Biden Blowing in Winds of Women's History

Reader, here's the text-message to send to Sen. Joseph Biden: O Joe, don't blow it this time.

Remarkably, history has put Sen. Joseph Biden right in the ring with two of the most galvinizing women of our time. Prof. Anita Hill is still seared on our national psyche and now, so is Gov. Sarah Palin.

Hill and Palin showed up by surprise and like lightning, polarized the populace. Americans who look back in anger to 1991 well-remember the riveting tale Hill told about Supreme Court nominee Clarence Thomas during his Senate confirmation hearing. Now the conversational civil war is centered on Palin.

The loquacious Democratic vice-presidential nominee presided over the Thomas hearing as the Senate Judiciary Committee chairman. There, Biden bungled his first date with history. A second chance comes as he faces the formidable Palin, the Republican vice-presidential nominee, in an Oct. 2 debate. They meet in St. Louis.

Biden's long-winded ways and old-school manners may manifest as awkward chivalry toward the 44-year-old Palin. At 65, the seasoned senator plays on the world stage, but he can't stand on seniority or knowledge of Kosovo and Georgia. That will only encourage an aggressive newcomer attacking the "Washington elite."

Biden needs to get in the ring with the four-eyed Palin. He had better not pull his punches, for her steely confidence will not blink in the face of genteel expertise. If he defers to her, she'll have him for dinner served cold with caribou and baked Alaska.

It's worth revisiting Biden's shabby treatment of Hill when she came forward to tell her story of sexual harassment by her former boss, Thomas,. As chairman, his flaws were not only what he did, but what he didn't do.

Memories of that autumn week are clear as day. Many recall Biden running the circus-like show and allowing it to turn into an excruciating disgrace. Sad to say, we have Biden to thank for Thomas ascending to the highest court in the land.

Biden kept insisting in the national limelight, "You get the benefit of the doubt, Judge." He gave a Supreme Court nominee the same standard of "justice," so to speak, that applies in a criminal trial. The country deserved the benefit of the doubt, as Sen. Robert C. Byrd (D-West Va.) said at the time.

Biden was in the vortex of a huge outpouring of support for both Thomas and Hill. Every word he said carried weight and he should have chosen them more carefully. Thomas bitterly denied Hill's testimony, which was supported by other sources. In a grim roll call vote, he was confirmed 52-48 by the Senate, then a sea of ties and suits.

That set the stage for the 1992 election in the "Year of the Woman." Yeah, baby. Waves rolled into Washington and the tide brought more women lawmakers to town.

Certain things linger. Biden let three Senate Republicans on the panel --Alan Simpson, Arlen Specter and Orrin Hatch -- get away with a coordinated character assault. The accusation that Hill was a "scorned woman" made headlines, but even so, some media opinion-makers, such as the late Tim Russert, found her compelling and "credible."

According to the book Strange Justice, co-authored by Jane Mayer and Jill Abramson, Biden was inclined to ignore an FBI report on Hill's allegations of Thomas' sexual harassment: "Even after Hill surfaced, he (Biden) neither pushed for an investigation to determine if the harassment had in fact taken place nor shared what information was already known with his colleagues before the (committee) vote."

Biden was praised recently by the legal scholar Jeffrey Rosen (who once interned for him) for "restraint" in that sorry chapter. That's puzzling, but Rosen may be blinded by the light Biden emanates. Rosen thought it proper that Biden squelched evidence of Thomas' penchant for pornography. If that finding had surfaced, it would have fit with the portrait Hill painted of a crude and lewd individual.

But Biden himself regretted this. As the authors reported, the senator later said he acted "in fairness to Thomas, which in retrospect he didn't deserve."

The Delaware Democrat is a hale fellow in the Capitol's marble halls. He championed the Violence Against Women Act, so I'm not saying he's no friend to women.

I am saying he bears blame for a blight on our system of checks and balances. Taking the place that had belonged before to Thurgood Marshall, Thomas was arguably the "one man, one vote" that gave us George W. Bush in 2000; in a tragic irony, he was appointed by the elder George Bush. Even today, Thomas at 60 is a rather young Justice with years left to rule over our collective destiny.

If he beats Palin fair and square, Biden will heal a scar on millions of Democratic women and men who believed Anita Hill told the truth --17 short years ago.

Jamie Stiehm is a political essayist in Washington.

Comments

[golgibody]

"Biden's long-winded ways and old-school manners may manifest as awkward chivalry toward the 44-year-old Palin."

This was such a good point. I'm a little worried about the debate because of this.

[looking4thelight]

I'm not at all worried about this debate. When he answers the questions, the public will be sold. I know I was during the primary debates. Let Gov. Palin speak. She's a nice person- just not qualified for this particular job. It must be horrible for her. I imagine Sen. Mc Cain doesn't like her very much. Did you ever work for someone who disliked you? What a horrible feeling. She will do her best to say some catchy things and seem like the nice neighbor next door. Personally, I don't want my next door neighbor negotiating with foriegn powers. I want someone who works for peace and wants prosperity for all americans and respects the rights of women everywhere. Thank you Senator Obama for choosing Joe Biden as the next VP of our country. GO JOE!

[THEhillbilly]

Give Biden a break! He did as well as he could, i.e., not very. He's really just some guy, you know.

I like your new word "galvinizing." We need more neologisms.

Anyway, as to the upcoming debate...everyone here has "known" forever who will "win." They could all write their comments now instead of waiting for the event. As a matter of fact, they've started.

[JubilationLeigh]

Palin is "formidable"? Really? I'm still waiting for her to say something that makes sense.

[LizM]

Yeah! I knew I forgot to mention something...

[LizM]

I couldn't disagree more with your assessment - of the Thomas hearing and of your take on the VP debate. And, to say that Senator Biden "championed" the VAWA would win the prize for understatement of the century!

Senator Biden always seems to catch a lot of flak over how he handled the Thomas (and Bork) nomination to the Supreme Court. I guess most people see what they want to see and believe whatever supports their vision - the facts be damned! There is not much to be done about that except to hope that the majority of people are fair-minded and understand what really happened.

The truth of the matter is that Chairman Biden presided over these nomination hearings with grace and valor and conducted the proceedings with fairness and respect. He worked hard to ensure that the judicial philosophy of the nominees took center stage and tried to protect the privacy of their personal lives as well as the privacy of the personal lives of the witnesses, at every turn.

For this he is condemned by liberal and conservative forces, alike. All I can say is thank God that Joe Biden will be at President Obama"s side to provide wise counsel in the selection and nomination process for future Supreme Court Justices.

...continued...

[LizM]

...continued...

You may be interested to learn that, if Senator Biden has anything to say about it, the first nomination to the SCOTUS during an Obama administration will be a woman. That was a promise Joe Biden made in the primaries and it would have been fulfilled if he had been elected President.

As for Senator Biden's debate preparation and performance...well, that process is in very good hands, too. Unfortunately, the format of this debate has apparently been set to preclude the kind of give-and-take that we would clearly prefer over the structured affair it may be. But, regardless of the format, the vice presidential debate will be a defining moment in this presidential race with consequences that may be significant and entirely unprecedented.

Suffice to say that Biden will beat Palin, fair and square and every other which way you could possibly envision. This is a mismatch like no other and you should start preparing now to be duly impressed.

[RebaG]

HuffPost's Pick

I watched every single minute of those hearings and followed all of the extraordinary work Senator Biden did on VAWA. You're absolutely on point, Liz. Good job!

[LizM]

Wow! Congratulations, Reba!...on your 'HuffPost's Pick' and thanks for your comment.

It always amazes me that so many people can feel so confident to write and speak about Senator Biden when they are obiously so unqualified to do that.

Thanks for setting the record straight - we have a lot of work to do!

Take care,
Elizabeth