A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away, Joe Biden ran for president (for the third time). And the central pillar holding up the basement that was literally his campaign? Empathy.
"How Empathy Defines Joe Biden," Forbes gushed.
But like Joe Biden himself, Biden's famous empathy is just ... not there.
Unlike Joe Biden himself, his empathy is not on vacation in Delaware. Because in reality, his empathy is actually a creation of the mainstream media.
Here's the truth:
Joe Biden is an a**hole.
Here are just a few examples if you don't believe me (and I'm not even including credible accusations of sexual assault or the general creepiness around females under the age of 18 ... or over the age of 18).
After returning from one of his countless beach vacations, he responded to a media question about the deadly wildfires that hit the island of Maui with "no comment." Oh, and he also compared the devastating wildfires to a minor kitchen fire in his home in 2004.
He got bored during the dignified transfer ceremony for U.S. service-members murdered during Biden's disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan, reportedly checking his watch after every ... single ... salute.
"They would release the salute and he looked down at his watch on every last one," the father of Marine Staff Sgt. Taylor Hoover told Fox News' Sean Hannity. "All 13, he looked down at his watch."
And what about his lowest-of-the-low tactic of standing on Beau Biden's grave any chance he gets? Honestly, Beau Biden is the unluckiest man in the world to have died in so many places, so many different times, in so many different ways.
Now, let's not pretend that Joe Biden is unique in his a**hole-ness. The vast majority of politicians are complete narcissists bordering on undiagnosed and over-medicated sociopaths. But what makes Joe Biden different is that he is allowed to hide behind his good ol' Joe routine and avoid a shred of the same scrutiny other politicians face.
And yes, a lot of this is our fault, because we have allowed emotion to become the driving factor in the world of politics.
But if we are going to go all-in on the idea that politicians should genuinely care about us as stand-in familial, spiritual and religious leaders, can we at least do better than Joe Biden?
Follow Ian on X (@ighaworth).
