so well known and, in his early years in office, had such a wellspring of sympathy from voters after the tragic crash that killed his first wife and daughter, that no rival ever mounted a sustained case that he should not be re-elected. For years, bumper stickers promoting his re-election just said “Joe,” while opponents lost with an array of long-forgotten slogans.

 

“I don’t think he ever broke a sweat once he was an incumbent,” said Jane Brady, a Republican who lost to Mr. Biden by 27 points in 1990.

 “Incumbency gave him a staggering advantage.”

Once elected, Biden’s early Republican opponents “sought to abide by the ‘Delaware Way,’ an informal code of politics that mandated a clubby politeness that had the effect of blurring the differences between the two parties.”

In other words, in his contests for the Senate, Biden coasted to easy victories.  Emblematic of his good fortune

Ms. Brady’s 1990 campaign sent out 40,000 VHS tapes of spliced together network news footage on Mr. Biden’s 1988 plagiarism scandal during his presidential run, but an outdated address list prevented them from actually reaching Delaware voters.

Epstein mentions only in passing the verbal faux pas that have dogged Biden. Instead, he dwells on how much faster on his feet Biden was in debates earlier in his career.

Epstein also diminishes pro-life  former President Trump. “Mr. Trump, 77, is a rare president to be defeated while seeking a second term and has a host of political vulnerabilities.”

Nothing about the legion of media members who have attacked Mr. Trump every second of every minute of every hour during his term in office, his loss in 2020 to Mr. Biden, and his 2024 campaign to take back the White House.

But if Epstein were to acknowledge the ceaseless media assault, he would be breaking the omertà that has given Biden a gigantic leg-up.