Can Biden Save Himself?

Gaffes.  I argue Biden has a fatal wound to his brand. He needs to try a desperation "Hail Mary."

A brand expert tells me to calm down. Biden is OK. Another Tony Farrell Guest Post.

The Sunday News shows are going on and on about the Biden "gaffes." 

Biden conflated two sentimental stories about a serviceman's patriotism and courage.

One can argue it is just storytelling, and to complain about details is like arguing that there wasn't really any Goldilocks, nor were there three bears--see, he lied!!  Biden and his allies say a lie is when one mis-states the facts for selfish advantage--something Trump does frequently-- and this was the opposite of that, utterly innocent. 

The Sunday shows are dissecting this. The discussion sustains the Biden-is-old-and-demented meme. Is Biden a congenital liar? Is he losing it? The question is: What is wrong with Biden?

A loser subject for Biden, and likely fatal.

I propose a desperation fix. Biden might make this a comparison with Trump rather than an examination of Biden.  He does that by challenging Trump to taking an IQ/SAT type test, for example the notoriously difficult test given to applicants for jobs in the US State Department, the Foreign Service Officer Test. It is the entry level qualifying exam, given by Donald Trump's own government, to evaluate candidates to manage foreign policy, a critical job of the president. 

Biden could say we each take the test, now, publicly, with results available to the public immediately. Say the public has a right to know if either Trump or he, two men in their 70s, are fit to be president. Biden should say he is smarter than Trump, has a higher IQ, knows more, and can prove it. 

Biden: "I haven't lost a step, you have, Mr. Trump. I can prove it. The public has a right to know if either of us are up to the job."

Lead crowds in chants: Take the test! Take the test! Take the test!. Of course, Trump won't take it.

This puts the attention back on Trump, and their comparative errors and gaffes. It would show that Biden stands up to Trump and gets into his face, not nastily, but with an assertion of the public having a legitimate right to know, and that Biden isn't afraid of the age issue.

A brand expert responds. He says I am wrong.

Farrell

Tony Farrell has the weight of experience and authority. He has a long, very successful career advising and managing brands, including senior roles at The Sharper Image, The Gap, The Nature Company, and then in the hardest league of all: in direct-to-consumer sales, infomercials. Among his former clients was once Trump Steaks, a product failure, because the product wasn't good and Trump interfered with marketing.

Guest Post by Tony Farrell

Thanks for the opportunity to think about Biden (born 1942), and on age and addled-ness. (For the record, I was born September 1949.)

Age is definitely on my mind this election; I’ve told friends that I prefer to vote for someone born AFTER me! This is perhaps not rational but seems a sensible selection criterion. Trump (1946) was born before I was, of course, but other elders in the race include Sanders (1941) and Warren (also 1949, but June).

I do believe Biden is gaffe-prone, but it’s not linked to age, and certainly not dementia; call it genetics.

I’ll tell a story: When I was in high school, I asked my Mom to stop by the record store to buy a current hit, “Monday, Monday” by the Mamas and the Papas; so, she goes and asks the clerk for “Mother, Mother.” I believe my Mom was barely 40 at the time; now a spritely 94, her current such gaffes match those of her youth; she is as sharp, and gaffe-prone, as ever.

Joe Biden’s “brand” is one of human decency, and I would argue that includes all his human foibles, such as his gaffes. He is “one of us.” 

His moving story of family tragedy touches everyone who has lived a life. Biden’s understanding of the prototypical Trump supporter (blue collar; high school; flyover country) is real, and comes across as heartfelt and genuine.

My advice to Biden is to let the gaffes slip by without notice; without giving any help to the “gaffe-is-the-story-of-dementia” media in amplifying them; accept gaffes and instead promote Joe as a human being of genuine decency and high moral character, and a charming quirk (gaffes) that we can relate to and be glad that we, in contrast to any candidate, are not constantly in the public eye.

Joe Biden' brand. Biden’s age is an indelible fact, but not a distinguishing one. Therefore, it is not part of his brand. What IS distinguishing is that everybody likes Joe, and Joe likes everybody; a vote for Joe is an appeal to our better angels, and a hope for a return to decency, civility and morality in the public arena.