Opinion | Joe Biden Doesn’t Look So Electable in Person

She became pregnant and needed an abortion, and later needed two more. Each was paid for by West Virginia’s Medicaid program, which stopped funding abortion last year. She wanted to know what Biden intended to do to protect and expand abortion access for people like her.

“First of all, a lot of you women, maybe a lot of men out here, don’t realize what incredible courage it took to stand up and say that,” he said. He spoke about his work on domestic violence, and then asked if they could talk privately afterward.

For some of the activists there, the moment was another Biden screw-up — they saw him mansplaining rape trauma to a room full of feminists. But Calloway, whom I spoke to after she met with Biden, was pleased with their discussion. “He’s centered himself on fighting for victims of assault and domestic violence victims,” she said, adding, “I felt relatively empowered in that space with him.”

That’s Biden at his best — undisciplined, but with a big heart. But personal warmth won’t be enough without the ability to inspire masses of people.

At the convention, several groups of chanting supporters marched their candidates into the auditorium. On Saturday morning, Kamala Harris came down an escalator accompanied by a cheering throng and a high school drum line. Later, boisterous backers of Cory Booker streamed in behind him from one end of the convention center, only to meet dozens of raucous Beto O’Rourke fans coming from the other. They came together in the middle, attempting to drown each other out with chants like rival gangs in a good-natured musical.

Shortly after that, a group of Biden supporters gathered to march into the main hall. Biden wasn’t with them, but they planned to enter as he appeared onstage. There were 20 or 30 people, a smaller group than those accompanying Harris, Booker or O’Rourke, and despite a few earnest woo-hoos, they weren’t nearly as loud as the others.

An ability to draw crowds isn’t everything — a tepid vote counts the same as a passionate one. Biden’s supporters are older than those of other Democrats, which gives his campaign less visible energy but a more reliable voting base. Still, as recent elections have shown, enthusiasm matters. Anyone convinced that Biden is the safe choice should go see him for themselves.

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