Today\’s paragraphs of the day come to us from Frank Bruni, an op-ed columnist for the New York Times.
In today\’s paper, Mr. Bruni pleads with Vice President Joe Biden not to enter the Democrat presidential race.
When I started reading it, I expected it might be more an effort to clear the path for Hillary Clinton than anything else. But that is not the case. It turns out that Mr. Bruni really does have high regard for Biden, and sincerely feels that, if he runs, a) he will lose – because of the “uncorked, uncensored quality” Bruni holds in such high regard – which b) will unnecessarily tarnish the end of his political career.
Here are Mr. Bruni\’s last paragraphs:
Biden has twice before pursued the Democratic nomination and never won a single state. The last time, in 2008, he got less than 1 percent of the vote in the Iowa caucuses and then quickly dropped out.
And while much about circumstances and about Biden has changed since then, what hasn\’t, at least not significantly, is the uncorked, uncensored quality that contributed to his troubles before.
He rolls his eyes. He reaches out with his hands. He talks and talks, in sentences that sometimes go too far, with words that haven\’t been weighed as carefully as they could be. The route from his brain to his lips is direct and swift. None of the usual traffic cones there.
Sometimes this is enervating. Mostly it\’s endearing. For better or worse, it\’s not the means to a promotion, not for this remarkable man at this remarkable time.
Though no one can be 100% certain, I am pretty confident Joe Biden is not going to take Frank Bruni\’s advice. But I hope he comes across the above paragraphs today, because they are worth reading…
…which is why Frank Bruni wins Paragraphs Of The Day honors.
